Wentworth Primary School

WENTWORTH PRIMARY SCHOOL

Headteacher (Acting): Mrs Christine Mills

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WENTWORTH PRIMARY SCHOOL

Short inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 This report may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are reproduced verbatim without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated.

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WENTWORTH PRIMARY SCHOOL

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. Wentworth Primary School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Viking Road Maldon Essex

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 17 March 1997 Wentworth Primary School - 4

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Team members

12487 John Lilly Registered inspector 9115 Terry Clarke Lay inspector 27736 Jeremy Collins Team inspector 27654 Robina Scahill Team inspector

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Team members

Open Book Inspections 6 East Point High Street, Seal Sevenoaks Kent TN15 0EG

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Team members

Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be raised with the inspection contractor. Complaints that are not satisfactorily resolved by the contractor should be raised with OFSTED by writing to:

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Team members

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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Team members

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Wentworth Primary School - 5

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REPORT CONTENTS

Information about the school How good the school is What the school does well What could be improved How the school has improved since its last inspection Standards Pupils’ attitudes and values Teaching and learning Other aspects of the school How well the school is led and managed Parents’ and carers’ views of the school

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PART B: COMMENTARY

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER? 16 - 17

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PART B: COMMENTARY

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS 18 - 21 Wentworth Primary School - 6

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Wentworth is a larger than average primary school with 428 girls and boys on roll between the ages of four and eleven. The school roll has grown significantly since the previous inspection and many pupils come from areas of Maldon beyond the immediate locality of the school. The school is set in a pleasant residential area of mainly owner-occupied housing with some social housing. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is broadly average. Most pupils come from homes that, in social and economic terms, match the national average, although the proportion of parents or carers with further or higher education qualifications is lower than average. The number of pupils on the register of special education needs is average, whilst the proportion with Statements of Special Educational Need is above average. Very few of the pupils come from minority ethnic cultures. When most children join the school aged four, their attainment is slightly below the national average.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

At the time of the inspection there was an acting headteacher covering the vacancy following the resignation of the previous headteacher in December 2000; a new headteacher had been appointed for September 2001. The school’s aims include ‘providing a curriculum which is broad, balanced and progressive, which relates to the development of the whole child and which meets individual needs’. The current school development plan focuses upon raising attainment in core subjects, alongside more effective use of assessment and improved ‘early years’ provision. The school has recently earned an ‘Achievement Award’ from the government.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

Wentworth is a good school with the foundations in place to become a very good school. Governors recognise that improvements are required if the school is to become even more effective. The school is well led and management is efficient, creating a sense of purpose and businesslike endeavour. Good provision for personal development results in an orderly community in which pupils are keen to work hard, care for others and do their best. Relationships and attendance are both very good. Good teaching ensures that pupils make good progress, entering the school with average attainment and leaving with above-average attainment. Even so, the school realises that the pupils can make even better progress. The school offers good value for money.

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What the school does well

• The school has been effectively led and managed through a period without a permanent headteacher. • The school helps pupils develop as very positive, perceptive and well-behaved young people. • The school ensures that the attendance of pupils is very good. • The school makes very good provision for the pupils’ welfare. • The school makes good provision for pupils with special educational needs. • All teaching is at least satisfactory and much is good or better. Wentworth Primary School - 7

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What could be improved

• The progress made by pupils through improving planning and the use of assessment to tailor teaching to the needs of each individual. • The pupils’ skills and understanding of how they can improve their learning and progress. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

Since the previous inspection in March 1997, although standards of attainment of pupils aged seven have declined, standards for pupils when they reach eleven have steadily improved. Governors and staff have successfully addressed the decline at the infant stage by improving provision at the Foundation Stage and introducing strategies to improve literacy. They have supported these initiatives by more effective management of the curriculum and more comprehensive assessment that measures the pupils’ achievements. Although good, teaching does not completely match the learning needs of all the pupils, and the governors’ and senior management’s strategies for improvement are not yet fully effective. Improvement overall has been satisfactory, but there is still work to be done.

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STANDARDS

The table shows the standards achieved by 11-year-olds based on average point scores in National Curriculum tests.

