Fulbridge Primary School

Age group 3-11 Inspection date(s) 1–2 March 2012 Inspection number 381684 Fulbridge Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 134461 Local authority Peterborough Inspection number 381684 Inspection dates 1–2 March 2012 Lead inspector Sarah Warboys

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare provision, managed by the governing body, was inspected under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 620 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Helen Bath Headteacher Iain Erskine Date of previous school inspection 2 October 2008 School address Keeton Road Peterborough PE1 3JQ Telephone number 01733 566990 Fax number 01733 319403 Email address head@fulbridgeschool.co.uk

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Registered childcare provision EY321587 Fullbridge Gems and Little Gems Number of children on roll in the registered childcare provision Date of last inspection of registered childcare provision 2 October 2008 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 Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk 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.

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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.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days’ notice. Inspectors observed 34 lessons taught by 21 teachers and a higher level teaching assistant in the main school. In addition, inspectors made a series of visits to the childcare provision. Meetings were held with parents and carers, senior leaders, governors, staff and a representative from the local authority. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection, observed the school’s work, talked to different groups of pupils and listened to them reading. The school’s safeguarding policies, improvement plans, samples of pupils’ work, minutes of the governing body meetings and records of pupils’ progress were scrutinised. Inspectors analysed the questionnaire responses from 277 parents and carers, 150 pupils and 87 staff.

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Information about the school

Fulbridge Primary School is much larger than most primary schools. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is above average. Well above average proportions of pupils come from minority ethnic heritages. Two thirds of pupils currently at the school speak English as an additional language. The percentage of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is well above the national average. The number of pupils joining and leaving the school at different times during the year is above that normally found. The school meets the government’s current floor standard. It is a National School of Creativity. It holds Healthy Schools status, Artsmark Silver and Race Equality awards.

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Information about the school

The governing body manages Fulbridge Gems and Little Gems, which provide term- time childcare from 8.30am to 3.30pm and 8.00am to 6.00pm respectively. The provision in Little Gems is for the youngest children up to the age of three and is reported in a separate childcare section within the report. References to the Early Years Foundation Stage within the main report include judgements about Little Gems as well as the school’s Nursery and Reception Years. There is a Children’s Centre on site that is inspected and reported on separately. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

 Fulbridge Primary School is an outstanding school that provides its pupils with a creative, stimulating and innovative curriculum. Pupils thoroughly enjoy coming to school because they are so motivated by the wide range of interesting activities on offer.

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Key findings

 Achievement is outstanding. Children enter school with skills well below those expected for their age. A high proportion of pupils speak English as an additional language. Standards in English are lower than those in mathematics, but overall most pupils, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, make rapid and sustained progress year on year from their starting points. Consequently, by the end of Year 6, they have reached broadly similar levels to all pupils nationally.

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Key findings

 Teaching is outstanding. This is because teachers have strong subject knowledge, imaginative teaching methods and high expectations that are clearly communicated to pupils. The use of assessment to support learning is particularly effective. Consequently, teachers plan work that is extremely well matched to pupils’ needs.

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Key findings

 Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary. Their highly positive attitudes to learning make a significant contribution to their rapid progress in lessons. Around the school, pupils are consistently polite and considerate towards each other. The school promotes their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development exceptionally well.

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Key findings

 The leadership of teaching and management of performance in the school are outstanding. Led by a highly effective headteacher, the school constantly strives to improve its work. The school’s multicultural community is fully inclusive and cohesive. Leaders and managers, including the governing body, have secured significant improvement in key aspects of the school’s performance since the previous inspection and this has resulted in raised attainment over a sustained Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

period of time. Parents and carers are highly positive about how the school cares for and supports their children’s learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further

 Raise attainment in English to above national average levels by the time pupils leave the school in Year 6 by:  extending the systematic teaching of phonics into Key Stage 2 where needed, for example for pupils who are lower attaining and or those for whom English is an additional language who require consolidation of the link between English sounds and letters.

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Achievement of pupils

Children’s attainment when they start school is particularly low in communication and language skills and those of problem solving, reasoning and number. They make very good progress in all settings of the Early Years Foundation Stage, and as a result are significantly closer to expected levels by the time they enter Year 1. The well- organised learning environment provides children with exciting learning opportunities, which enable them to make good gains in personal and social development. Snack time is a social occasion and children chat together as they learn to prepare their own food. They clearly enjoy ‘messy play’, experimenting with the textures and behaviour of cornflour and learn new words to describe it. Children’s behaviour is excellent. They show positive attitudes and respond extremely well to adult guidance. Adults are skilled in interacting with young children, guiding their play and modelling language well. For example, a group of boys’ lively play was

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Achievement of pupils

redirected into a challenge involving pipes as they learned ‘shorter’ and ‘longer’.

