East Rainton Primary School

Inspection Report East Rainton Primary School

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108794 Unique Reference Number Sunderland LEA 278047 Inspection number 31 January 2006 to 1 February 2006 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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School Road School address Primary Type of school East Rainton Community School category Houghton le Spring, Tyne and Wear 3 to 11 Age range of pupils

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0191 5536505 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0191 5536505 Fax number 115 Number on roll Ms Janet Meek Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Graham Stephenson Headteacher 1 November 1999 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 278047 31 January 2006 - 3 to 11 1 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 an additional inspector.

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Description of the school

East Rainton Primary School is smaller than average and serves a small village community. The current headteacher has only been in post for two full years. There have been several recent changes of staff and coordinators’ responsibilities. Children enter the school with standards that are average overall, within a wide range of ability. There are fewer children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities than average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: East Rainton Primary School, 31 January 2006 to 1 February 2006

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory school and is improving. The school agrees with this judgement. Standards and achievement are average overall, and this is a considerable improvement from the inadequate standards in 2003. When the current, very good, headteacher took up his post in 2003, he set a priority to raise standards in English and has been very successful in doing so. Standards are now outstanding in this subject. There are now plans to raise standards in mathematics and science by better target setting, a more structured curriculum and a higher level of challenge for more able children. However, these plans have not had enough time to take effect. The headteacher also set a high priority on improving children’s personal development and well-being. This has resulted in children achieving good citizenship skills and being well prepared for their future economic well-being. Teaching and the curriculum are satisfactory and

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Grade: 3

the care, guidance and support for pupils, good. Standards and provision in the Foundation Stage are satisfactory. Leadership and management are satisfactory overall. The new coordinators have not had enough time to make an impact on their subjects. The school provides satisfactory value for money. Improvement since the previous inspection is satisfactory and the school has a good capacity to improve further because, under the skilful leadership and management of the headteacher, staff and governors are all equally determined to continue to raise standards for all children.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise standards in mathematics and science by evaluating and fine-tuning the new target setting systems and the new changes to the curriculum and by challenging more able children more effectively. • Implement the coordinators’ plans for raising standards in their areas of responsibility.

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Grade: 3

Achievement and standards are satisfactory overall. This is a considerable improvement from 2003 when achievement was poor. From this very low point, standards have risen year on year and achievement has accelerated. This improvement is due to clear sighted leadership and strategic management by the headteacher, who came into post after the 2003 results. Children enter the school with average standards. Achievement in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory and most children reach the expected standards by the end of reception. Standards in the rest of the school in mathematics and science are average and achievement is satisfactory. Although the school is working hard to increase the rate of progress in these subjects, the new strategies put in place by the headteacher have not had time to make enough impact. In contrast standards and achievement in 2 Inspection Report: East Rainton Primary School, 31 January 2006 to 1 February 2006

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Grade: 3

English are outstanding. This subject has been a priority for improvement and the whole school focus on it has had a very positive impact. Children are extremely confident in writing and produce sophisticated pieces of independent writing. The school sets itself the demanding target to raise standards and achievement in mathematics and science to match those in English. Children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress. More able children in mathematics and science do not make enough progress and this is keeping standards down. The school has identified this and is working to improve the level of challenge in these subjects. In English more able children achieve very well.

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Grade: 2

Personal development and well-being are good, with some outstanding features. Children have positive attitudes to their learning. They thoroughly enjoy the interesting work that teachers provide for them in lessons and greatly value the opportunities for learning outside of lessons. Their behaviour is outstanding both in class and around the school. Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Children act very responsively on occasions such as assemblies. Attendance levels are good. Children have a good understanding of healthy living. They are aware of the need to stay safe. Pupils are well prepared for their future economic well-being. They have an excellent understanding of the world of work through initiatives such as an Enterprise Week where they were surprised to learn how much effort it took to make money. Children expect to work together in teams to produce a final outcome and thoroughly

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Grade: 2

enjoy taking the initiative. Their contributions to the community are outstanding. They have an excellent understanding of being a citizen. They develop this through citizenship days. The school council plays a valued role through the school. Councillors from Year 1 to Year 6 expect to make a difference to the school’s provision; for example, by asking for signs to be put up in the playground to reinforce school rules. Children have a very good understanding of the problem of bullying, developed through the school’s high quality work on this matter.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory with good features. Teaching is satisfactory in mathematics and science. One of the key weaknesses in these subjects is the inconsistency in providing challenging work for more able children. Target setting in mathematics and science only just started and is not yet having a significant effect on a daily basis. By contrast, teaching in English is of consistently good quality, with teachers setting very demanding targets for the more able children. Staff use the high quality assessment systems in this subject extremely well. Teachers work in close partnership with the able teaching assistants to provide good support for children 3 Inspection Report: East Rainton Primary School, 31 January 2006 to 1 February 2006 with learning difficulties and disabilities. Staff manage behaviour very effectively through clear reinforcement of rules and good quality personal relationships.