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Key

English B A A A well above average above average A B Mathematics C A B A average below average C D Science C C B B well below average E

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Key

In national tests and assessments when pupils are seven, standards overall declined between 1997 and 2000, especially in reading. Performance overall at that date was below the average for all schools nationally and for similar schools. However, attainment since that time has improved and now matches the average for similar schools. In national tests for pupils aged eleven, standards between 1997 and 2000 improved more rapidly than the national average and in 2000 were well above the average for all schools nationally and for similar schools. The attainment of present pupils maintains these high standards but has not improved. This shows that the school’s planning is bringing results, but more needs to be done if standards are to continue to rise. The school’s targets for improvement are appropriate but do not sufficiently challenge the school to bring in improvements that would enable continued rapid rise in standards. Pupils make good progress, but not the very good

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Key

progress governors and staff intend. Wentworth Primary School - 8

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Pupils like school, and are very keen to work hard and do their best.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Pupils behave very well and do so without being told. Consequently, there is an ethos of calm, happy and industrious enjoyment of learning and community life. Bullying is rare, and pupils say that not only teachers but also other pupils would help resolve the problem if there were.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Pupils develop well as thoughtful, mature young people. Relationships between staff and pupils and amongst pupils are very good.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance Attendance is very good and a strong foundation for the pupils’ good progress.

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Aspect Comment

The pupils are a delight. They are friendly, polite and attractively curious. They behave very well both in lessons and at play and lunchtimes. They are keen to do well and are excited by what the school has to offer. Good personal development means most, and not just some, pupils in Years 5 and 6 show considerable maturity, for example when helping younger pupils with their reading. Attendance is very good. This very good picture provides another secure foundation for future improvement, and reflects the warm but firm expectations of staff.

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 6 years aged 6-7 years aged 7-11 years

Lessons seen overall Good Good Good Inspectors make judgements about teaching in the range: excellent; very good; good; satisfactory; unsatisfactory; poor; very poor. ‘Satisfactory’ means that the teaching is adequate and strengths outweigh weaknesses.

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 6 years aged 6-7 years aged 7-11 years

Teaching is always at least satisfactory and 70 per cent of teaching is good or better. Almost a quarter is very good or excellent. There are differences between teaching in different classes, years and subjects, but even the least effective teaching helps pupils make satisfactory progress. Although this inconsistency needs addressing, the core area for improvement is increasing the very good and excellent teaching, matching the standards in very good schools. The key areas for improvement in the less effective teaching are insufficiently-clear objectives for learning, teachers’ insecure subject expertise, insufficient opportunities for pupils to take responsibility for their own learning, and over-dependence on published schemes and planning. These weaknesses block the strong underlying skills of the teachers from coming through. Overall, pupils of all abilities make good progress but rarely very good progress. Pupils too rarely have opportunities to set their own standards or

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 6 years aged 6-7 years aged 7-11 years

plan their own learning and, consequently, teachers miss opportunities to build upon the pupils’ good attitudes to their work. Teaching of English reflects the overall standards of teaching observed, but no very good teaching was observed in mathematics. Teaching at the Foundation Stage is always good or better. Wentworth Primary School - 9

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum The curriculum is broad, balanced and relevant to pupils’ present and future lives. It is enriched by the contribution of members of the community such as Colchester Football Club and a satisfactory but not extensive range of club activities.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Provision is good and well managed. These pupils make good progress. The needs of gifted and talented pupils are being addressed, although meeting their special needs remains an area for further improvement.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Although there are few pupils learning English as an additional language they are well supported and make good progress in their English development and in their general work.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Provision for spiritual, moral and cultural development is good and for social development very good. Assemblies form the heart of the community life of the school. However, although they meet requirements for collective worship, they miss opportunities to nurture the spiritual development of the pupils.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils The school provides for the welfare and safety of the pupils very well. There is a strong and effective concern that all pupils succeed.

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Aspect Comment

The curriculum provides a rich variety of learning experiences, including much-valued residential trips and other visits. There is a well-developed programme of personal, social and health education, enhanced by the effective use of ‘circle-time’. Religious education is taught in accordance with requirements but the teachers’ lack of subject expertise restricts the potential benefits for the pupils’ learning. The narrow range of clubs omits opportunities for independent learning, especially for gifted and talented pupils. Although the school provides very well for the social, emotional and physical needs of the pupils, there is insufficient help for pupils to understand how they can improve their learning. There is a positive and productive relationship with parents, who, for example, help make possible the excellent provision for swimming. This provides a good foundation for building the effective

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Aspect Comment

involvement of parents in their children’s learning which is seen in very good schools, for example through fully-developed home-school books that agree frequent targets and plans to meet them. The school has made a satisfactory beginning to building this partnership, especially at the Foundation Stage. Wentworth Primary School - 10

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff The acting headteacher provides strong leadership and efficient management, and is competently supported by staff in their management roles. Most but not all staff share commitment to the innovations which improvement requires.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governors fulfil their responsibilities well, and are successfully seeking ways to become even more effective in driving up standards.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance This has improved significantly since the previous inspection, and recently governors and senior staff have used the Local Education Authority’s Quality Assurance framework effectively to give them a realistic understanding of how good the school is and to see practical ways forward.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Resources are efficiently managed and effectively invested in ways to improve standards. This provides a secure foundation for future improvement.

