Winterton Primary School

Winterton Primary School Black Street, Winterton-on-Sea, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk NR29 4AP

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Early years provision Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 School improvement has been hampered by inconsistencies in senior leadership and governance. As a result, key issues from the previous inspection have not been addressed.  Most middle leaders have not consistently driven forward improvements in their subjects across the school.  Communication with parents requires improvement. Consequently, some parents have lost confidence in the school.  Early years provision requires improvement because leaders have not addressed weaknesses in the mathematics curriculum.  Pupils’ personal development requires improvement. Pupils are not taught how to cope when they fall out with their friends.  Pupils’ progress in writing and mathematics in key stage 1 has been held back due to many changes in teaching staff.  Attendance is below average. Leaders and governors have not applied the attendance policy consistently well over time.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The new, very experienced headteacher is rapidly addressing weaknesses in teaching, learning and assessment in key stage 1.  Pupils make good progress in all curriculum subjects in key stage 2 due to good teaching.  The teaching of reading is consistently effective across the school. Pupils make good progress from their starting points.  There are strong systems and procedures in place to protect the most vulnerable pupils.  The progress of pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities is good due to good provision and the strong leadership of the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo).  Pupils’ behaviour is good in lessons, around the school and on the playground.  The highly effective interim executive board has secured essential improvements in school systems and leadership in a very short time.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of leadership and management by ensuring that: – senior leaders and staff urgently address weaknesses identified at the last inspection – middle leaders have manageable and effective plans to drive forward improvement in their subjects across the school – parents understand school policies, particularly in relation to attendance, and are enabled to take a full part in their children’s education.  Improve the quality of teaching and raise achievement in key stage 1 by ensuring that: – pupils are given sufficient opportunities to write at length in all curriculum subjects – teachers enable pupils to master key concepts in mathematics and deepen their reasoning and problem-solving skills.  Improve pupils’ personal development by ensuring that: – there is a consistent and carefully planned curriculum for personal, social and health education (PSHE) in key stages 1 and 2 – pupils are taught strategies to help them cope when they fall out with their friends

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– staff listen carefully to pupils’ concerns and effectively deal with these.  Improve provision in the early years by ensuring that: – there is a planned approach to the teaching of mathematics – teachers provide opportunities for children to learn to speak clearly and express their ideas in full sentences – records of progress (learning journeys) are sharply focused on precisely what children have learned.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 There has been considerable instability in leadership since the previous inspection. Governors did not act decisively enough to ensure that the drive for school improvement was maintained. Consequently, key areas for improvement from the previous inspection have not been addressed. For example, teachers have not had sufficient opportunities to improve their practice through effective professional development.  Although the local authority brokered support from nearby schools, it did not act swiftly enough when this partnership broke down. However, the local authority recently issued a warning notice to the school and appointed an interim executive board (IEB).  The IEB has taken immediate, decisive and effective action to improve the school, in particular the appointment of a new headteacher. Consequently, leaders have started to regain the trust and confidence of the majority of parents.  The new headteacher started to work with the school almost immediately after the IEB

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

was in place. He rapidly has the measure of the school and has taken action to improve teaching, learning and assessment, especially in key stage 1.  Middle leaders have lacked clear guidance and support for some time. Subject leaders’ roles and responsibilities are unclear. Consequently, teachers implement the national curriculum in their own classrooms, but do not share ideas or work effectively together to drive improvement. This has contributed to key areas from the last inspection not being implemented. For example, there is not a consistent approach to the teaching of handwriting and presentation across the school.  The curriculum in key stage 2 is interesting and inspires most pupils, so they enjoy learning. The topic themes show effective implementation of national curriculum programmes of study. Work in pupils’ books shows a breadth and depth of understanding in most curriculum areas.  The curriculum in key stage 1 follows the national curriculum but, due to many

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

changes of teacher, pupils’ books do not show breadth or depth of understanding. This is particularly evident in mathematics and in the lack of opportunities for writing in all curriculum areas.  There is a wide range of after-school clubs that add to the school’s curriculum. These are usually well attended.  The school is an integral part of the local community. Pupils fully participate in local events, including fund-raising for local charities. One parent said, ‘It’s like the school fete is the village fete. We have three of these a year and everyone from the village turns up.’ Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain, because of the strong role they play in the local community.  There is strong and effective leadership of the teaching of reading across the school. The teacher responsible ensures that pupils continue to make good progress following the good start they have in Nursery and Reception. Early reading books are organised

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

carefully to make sure that pupils are able to select books that match the phase of phonics they are learning. Books for fluent readers are not as effectively organised. Sometimes, pupils select books because they can read the words, but the story is beyond their level of understanding.  Leadership for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is highly effective. The SENCo is well qualified and has a wide experience of working with pupils who have all types of learning and physical disabilities. She has forged effective links with external specialists and makes sure that pupils receive additional support when needed.  Pupil premium funding is used effectively to meet the additional needs of disadvantaged pupils.

