Wardley Primary SchoolOfsted inspection, 28 Feb 2006

Inspection Report Wardley Primary School

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108371 Unique Reference Number Gateshead LEA 277958 Inspection number 27 February 2006 to 28 February 2006 Inspection dates Mrs Andrea Lyons Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Keir Hardie Avenue School address Primary Type of school Wardley Community School category Gateshead, Tyne and Wear 3 to 11 Age range of pupils 0191 4693012 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0000 Fax number 348 Number on roll Mrs Nina Johnson Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr John J. Anderson Headteacher 1 September 1999 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 277958 27 February 2006 - 3 to 11 28 February 2006 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report 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.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors and two additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

Wardley Primary is a larger than average school, most of whose pupils come from a local authority housing estate. The number of pupils entitled to free school meals is above the national average. There are very few pupils from minority ethnic groups, and no looked after children. Until recently the school has identified only a small number of pupils as having learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Recently, the school experienced a period of staffing difficulties in senior management posts. This is now on the way to being resolved, but the school remains in a state of transition. Its budget is about to reduce, with a consequent reduction in staffing and mixed age classes planned for the next academic year.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Wardley Primary School, 27 February 2006 to 28 February 2006

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Grade: 3

Wardley is a satisfactory school with some good features, and it provides satisfactory value for money. This judgment broadly matches the school’s own evaluation. A particular strength of the school is the good progress pupils make during the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1. They generally enter the nursery with a low level of skills, but go on to achieve results in the national tests which are about the same as most children. However, in Key Stage 2, pupils’ progress varies between year groups and is only average overall. The school has rightly identified a number of issues for improvement, such as increasing the attainment of higher achieving children and improving the quality of pupils’ writing. These have already shown some success, but more work remains to be done. The quality of teaching is good overall. Relationships between staff and pupils are good, and pupils enjoy school. Behaviour is generally good, but is let down by a minority

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Grade: 3

of pupils in Key Stage 2. The school has identified areas for development to promote pupils’ overall well-being in the light of Every Child Matters, but action is still at an early stage. Leadership and management are beginning to stabilise after a period of disruption, and are now satisfactory. It is to the school’s credit that pupils’ daily life has been largely unaffected by these difficulties. However, the school does not yet have a clear and consistent sense of direction. There are a number of potentially good developments in hand, but many have not been firmly embedded or are not being evaluated to ensure their effectiveness; for example, assessment and tracking of pupils’ progress. The school has, however, addressed all the issues raised in the last inspection and has a satisfactory capacity to continue to improve.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Develop the quality of leadership and management so that school improvement initiatives are coordinated, focused and evaluated effectively. • Improve pupils’ progress in Key Stage 2. • Ensure high expectations and a high level of challenge for children of all abilities. • Improve the quality of pupils’ writing, particularly their spelling. • Improve assessment and marking, tracking of pupils’ progress, and target setting. • Improve the behaviour of a minority of older pupils.

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Grade: 2

Children join the nursery with standards that are below national expectations, particularly in their use of language and knowledge of mathematics. The vast majority of children also need considerable support to develop their personal and social skills. All pupils make good progress in the nursery, although standards are still low by the time they are ready for reception class. This good rate of progress continues through 2 Inspection Report: Wardley Primary School, 27 February 2006 to 28 February 2006 reception classes and across Key Stage 1 so that pupils attain standards in the national tests at the end of Year 2 that are generally in line with the national average. In Years 3 and 4, progress slows and pupils do not always achieve as well as they might. This is directly linked to the quality of teaching in these year groups. Progress for all pupils improves across Years 5 and 6 because teaching in these year

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Grade: 2

groups is consistently good. Pupils are well prepared for national tests and so, by the end of Key Stage 2, pupils attain standards that again are broadly in line with the national average. Progress in Key Stage 2 overall is average. The school has implemented some effective strategies to improve the attainment of higher achievers but accepts that more can be done to bring this about. Overall, pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development is good. They enjoy school and participate willingly in what it offers. They generally have good relationships with adults and each other. The emphasis on developing pupils’ personal skills in the nursery and in reception ensures that children learn how to get on well together and know what is expected of them. This is recognised and appreciated by parents. Pupils’ attitudes to learning are good, as is the behaviour of most pupils. As a result, the school environment is largely free from bullying and racial harassment, and children feel safe. However, the poor behaviour and attitudes of pupils in a minority of classes reduce their progress. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is satisfactory overall. They willingly take on opportunities for responsibility; for example, through the ‘Eco Committee’ and the school council. However, the school knows that pupils should

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Grade: 2

have more opportunities to be involved in decision making and to be more enterprising. • There are many opportunities for pupils to develop a good understanding of what constitutes a healthy lifestyle and how to keep themselves safe. Attendance is satisfactory and punctuality is good. Good attendance is promoted well and there are good links with external agencies. However, success to date is limited.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching is good overall, although the pattern is not consistent across the whole school. It tends to be less good in Years 3 and 4. This is because teachers do not always have high enough expectations of what pupils can do. In some lessons behaviour is not managed effectively and this also contributes to a slower rate of 3 Inspection Report: Wardley Primary School, 27 February 2006 to 28 February 2006 progress, particularly in Year 4. Generally, the teaching successfully promotes good behaviour and positive relationships between staff and pupils. Where teaching is good, it is well planned, with a good level of challenge for pupils of all abilities. Pupils know what they need to do, are interested in the work, and can build confidently on previous learning. Teaching assistants provide good support. Planning is generally good, but does not always make clear what each ability group should achieve. This reduces the impact of even the better lessons and undermines

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Grade: 2

the existing arrangements for long term individual targets. Pupils are not sufficiently aware of their targets and what they need to do next to improve. The school is midway through the process of developing a focused assessment system. This is a positive development, but the quality of marking is not good enough to ensure that pupils benefit fully from it. In particular, pupils’ writing across the curriculum is generally not marked adequately in Key Stage 2, with the result that basic spelling and punctuation errors continue and worsen.