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Aspect Comment

A foundation for future success is the team of hard working, skilled and committed teachers, teaching assistants and other staff. Arrangements for professional development are satisfactory, but have yet to become a sufficiently powerful support for achieving very high quality teaching. Overall, the grounds and buildings are good, although the present computer suite is too small for the ways some teachers plan its use. The accommodation is well cared for and maintained, providing an attractive and stimulating place in which to learn. Resources for learning are good. The governors have taken care to recruit a new headteacher who can build on the many strengths of the school and bring expertise in areas that need improvement, for example Foundation and Key Stage 1. The school realises it needs to become more outward looking, using more fully the guidance and expertise of others. The school is moving forward, but there remain some staff who feel that current

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Aspect Comment

performance is good enough. This weakens the school’s determination to improve and gain best value from what is already in place.

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improved

• Their children like school and behave well. • The school is well led and managed. • Teaching is good and their children make good progress. • They find it easy to approach staff with problems. • Their children are well cared for. • The range and extent of clubs and activities. • Homework. • More effective and consistent use of the home-school books.

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improved

Inspectors agree with all the positive views of parents and with the concerns of a significant minority of parents. This should be seen in the context of school that does most things well but wants to do things very well. At the parents’ meeting and through letters, several parents expressed the feeling that, on occasion, they were not made to feel welcome when coming to the reception office. This was not evident during the inspection, but the school is aware that Wentworth Primary School - 11 there is a problem to address. Some parents felt the interaction between teachers and parents with children in the reception classes was not as good as it might be. Inspectors find that contact at the beginning and end of sessions for these children was warm and caring, but could be better organised. Wentworth Primary School - 12

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The school has been effectively led and managed through a period without a

1. The school has been through a period of uncertainty caused by the absence of a permanent headteacher. However, the governors, acting headteacher and senior managers have ensured that the school has continued to move forward, albeit more slowly. Since the previous inspection, staff have effectively managed improvements in curriculum planning, assessment, provision for early years and in new arrangements for professional development.

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The school has been effectively led and managed through a period without a

2. The governors work in a business-like manner and are well informed as to the life and work of the school. This has enabled them to decide to introduce focussed improvements in provision, especially in the early years, and drive forward improvements in accommodation, for example the very attractive ‘millennium’ building. They are strong and vigorous in addressing weaknesses in teaching and in recruiting a headteacher with the skills necessary for the next stage in the school’s development.

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The school has been effectively led and managed through a period without a

3. The acting headteacher provides strong leadership and efficient management, and, with the help of other managers, has made certain that the foundations for future improvement are secure. Underpinning this management is the way governors and senior management have ensured that the finances of the school are spent in the right ways and provide sufficient balances for future investment. They have invested wisely and prudently and have retained an above-average balance to fund future improvements. Since the school receives above-average revenue per pupil, governors recognise that they must seek even more effective ways of gaining value for money.

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The school has been effectively led and managed through a period without a

4. The school development plan relates well to the budget and provides a clear action plan. Recently, governors and senior management have used the Local Education Authority’s Quality Assurance Framework to help make a realistic evaluation of the school, highlighting areas that require improvement and the quality the school needs to achieve. Subject co-ordinators take their tasks seriously and manage their responsibilities competently. However, some staff tend to resist change and prefer to stick with the ways of the past. This approach tends to seek to blame others, for example focussing on weaknesses in the pupils’ learning, rather than seeking better teaching that would address them. The approach that resists change tends to lead to over-dependence on published schemes and planning, because these allow security. This deadens the learning of pupils; for example, when inspectors heard pupils at the end of Key Stage 1

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The school has been effectively led and managed through a period without a

read, all regarded reading as a chore rather than a joyous and exciting opportunity to investigate the world. This was not the case by the end of Key Stage 2, where readers of all abilities showed considerable enjoyment of books. The spirit of determination to reach the highest standards is being created in the school, and is perhaps best summed up by a governor who said, ‘We are growing our own seedlings’. Wentworth Primary School - 13

