Springwell Village Primary School

Inspection Report Springwell Village Primary School

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108800 Unique Reference Number Sunderland LEA 278051 Inspection number 7 March 2006 to 8 March 2006 Inspection dates Mrs Barbara Hudson Reporting inspector

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

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Westfield Crescent School address Primary Type of school Springwell Village Community School category Gateshead, Tyne and Wear NE9 7RX 3 to 11 Age range of pupils

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0191 2193790 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0191 2193793 Fax number 205 Number on roll Nigel Carruthers Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Peter McCarron Headteacher 1 January 2001 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 278051 7 March 2006 - 3 to 11 8 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 two additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

Springwell Village Primary School is an average-sized primary school with a nursery. Pupils come from a wide range of social backgrounds. Nearly all the pupils are of white British heritage. The percentage of pupils who are eligible for free school meals is low, as is the proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Overall, children join the nursery with average skills, although there are significant variations from year to year.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Springwell Village Primary School, 7 March 2006 to 8 March 2006

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Grade: 2

Inspectors agree with the school’s overall judgement that it is a good school and gives good value for money. Pupils enjoy coming to school and their attendance is above average. Their achievement and standards are good. They are particularly good in reading, mathematics and science, whereas standards and achievement in writing are satisfactory, especially for the more able pupils. Although teaching and learning are good, there is no consistent approach to target setting and marking to help pupils know how to improve their work. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are supported well and make good progress. Well-planned provision ensures that children in the Foundation Stage achieve well. All staff are committed to the care of pupils and this ensures that their personal development and well-being are good. The headteacher, staff and governors work well together and have identified the right

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Grade: 2

areas for development. Because parents’ and pupils’ views of the school are gathered informally, the part they play in developing the school is not as good as it could be. The contribution of the curriculum managers is restricted by the limited time they have to monitor teaching and share good practice. Successful action has been taken on the issues raised in the last inspection and the school has the capacity to improve further.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve pupils’ standards and achievement in writing, particularly for the more able pupils. • Ensure a more consistent approach to marking and target setting so that all pupils know how they can improve their work. • Make greater use of curriculum managers to identify and promote needed improvements in their subjects.

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Grade: 2

Achievement and standards are good, but pupils achieve better in reading, mathematics and science than in writing. The school is aware that pupils’ writing is not as good as their reading, and is trying to remedy the situation. A reason for this is that pupils, particularly the more able, are not given sufficiently clear advice on how they can improve their work. Overall, children join the nursery with skills at the expected level for their age, but there are significant variations from year to year. Children make good progress in the Foundation Stage and most achieve the Early Learning Goals by the time they start Year 1. Over the last two years, standards at the end of Year 2 have fallen from above average to average. However, evidence taken from the school’s tracking records shows that individual pupils made good progress from their starting points. Pupils’ progress in Years 3 to 6 is good and the standards they achieve are

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Grade: 2

consistently above the national average. In 2005, standards in mathematics and science rose significantly because many pupils gained the higher Level 5 in the national tests. 2 Inspection Report: Springwell Village Primary School, 7 March 2006 to 8 March 2006 In English, standards are above average but fewer pupils achieved the higher Level 5. This is because their writing is not as good as their reading. Pupils with learning and behavioural difficulties make good progress because teaching assistants give them good support and work is well matched to their ability.

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Grade: 2

Personal development and well-being are good. Pupils clearly enjoy school and their attendance is consistently above the national average. Their behaviour, both in lessons and around the school, is good. They are interested in their lessons, work hard and co-operate very well with each other and with adults. Pupils willingly shoulder responsibility and are very helpful. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Children respect each other and have a very good understanding of right and wrong. They learn to appreciate their own culture but have a relatively limited understanding of other cultures. Pupils learn to adopt safe and healthy lifestyles. Food choices are healthy and regular physical activities contribute well to pupils’ fitness. Pupils actively contribute to the school community through the school council, and to the wider community through their charity work. Overall, pupils are learning to become good citizens, whose

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Grade: 2

well-developed social and basic intellectual skills equip them well for their future lives beyond this school.

