Westoe Crown Primary School

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

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Mr Steve Price Headteacher Westoe Crown Primary School Sea Winnings Way South Shields Tyne and Wear NE33 3NS

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Short inspection of Westoe Crown Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 22 May 2018 with Claire Render, Ofsted Inspector, 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 December 2013.

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Short inspection of Westoe Crown Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Your approach to sharing leadership responsibility with a number of key staff across school has paid dividends. The school benefits from dedicated and skilled leaders in every aspect of school life. Your passionate, caring and supportive approach has steered the school through some turbulent waters during the past six months. You have been ably supported by the hard-working deputy headteacher, whose skills complement your own. Together, you form a strong senior team. The knowledgeable and passionate governing body is highly motivated to support the work of the school. It plays a key role in many aspects of school life and knows the school inside out. Leaders of curriculum subjects are skilled in driving forward learning, with actions tied tightly to improving outcomes for pupils. Systems to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the many actions to

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Short inspection of Westoe Crown Primary School

improve teaching in every subject are well established. Your rigorous and robust self-evaluation forms the basis for detailed plans to make further improvements. The whole-school community’s ambition to provide the best opportunities for pupils to thrive is crystal clear.

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Short inspection of Westoe Crown Primary School

You have effectively addressed areas for improvement identified at the last inspection. Teaching is consistently good and sometimes better. Systems to monitor the quality of teaching, which include specific feedback to teachers on strengths and areas to improve, are well established. Pupils know exactly how well they have done and their next steps to success. They are proud of their ‘target passport’, which they carry to all lessons and refer to often. Children in the early years complete their five ‘rainbow challenges’ over a week, while pupils in Year 1 work through ‘ladders of achievement’ in mathematics. You have worked hard to ensure that all pupils make good progress in their learning, including in reading and mathematics. Inspection evidence demonstrates that current Year 6 pupils’ progress is on track to match last year’s national averages. You acknowledge that over time this has not been the case, as seen in published data. You have put in place a range of

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Short inspection of Westoe Crown Primary School

strategies to accelerate pupils’ progress, including for disadvantaged pupils, which are now bearing fruit. There is further work to do to ensure that the attainment of disadvantaged pupils rises to match that of other pupils nationally and their classmates. You agree that the quality of pupils’ handwriting, spelling and presentation remains variable across school and that improving this is an important next step.

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Short inspection of Westoe Crown Primary School

You have worked hard to ensure that pupils’ personal development and welfare are of the highest standard. Pupils speak highly of the school. One pupil said that ‘school is exciting, brilliant, fun, as you never know what is going to happen.’ Pupils told an inspector that assemblies teach them to understand that everyone is equal, and that equality is a theme that runs through school. You take pride in the fact that school offers a wide range of interesting and unique opportunities to pupils within the curriculum. The topic-based approach ensures that all national curriculum objectives are taught and assessed, and pupils’ progress tracked in every subject. The curriculum is enhanced by a range of enterprise opportunities such as making and selling jewellery and mugs, as well as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) opportunities. The school motto of ‘children learn what they live’ is clearly evident. Parents and carers are highly appreciative of the school and

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Short inspection of Westoe Crown Primary School

know how to report any issue regarding safety. One parent stated that ‘this school is very family orientated. There is a wonderful, close-knit community feel to the school.’ Pupils are valued as individuals, and the school has a close-knit family atmosphere, seemingly in contradiction to its well-above-average size.

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Short inspection of Westoe Crown Primary School

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Safeguarding meets requirements in every respect, with numerous examples of exemplary practice. All staff are vigilant and quick to raise any issue or concern. All adults, including governors, strive with dedication and passion to ensure that every single pupil is safe and has opportunities to excel and succeed. Work completed by the child and family welfare officer is having a significantly positive impact on pupils’ well-being and attendance.

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Short inspection of Westoe Crown Primary School

The curriculum supports pupils well in maintaining their own safety. Pupils have full trust in their teachers and teaching assistants who look after them, and pupils report feeling safe all of the time. Pupils told inspectors that ‘teachers care about our emotions’ and they ‘say we must have our own opinions’. Parents are equally clear about their children’s safety. All 248 who responded to the Ofsted questionnaire, Parent View, stated that their child is safe, is happy at school and that they would recommend the school to another parent. Staff and governor safeguarding training is up to date. All procedures and records are of good quality and are regularly updated and reviewed by leaders, including the link governor for safeguarding. An extensive and detailed system ensures that absolutely nothing is missed that may affect pupils’ safety and well-being. Access to well-written policies and guidance ensures that all adults have a secure

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Short inspection of Westoe Crown Primary School

understanding of their responsibilities for safeguarding pupils.