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The school helps pupils develop as very positive, perceptive and well-behaved

5. This is a considerable strength of the school. Expectations of behaviour are high, consistently enforced and positively supported. Art, music and creative writing effectively support spiritual development, as does reflective learning in ‘circle time’, religious education and science. Assemblies are an important aspect of the life of the school and provide a strong social and moral core. However, they miss opportunities for quiet, spiritual reflection. Similarly, some religious education lessons slip into working on morality, rather than the more appropriate place of belief, spiritual experience and expression of faith. Pupils are taught the difference between right and wrong and, more significantly, why this is the case. Support for social development is carefully thought through, and pupils learn why the school works so well as a community and the part they need to play. Especially good is the way older pupils help younger pupils to

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The school helps pupils develop as very positive, perceptive and well-behaved

read. Sport, including competitive sport, plays a significant part in pupils’ social development, as do the residential trips. The pupils are introduced to a wide variety of cultural experiences. Such subjects as geography, history and religious education provide good opportunities to understand the part that different cultures and religious beliefs play in people’s lives and in preparing pupils for life in a multi-cultural society. Cultural performance within and beyond the school, for example singing, generates shared enjoyment and pride in achievement.

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The school helps pupils develop as very positive, perceptive and well-behaved

The school ensures that the attendance of pupils is very good.

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The school helps pupils develop as very positive, perceptive and well-behaved

6. Attendance is very good and this does not happen by chance. Every member of staff places importance on attendance and poor attendance is followed up rigorously and in partnership with parents. Attendance is very good because pupils like coming to school and feel safe and secure. They feel learning is worthwhile, valuing their teachers highly. Attendance is a good example of the areas in which the school has in place arrangements which match the very high quality that empowers very good schools.

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The school helps pupils develop as very positive, perceptive and well-behaved

The school makes very good provision for the pupils’ welfare.

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The school helps pupils develop as very positive, perceptive and well-behaved

7. The school provides very good support for the physical and emotional well-being of pupils. Perceptive monitoring of play times helps pupils to gain the social skills of playing and relating with others. Teachers guide pupils in ways that help them to be concerned for their own welfare, and both induction to the reception classes and preparation for the secondary stage education are well managed. Although there is still room for improvement, the school analyses its comprehensive assessment data and records of personal development carefully so that staff can ensure that pupils of different gender, backgrounds, abilities and cultures have equal opportunities to succeed. An area that is not so well developed is the help given to pupils to evaluate their own work and learning needs, and set their own targets to achieve, frequently and continually forming personal action plans to achieve their potential.

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The school helps pupils develop as very positive, perceptive and well-behaved

The school makes good provision for pupils with special educational needs.

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The school helps pupils develop as very positive, perceptive and well-behaved

8. Provision for pupils with special educational needs is well managed and specialised teaching is good. There has been helpful and successful input from senior management. Individual education plans highlight learning needs and provide practical strategies to address them. The provision is well resourced, with a small but useful room for specialised support. The co-ordinator maintains good working relationships with the pupils’ parents and class teachers, although access to a telephone in the main Wentworth Primary School - 14 base would make this easier. The co-ordinator also ensures effective and expert support for pupils learning English as an additional language, and is active in bringing in general help and support from other agencies. The impact of the overall provision is restricted by the part-time nature of the post, and this in turn places limits on the extent to which the specialised teacher can further develop the support for pupils with gifts and

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The school helps pupils develop as very positive, perceptive and well-behaved

All teaching is at least satisfactory and much is good or better.

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The school helps pupils develop as very positive, perceptive and well-behaved

9. At best, teaching is exciting and the enthusiasm of the teachers catches the natural curiosity and willingness of the pupils. These lessons bowl along with shared pride in achieving challenging targets. In these lessons, teachers frequently give pupils opportunities to solve problems in groups or alone, and they ask questions that force pupils to think things through for themselves. They continually feed back to pupils what is helping them meet the objectives of the lesson and use problems as opportunities for pupils to find the next step forward. Because these lessons build on the natural enthusiasm of the pupils, teachers very rarely have to ask them to concentrate, listen or work harder.

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The school helps pupils develop as very positive, perceptive and well-behaved

10. However, too much teaching is not of this very good quality, even though much is good. It is a hard message for schools that strive for the highest standards that good is not good enough.

