South Malling CofE Primary and Nursery School

Inspection Report South Malling CofE Primary School

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114509 Unique Reference Number East Sussex LEA 279399 Inspection number 10 May 2006 to 11 May 2006 Inspection dates Steffi Penny HMI Reporting inspector

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

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Church Lane School address Primary Type of school Lewes Voluntary controlled School category East Sussex BN7 2HS 5 to 11 Age range of pupils 01273 473016 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01273 473016 Fax number 219 Number on roll Doctor Wilf Wilde Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Bryan Meyer Headteacher 6 November 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 279399 10 May 2006 - 5 to 11 11 May 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 one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

This is a slightly smaller than average-sized school located in the county town of Lewes that draws its pupils mainly from the local mixed housing estate. Most pupils are of White British heritage and an average number are entitled to free school meals. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties is slightly more than the national average and the number of pupils with a statement of special educational need is well below that seen nationally. Nearly all pupils speak English fluently.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: South Malling CofE Primary School, 10 May 2006 to 11 May 2006

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Grade: 3

The overall effectiveness of the school is satisfactory. The school judges itself similarly, recognising what it needs to do to improve standards. The school uses all resources well and provides satisfactory value for money. Improvement since the last inspection has been satisfactory, as is the capacity of the school to improve further. Satisfactory systems are in place to check on the effectiveness of the school, but much of what is being done is in the early stages. The weaknesses that remain, especially in pupils' writing, have been recognised and a good plan exists to develop this area. As a result, pupils’ written work and reading have improved. More accurate assessments and improved use of data are helping teachers and senior managers to set and monitor challenging targets for pupils in every class. Consequently, progress is satisfactory overall and improving fast. Information on pupils’ progress

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Grade: 3

year by year is used well by middle managers to pick up those who may need extra help but not to check whether all pupils are making progress at a consistent rate. There was a sudden drop in performance in 2005, but this does not reflect what had been an upward trend in a previously high achieving school. The school is beginning to turn this drop around. There is now a common sense of purpose with more governors taking an active role in the school. They need further guidance on how best to help the school improve. All pupils, including those with learning difficulties and disabilities, make satisfactory progress in their learning. Except for their writing, which is underdeveloped, the skills that pupils have at the end of the Reception Year are in line with the goals for learning for their age. Parents hold the school in high regard and are very happy with what it offers. Pupils very much enjoy being at school and their behaviour is good. They have positive

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Grade: 3

attitudes and feel safe and valued as individuals.

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What the school should do to improve further

•improve the quality of all aspects of writing throughout the school •strengthen the role of middle managers so that roles and responsibilities are clearer and more accountable •develop the ability of all governors to be able to challenge the school where necessary and to hold it more effectively to account for its performance.

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Grade: 3

Achievement is currently satisfactory and standards are broadly average. Children enter the school with skills that are slightly below those expected for their age. During their time in Reception, they make satisfactory progress. However, they start Year 1 with lower standards in writing than seen nationally. 2 Inspection Report: South Malling CofE Primary School, 10 May 2006 to 11 May 2006 Standards in English and mathematics at age seven have been consistently just below the national average during the past three years. At age eleven, standards in English, mathematics and science were consistently above national results. In 2005, there was a sudden drop, particularly in English, and less so in mathematics, representing underachievement. Work seen in pupils' books and school records shows that standards in the current Year 6 have improved and that pupils are making satisfactory progress. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities make satisfactory progress because of

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Grade: 3

the good support they receive in class. Parents make a good contribution to pupils’ learning at home and through their very strong support for the school. Since the last report, pupils' use of information and communication technology (ICT) has improved and is now satisfactory. Children in Reception and pupils in Years 2 and 6 are on course to meet the challenging targets set for the end of the current academic year. However, writing across the school remains a weakness. Pupils' reading skills are average for their age.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development and well-being are good and attendance is satisfactory. Pupils say they enjoy school very much, have good attitudes to learning and are well behaved. Pupils of all ages are polite and friendly to each other and to adults and feel that the school is a very caring community. They are very confident that adults will provide the help and guidance they need, both in lessons and in response to personal needs. For example, pupils have no significant concerns about bullying, recognising that good procedures exist to ensure their safety. The spiritual, social and moral development of pupils is good. All pupils in Year 6 have specific jobs within the school community, including one pupil acting as the headteacher's personal assistant. Cultural development is also good, particularly in relation to the creative arts. However, the multicultural dimension is less strong. The diversity of faiths and cultures in England is not strongly reflected in the school

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Grade: 2

environment. There is a vocal school council and all pupils have easy access to the headteacher and have good opportunities to share their views with senior staff, although not with governors. Healthy lifestyles are embraced by pupils through enthusiastic engagement in physical activities. Whilst pupils have the basic skills for their future lives, there are missed opportunities for developing their awareness of the world of work. There are good relationships with the local community. 3 Inspection Report: South Malling CofE Primary School, 10 May 2006 to 11 May 2006

