East Wickham Primary Academy

Inspection of a good school: East Wickham Primary Academy Wickham Street, Welling, Kent DA16 3BP

p.1

Outcome

East Wickham Primary Academy continues to be a good school.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe and happy as part of the ‘East Wickham family’. Staff help pupils and parents and carers from all backgrounds to feel included and valued. Leaders are determined to give all pupils every opportunity to succeed. They make sure parents know what their children are being taught about. Parents contribute to teachers’ checks on how well pupils are doing.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Teachers find interesting ways for pupils to learn and think about different cultures. For example, older pupils learn about life in four different Spanish-speaking countries. Pupils remember what is important about events and visits they have experienced through school. They know why it is valuable to help one another and support their community.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave safely and treat one another kindly without needing lots of reminders from adults. Staff speak respectfully and warmly with one another and to pupils. Pupils pick on this and apply it to their own relationships. Pupils understand the rules for behaviour and think adults deal with poor behaviour fairly. They think that this helps them get on well with learning in lessons without interruption.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders take effective steps to prevent bullying. Pupils say that adults spot the warning signs of bullying before it actually happens. This makes them feel safe and confident to be themselves. If pupils do feel upset, they know an adult in school whom they trust to share their worries with.

p.1

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have made improving pupils’ achievement in reading a top priority. This has been successful. Pupils are now well prepared in reading for the next stages of their education. Children begin to learn phonics from the start of Reception Year. Staff set up interesting and helpful activities indoors and outdoors in early years to help children practise reading. Teachers throughout the school understand and use an effective sequence for teaching phonics. They know which pupils are finding it hardest to learn to read and help them 26–27 November 2019

p.1

2

promptly. However, current pupils in early years and Year 1 can sometimes not read enough of the words in the books staff give them.

p.2

2

Leaders have realised that older pupils need to get better at explaining their views about the books they read. Teachers have improved reading lessons by developing their questioning of pupils. Pupils’ work shows that this has led to them backing up their views with examples from the book they are writing about.

p.2

2

Pupils enjoy reserving books from the school library after sharing recommendations with their classmates. They feel confident about trying less familiar books to see if they like them.

p.2

2

In mathematics, teachers make sure pupils build on and use what they have learned before. Pupils practise calculation methods often so that they remember them next time they are needed. Leaders have focused on checking that teachers succeed in helping children learn mathematical words from early years onwards. As a result, pupils are good at talking about their mathematics. They can explain how they have figured something out.

p.2

2

Teachers make sure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) succeed in the full range of subjects taught. Leaders have recently changed the way they ask teachers to record how well these pupils are doing. Leaders have yet to review the full impact of this change, but can tell that it is improving the quality of pupils’ work.

p.2

2

Pupils’ work in other subjects is of a consistently good quality. In history, lessons follow an effective, well-established sequence. In early years, staff concentrate on helping children become curious about the world around them. By Year 6, pupils can apply what they have learned in studying a history topic in depth. For example, they compare the lives of poor people in Victorian London with those of the wealthy. Pupils think this work is interesting and relevant to preparing them for secondary school. We saw similar high-quality work in Spanish. Older children can remember and use enough Spanish vocabulary to write and perform a short play scene.

p.2

2

Pupils enjoy lessons and work hard in them. It is very rare for learning to be interrupted because of poor behaviour. Leaders make sure that pupils can take part in a wide range of activities to enrich their learning. For example, children in Nursery enjoy finding out about the natural world by creating nesting sites for birds in the forest school.

p.2

2

Leaders and governors manage staff workload well. They help teachers concentrate their efforts on things that will make the most difference to pupils’ learning. Governors and trustees keep a close eye on the well-being of senior leaders.

p.2

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

p.2

Safeguarding

Staff understand how to identify and report concerns about pupils. This is because the training they receive is regular and easy to follow. 26–27 November 2019

p.2

3

Leaders and governors keep abreast of the risks they believe are most likely to affect pupils attending this school. They use this knowledge to decide on activities to offer particular pupils, for example with the ‘boys’ voice’ club to help boys learn from positive male role models. This helps pupils develop resilience and enhances their emotional well- being.

p.3

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders are still working to make sure that staff consistently help pupils choose books that match their reading ability. Sometimes, pupils do not read as fluently as they could because their book is too hard for them to read. Leaders need to make sure that pupils who find it the most difficult to learn to read are given books that mainly include words they can read for themselves.

p.3

Background

When we have judged a school to be good we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

p.3

Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in April 2016.

p.3

How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

p.3

How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

p.3

Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

p.3

Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil 26–27 November 2019

p.3

4

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. 26–27 November 2019

p.4

School details

Inspection number 10110440 Type of school Primary

p.5

School details

Appropriate authority The board of trustees

p.5

School details

Date of previous inspection 21–22 April 2016

p.5

Information about this school

 This school is much larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is above average, as is the proportion entitled to pupil premium funding.  Children in Nursery attend part time in the mornings only. The school does not admit two-year-olds.  A high proportion of pupils join and leave the school mid-year.

p.5

Information about this inspection

 We met with leaders responsible for different subjects and aspects of school life. We also met with representatives of the trust and the vice-chair of the local governing body.  We did deep dives in reading, mathematics and history during this inspection. We met with leaders and visited lessons with them. We talked with pupils and heard some read. We looked at the work pupils had done in different year groups, including in early years. We met with teachers whose lessons we had visited. We also sampled pupils’ work in Spanish. 26–27 November 2019

p.5

6

 We met with the headteacher, who is the designated safeguarding lead, to discuss and review the school’s safeguarding procedures and culture.  We observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around school.  We considered 38 staff survey responses. We also took account of 31 written responses to Parent View received during the inspection.

p.6

Inspection team

Andrew Wright, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

p.6

Inspection team

James Robinson Ofsted Inspector 26–27 November 2019

p.6

7

regulates and inspects to 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.

p.7

7

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.7

7

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

7

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

7

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7