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Grade: 2

Teaching is good and this is evident in pupils’ good achievement by the end of Year 6. In all classes, teachers are skilled at questioning pupils and extending their thinking. Lessons are taught confidently and an effective pace is maintained. New learning is explained clearly, often with the imaginative use of whiteboards. This approach keeps pupils interested and keen to learn. Teaching assistants are well prepared and play a successful part in enabling pupils with learning and behavioural difficulties to make good progress. However, teachers do not plan and use opportunities in all subjects to help pupils improve their writing skills. Foundation Stage teachers and assistants are particularly good at developing children’s independence, and their early skills in literacy and numeracy. Assessment is satisfactory. Good procedures are used to measure progress and identify pupils who need additional support. While assessment is used effectively to match

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Grade: 2

work to different abilities in reading, mathematics and science, this is less successful in writing. There are good examples of marking and learning targets, but the approach lacks consistency through the school and pupils do not always know how to improve their work. 3 Inspection Report: Springwell Village Primary School, 7 March 2006 to 8 March 2006

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good. It meets external requirements and the range of pupils’ needs, and has improved since the previous inspection, particularly in developing ICT skills. Time is used effectively for pupils to achieve well in reading, mathematics and science. The school is successfully linking subjects together and making the curriculum more creative. More work is needed to extend the provision for writing, especially for more able pupils. In the Foundation Stage, the curriculum is well planned and provides a good range of activities across all areas of learning. Children are well prepared for the transition from home to school, and from nursery to reception. The school makes good provision for pupils with learning and behavioural difficulties. The curriculum is enriched well by visitors and visits, particularly to the local area. Pupils also benefit from a satisfactory range of extra-curricular activities. Regular

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Grade: 2

lessons in personal, social and health education successfully promote pupils’ understanding of safe and healthy living and enable them to achieve well in personal development.

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Grade: 2

This is a good aspect of the school’s work and strongly endorsed by parents and pupils. The school is a safe and secure place in which to learn. Good support is achieved for all learners because everyone makes a strong commitment to sensitive care and warm relationships. Child protection procedures and risk assessments are thorough and followed rigorously. Children receive good advice about healthy eating, staying safe and taking exercise. They are encouraged to keep fit through a good range of physical activities and regular sessions for swimming. The school council were instrumental in obtaining more games equipment at break times and are contributing to other school improvements. Good systems are used to support pupils with learning and behavioural difficulties. The school has a good working partnership with a number of agencies, especially to support language and learning. Work in guiding pupils’ academic progress through

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Grade: 2

marking and learning targets is developing well, but lacks consistency through the school. As a result, pupils are not involved enough in their own learning.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good, and ensure the school’s capacity to improve further. This is better than the school’s own judgement of satisfactory. The headteacher knows his school well. In response to the last inspection report, good improvements have raised standards in mathematics and strengthened provision for pupils with special educational needs. All staff are focused on raising standards and have been particularly successful in enabling pupils to achieve high standards in the national tests for Year 4 Inspection Report: Springwell Village Primary School, 7 March 2006 to 8 March 2006 6. A good range of data on pupils’ progress and standards contributes to better target setting and teaching. The use of learning targets, however, is not consistent in every class. The headteacher has established a good system for identifying what the school needs to do next. This involves staff and governors. Because parents’ and pupils’ views are

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Grade: 2

not formally sought, their contribution to the further development of the school is not as robust as it could be. Curriculum managers contribute to school improvement through their action plans. Their overall contribution is restricted, however, by the limited time they have for monitoring teaching and sharing good practice. Governors are highly committed to the school and bring a very good range of experiences and expertise to their role. They work hard to develop their role and are now monitoring provision more effectively. Financial management is good and ensures that the school secures best value for its spending. 5 Inspection Report: Springwell Village Primary School, 7 March 2006 to 8 March 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: Springwell Village Primary School, 7 March 2006 to 8 March 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 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 Ofsted helpline 08456 404045 Springwell Village Primary School Westfield Crescent Springwell Village Gateshead Tyne and Wear NE9 7RX 8 March 2006 Dear Children Thank you for your help in our recent inspection. The inspectors thought that you were friendly and helpful while we were visiting your school. We enjoyed our visit very much and would like to share with you what we thought about your school. Your parents told us that you attend a good school and we agree with them. We were very pleased with the way you learn, the progress you make and the good standards you achieve, particularly in reading, mathematics and science. We think teaching is good and you work hard in your lessons. You know a great deal about how to stay healthy and safe, and you get lots of exercise which helps to keep you fit. All of your teachers and other adults in the school take

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

good care of you and you respond by co-operating and behaving well. Your headteacher is good at ensuring that all of the staff and governors work well together. They know what needs to be done and we have suggested some ways in which they can make your school even better. In particular, we have asked your teachers to help you to improve your writing skills. We have also asked them to improve the way in which they set your learning targets and mark your work. We enjoyed talking with you and your teachers, as well as watching you learn in the lessons we saw. We wish you and the school the very best in the future. Thank you for talking to us and helping us to find out about your school. Yours sincerely Barbara Hudson Lead inspector

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