Westerhope Primary SchoolOfsted inspection, 13 Dec 2005

Inspection Report Westerhope Primary School

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108457 Unique Reference Number Newcastle upon Tyne LEA 277977 Inspection number 12 December 2005 to 13 December 2005 Inspection dates Mrs Margaret Shepherd Reporting inspector

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

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Hillhead Road School address Primary Type of school Westerhope Community School category Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear NE5 1NE 3 to 11 Age range of pupils

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0191 2674750 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0191 2675430 Fax number 467 Number on roll Ms Brid Fitzpatrick Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Jo Warner Headteacher 1 September 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 277977 12 December 2005 - 3 to 11 13 December 2005 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 three additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

Westerhope is a large primary school. It has two classes for each age group, but a significant proportion of children leave at the end of Year 4. Children enter the school with average standards overall. A small number of children have learning difficulties or disabilities and two have a statement of special educational need. A small proportion of children learn English as an additional language. There have been significant changes since the previous inspection. The headteacher took up the post in September 2005. The school is now funded through a Private Funding Initiative (PFI) and has a brand new building. A change from first school to primary school has just been completed.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Westerhope Primary School, 12 December 2005 to 13 December 2005

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Grade: 2

This is a good school that gives good value for money. This judgement matches the school’s own view as well as the opinion of the parents. Children achieve well and standards are good. Standards in art and design are outstanding. Personal development and well-being are good. Care and welfare are good and guidance is satisfactory. Teaching is good overall, but teachers do not consistently give children enough opportunities for talking during lessons. The children do not always understand the targets that are set for them. Teachers work very effectively with the teaching assistants, particularly to provide support for children with learning difficulties. Although the curriculum is good overall, teachers miss opportunities to create links across different subjects to meet the particular needs and interests of the children. The curriculum in the nursery is outstanding and the mathematics curriculum is good.

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Grade: 2

The quality of education and standards in reception are good and in the nursery they are outstanding. The headteacher, whose leadership and management are outstanding, works very effectively with the deputy headteacher to raise standards. Governance is good. Despite the considerable changes since the previous inspection, improvement is good. The headteacher’s dynamic leadership and the enthusiasm of staff give the school a good capacity for future improvement. not applicable

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What the school should do to improve further

• Extend opportunities for children to discuss their work in lessons. • Strengthen links between different subjects of the curriculum. • Increase children’s understanding of their targets for improvement.

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Grade: 2

Standards and achievement are good. Children start school in the nursery with standards that are average overall, but the range of ability is wide. They make outstanding progress in the nursery as a result of the very high quality of education. This progress is consolidated in reception and the Key Stage 1 classes. Standards by the end of Year 2 have been significantly higher than average for the past five years. The more able children did particularly well in mathematics in 2005. Standards overall are average in Year 6 and the children are on course to achieve well by the end of the year. A considerable proportion of children leave the school at the end of Year 4 to move to neighbouring schools. Data show that these children’s standards when they left the school were well above average. Their leaving has a significantly negative impact on standards overall. Children in the junior classes make good progress in lessons. The school has a new and rigorous pupil target-setting

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Grade: 2

system, which provides a high level of challenge for teachers and children. Standards and achievement in art and design are outstanding. 2 Inspection Report: Westerhope Primary School, 12 December 2005 to 13 December 2005 Children with learning disabilities and those with English as an additional language achieve well. The more able children make good progress through the school. Despite the proportion of more able children reducing in Years 5 and 6, those that remain continue to make good progress.

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Grade: 2

Personal development and well-being are good. Children have positive attitudes towards their work and expect to complete their tasks. They co-operate well in group and paired work. Older children have a responsible attitude towards their position in the school. They said, “If we behave sensibly around the school, then the younger children will follow our example”. Behaviour is good overall and very good around the school. Children move sensibly in the long corridors and at shared times such as lunchtime and during Christmas performances. Attendance levels are above average. Children have a good understanding of the importance of being healthy through eating sensibly and taking exercise. They are aware of the need to keep safe, particularly in areas of hazard, such as walking near the car park. Children have a good sense of being part of the whole school and the neighbouring community. They enjoy their links with

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Grade: 2

the locality, such as the regular visits to the church. Children are developing good skills to fit them for their future economic well-being. They have a good grasp of financial issues, and understand that their own individual pound donation is really helping a school in India to provide education for children of their own age group. Older children are developing life skills well. They enjoy experiences like applying and being interviewed for the job of peer supporter for the younger children in the playground. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good. There are outstanding features in lessons in the nursery and in mathematics in Year 6. Teachers work very well with their teaching assistants and this supports the learning of groups and individuals very well. The use of the interactive whiteboards in lessons is very good. Children thoroughly enjoy the visual nature of this teaching and are keen to co-operate with teachers to carry out tasks on these boards. Relationships are very good and children expect to work hard to extend their learning. There are inconsistencies in the way that different teachers offer opportunities for children to develop thinking and communication skills through the use of talk. There are very good examples of this in Year 6, Year 2 and the nursery but, in some other lessons, teachers talk too long themselves and do not give children enough regular opportunities to discuss their work in pairs. The outstanding features