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Achievement of pupils

Although reading attainment levels at the end of Key Stage 1 remain significantly below national averages, pupils are making rapid progress. Phonics (the links between letters and the sounds they make) is regularly and systematically taught in the Early Years Foundation Stage and in Years 1 and 2, providing very good support to the high proportion of pupils who are learning letters and sounds in an additional language. The teaching of reading and writing skills in Key Stage 2 is enabling most pupils to make rapid and sustained progress over time so that gaps with national averages close over the Key Stage. However, pupils who did not achieve nationally expected levels at the end of Year 2 do not always receive enough regular and explicit teaching of phonics into Key Stage 2 to enable them to catch up quickly. As a result standards in reading and writing are average rather than higher by the end of Year 6. Almost all pupils learn mathematical skills exceptionally well to reach above

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Achievement of pupils

average standards by the time they leave the school. Consequently, they are extremely well prepared for the next stage in their education, given their starting low points. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Achievement of pupils

In most lessons observed by inspectors, teachers used information and communication technology and creative teaching approaches to enhance learning opportunities. In one lesson, pupils enthusiastically acquired independent research skills, learning to use a search engine. In another, pupils were thoroughly engaged using tablet computers to record diary entries. Excellent work with partners enabled pupils to develop and refine their ideas rapidly. Class teachers and teaching assistants promote high levels of independence by supporting, yet enabling, pupils to think and work things out for themselves. On these and similar occasions, pupils, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, made accelerated progress.

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Achievement of pupils

An overwhelming majority of parents and carers who responded to questionnaires are rightly pleased with the progress their children make. Many comment on the exciting and interesting activities that engage the children in learning. As one parent put it, ‘Teaching and learning is delivered creatively and adds to the children’s enjoyment’.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers work hard to enthuse and inspire pupils. The high quality of the school’s curriculum means that teachers make excellent links across a range of subjects and provide practical, first-hand experiences that make learning more meaningful and relevant to the pupils. The quality of teaching is outstanding over time because it leads to highly positive outcomes for pupils, produces high levels of enthusiasm for learning and fosters a determination to succeed. In the best lessons every opportunity is used to promote learning and develop thinking and independent skills in an interesting way. Excellent use of information and communication technology inspires pupils for whom English is an additional language. As a direct result, they learn to read and use new vocabulary exceptionally well. Pupils are routinely asked to explain and compare their answers with partners and this helps to clarify their thinking and consolidates learning. Regular marking of pupils’ work provides

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Quality of teaching

informative feedback about how they might improve.

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Quality of teaching

Characteristic of all lessons observed by inspectors are the high expectations and excellent relationships that exist between adults and pupils at all levels. Teaching assistants are deployed well so individuals and groups achieve as well as they can. Teachers use assessment information extremely well to plan work that is carefully matched to what pupils already know and what they need to learn next. An excellent illustration of this was observed in a Year 6 science lesson in which pupils were investigating shadows. At the start of the lesson, pupils were asked to draw themselves and their shadow, given the position of the sun. When they had compared their ideas with the rest of the class, the teacher used probing questions to find out pupils’ existing knowledge and understanding so that work could be pitched at the right level. Pupils are clearly curious and love the puzzle of such activities and this contributes extremely well to their spiritual, moral, social and

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Quality of teaching

cultural development. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Quality of teaching

The vast majority of parents and carers who responded to the questionnaire are confident that their children are taught well and that the school meets their children’s particular needs. Pupils agree, and inspection evidence shows that their views are entirely accurate. Characteristically, parental comments speak highly of the teachers and support staff and say they are all ‘committed to providing a high standard of education’.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Typically, pupils’ high-quality behaviour in lessons means that learning can proceed smoothly and without disruption; it is a consequence of the outstanding relationships that exist within the school. A strong moral code and well-understood value system underpin much of the school’s work. Pupils are helped to regulate their own behaviour. The responses of a very large majority of pupils, parents and carers agree that behaviour is commonly of a good standard. Pupils say that they feel safe in school at all times and are entirely confident that staff will deal swiftly with any concerns they may have. Incidences of bullying of any type are extremely rare. Pupils have an excellent understanding of what bullying is and how it might occur, and actively try to ensure that others are happy. Behaviour at break times is excellent. This is chiefly because all areas of the school are well designed and ensure that pupils have plenty to keep them interested and occupied. The outdoor areas are

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

well-organised, pleasant spaces with a huge variety of things to do. For example, the use of tablet computers encourages the application of writing and mathematics through play. Skipping and ball games help pupils to develop physical skills extremely well.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

A strong feature of the school is the way that members of the school community, made up of diverse cultural backgrounds, operate harmoniously together, based on a sense of trust and mutual respect. People move around the school very courteously, safely and sensibly with a high regard for the needs of others. Children from the Little Gems and Fulbridge Gems nurseries are often seen in the school safely and confidently exploring the exciting curriculum areas and interacting with older pupils. School is a safe, secure and stimulating place to be so pupils want to come to school. As a result, they regularly arrive at school on time and rates of attendance have improved steadily for the past three years to reach above average levels.