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The school helps pupils develop as very positive, perceptive and well-behaved

11. Most of the teaching observed showed that teachers and teaching assistants in the same year work constructively as a team, although this is much stronger in some years than others. The most effective teams share not only good ideas but also problems to be solved. Teaching as a whole shows professional competence and hard work. However, too many lessons miss the excitement of the very good teaching. In these good, but less effective, lessons, the learning slows, becomes unchallenging and loses the essential richness and sparkle.

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The school helps pupils develop as very positive, perceptive and well-behaved

12. Common causes for this good but less effective teaching are:

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The school helps pupils develop as very positive, perceptive and well-behaved

• the lesson objectives list areas to cover rather than skills and understandings to gain;

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The school helps pupils develop as very positive, perceptive and well-behaved

• consequently, the planning focuses on transmitting the curriculum rather than on ways to help each pupil to learn;

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The school helps pupils develop as very positive, perceptive and well-behaved

• sometimes, the subject expertise of the teacher is insufficient for them to understand the real point of the lesson and, therefore, the blocks to learning that need to be overcome;

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The school helps pupils develop as very positive, perceptive and well-behaved

• planning is too dependent on published schemes and resources and lessons therefore become ‘work’ for both teacher and pupils, rather than the highly relevant teaching and learning seen in very effective lessons;

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The school helps pupils develop as very positive, perceptive and well-behaved

• pupils are given too few opportunities, or in some cases insufficient guidance, to sort out problems for themselves.

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The school helps pupils develop as very positive, perceptive and well-behaved

13. Overall, lessons tend to build insufficiently on the good assessment data recorded by teachers. This leads to planning for pupils of different abilities that sets the same task but with additional support, rather than specific tasks precisely related to each pupil’s Wentworth Primary School - 15 learning needs. There are examples of very helpful marking that shows pupils how to improve their work, but this is not consistently the case across the school.

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The school helps pupils develop as very positive, perceptive and well-behaved

14. The above areas for further improvement impact across the curriculum, but most significantly on literacy and numeracy. A measure, however, of the good teaching is the way that good planning gives every side of the curriculum appropriate importance. Although previous results in national tests showed possible differences between the achievements of girls and boys, no imbalance was noted during the inspection. In the best lessons, girls and boys of all abilities did equally well, but in the good and satisfactory lessons, the pupils of average and above-average ability tended to make good rather than very good progress, and the most able were not sufficiently challenged. Pupils learning English as an additional language make good or very good progress, as do pupils with special educational needs.

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The progress made by pupils through improving planning and the use of assessment

to tailor teaching to the needs of each individual.

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The progress made by pupils through improving planning and the use of assessment

15. This is the key area to consider on the school’s journey to becoming a very effective school. On the evidence of this inspection, it is best addressed as a full school area for improvement rather than focussing on separate years or classes. The areas for improvement have been identified above and are not repeated here. However, a first step needs to be to address the staff’s incomplete awareness of what very effective teaching means, and designing even better ways of helping teachers achieve them.

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The progress made by pupils through improving planning and the use of assessment

Areas that are in the main only satisfactory are:

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The progress made by pupils through improving planning and the use of assessment

• ensuring lesson objectives are, in reality, objectives for learning, and • finding better ways to enable pupils of all abilities to learn, rather than simply arranging basically the same work to be done in separate groups.

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The pupils’ skills and understanding of how they can improve their learning and

16. In virtually all the lessons observed, pupils made good rather than very good progress. Yet, in virtually all the lessons their attitudes were very good. This poses a significant missed opportunity.

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The pupils’ skills and understanding of how they can improve their learning and

The key reasons why this opportunity is missed are:

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The pupils’ skills and understanding of how they can improve their learning and

• teachers’ planning does not effectively nor sufficiently match learning objectives and activities to the needs of each pupil’s level of ability. • teachers make insufficient use of the type of language that forces pupils to think for themselves. • too often, marking provides insufficient help for pupils to understand what works, what does not and what they need to learn next. • teachers focus insufficiently on building the pupils’ speaking and listening skills as a very effective way of increasing pupils’ understanding. • teachers too often set work that is the completion of tasks rather than opportunities for individual and group exploration; this is particularly the case with homework. Wentworth Primary School - 16 • teachers provide pupils with too few opportunities to evaluate and plan their own learning. • teachers use the home-school books inconsistently, and, therefore, miss opportunities to build a fully productive partnership between home and