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Grade: 2

in the nursery include extremely high expectations of each child and very high quality learning opportunities in whole class, group and individual settings. The outstanding 3 Inspection Report: Westerhope Primary School, 12 December 2005 to 13 December 2005 features in mathematics in Year 6 include very high expectations of children explaining their mathematical thinking.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good. It is a well-balanced and gives systematic coverage across the different subjects. The art and design curriculum is particularly rich across both two- and three-dimensional work. The personal, social, health and emotional education programme is good and equips children well for their future lives. The school chooses topics carefully to match the needs of children from minority ethnic backgrounds. These include, for example, work on Chinese festivals. The mathematics curriculum is good and includes a good range of practical mathematics. The range of extra-curricular opportunities is good and children appreciate these activities. Teachers plan carefully within each subject to ensure all aspects are covered, however, they miss opportunities to make links across the different subjects to make the learning more meaningful and creative to individual children. The nursery curriculum is outstanding. It is extremely

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Grade: 2

well-balanced and relates directly to the needs and interests of the children.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and welfare are good overall. Care and welfare are good. Very efficient routines successfully promote children’s well being. All staff, including the headteacher, have a very good knowledge of individual children’s needs, which they use well to reassure children. Teaching assistants play a valuable role in the care and welfare of children. This works particularly well for vulnerable children, who are very confident of their security within the school. The school is very aware of the safety issue relating to the car park and is trying to solve this issue. Guidance is satisfactory overall. The school has introduced a new pupil target setting system and children are beginning to articulate what they need to do to improve.

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Grade: 2

The leadership and management of the school are good. The headteacher, whose leadership and management are outstanding, has an extremely clear vision for the school’s development. The detailed analysis of information from monitoring is used to identify improvements needed in the school’s provision and to establish extremely effective and imaginative management systems in order to take the school forward. The headteacher works very closely with the high quality deputy headteacher who plays a leading role in raising standards. The senior leadership team and co-ordinators are very enthusiastic and have a very clear vision of how they want to take up their new roles. The governance of the school is good. The governors have a good knowledge of the school and have worked very hard to guide it through the considerable changes 4 Inspection Report: Westerhope Primary School, 12 December 2005 to 13 December 2005

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Grade: 2

involved in moving from a first to a primary school and in moving the school’s status across to being a PFI school. The school has good self-evaluation systems. It considers the views of parents and children very carefully and uses their suggestions in decision making. For example, the governors included the school council in the appointment processes for the new headteacher. The school has a high commitment to inclusion and works hard to ensure that all children achieve as well as they can. Despite only having been in post for a short time, the headteacher has inspired the staff to embrace change and to work to extend the school’s systems from good to outstanding. This gives the school a good capacity for future improvement. 5 Inspection Report: Westerhope Primary School, 12 December 2005 to 13 December 2005 .

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Westerhope Primary School, 12 December 2005 to 13 December 2005

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Overall

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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learners?

NA 2 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 2 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 2 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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learners?

NA 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 2 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 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 2 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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needs and interests of learners?

NA 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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needs and interests of learners?

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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and supporting all learners?

NA 2 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 2 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 2 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 2 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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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 Yes Learners are educated about sexual health

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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

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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 wider community

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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 www.ofsted.gov.uk Ofsted helpline 08456 404045 Westerhope Primary School Hillhead Road Westerhope Newcastle upon Tyne Tyne and Wear NE5 1NE 12 December 2005 Dear Children Thank you very much for welcoming us into your school. We really enjoyed talking to you and looking at your work. The best things about your school are: the quality of your work and the good progress that you make the way that you enjoy your work and try hard to take part in lessons your behaviour around the school, at lunchtimes and during school performances the way that the older children set an example for the younger children that you said was very important your understanding of how you can help children in other countries like India the good teaching you receive from teachers and teaching assistants and the way that they use your interactive whiteboards in lessons the outstanding curriculum in art and design, which helps you to make sculptures like those

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

lovely figures in the entrance to the school the way that all the staff look after you the outstanding leadership of the headteacher who with the high quality deputy headteacher, other teachers and the hardworking governors wants you all to do your very best. One of the things that we have asked your school to do is to give you more time to talk to each other about your work. We have also asked teachers to make your curriculum even more interesting by making links across different subjects. You have just got some new targets to

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Annex B

help you improve your work and we have asked your school to help you to get to know these targets even better. Best wishes Maggi Shepherd, Anne Firth, Maureen Bennett Lead inspector and team inspectors

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