Newchurch Primary School

Inspection Report Newchurch Primary School

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118162 Unique Reference Number Isle of Wight LEA LEA 280252 Inspection number 1 February 2006 to 2 February 2006 Inspection dates Andrew Olive HMI Reporting inspector

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

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Newchurch School address Primary Type of school Sandown Community School category PO36 0NL 5 to 9 Age range of pupils 01983865210 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01983865210 Fax number 190 Number on roll Mr Colin Richards Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs A Watts Headteacher 21 March 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 280252 1 February 2006 - 5 to 9 2 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 and one of Her Majesty's Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Newchurch Primary School is an average sized primary school. Almost all pupils are from White British backgrounds. The proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is below the national average. The percentage of pupils who have learning difficulties and disabilities is also below that found in other schools. The headteacher was absent during the inspection and is leaving the school at the end of the term. From the beginning of January the school has been led by the acting deputy headteacher. At the time of the inspection three of the eight classes were taught by temporary teachers.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Newchurch Primary School, 1 February 2006 to 2 February 2006

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Grade: 4

Newchurch Primary School views its effectiveness as satisfactory. The inspection team agrees that while some elements are satisfactory, the school's effectiveness overall is inadequate. This is because weaknesses in leadership over a period of time have led to the school's performance not being monitored and evaluated effectively. Consequently, the standards attained by the pupils have declined. The school has deteriorated since the last inspection and provides unsatisfactory value for money.The current, highly committed leadership team has started to identify the improvements that are necessary to address the weaknesses. However, the lack of opportunities in recent years to carry out their leadership and management roles has restricted the team members' understanding of how the school works as a whole, so they do not have the capacity to bring about the improvement required. Children in the Reception

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Grade: 4

class are well cared for and they make satisfactory progress. By the end of Year 4, the pupils' achievement in reading is satisfactory but the progress made across the school in writing and mathematics is inadequate, particularly for higher attaining pupils. The quality of teaching and learning is unsatisfactory overall. At times, the teachers' expectations are too low and assessment information is not used well enough to match work to the abilities of the pupils. Relationships between the pupils and teachers are good and contribute to the school's positive ethos. The pupils enjoy school and their behaviour is good. Despite being an area for improvement at the last inspection, there is still a significant number of parents that do not feel they are able to contribute to their child's education as they would wish, and the need to improve links remains. In accordance with section 13 (5) of the Education Act 2005, HMCI is of the opinion that

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Grade: 4

this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement.

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What the school should do to improve further

* Develop rigorous self-evaluation procedures that will enable the school to identify and implement appropriate targets for improvement.* Improve the effectiveness of the school's leadership and management through providing appropriate professional development opportunities.* Improve the teachers' use of assessment information to ensure all pupils are suitably challenged, particularly the more able pupils in writing and mathematics.* Improve links with parents.

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Grade: 4

The pupils join the reception year with attainment above the level normally found for children of this age. The secure environment, good relationships and positive attitudes of the pupils enable them to make satisfactory progress so standards are still above average when the pupils enter Year 1. By the end of Year 2, standards are in line with the national average. This represents inadequate progress during Years 1 and 2. The 2 Inspection Report: Newchurch Primary School, 1 February 2006 to 2 February 2006 attainment of the more able pupils in writing and mathematics is not as good as it should be. The pupils' progress in Years 3 and 4 is satisfactory in reading; many pupils attain standards above national expectations at the end of Year 4. However, progress in writing and mathematics remains unsatisfactory as the higher attaining pupils continue to underachieve. The pupils with learning difficulties make reasonable progress

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Grade: 4

against their targets. The school has rightly identified pupils' writing as a key area for improvement and has put in place a number of measures to improve standards. These improvements contributed towards a rise in the number of pupils attaining the higher level at the end of Year 2 in 2005, though the school appreciates underachievement in writing remains. The school assesses annually the progress made by pupils in reading, writing, mathematics and science. The analysis of this data has improved, but is not yet as rigorous as it needs to be to drive forward school improvement. For example, the school has recently become aware of differences in the performance of boys and girls in English but the progress made by higher attaining pupils is not analysed.