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Inspection findings

 You have worked hard to ensure that pupils’ progress in all subjects has accelerated, especially across key stage 2. A wide range of actions have raised the profile of reading in school. There is now a dedicated ‘reading army’ of 22 volunteers who spend time listening to pupils read. ‘Reading huts’ have been built in the playground, which allows pupils to enjoy reading in their own time in snug, comfortable surroundings. Two double-decker buses have been equipped to host reading and phonics activities. Pupils’ completion of book reviews entitles them to a ‘book bug’ memento, and a programme of ‘extreme reading’ in school has resulted in photographs of pupils reading in some weird and wonderful locations. Similarly in mathematics, the new leader of the subject has overseen the introduction of a new approach to teaching which has significantly enhanced pupils’ mathematical fluency. There is also clear evidence in books that pupils’

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Inspection findings

skills of problem-solving and reasoning are developing quickly. Pupils are adept in taking part in mathematical discussions, and the introduction of a mathematical ‘app’ has engaged both pupils and parents.  You are clear on the causes of disappointing published data with regard to the progress of Year 6 pupils in reading and mathematics over the last two years. You acknowledge that, over time, the support offered to certain pupils has not been sufficiently effective to secure high rates of progress. You have set in place actions which are addressing the accuracy of assessment data, including in key stage 1, and the range of support offered to pupils at risk of falling behind in their learning. This also includes a significant proportion of pupils admitted to school during key stage 2. Evidence from work in pupils’ books and your own assessment data show clearly that pupils are now making strong progress in

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Inspection findings

learning, including across key stage 2. You agree that although the progress of disadvantaged pupils matches that of their classmates, their attainment has not reached the standard of other pupils nationally.  You have ensured that the school’s strength in the teaching of writing has been maintained. Pupils’ skills in editing and redrafting are clearly seen in books. They are able to write at length, using the skills of punctuation, sentence structure and grammatical features to ensure maximum effect on the reader. Pupils show that they are able to develop their thoughts and ideas into different styles of writing. In Year 6, pupils were noting and developing ideas to write a letter or diary to express their feelings as Simba from ‘The Lion King’, clearly inspired by their forthcoming summer production. Writing on display around school shows how pupils are given to write across all subjects in the curriculum, such as in the

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Inspection findings

display about the Mayan civilisation. You acknowledge that not all pupils’ handwriting, spelling and presentation are of an equally high standard.  Pupils’ safety, well-being and all-round development are key priorities and significant strengths of the school. Pupils state categorically that bullying does not exist. You provide a range of after-school clubs that support pupils’ emotional well-being, such as yoga, massage and relaxation techniques. The child and family welfare officer plays a pivotal role in securing good levels of attendance, working with parents and delivering training to develop pupils’ understanding of safety in and out of school. You are able to demonstrate through detailed case studies how the school has made a significant difference to pupils’ well-being.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 the attainment of disadvantaged pupils continues to rise so that it matches that of other pupils nationally and their classmates  actions to improve the quality of handwriting, presentation and spelling for pupils of all abilities continue to have a positive effect on pupils’ written work.

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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 South Tyneside. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

The inspection team met with you, the deputy headteacher, the leaders of English and mathematics and other subject leaders. We also met with the school operations manager, the child and family welfare officer and a group of governors, including the chair of the governing body. A discussion was held with a group of parents before school. Alongside you and the deputy headteacher, we visited lessons in key stages 1 and 2, visited the early years and reviewed a sample of pupils’ workbooks. We spoke to pupils about their work and their views of the school. We observed pupils’ behaviour at break and lunchtime. A range of documents relating to safeguarding were considered. We examined the school development plan, the school’s monitoring of its own performance and its assessment and tracking of current pupils’ progress and attainment. We scrutinised pupils’ achievement in the 2016 and 2017 statutory assessments. We also reviewed the 248 responses to

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Information about the inspection

Parent View, the Ofsted online questionnaire, as well as the 37 responses to the pupil questionnaire and the 23 responses to the staff questionnaire. The school’s website was also scrutinised.

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