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall and are improving fast. Several good examples of pupils evaluating their own work were seen during the inspection, a process that the school is developing. All pupils have clear English and mathematics targets that they know and understand. Good input from the learning support assistants enables pupils with special educational needs and learning difficulties to make satisfactory progress. Marking is regular and, in the best instances, shows pupils how they can improve the quality of their work. Planning is thorough and assessment of how much pupils have learned is generally evaluated well. In an excellent literacy lesson, the teacher used a variety of techniques to help the pupils understand how adverts can promote and persuade. This was done by creating a seductive radio advert and using friends to help improve the choosing of enticing words. Good use was also made of the interactive whiteboard, with pupils

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Grade: 3

freely adding words to a word bank. There are still some areas where teaching needs significant improvement, for example, in all aspects of writing and where teachers and support staff do not manage pupils' concentration effectively and this gets in the way of the pupils’ learning.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good and meets national requirements. Over the last few years, an accelerated learning programme has been integrated into the curriculum to improve pupils’ motivation and to raise standards. This has helped the school to identify the different ways that individual pupils prefer to learn, but it is too early to measure the impact of this. In the best lessons, teachers use a number of techniques to get pupils’ attention, for example, using jingles and short songs that they respond to, knowing that this means a change in the lesson activity. The use of hand gestures by the teachers and simple signs effectively reinforce good behaviour and listening skills. Pupils make the most progress when they use the local environment and work across subjects. Such activities include pond-dipping, investigating mini-beasts and analysing social issues in Lewes as part of literacy work linked with healthy living and the personal, social

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Grade: 2

and health education programme. Sports play an integral part in developing healthy lifestyles and a competitive spirit. There are several sporting clubs and pupils enjoy and participate in good numbers. Music is strong feature of the school. Pupils are rightly proud of their choir and drumming group. Music is frequently playing in the background in class, creating a calm and welcoming environment. 4 Inspection Report: South Malling CofE Primary School, 10 May 2006 to 11 May 2006

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good overall. Staff make their expectations of pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and effort very clear and work successfully to create a positive ethos in which all pupils are able to flourish. This means that new pupils and those with particular needs are cared for very well. They and their parents appreciate this very much; several parents said 'the school is good at identifying and celebrating strengths and treating each child as an individual… those with specific needs are not singled out'. Appropriate arrangements are made to ensure that visits outside the school are conducted safely and there are effective child protection procedures in place. Teachers track pupils’ progress and identify those that need extra help. Pupils receive good support but middle managers do not check closely enough the consistency of their progress to identify their needs quickly enough. Several initiatives are in place

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Grade: 2

for pupils who are gifted and talented and the school works effectively with a cluster group of schools to support joint projects.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. In the main, the school’s self-evaluation is comprehensive and accurate. Priorities for the future are well focused and well planned and the school is on target to make further improvement. The headteacher has a clear vision for the school which is focused on improving pupils’ achievements through developing basic skills and by giving them experiences which extend their personal development. The school recognises that other leadership and management roles are less developed. It has plans to make other roles and responsibilities clearer and more accountable. Accommodation and resources are used well and managed effectively. Good links with external agencies enrich and support the work of the school. The vast majority of parents and pupils feel fully involved and informed by the school. One parent said 'it is a school that is inclusive, that knows and serves its local

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Grade: 3

community well'. Inspection evidence supports these views. Every effort is made to ensure that pupils who find it difficult to concentrate in class are taught within the school. The school has a good relationship with the local community and is held in high esteem. One of the reasons for this is that it is a venue for community events, having a considerable number of lettings at rates that substantiate the inclusive ethos it holds dear. The underachievement of pupils in 2005 was unexpected and at that time the governing body was not proactive enough in seeking information. This has changed, and since September many governors have taken more active roles. However, many lack training in their roles and in particular how they can all help the headteacher move the school forward. 5 Inspection Report: South Malling CofE Primary School, 10 May 2006 to 11 May 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: South Malling CofE Primary School, 10 May 2006 to 11 May 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 3 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 3 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 3 The attendance of learners NA 1 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 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 3 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 3 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

Thank you for sharing your views of the school with us when we visited a little while ago. We really enjoyed our time with you, because everyone was so very friendly and made it easy for us to do our job. This letter is to let you know what your school does well and how you, your teachers and governors can help your school to be even better. This is what we found out: •Your school is a very friendly place and you behave well. •You appreciate all of the extra activities that the school provides for you. •The school does a good job of encouraging you to become confident in all of the things you do. •Staff work hard to make lessons interesting and you do particularly well in lessons where you are active and have a range of activities. •Your headteacher and staff work well together to make a calm and happy atmosphere in the school. •Your school council lets you have a say in how the school runs, and it has some real

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

improvements to show for its work. All of the adults in your school want it to be even better. To help them to do this, we think that these are the things the school needs to do next: •You need to work harder to improve your writing. •Teachers need to make sure that that all of you do your very best all the time. •Governors need to come and see you more to check on how everyone is doing, and help more with planning the school’s future. Thank you again for helping us to have such a great visit to your school. Wishing you a happy and successful future.

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