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Grade: 3

The quality of the curriculum is satisfactory with good features. One of the first initiatives of the headteacher was to introduce a carefully structured curriculum in English. He also increased the amount of time for reading in lessons each week, introduced a new reading comprehension scheme, improved the range of books and developed two very attractive libraries. These changes have had a significant impact on raising standards and achievement. The school has now analysed the mathematics and science curricula carefully, identifying gaps in provision as children move through the school and avoiding needless repetition. These changes have not had time to improve standards in these subjects. The curriculum for personal development and well-being is good and includes some very innovative projects, such as the regular citizenship events. There is a good range of out of school activities. It enriches children’s

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Grade: 3

social development and reinforces healthy living effectively. Grade: 3

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good. The whole school community is united in providing a caring and supportive environment for children’s development. Staff provide very good models for children and are extremely courteous. There are thorough systems for safeguarding children, including child protection, risk assessment and Criminal Record Bureau checks. The school greatly values the partnership with parents and works hard to respond to their needs and to help them in supporting their children’s learning at home. Parents overwhelmingly appreciate their partnership with the school. The partnerships with external services are also good. The school uses them well to improve the whole school’s provision as well as supporting the needs of individual pupils. The new target setting arrangements should provide children with better information about how well they are doing in mathematics and science.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory overall because subject coordinators are new to their roles and they have not yet had time to make an impact by raising standards. The leadership and management of the headteacher are good. He has a very clear vision of how he wants to take the school forward. He combines this with skilful management of staff to create a common purpose and determination to raise standards across all subjects. The headteacher has already made a significant difference in standards and achievement in English and the plans to make similar improvements in mathematics and science are good. The headteacher has a clear commitment to 4 Inspection Report: East Rainton Primary School, 31 January 2006 to 1 February 2006 provide high quality provision for personal development and well-being and has introduced some innovative projects that have extended children’s learning in these areas particularly well. The deputy headteacher works in a productive partnership with

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Grade: 3

the headteacher. She plays a valuable role in implementing improvements such as the good quality homework systems and handbooks for parents. The governance of the school is satisfactory. The school has effective monitoring and evaluation systems. These are carefully linked with staff’s performance management and the courses that teachers attend are discussed with their colleagues and used to provide consistency in teaching and learning. The school values the views of parents and children and makes changes in response to their suggestions. The self-evaluation systems identify strengths accurately and ensure that plans to improve weaknesses are put into practice. Improvement since the previous inspection is satisfactory overall. The capacity of the school to improve is good because staff are united with the headteacher in his determination to raise standards and improve provision. 5 Inspection Report: East Rainton Primary School, 31 January 2006 to 1 February 2006

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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: East Rainton Primary School, 31 January 2006 to 1 February 2006

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

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Achievement and standards

NA 3 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 1 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 1 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 1 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 3 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 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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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 Ofsted helpline 08456 404045 Mr Graham Stephenson East Rainton Primary School School Road East Rainton Houghton le Spring Tyne and Wear DH5 9RA 2 February 2006 Dear Children Thank you very much for welcoming me into your school. I really enjoyed talking to you and looking at your work. These are the best things about your school. You reach very high standards in English, particularly in the extremely interesting stories that you write. Your behaviour in your lessons and around the school is outstanding. You know a lot about what it will be like to when you are grown up from exciting projects like your Enterprise week. Your school council that makes sure that your suggestions are carried out around the school. You learn a lot about being a citizen and about bullying. The way that your teachers help you to learn in English and in your personal development is

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

very good. You have many different clubs that you love in the dinner hour and after school. Your headteacher makes sure that your school gets better and better. Everyone in the school works hard together to make sure that you are happy and safe. One of the things that I have asked your school to do is to help you get better at maths and science by helping you be clearer about your targets, and to cover all the different parts of these subjects as you move through the school. I have asked your teachers to give really challenging work to those of you who find learning easy. I have also asked your teachers who lead different subjects to carry out all the exciting plans that they have to help you learn better.

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Annex B

Best wishes Maggi Shepherd Lead inspector

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