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Governance of the school

 The governance of the school has been ineffective.  There has been considerable turbulence in governance since the last inspection, resulting in a review of governance that highlighted key areas to improve.  The governing body did not address identified weaknesses rapidly enough or hold leaders to account; consequently, the local authority issued a warning notice and put in place an IEB.  The IEB has rapidly addressed key weaknesses in governance, including reviewing the school budget and staffing structure.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  The school has strong systems and procedures for ensuring that all pupils are safe. All required checks are in place, including those for safer recruitment.  The designated safeguarding lead (DSL) works closely with children’s social care and the parent support adviser to ensure the best provision for the most vulnerable pupils.  All staff have been trained and understand precisely what action to take if they have a concern about a child’s safety.  The DSL keeps careful and detailed records of actions taken to support pupils. She makes sure that pupils get the right help at the right time and is tenacious in following up referrals to external agencies.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 Weaknesses in teaching, learning and assessment are mainly evident in key stage 1 because pupils have had many different teachers over a short space of time. Accurate assessment of pupils’ learning has been difficult. This is because each new teacher has required time to get to know what pupils know and understand across curriculum subjects and in particular in mathematics and writing.  The quality of handwriting and presentation in pupils’ books in key stages 1 and 2 is inconsistent and often scruffy. For example, in key stage 2 in an activity that required pupils to draw careful lines in order to arrive at accurate answers, they did not use a ruler.  Pupils in key stage 1 have maintained good progress in their reading. This is due to the good teaching of reading through a systematic synthetic-phonic approach that sets them off to a good start in Reception. This has continued in key stage 1 with the

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

support of a well-trained and effective teaching assistant. Pupils who need additional phonics teaching are carefully monitored and receive daily, direct teaching to help them make progress according to the stage of learning at which they are, rather than their actual age.  Teaching across key stage 2 is consistently effective over time. This is due to teachers’ good subject knowledge and determination to make sure that all pupils are challenged to think for themselves and learn well in lessons. For example, in a mathematics lesson, pupils were given the opportunity to choose which challenge was right for them. Pupils found this motivating and rapidly got down to work. The teacher made sure that each child made the correct choice.  Key stage 2 pupils receive effective support from teaching assistants (TAs) who work with them. For example, in one lesson where work, planned by the teacher, was carefully explained by the TA, pupils understood the learning activities and were

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

confident to complete their work.  Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are taught well in key stages 1 and 2. This is due to the good support teachers receive from the SENCo. Learning plans have sharply focused targets that pupils understand. Teachers make sure that there are opportunities to work on these targets during lessons.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.  There are weaknesses in pupils’ personal development because pupils do not have an accurate understanding of bullying. As one pupil said, ‘Bullying kind of does happen. Some people get annoyed and it’s not really bullying. Some people get left out. New people can get over-excited and find it hard to make friends.’ Pupils talk about getting ‘annoyed’ and do not appear to have the skills to deal with these ‘annoyances’. This is due to weaknesses in the curriculum for PSHE.  Pupils are self-confident and talk about their school with a great deal of understanding and insight. They readily take responsibility and enjoy being part of the school council but are disappointed that the new council has not met since September.  Most pupils talked about the strong friendships they form in school. A typical comment

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Personal development and welfare

was, ‘I like this school because we do fun things in class and make lots of friends.’  The school set up ‘friendship monitors’ in Years 5 and 6, but pupils said that they have not had training for or carried out this role.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.  Attendance has been below average, and persistent absence above average for the past two years. The IEB and headteacher have reviewed the attendance policy. The headteacher is working with parents and the local authority attendance officer to ensure that pupils attend school every day.  The parent support adviser works effectively with parents to help get children to school on time. Consequently, lateness has reduced over the last year.  Pupils behave well in lessons because they want to learn. They like their teachers and are interested in the topics they are learning.  Lunchtime is a happy social time of day when pupils sit with their friends and talk in a sensible and relaxed manner. Playtimes are well supervised and pupils mostly play happily together. During the inspection, there was a wet lunchbreak. Older pupils showed great care and a sense of responsibility for younger pupils by going to their

