Springfield Primary SchoolOfsted inspection, 27 Apr 2006

Inspection Report Springfield Primary School

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109866 Unique Reference Number West Berkshire LEA LEA 278296 Inspection number 26 April 2006 to 27 April 2006 Inspection dates Wiola Hola Reporting inspector

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

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Barton Road School address Primary Type of school Tilehurst Community School category Reading RG31 5NJ 3 to 11 Age range of pupils 01189 421797 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01189 454921 Fax number 302 Number on roll Mr Stuart Wilson Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Angela Hay Headteacher 20 November 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 278296 26 April 2006 - 3 to 11 27 April 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

The school is larger than average. Most pupils come from White British backgrounds and some are from mainly mixed, black or Asian heritage. The percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals is below average. The percentage of pupils with statements of special educational needs is broadly average. A few pupils are at an early stage of learning English. The school's Foundation Stage includes 3-year-old children (Foundation 1) who attend for a morning or afternoon session, as well as 4-year-olds (Foundation 2).

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Springfield Primary School, 26 April 2006 to 27 April 2006

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Grade: 2

The school states that improvements in recent years mean that it now provides a good education overall. Inspectors agree with this view even though more needs to be done to make the school good in all respects. Inspectors recognise and applaud the school's successful efforts to raise the quality of provision. Pupils achieve well, enjoy school and their behaviour is excellent. Parents are overwhelming in their support for the school. In particular, they feel their children are extremely safe and well cared for. Children make a good start in the Foundation Stage where care is taken to meet their individual needs in interesting and engaging ways. In Years 1 to 6, standards are broadly average. Pupils' achievement in mathematics and science is good but achievement in English has been lower than might be expected in recent years. Current work shows improvement in English and reflects the effort staff have made to develop their own

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Grade: 2

teaching skills and raise the quality of learning. Teaching and learning are now good with some outstanding features. Pupils receive good care, guidance and support for both their personal and academic development. The curriculum is satisfactory and includes some good elements but provision for information and communication technology (ICT) is a relative weakness. Leadership and management are good, focused on raising standards, and provide staff with clarity about what needs to be done to improve further. Much has been achieved to strengthen leadership and management at all levels, enhance the physical environment and to develop systems for tracking pupils' progress although these assessment systems are still not as efficient as they might be. Improvement, in relation to key issues raised in the last inspection, has been satisfactory. The school has the capacity to improve and provides good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Build on the current good work in developing teaching in order to increase pupils' progress in English. • Improve pupils' access to computers and other new technologies so that they develop further their skills in ICT and make greater use of them for learning in all other subjects. • Increase the efficiency with which information about pupils' attainment is stored so as to allow for speedier analysis and use of it to keep a check on pupils' progress.

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Grade: 2

Pupils achieve well because the quality of teaching and learning are now good. Achievement in mathematics and science has been good in recent years and achievement in English is improving. On starting school, most children currently have skills in line with what can be expected for their ages, although in previous years this has varied. Children make a good start 2 Inspection Report: Springfield Primary School, 26 April 2006 to 27 April 2006 to their education. Most of them reach the expected learning goals by the time they are five. Standards are broadly average. Results in the Year 2 and Year 6 tests have hovered around the national average in recent years. Year 6 test results in mathematics and science have been better than those in English. These results show that pupils make good progress in mathematics and science. The school recognised that progress in English was lower than might be expected and mounted efforts to improve this with

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Grade: 2

some success. Pupils are now generally making good progress in their English lessons. In 2005, Year 6 test results indicated that some lower attaining pupils and those with learning difficulties or disabilities did not achieve as well as their peers but this difference is not apparent now and their achievement is similar to that of other pupils. Targets for the Year 6 tests were met in 2005 except for the proportion of pupils who were expected to reach the higher level. Targets for 2006 contain an element of challenge but are not particularly demanding and the school is expecting to exceed them.

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Grade: 2

Pupils enjoy their learning. Their attendance is above average, their behaviour is excellent and they have very positive attitudes to learning. Exclusions are very rare. Pupils work very well together and are respectful and polite to each other and adults. They feel secure in the school which provides a calm, caring and safe environment. They know how to behave safely and understand the reasons for playground safety rules, on the castle or adventure playground, for example. Pupils have a good awareness of healthy living and this is reflected in the school having achieved a Silver Healthy Schools Award. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils responded enthusiastically to the recent anti-bullying week and showed, through discussions and their display work, that they thought all bullying, including racist bullying, was wrong. Pupils have also been involved, by fund raising and letter writing, in a link project with

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Grade: 2

a pupil in Mali, and this has broadened their understanding of the world. The school council is developing its part in school life; it has contributed ideas to the development of the playground and to fund raising for charity. Pupils are adequately prepared to move on to the next stage in education.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good and include some excellent work. Most lessons are good because pupils are given appropriately challenging tasks, tackle them diligently, and make good progress. The school has worked well to develop the teaching of English although there are still some inconsistencies in practice. The school is rightly seeking 3 Inspection Report: Springfield Primary School, 26 April 2006 to 27 April 2006 to develop further the quality of marking. Pupils are attentive and respond well to teachers' questions although they do not routinely pose questions themselves or set up and follow lines of enquiry. Lessons are planned well, conducted briskly and cordially with good opening and main activities that engage pupils' interest. Relationships are very good. Teaching assistants work in effective partnership with teachers and support pupils well. Many teachers employ elements of drama and encourage pupils to talk in

