Summerlea Community Primary School

Inspection of Summerlea Community Primary School Windsor Drive, Rustington, Littlehampton, West Sussex BN16 3SW

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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 Requires improvement 7 and 8 December 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their school. They are happy and like being with their friends. Pupils say that the staff at this school are very caring. Teachers help pupils to feel safe and secure. Pupils behave well and enjoy their learning. They concentrate well in lessons and are keen to offer ideas and reply to questions. The school deals effectively with bullying. Even the youngest pupils know who to go to if they have a concern or worry. Pupils learn about the different types of bullying and understand that such behaviour is not acceptable at this school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy taking part in many extra-curricular activities. These give pupils the opportunity to develop their interests in areas, such as sports, art, cookery and gardening. Pupils like taking part in school performances. These help to develop pupils’ confidence and self-belief.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The quality of education that pupils experience is varied. This is because the curriculum is not always sequenced well enough. Staff require further help and support to develop their practice. As a result, expectations regarding pupils’ academic work are not high enough. Pupils do not know and remember the curriculum as well as they could.

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better?

The quality of education has been affected by a significant number of staffing changes. This has meant that leaders have had to spend a considerable amount of time on inducting new members of staff. During this challenging time, leaders have also taken on additional roles. For example, the headteacher is also currently the special educational needs coordinator. She has ensured that the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are quickly identified and met. However, leaders’ planned improvements to the curriculum have not been implemented fully effectively. This means that pupils do not build on their learning in a step-by-step way from early years through to Year 6.

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better?

While leaders have clear intentions about what should be taught in each subject, this is not always demonstrated in the classroom. Senior leaders recognise that the advice and support that teachers need to develop their practice, including skills in subject leadership, have not been effective enough. This means that pupils do not make strong enough gains in their learning. For example, teachers do not have high enough expectations regarding pupils’ skills in handwriting, spelling and punctuation, so that they are well prepared for the next stage of their education. Assessment has been strengthened in subjects such as reading and mathematics. Leaders are starting to give subject leaders more support in developing assessment practices in other areas of the curriculum. In some subjects, the curriculum is stronger. Staff are well trained and have high expectations. This means that in subjects such as physical education (PE) pupils develop strong skills across a range of different

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better?

sports. This has led to the school gaining several nationally recognised awards. 7 and 8 December 2022

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Reading is a priority in the school. Pupils start to learn the sounds that letters make and how to blend them together to make simple words in the early years. Children are introduced to a range of different books that they find exciting and fun. Staff are well trained. They know how to develop pupils’ reading skills in a well-structured way. Younger pupils have daily opportunities to learn and practise the sounds that letters make. Pupils are given books to read that closely match their knowledge and understanding. The library is welcoming and well stocked. Older pupils enjoy developing their interests about different types of books and authors.

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The school provides many opportunities for pupils to consider their physical and emotional health. ‘Trim trails’, the outdoor gym and lessons on emotional well-being all help pupils to know how to stay fit and healthy and when to seek support. Opportunities to develop independent living skills are provided through the provision of residential trips. The on-site forest school gives pupils a deeper understanding of the natural world. They learn to identify trees, birds and minibeasts. Pupils say how much they enjoy toasting marshmallows around the fire.

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Staff enjoy working at the school. They say that leaders are always considerate of their workload. Governors are highly experienced. They carry out their statutory duties appropriately. They have both challenged and supported leaders to begin to bring about the necessary improvements to the quality of education.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is a strong culture of safeguarding. Staff have been well trained. They know pupils well and care about pupils’ well-being. There are established routines that staff follow to share concerns about pupils. Teachers work well with external agencies to provide additional help when needed.

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Safeguarding

Pupils are confident that they can talk to a member of staff if they have any concerns or worries. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe, such as when riding a bike on the road. Pupils are very aware of the potential dangers they may encounter when online.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders do not always provide effective support to staff, including subject leaders, in developing their skills and expertise. This means pupils do not make the strongest gains in their learning. Leaders need to ensure that more effective practice happens in classrooms by providing clear guidance to develop staff subject knowledge. 7 and 8 December 2022

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 Pupils are not building on their learning securely as they progress through the school. This is because the school’s curriculum is still in the process of being implemented. Leaders should ensure that the sequence of learning is built carefully from the early years to Year 6 to allow pupils to deepen their knowledge and understanding.  The quality of pupils’ writing is not strong. This is because teachers do not always have high enough expectations. Leaders need to ensure that there are ample opportunities to develop pupils’ handwriting, spelling and punctuation skills, so that they are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

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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. 7 and 8 December 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10241213 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 26 and 27 February 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school runs an after-school club.  The school currently does not use any alternative provision.  Since the last inspection, there have been a number of staffing changes.

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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.  Inspectors conducted deep dives in reading, mathematics, computing, history, PE and science. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, talked with teachers, spoke to pupils and looked at examples of pupils’ work. 7 and 8 December 2022

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 Inspectors held meetings with leaders, staff and pupils. Other inspection activities included looking in pupils’ books, observing pupils’ behaviour at lunchtime and listening to pupils read to a familiar adult.  The lead inspector met with five members of the governing body, including the chair. There was also a telephone call with a representative from the local authority.  Arrangements for safeguarding were scrutinised by the inspectors. This included looking at the single central record and meeting with the designated safeguarding lead to review other safeguarding documentation and evaluate safeguarding arrangements.  Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted’s online survey of parents’ views and the additional written comments provided by parents. They reviewed the survey returns and responses to the online staff survey.

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Inspection team

Liz Bowes, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Gavin Evans Ofsted Inspector 7 and 8 December 2022

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