Frinton-on-Sea Primary School

Inspection of Frinton-on-Sea Primary School Fifth Avenue, Frinton-on-Sea, Essex CO13 9LQ

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good 10–11 December 2019

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy school immensely and are keen to participate in all that it has to offer. They are happy to be in school and want to achieve the very best they can. Pupils live up to the school’s high expectations of behaviour in lessons and around the school. They become quickly engrossed in their learning and are always ready to work with others.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The strong sense of community within the school provides an environment within which pupils grow in confidence. Pupils feel very safe at school and are confident that should they have any worries or concerns staff will deal with these. Pupils say they are taught how to keep themselves safe, including when online. Pupils say they all get on and that bullying is rare.

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What is it like to attend this school?

School leaders encourage all pupils to try to do their best. Pupils have lots of opportunities to take on responsibility. Many older pupils lead clubs or support younger pupils, for example through the ‘reading buddies’ programme.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Frinton-on-Sea Primary School is a happy place where pupils’ successes are celebrated daily.

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better?

Leaders are ambitious for pupils to do well and to achieve high standards across the whole curriculum. Leaders have worked successfully on improving the quality of the education in all subjects, including reading and mathematics. The curriculum meets the needs of pupils in the school, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well.

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better?

Leaders ensure that teachers and other adults are trained to a high standard so that they can support pupils educationally and personally. Well-trained teachers and teaching assistants make sure that pupils learn phonics in a systematic way across key stage 1 and the early years. As a result, pupils make good progress in developing their early reading skills to become confident readers. Teachers make sure that pupils read books that are at the right level for their ages and abilities. Teachers move pupils on when they are ready and provide effective support for pupils to catch up if they are at risk of falling behind.

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better?

Leaders have worked effectively to develop pupils’ enjoyment and love of reading. Pupils read with enthusiasm and are curious about what will happen next in the story they are reading. They have been introduced to a wider range of books to extend their reading. Older pupils talked with enthusiasm about the new authors and genres they are exploring. Pupils are clear about the positive impact that reading more widely is having on their vocabulary. They say that it is also helping them to write more creatively. 10–11 December 2019

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Leaders’ planning of the curriculum ensures that pupils build on what they have learned and deepen their knowledge and understanding so they learn more. In science, for example, pupils in Year 5 are working out how to carry out their own scientific investigations after having followed instructions when carrying out experiments previously. However, in a few subjects the planning is not as well developed. There is more to do in history, modern foreign languages (MFL) and religious education (RE).

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The curriculum for children in the early years meets their needs well. They receive a well-planned start to their early reading, writing and mathematics development. Children are encouraged to explore books and to develop their learning through activities such as role playing going to the shops. This helps them to practise what they are learning about numbers when buying or selling and their writing by making up shopping lists. Children enjoy the practical activities provided both indoors and outdoors. They particularly enjoy ‘Welly Wednesday’ when they go out to the local play area.

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The school provides many opportunities for pupils to develop their personal and social skills to broaden their horizons. These include producing a ‘pop-up’ art exhibition in the local community, where they met their local Member of Parliament, running a science club and celebrating World Book Day. The school acknowledges that there is more to do to develop their understanding of the cultural and ethnic diversity in Britain today.

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Governors provide strong oversight of the school and its performance. They ask challenging questions to monitor leaders’ work but also support them to achieve ambitious aims.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The school has a positive culture of safeguarding, where staff look out for pupils and follow up on any concern no matter how small. Staff know the pupils and their families well. They work closely with external agencies to ensure the safety of all.

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Safeguarding

The school’s work on well-being and mental health is a strength. Where pupils have social and emotional needs, they are extremely well supported to address the underlying causes.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 While the quality of education is good, the school’s curriculum is not yet coherently planned in all subject areas. The plans in some, such as history, MFL and RE, do not help build pupils’ knowledge sequentially. 10–11 December 2019

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Leaders need to use the actions they have already taken successfully to ensure that all subjects are well planned. Leaders should check that the content of each subject is well chosen and builds upon what pupils have learned previously.  Leaders are working on widening their understanding about diversity. Leaders need to ensure that the curriculum develops sufficient opportunities for pupils to improve their understanding of cultural diversity to prepare them well for life in modern Britain.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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.

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How can I feed back my views?

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

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How can I feed back my views?

If you’re not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

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. 10–11 December 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10046100 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Headteacher Tracey Caffull (Executive Headteacher)

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School details

Date of previous inspection 25–26 February 2015

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Information about this school

 Since the previous inspection, the school has a new leadership structure with an executive headteacher who also oversees another primary school nearby. The deputy headteacher manages the school on a day-to-day basis.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.  We met with the executive headteacher and deputy headteacher, who is also the school’s special educational needs coordinator, as well as subject leaders.  We met with the executive headteacher and deputy headteacher to discuss the school’s safeguarding arrangements.  We spoke to a representative of the local authority.  We met with the vice chair of the governing body and the chair joined the meeting via telephone.  We looked in depth at reading, mathematics, history and science.  We visited lessons in all year groups, looked at pupils’ books and spoke to pupils from across the school as well as meeting with groups of pupils more formally. 10–11 December 2019

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 We looked at the responses to Ofsted surveys completed by 20 members of staff and the Parent View survey completed by 55 parents. We also read through the 32 written comments submitted by parents and spoke to parents at the beginning of the second day of the inspection.  Inspectors evaluated a range of documents and relevant school policies.

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Inspection team

Gulshan Kayembe, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Angela Savill Ofsted Inspector 10–11 December 2019

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