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Behaviour

classroom and playing with them.  Any incidents at playtimes are carefully recorded and followed up by all staff. However, the outcome is not always communicated effectively to pupils or parents.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 Progress in writing and mathematics in key stage 1 is not secure. For example, mathematics books are filled with different worksheets, and it is hard to check the quality of work or progress pupils are making, especially in developing reasoning and problem-solving skills. In English and topic books, there are very few examples of longer pieces of writing. Consequently, it is hard to judge whether pupils are learning key skills in English and applying these in all curriculum areas.  All pupils make good progress from their starting points in reading in key stage 1. This is due to the effective teaching of phonics and careful monitoring of their choice of reading books. Furthermore, pupils keep the same reading book until they have learned all the words and are confident to read that book fluently before they change it for a new book.  All pupils in key stage 2 make good progress from their starting points due to

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

consistently effective teaching. Pupils also have many opportunities to use the skills they learn and knowledge they gain in English and mathematics, in other curriculum subjects.  All pupils make good progress in reading in key stage 2. However, not all reading books selected by fluent readers, those no longer using the reading scheme, are at an appropriate level for their understanding.  Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make good progress from their starting points. This is due to careful monitoring by the SENCo and effective teaching and support in lessons.

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Early years provision Requires improvement

 Until recently, leaders did not monitor and evaluate the early years curriculum closely enough. They did not check the balance of areas of learning in the early years curriculum last year. Consequently, children missed opportunities to fully develop their skills and understanding in mathematics. The other areas of learning are well planned for and evident in a range of classroom and outside learning activities.  Children start in Nursery with skills and understanding similar to those of other children of their age in most areas of learning. They make good progress in most of the areas of learning. However, their communication and language skills are under-developed. Adults who work with the children in early years are skilled at speaking clearly, so children can hear and copy how to speak correctly. Nevertheless, there is no time set aside to teach children how to pronounce sounds accurately or to practise explaining

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Early years provision Requires improvement

their ideas in full sentences.  Reading is taught well in the early years and children make good progress from their starting points. When children start in Nursery, they are introduced to letter sounds using a systematic, synthetic-phonic scheme. They rapidly move on to simple, phonic reading books and are given plenty of time to practise the words in each book. When they know the words and are confident readers, they move on to a new book.  Children’s progress in writing is less secure. This is because, unlike in reading, there is not a systematic whole-school approach to the teaching of letter and number formation. Leaders have recently introduced a new approach. However, it is too soon to see the impact of this on the development of children’s handwriting skills or their ability to record their ideas in simple sentences.  Adults keep a careful record of the activities children take part in. ‘Learning journeys’

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Early years provision Requires improvement

show children having fun and note what they are doing but are not precise enough about what they have learned. Consequently, it is hard for teachers to track progress accurately in all areas of learning.  Children are well cared for and safe in the early years. They have their own secure play area and are well supervised at all times of the school day.  Children’s personal development and behaviour in the early years are good. Children collaborate well in all the activities set out for them. For example, during the inspection, children had great fun re-telling and acting out the story of ‘The Three Little Pigs’. The teacher made a video of their presentation and put it on the whiteboard. The children delighted in watching themselves telling the story and kept re-showing the video during their snack time.

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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 Interim executive board

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School details

Email address head@winterton.norfolk.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 23−24 October 2013

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Information about this school

 Winterton is a much smaller-than-average primary school. About a third of the pupils come from outside the school’s catchment area. Most pupils are of White British heritage.  There is a larger-than-average proportion of pupils identified as having SEN and/or disabilities and with an education, health and care plan.  There are fewer than average pupils eligible for free school meals.  The substantive headteacher left the school two years ago. The school received a warning notice from the local authority in November 2017 and an IEB was appointed.

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Information about this inspection

 Meetings were held with senior and middle leaders, parents, groups of pupils, the IEB, teachers, support staff and a representative of the local authority.  The inspector scrutinised pupils’ work in mathematics and writing across a range of curriculum subjects in key stages 1 and 2 and children’s learning journeys.  A wide range of documentation was examined, including safeguarding procedures, attendance records, the school’s own assessment information and the most recent development plan.  The inspector observed teaching in all classes. Most visits to classrooms were made jointly with the headteacher.  The inspector scrutinised 24 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, and 11 text messages from parents. There were no responses to the staff and pupil questionnaires.

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Inspection team

Julie Winyard, lead inspector Her Majesty’s 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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