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Grade: 2

pairs about what they are doing or thinking. These techniques support pupils' learning well and also develop their speaking and listening skills. Teachers make good use of interactive whiteboards and pupils sometimes use these as well. Overall, however, pupils make little use of ICT because access to computers is limited. Where teaching and learning are excellent, the teachers' enthusiasm or extremely perceptive questioning skills give pupils' progress an extra boost as well as adding greatly to pupils' enjoyment. In the best lessons, a striking feature is the teachers' excellent use of technical vocabulary. Pupils are subsequently able to employ it accurately and proudly for themselves. Such work was seen in an English lesson about alliteration and in a science lesson on the properties of materials.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum for English, mathematics and science is good. It successfully addresses all learners' needs. The Foundation Stage provides well for Foundation 1 and Foundation 2 children who work together on tasks carefully designed to meet their specific needs and interests. Pupils in Years 3 to 6 have lessons in French which they enjoy. Planning for most subjects is good. The curriculum meets requirements and effectively prepares children for the next stage of their education. However, because the school's resources for ICT are relatively limited, pupils' achievements in ICT are adequate but restricted. A good emphasis is placed on providing activities that encourage team work and sometimes on promoting the skills of investigation and enquiry. The curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities is good. Staff adapt the curriculum well for the most capable pupils.

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Grade: 2

The pupils are well looked after by the school and parents are very confident that their children are safe. Good mechanisms exist to support vulnerable or lower attaining pupils who need extra help and support. Support from outside school is sought when needed. Child protection procedures are in place and risk assessments are carried out. Children are helped very effectively to settle into school and, as they move through the school, to take on increasing responsibilities. Pupils are well informed about transfer arrangements to the local secondary school with which good links exist. Teachers and support staff from the secondary school teach in Year 6 and develop positive relationships with pupils to ease transition into Year 7. Pupils receive good guidance on how to improve their work. Teachers and senior staff check regularly and carefully if all pupils are doing as well as can be expected. The 4 Inspection Report: Springfield Primary School, 26 April 2006 to 27 April 2006

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Grade: 2

system for storing assessment data does not, however, allow for quick and easy analysis of pupils' progress. Teachers are clear about what each pupil should be aiming for and share this expectation with pupils who know their targets.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management, including governance, are good. The headteacher has established a clear vision for the school that is shared by the staff. Staff work conscientiously to ensure that pupils are included in all activities. The headteacher and the deputy head, who is relatively new to the school, provide good leadership and management. Together they are a positive driving force for further improvement. Good changes have been made to the school's leadership organisation. Leaders at all levels contribute well to improving the school's provision. They are fully committed to ensuring that children are taught and supported well. Teaching and learning have improved, achievement in lessons is good, and the school has tackled the issues for improvement from the last inspection although more still needs to be done in ICT. The school is well placed to carry on improving. The school has good systems for checking how well it is doing. These ensure it has an

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Grade: 2

accurate grasp of how good it is and how to get better still. All staff are fully involved in reflecting on what is going well and what could be improved. Staff regularly seek and act upon the views of parents and pupils through surveys and through the school council. The school manages its resources well and the school's financial planning arrangements are good and focused on the school's priorities. The school recognises that resources for ICT are currently barely adequate. There are good plans in place to improve them. 5 Inspection Report: Springfield Primary School, 26 April 2006 to 27 April 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: Springfield Primary School, 26 April 2006 to 27 April 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 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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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 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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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

Pupils You may remember that I visited the school recently with two other inspectors. I write to thank you for your help. You made us feel really welcome. We very much appreciated talking to many of you in lessons, over lunch or during break times, and looking at your work. We would particularly like to thank the School Council members who spoke to us. You clearly enjoy being in this good school. These are the best things about your school:* Your behaviour is excellent and you are polite to each other and visitors.* You work hard in lessons and enjoy learning. * Children in the Foundation Stage make a good start at school.* Lessons are well prepared, good and interesting and mean that your progress is speeding up.* Teachers and other helpers look after you well so that you are safe and well supported.* Your headteacher, deputy head and other leaders know exactly what the school is good at and how it could be better. They are working with

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

determination to make the school as good as possible. Here are the main ways in which the school could improve even further:* The school should help you to make faster progress in English so that it is just as good as it is in mathematics and science.* The school should improve resources for ICT (information and communication technology) because you don't have enough computers at the moment and you don't use ICT enough in all subjects.* The school should find a better way of storing records about how well you are doing so that teachers can easily tell if you are making good progress or not.You and your parents have told us that you are happy with the school. I wish you all the very best for the future. Yours faithfully Mrs Wiola Hola Her Majesty's Inspector of Schools

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