Shirley Warren Primary & Nursery School

Inspection of Shirley Warren Primary & Nursery School Warren Crescent, Southampton, Hampshire SO16 6AY

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Inspection dates: 15 and 16 November 2022

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Good 15 and 16 November 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are encouraged to develop positive, can-do attitudes to learning at this school. Pupils say they feel valued and cared for. Since the appointment of the new headteacher, staff have invested time and effort into developing a whole-school approach to support pupils’ emotional well-being. This has helped to develop positive attitudes to learning and improve behaviour.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils state that they enjoy learning. As one pupil said, ‘I love that we learn new things and that teachers help us if we get stuck.’ However, some pupils do not always feel challenged by their work and would like to learn even more. This is because, in the past, expectations have not been high enough and the curriculum was too narrow. However, this is now changing. Senior leaders are determined for all pupils to have every opportunity to flourish and succeed.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn to be tolerant, respectful and accepting. Relationships between adults and pupils are strong. On the rare occasions that bullying happens, adults take time to help pupils to resolve their difficulties.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Living healthy lifestyles is important to all pupils. Pupils learn about eating balanced meals and staying hydrated. In Nursery, all children are encouraged to develop good oral hygiene by cleaning their teeth every day.

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better?

Senior leaders and governors want the very best for all pupils. They are working well together to improve the school. Leaders are determined that all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), experience a broad curriculum and achieve well. Leaders have established a highly inclusive culture where pupils’ needs are identified and met well, including for those pupils whose needs are more complex. However, leaders recognise that, until recently, pupils have not received the quality of education they deserve. As a result of this, further improvements are needed for all pupils to achieve as well as they could.

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better?

Leaders’ vision for a broad and ambitious curriculum is yet to be realised in full. In some subjects, for example English and mathematics, important knowledge is clearly identified and organised into a coherent sequence of learning right from the start of Nursery. For example, in English, pupils develop knowledge of language, vocabulary and comprehension through experiencing a wide range of carefully selected texts. However, the curriculum for most other subjects is at an earlier stage of development. Leaders know this and are taking action to ensure every subject is carefully planned from the start of early years through to the end of Year 6.

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better?

In some subjects, subject leadership is also very new. Where this is the case, leaders’ subject knowledge is not detailed enough to provide support for teachers to 15 and 16 November 2022

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teach effectively. Senior leaders have rightly identified that they need to introduce a programme of training for all leaders, so they can lead their subjects well.

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Many teachers lack expertise in designing tasks that help pupils to know and remember more over time. Often, teachers do not use the most effective strategies to help pupils connect new knowledge to what they already know. For example, in Spanish, teachers focus on developing pupils’ knowledge of vocabulary without teaching grammatical structures to enable pupils to write sentences independently. In Reception, children really enjoy playing in the outdoor area. However, too often activities lack a clear focus for learning. They do not encourage children to be curious or to concentrate for sustained periods of time.

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Leaders have prioritised reading. Pupils are taught to read using a well-sequenced phonics programme. However, this programme is only recently introduced and there are inconsistencies in how well it is delivered. In some classes, pupils learn phonics securely. However, not all staff have the necessary expertise to support pupils to learn phonics effectively.

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Most pupils behave well. Generally, pupils are calm and focused in lessons and around the school. Routines in Nursery are clear and consistently applied. The new headteacher has successfully introduced a whole-school approach to promoting positive behaviour. Consistent application of this behaviour policy ensures that occasional incidents of more challenging behaviour are dealt with appropriately.

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Pupils really value opportunities for curriculum enrichment. Children in Reception particularly enjoyed meeting doctors and vets when learning about people who help us. Pupils across the school learn about the wider world. An example of this is when they met an explorer and followed his journeys across the globe. Pupils are prepared well for life in modern Britain. They learn to appreciate other cultures and beliefs and understand that everyone deserves respect.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have established a strong culture of vigilance. They have clear systems to identify pupils at risk of harm. All staff know what to do if they have a concern about a child. Leaders readily seek support from external agencies to ensure that all pupils and their families get the help they need quickly. Leaders carry out all appropriate checks to ensure that adults in school are safe to work with children.

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Safeguarding

Pupils have a secure understanding of how to keep themselves safe online. They are also confident about how to stay safe when out and about in the local community. 15 and 16 November 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In many subjects the curriculum is not yet effectively sequenced and lacks precision about what should be taught and when. This means that pupils do not learn enough knowledge across the whole curriculum. Leaders need to complete and embed a coherently sequenced curriculum from Nursery to Year 6 in all subjects.  The implementation of the new phonics programme is variable. This means that some pupils do not learn to read quickly enough. Leaders should provide training and support to iron out the inconsistencies in teaching early reading as quickly as possible.  Teachers’ subject and pedagogical knowledge is not strong. Teachers do not use the most effective strategies to ensure that pupils transfer knowledge into their long-term memory. This means that pupils do not always learn as well as they should. Leaders need to strengthen teachers’ subject, pedagogical content and pedagogical knowledge to ensure that pupils learn and remember the curriculum

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

well.  Some subject leaders do not have detailed subject knowledge and expertise. This means they have yet to develop a fully sequenced curriculum and to support staff to implement the curriculum effectively. Leaders should ensure that subject leaders get the training and support they need to lead their subjects successfully.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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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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. 15 and 16 November 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10241897 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 23 and 24 May 2017, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Shirley Warren Primary and Nursery School is a larger-than-average-sized primary school.  There is an on-site nursery which includes places for two-year-olds.  The school currently does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  During the inspection, the inspectors met with the headteacher and senior leaders. The lead inspector also met with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors and an officer from the local authority. 15 and 16 November 2022

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 The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, physical education and Spanish. For each deep dive, the inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector also discussed planning and documentation from a range of other subjects with leaders.  The inspectors reviewed the arrangements for safeguarding by scrutinising safeguarding records and interviewing staff, and through discussions with pupils.  The views of parents and carers were considered through their responses to Ofsted Parent View. Further views of pupils and staff were gathered through surveys, interviews and discussions conducted throughout the inspection.  The inspectors reviewed a range of the school’s documents, including self- evaluation reports, minutes of governing body meetings and behaviour incident

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Inspection team

Sue Keeling, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Sara Wakefield Ofsted Inspector 15 and 16 November 2022

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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.

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