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Leadership and management

The school has an outstanding capacity for continuous improvement. The headteacher demonstrates highly skilled, committed professional leadership. His drive, vision and proactive approach have promoted a clear, common sense of purpose across the school and built a strong staff who work together extremely well. Systems for improving the quality of teaching since the previous inspection have been extremely successful. This is predominantly because members of the school community are eager to refine their skills professionally through good-quality training opportunities and learn from each other by sharing the very best practice in the Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Leadership and management

school. Development priorities are identified through rigorous data analysis and thorough detailed self-evaluation. Leaders and managers at all levels, including the governing body, monitor and evaluate their work thoroughly to ensure that actions taken have a positive impact on pupil outcomes. The school is fully committed to equality of opportunity and meticulously tracks the performance of different groups of pupils. As a consequence, almost all groups of pupils make outstanding progress during their time in the school. Members of the governing body are clearly visible in the school community and provide high levels of expertise, challenge, support and strategic leadership for the school. They ensure that safeguarding policies and procedures are robust and meet requirements.

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Leadership and management

Central to the school’s success is the curriculum. The school has worked hard to develop it over the past few years and now provides a rich learning environment that immerses pupils in the themed topics. Corridors are awash with stimulating scenes, life-size models, artefacts and memorabilia. The stimulating and distinctive curriculum means that pupils want to come to school to experience what the school community commonly knows as ‘truffle moments’. Typically, parents’ and carers’ comments reflect a great appreciation of these memorable experiences in the curriculum. One, for example, wrote ‘I can honestly say that my son never wants to miss a day’. Year 6 pupils overwhelmingly say their ‘shell-shock’ experience when learning about life in the trenches during World War I is something they will never forget. These unique opportunities stimulate pupils’ curiosity, arouse interest and provide a wealth of opportunities for pupils to develop spiritually, morally, socially

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Leadership and management

and culturally. They stimulate and promote language development so that pupils are inspired to write.

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childcare provision

Adults’ thorough knowledge of how children learn and develop positively promotes children’s progress and well being. They provide excellent role models in all aspects of their work and take every opportunity to develop children’s speaking and listening skills. Adults meet children’s individual needs exceptionally well.

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childcare provision

The babies develop confidence and independence investigating their surroundings as they explore their physical capabilities. They respond positively to songs. The children thoroughly enjoy ‘messy play’ and are clearly fascinated by the feel of paint on paper and between their fingers. They respond extremely positively to adult guidance and learn to share and take turns. They sow seeds, grow vegetables in the outdoor gardens and sell them in the role-play farm shop. They learn to recognise their names and are captivated sharing books with adults. They show well-developed concentration levels for their age. The children move freely between the indoor and outdoor areas. Resources are plentiful and of high quality.

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childcare provision

Partnerships with parents and carers are excellent. They highly value the efforts adults are prepared to make to meet their child’s needs. Children’s achievements are very carefully logged and shared with parents and carers. The settings are extremely well led and managed. Leaders have an accurate picture of what it does well and are clearly focused on caring for the children and maximising their progress. The promotion of equality and diversity is central to the work of the nursery. All children whatever their needs or backgrounds are equally valued, included and well catered for.

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childcare provision

These are the grades for the Early Years Foundation Stage of the registered childcare provision, inspected under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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childcare provision

Overall effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage Taking into account: Outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage The quality of provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage The effectiveness of leadership and management of the Early Years Foundation Stage for the registered provision

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 46 46 8 0 Primary schools 8 47 40 5 Secondary schools 14 38 40 8 Special schools 28 48 20 4 Pupil referral units 15 50 29 5 All schools 11 46 38 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ). The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools. Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attendance the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school’s efforts to encourage good attendance.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils’ punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school’s overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils’ freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

Inspection of Fulbridge Primary School , Peterborough , PE1 3JQ

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

Thank you for being so welcoming when inspectors visited your school recently. We really enjoyed seeing how you learn and listening to your views. Those of you who were kind enough to speak to us or complete questionnaires were clearly extremely proud of your school. You are right to be because it is an outstanding school.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

We found that you are learning extremely well and making excellent progress. This is because of the outstanding teaching you receive and because your teachers expect great things from you each day. In your questionnaires, a very small number of you thought that behaviour in lessons was not always good. When inspectors talked to you about what behaviour was like most of the time, you explained this was because on rare occasions, teachers need to remind you to focus on what you have to do. We found that you really enjoy school, show excellent attitudes to learning and behave extremely well in lessons. You particularly enjoy break times because there is so much to do. You keep active, enjoy chatting with your friends and learn to read and write stories using tablet computers. We were very impressed by the exciting themed areas in the corridors that help you to learn about other subjects in an interesting

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

Your headteacher, governors and staff have worked extremely hard to make improvements to the school and they do an excellent job of running it. To make things even better, we have asked your headteacher, staff and governors to improve the levels you reach in English by the time you leave the school in Year 6. They can do this by teaching phonics in Key Stage 2 when you need some help, to make sure you are all fully confident in using them to help read new words and spell correctly.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

I hope you will continue to enjoy school and take full advantage of the exceptional activities your school arranges for you. With every good wish for the future.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

Sarah Warboys Lead inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . 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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