Cullercoats Primary School

Inspection Report Cullercoats Primary School

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108569 Unique Reference Number North Tyneside LEA 278000 Inspection number 8 March 2006 to 9 March 2006 Inspection dates Mr Tom Grieveson Reporting inspector

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

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Marden Avenue School address Primary Type of school Cullercoats Community School category North Shields, Tyne and Wear NE30 4PB 4 to 11 Age range of pupils

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0191 2008721 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0191 2008722 Fax number 340 Number on roll Dr David Lilley Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Miss Pauline Akeroyd Headteacher 1 February 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 278000 8 March 2006 - 4 to 11 9 March 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

Cullercoats Primary School is a larger than average sized school located 100 metres from the North Sea coast in a closely knit village community. The school’s roll has decreased in recent years reflecting the reduced number of school aged pupils in the area. However, a significant number of families choose to send their children to the school from neighbourhoods outside of its normal catchment. A small percentage of pupils are entitled to free school meals. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is well below the national average. A small percentage of pupils come from minority ethnic families where English is not the first language.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Cullercoats Primary School, 8 March 2006 to 9 March 2006

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Grade: 2

Cullercoats Primary is a good and increasingly effective school, a view endorsed by the large majority of parents. The school’s own evaluation of its performance closely matches this judgement, where it differs this reflects the high expectations which it has of itself and its continuous drive to improve. Cullercoats Primary is a good school because standards are consistently high and the over-whelming majority of pupils, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, reach the challenging targets set for them. However, a small minority of more able pupils should achieve higher standards in science. Leadership and management are good. The school’s senior leaders know where the school’s strengths lie and where further progress is required. Detailed and rigorous monitoring of performance is conducted and effective action taken to improve matters where necessary. This is a key element in the school’s success. As the school acknowledges,

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Grade: 2

further improvements are still required to ensure that all teachers plan consistently to meet the needs of all learners and also to offer more opportunities for pupils to utilise their information and communication technology (ICT) skills across the curriculum. Teaching and learning and the curriculum are also good and improving. A particularly strong feature of the school’s work is the excellent care which pupils receive. Links with other agencies and other schools are highly effective. Pupils’ behaviour and their personal development are good. Teaching and learning in the Foundation Stage are effective and pupils make good progress during their time in the reception classes. The school has improved significantly since the previous inspection and has good capacity to improve further. The school provides good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure that an increased number of more able pupils reach higher standards in science. • Monitor the steps taken to ensure that pupils have appropriate opportunities to develop their ICT skills across the curriculum. • Monitor the steps taken to achieve greater consistency in teachers’ planning to ensure the full range of pupils’ learning needs are being met.

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Grade: 2

Pupils enter the reception classes with broadly average attainment. Good teaching and thorough assessment ensures pupils make good progress and achieve well. The majority reach their early learning targets and a minority of pupils exceed them. Standards at key stages 1 and 2 have been consistently above national average. The large majority of pupils make effective progress and achieve the targets set for them. In 2005, a small number of the most able did not reach expected standards in science. 2 Inspection Report: Cullercoats Primary School, 8 March 2006 to 9 March 2006 High overall achievement is due to effective teaching and support based upon a comprehensive understanding of pupils’ needs. Pupils’ performance is tracked in exacting detail from regular assessments of their work. When under-achievement is identified additional resources are targeted at improving pupils’ learning in specific areas. In most instances, teachers use assessment information to plan learning

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Grade: 2

effectively. Detailed assessment ensures that pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities also make good progress. Targets for their future improvement are accurate and carefully focused; consequently pupils’ identified needs are tackled effectively.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development and well-being are good. Pupils enjoy school and attendance rates are high. They recognise the importance of a balanced diet and most make healthy choices at lunchtimes. Pupils’ have positive attitudes towards being healthy and physically fit. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is good. They understand right from wrong and pupils take personal responsibility for their own actions. Behaviour is good in lessons and around school. Relationships are very good; mutual respect is clearly evident between adults and pupils. The new buddy system supports less confident pupils effectively and is highly valued. The care and respect which pupils display towards one another is a particularly strong feature. Pupils have a good understanding of the major world religions and benefit from visitor expertise in this area. They fully commit to local charity fund-raising and projects to

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Grade: 2

support disadvantaged communities in Bogota. Pupils engage in discussions eagerly and are proud to talk about their work and their school. They enjoy taking responsibility and school council members show a keen commitment to their role. Pupils consider that their views are respected and cite improvements to the outdoor play space as one example of this. The good acquisition of basic skills supports pupils’ future economic well-being although opportunities to develop the use of ICT skills more widely across the curriculum require further improvement.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good and improving. Teachers understand the needs of their pupils well. Most learning opportunities enable pupils to make good progress. In a small number of cases, planning did not fully cater for the full range of pupils’ abilities and this restricted the progress of the least able. In the most effective lessons teachers use successful strategies to engage pupils and motivate them to learn. Teachers exhibit good subject knowledge and are enthusiastic. Explanations to pupils are clear, expectations of what pupils can achieve are high. Classroom routines are managed effectively, lessons have good pace and pupils are expected to work hard. Praise and reward are used to good effect. Pupils have good attitudes to their work. They are eager to participate and enjoy their learning. In most lessons, pupils are given 3 Inspection Report: Cullercoats Primary School, 8 March 2006 to 9 March 2006