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Grade: 3

The school provides a satisfactory curriculum to meet the needs of all children and it fulfils statutory requirements. Good emphasis is placed on the development of basic skills in literacy and numeracy and this enables pupils to achieve well overall in these subjects. However, opportunities to apply these skills across the curriculum are not always fully developed. This is because there has been insufficient monitoring and evaluation of recent developments on ‘topic’ teaching. Information and communication technology (ICT) supports learning effectively, although more use could be made of classroom computers and interactive whiteboards to extend pupils’ work. The curriculum is enriched with a satisfactory range of visits and visitors. The school provides opportunities for children to take part in after school clubs and is proud of its sporting achievements. The curriculum in the Foundation Stage is well planned to provide children with a wide

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Grade: 3

range of activities, although the nature of the accommodation in the two reception classes restricts access to the outdoor environment.

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Grade: 3

Care, guidance and support are satisfactory overall. Pupils agree that they have someone to go to if they are worried and that they feel safe. Arrangements for health and safety are satisfactory. However, non-teaching staff and the newly appointed child protection coordinator need additional training in child protection policy and procedures. Pupils who are known to have learning difficulties and/or disabilities are guided well by teachers and assistants to reach appropriate targets, but these pupils have not been identified early enough. Those who have a statement of special educational need are 4 Inspection Report: Wardley Primary School, 27 February 2006 to 28 February 2006 very well supported. Provision for more able pupils has improved, and this is reflected in their improving results in some areas, but the school recognises that they need to be challenged more consistently. Pupils are given individual targets, based on their National Curriculum attainment,

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Grade: 3

which show them the steps needed to attain the next level. However, pupils do not always see the use of these and are not always clear about what it is they need to do to improve.

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Grade: 3

The quality of leadership and management is satisfactory. The school’s self- evaluation is accurate and its development planning is clear. Some positive developments have already begun. Monitoring of the quality of teaching is good. The school was run competently by the governing body, acting headteacher, and middle managers during a recent period of staff disruption. Nevertheless, improving leadership and management remains the greatest challenge faced by the school. This is because the recent period of staff disruption led to some delay and uncertainty in development, and the school lost some direction. The acting headteacher was over stretched with too many areas of responsibility and pressing staff issues to resolve. This situation is now beginning to be resolved, but a management team has yet to be appointed and the review of staff responsibilities is incomplete. Development areas such as pupil tracking, cross-curricular work and assessment have

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Grade: 3

good features but are not yet secure. There has not been enough monitoring and evaluation to check how effectively they are being applied, and how much benefit they are producing for pupils. There is not a sharp enough focus on the key factors which would improve the school from satisfactory to good. The strengths of the school, such as its generally good teaching, are not yet being properly harnessed towards the single goal of improving standards. Although parents are generally positive about the school, it does not routinely seek their views. It is beginning to involve pupils more closely in the running of the school. The governing body supports the school well, particularly with regard to management issues, but it is less consistent in challenging the school about raising standards. 5 Inspection Report: Wardley Primary School, 27 February 2006 to 28 February 2006 .

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Grade: 3

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Wardley Primary School, 27 February 2006 to 28 February 2006

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Inspection judgements

16-19 School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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Overall effectiveness

NA 3 How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? NA 3 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 2 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well do learners achieve? NA 3 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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Personal development and well-being

NA 2 How good is the overall personal development and well-being of the learners? NA 3 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 3 The attendance of learners NA 2 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 3 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 3 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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The quality of provision

NA 2 How effective are teaching and learning in meeting the full range of the learners' needs? NA 3 How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? NA 3 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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The quality of provision

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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Leadership and management

NA 3 How effective are leadership and management in raising achievement and supporting all learners? NA 3 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 3 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 3 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 3 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 3 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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Leadership and management

The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse NA Learners are educated about sexual health The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them The extent to which learners make a positive contribution Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the

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Leadership and management

wider community The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 0207 421 6800 F 0207 421 6707 Ofsted helpline 08456 404045 The children of Wardley Primary School Keir Hardie Avenue Wardley Gateshead Tyne and Wear NE10 8TX 1 March 2006 Dear Children Thank you for welcoming us to your school. We enjoyed seeing your lessons and talking to you. You were very helpful and polite. Here are some of the things we liked about your school How well you learn so that you get good results in your tests in Year 2 and Year 6. How well your teachers teach you. How well behaved and polite most of you are. Here are some of the things that we have asked the staff to do to improve the school Help you make even more progress in Key Stage 2. Help some children in Key Stage 2 learn to behave as well as you would expect for their age. Help you improve your writing, especially in other subjects. Improve assessment, marking in your books, and target setting. Here are some of things you can do

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Really focus and try hard with your writing, especially with spelling and punctuation. For some children in Key Stage 2, try and improve some skills so that your behaviour is more like you would expect from children of your age, for example by listening when other pupils or teachers are speaking. Please thank your parents for us for sending in their questionnaires. A lot of parents replied, and they all liked the school. With best wishes

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Annex B

Andrea Lyons, Her Majesty’s Inspector of schools Tina Woods, Additional Inspector Kathryn Dodd, Additional Inspector

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