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The pupils’ skills and understanding of how they can improve their learning and

teacher in support of each pupil’s learning.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

17. Wentworth is a good school that has put in place secure foundations for improvement and intends to become a very good school. The school is rightly concerned to improve standards at Key Stage 1. Although the improved provision at the Foundation Stage is bringing improvement, this inspection finds that lower performance at the infant phase is a symptom of work to be done throughout the school. The efficient management, the very good attendance and attitudes of the pupils, and the strong support of parents are there to underpin and support the further improvement of teaching and learning.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

To achieve the very highest standards, governors and staff should improve teaching and learning by:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) Developing the styles of teaching that generate very good progress by pupils.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• ensure every lesson has challenging learning objectives rather than a list of areas to be covered, setting explicit targets to be attained by each class and ability level within the class. • plan better ways to use the already effective assessment procedures to relate the learning objectives more closely to the learning needs of each pupil. • increase the range of ways of learning so that each pupil’s needs are met more precisely. These should include more ways for pupils to manage their own learning and test their own achievements. • ensure that both marking and oral feedback help pupils to understand more clearly why they succeed or fail and what they must learn next. • increase the type of questioning that forces pupils to think for themselves rather than simply search for an answer. This should include specific planning for increasing pupils’ listening and speaking skills. • decrease reliance on published plans and programmes so that each lesson

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

can be planned specifically for the needs of each pupil in the class. • increase the staff development procedures, such as lesson observation, that help teachers understand what works, what works less well and what training or change is needed in order to improve. Wentworth Primary School - 17 (2) Developing the pupils’ skills and understanding of how they can improve their learning and progress.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• help pupils frequently to set their own individual targets and design individual action plans to achieve them. • give pupils more opportunity to self-evaluate their work. • provide pupils with more support for developing listening and speaking skills; for example, by frequently giving them spoken opportunities to prove they have heard and understood and to make their own contribution. • provide pupils with more opportunities for individual investigation and problem solving, especially within homework programmes. • provide pupils with more opportunity for quiet reflection, for example in assemblies. • find more effective ways to involve parents in supporting their children’s learning; for example through more effective and consistent use of home- school books, enabling a continual dialogue between parents and teachers.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

18. Whilst addressing the above, senior staff and governors should make further use of the Local Education Authority Quality Framework as the basis for realistic self-evaluation and more effective strategies for continuous improvement. Wentworth Primary School - 18

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 11

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

The table gives the percentage of teaching observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 428

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 35

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 4

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 88

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Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 5

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 20

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 29

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Attendance

National comparative data 5.2 National comparative data 0.5

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Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Wentworth Primary School - 19

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2000 30 28 58

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 22 26 28 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 24 24 25

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 79 (85) 86 (88) 91 (90) at NC level 2 or above National 83 (82) 84 (83) 90 (87)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 20 27 28 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 24 24 25

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 76 (83) 88 (88) 91 (83) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (82) 88 (86) 88 (87)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year.

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2000 24 31 55

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Boys 20 22 23 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 30 28 30

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 91 (87) 91 (87) 96 (87) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (70) 72 (69) 85 (78)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Boys 18 18 21 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 22 22 27

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 74 (65) 74 (67) 89 (71) at NC level 4 or above National 70 (68) 72 (69) 79 (75)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Wentworth Primary School - 20

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 3 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 0 Black – African heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 0 Other minority ethnic groups 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

This table refers to pupils of compulsory school age only. This table gives the number of exclusions of pupils of compulsory school age, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 17.7 Financial year 2000–2001

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 19.6

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total expenditure 787609

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 11 Expenditure per pupil 1971

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 256 Balance brought forward from previous year 106021

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Teachers and classes Financial information

FTE means full-time equivalent. Balance carried forward to next year 78699 Wentworth Primary School - 21

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Percentage of responses in each category

Strongly agree Tend to agree Tend to disagree Strongly disagree Don’t know

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 41 56 2 1 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 27 61 9 1 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 29 58 10 3 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 36 56 8 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 50 45 4 1 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 46 52 1 1 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 22 62 12 2 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 26 68 4 1 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 29 64 4 0 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 17 48 22 2 11

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Other issues raised by parents

Some parents felt that: • the home-school homework books should be used more consistently, • reception office staff should be more responsive to parents’ needs, • there should be more day-by-day opportunities for teachers and parents to discuss the learning of children in the reception classes.

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