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Grade: 2

appropriate opportunities to cooperate and demonstrate initiative, although not in all. Work is assessed regularly and improvement targets set. Mostly good and accurate feedback is given to pupils about their performance. Occasionally, however, marking does not inform pupils sufficiently about how to improve. Teaching assistants make an effective contribution to pupils’ learning. However, they are not sufficiently engaged at the beginning or end of lessons to support pupils, and opportunities to help the least able are missed.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good. It meets statutory requirements and is organised to meet the needs of all learners. Learning programmes for individual pupils are modified in the light of detailed assessments of their progress with additional help provided to target any identified under-achievement. This is a particularly successful feature of the school’s work. Whilst pupils’ ICT skills are good, they have insufficient opportunities to develop these in other subjects. There is an appropriate focus on developing pupils’ basic skills and classroom work is enriched through numerous educational visits. Locally these include shops, theatres and museums. More distantly, older pupils experience residential fieldwork at Dalguise Outdoor Activity Centre. External agencies effectively support pupils’ creative development such as the drama project with the ‘Young Americans Theatre Group.’ Parents successfully engage with their children’s learning

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Grade: 2

through the ‘Parent and Children Together’ initiative. Community organisations support local heritage studies at North Shields Fish Quay and at a neighbouring senior residents home. Older pupils enjoy and benefit from after-school activities which include physical education, music, drama, French and ICT.

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Grade: 1

The school’s care for its pupils is outstanding. Staff are highly supportive of pupils and demonstrate great commitment to their welfare. Pupils are offered effective help when problems arise and issues are quickly resolved. A range of external expertise is engaged to alert pupils about how to stay safe, including local fire service personnel, police officers and life boat crew members. The school has adopted local authority policies on child protection and key staff have received appropriate training in procedures to keep pupils safe. Risk assessments are thorough and up to date. Work with support agencies ensures that levels of care are consistently high. Parents and carers receive timely information about their child’s progress and school routines. Pupils’ academic progress is monitored well and for the most part, pupils are provided with good guidance on how to improve. Links with the secondary school are good and

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Grade: 1

older pupils feel confident about the transition to secondary school. 4 Inspection Report: Cullercoats Primary School, 8 March 2006 to 9 March 2006

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management, including governance, are good. The head teacher provides clear and determined leadership which is focused securely on providing high quality provision for pupils and achieving high standards. She is well supported by a committed workforce. Coordinators are increasingly effective in developing their subjects through their monitoring and well-focused action plans. Recent senior appointments have strengthened the leadership team and improved its capacity to lead the school forward. The school’s monitoring systems are rigorous and highly effective. Strengths and weaknesses are well understood, actions plans and targets are precise and appropriate. In particular, accurate assessments obtained from the monitoring of teaching and learning and pupils’ progress are providing a secure basis from which to plan learning for pupils of all abilities. The large majority of parents who responded expressed very

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Grade: 2

positive views about the quality of education which their children receive. The governing body are well informed and extensively involved. They have a clear sense of purpose and a determination for the school to continue to improve. They have been fully involved in the appointment of new high calibre staff and this has added significantly to the school’s improving capacity. Financial management is good and administrative procedures are efficient. Resources are targeted to good effect on improving standards. Although the school buildings date from 1952, they are well maintained and provide a good environment for pupils’ learning. 5 Inspection Report: Cullercoats Primary School, 8 March 2006 to 9 March 2006 .

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Grade: 2

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Cullercoats Primary School, 8 March 2006 to 9 March 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 2 How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of 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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Personal development and well-being

NA 2 How good is the overall personal development and well-being of the 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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The quality of provision

NA 2 How effective are teaching and learning in meeting the full range of the learners' needs? NA 2 How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? NA 1 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 2 How effective are leadership and management in raising achievement 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 1 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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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 Yes 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 Pupils Cullercoats Primary School Marden Avenue Cullercoats North Shields Tyne and Wear NE30 4PB 9 March 2006 Dear Pupils As you know Mr. Sergison, Mr. Lilley and myself spent two days inspecting your school on the 8 and 9 March 2006. The report has now been completed and I would like to tell you about what it contains. Your school provides you all with a good education. The head teacher and the staff work extremely hard on your behalf. I was impressed by the welcome which you gave us to your school. Thank you for that. Your school is a very welcoming place. You were very helpful in providing information which showed how pleased you are to attend Cullercoats Primary School and how much you enjoy your education. Your behaviour, and the hard work which you showed in lessons, was very good indeed. Well done, you are a credit to your school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

The staff at Cullercoats provide you with very good care. You know a great deal about keeping safe and being healthy. The fundraising you take part in to support worthy causes shows you are caring people who want to help others. You showed us how responsible you are. The school buddies are very helpful and the support they give is good. Your School Council does a very good job and the head teacher values what pupils have to say on your behalf. I would be grateful if you would thank your parents for all the very useful information which they provided. They clearly like your school and consider that it is doing well. They are right to think so. We have asked the head teacher, governors and staff to concentrate on making 3 things even better and you might want to think about how you can help them. Firstly, we think that more of you could achieve even higher standards in science. Secondly, while your ICT skills are already good, we would like you to have more opportunity

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

to use them in all subjects across the curriculum.

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Annex B

Thirdly, while teaching at your school is good, we feel that teachers need to make sure that they plan well for all pupils in lessons so you can all make the best possible progress all of the time. Thank you for making our visit to Cullercoats so enjoyable. Please accept my very best wishes for the future. Yours faithfully Tom Grieveson Her Majesty’s Inspector

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