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Grade: 3

Pupils' personal development and well-being are satisfactory. The behaviour and attitudes of pupils are good, and it is evident that they enjoy their time at school. Pupils show good levels of respect for others so that there is little bullying or intimidating behaviour. They make good relationships with teachers and other adults and are confident that the school listens to their views. Those pupils appointed as 'playground buddies' help those who feel left out at playtimes. Attendance levels are satisfactory. Pupils' spiritual, moral, and cultural development is satisfactory. Their social development is good as a result of teaching in circle time, opportunities to participate through the school council and the house system, and the strong community links. Pupils learn about healthy lifestyles through the school's participation in the national fruit and vegetable scheme and have opportunities to drink water or healthy

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Grade: 3

drinks during the day. All pupils undertake two hours of physical education each week and there are further opportunities through after-school activities. Skills developed in literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology (ICT)contribute to pupils' future economic well-being, but there are limited opportunities for teamwork and work in pairs, which restrict the development of their decision-making skills.

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Grade: 4

Overall, the quality of teaching and learning is inadequate because pupils do not progress over time as well as they could, given their good levels of attainment on entry to the school. However, observations of individual lessons indicate that some teaching is satisfactory or good. Where teaching is more effective, the teachers explain to the pupils what they expect them to learn and work is well matched to their prior attainment. A good pace is maintained and teachers are more ambitious in the range 3 Inspection Report: Newchurch Primary School, 1 February 2006 to 2 February 2006 of approaches they use; for example, the use of drama techniques and the interactive whiteboards, which sustains pupils' enjoyment and concentration. Where teaching is less effective, teachers do not use assessment information to plan tasks for the more able pupils that are sufficiently challenging. The lack of involvement of some pupils

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Grade: 4

in whole class sessions leads to them not learning as well as they could. During the lessons, the teachers' questioning and feedback focuses more on how well the pupils carry out the activity rather than what they are learning. These inadequacies are especially evident in literacy and numeracy lessons. Teaching assistants provide good support for class-teachers, though some assistants could support the pupils' learning more directly during whole-class sessions.

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Grade: 3

The school's curriculum is satisfactory overall, but teaching time for pupils in Year 3 and Year 4 is less than in most schools. The curriculum is not sufficiently meeting the needs of all pupils; there is not enough adaptation for higher-attaining pupils, particularly in literacy and numeracy, though provision for pupils who have learning difficulties is satisfactory. The curriculum also contains some good, innovative features. Effective use is being made of links with a local secondary Sports College to improve provision for physical education. History and geography are taught well by a subject specialist from Year 1 to Year 4. In Years 3 and 4, teachers have opportunities to teach to their individual strengths in music, physical education, ICT and English. The curriculum includes good opportunities for pupils' personal development in circle time and in personal, social and health education.

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Grade: 3

The quality of care provided by the school is satisfactory. Relationships between the pupils and teachers are good and contribute to the positive ethos of the school. Teachers and other members of staff are evidently committed to pupils' welfare, though following staff changes technical details regarding child protection need to be resolved. Target-setting arrangements for pupils are satisfactory, but their implementation across the school and the impact they have on raising standards are inconsistent. Close links exist with the on-site nursery, facilitating the smooth arrival of these pupils in the Reception class. Transition arrangements for Year 4 pupils to the middle school are satisfactory and involve opportunities for pupils to visit and for teaching staff to share pastoral and assessment information.

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Grade: 4

The inspectors agree with the school's judgement that the leadership and management of the school are unsatisfactory. The headteacher has not put into place systems to enable the school to evaluate its effectiveness. There is insufficient monitoring of the 4 Inspection Report: Newchurch Primary School, 1 February 2006 to 2 February 2006 quality of provision and of the progress the pupils are making. Consequently, the senior staff and governors do not have an accurate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school and planning for school improvement is poor. The improvement since the last inspection has been unsatisfactory as the school's performance has declined. The only specific issue from the previous report was to improve links with parents. However, the parental questionnaires returned to inspectors indicate that many parents still have concerns about their level of involvement in their

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Grade: 4

children's education. The senior management team is working very hard to implement developments and members are considering priorities as they devise a school action plan. The recent whole-school work on improving the quality of the pupils' writing has been embraced by all staff and is making a difference to pupils' achievement. However, key stage and subject co-ordinators are not as effective as they could be because they have not been well led. Their roles and responsibilities are unclear and not sufficiently focused on improving the quality of provision. The lack of professional development afforded to them means that, at present, there is not the capacity within the school to secure the necessary improvement. For example, the quality of teaching has not been monitored effectively so the teachers do not receive regular, good quality feedback to help them improve their own performance. The governors and local

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Grade: 4

authority have arranged appropriate support for the acting deputy headteacher for next term.The governing body has been frustrated in its efforts to challenge the school effectively and has not been able to ensure rigorous self-evaluation is carried out. Important statutory requirements, such as performance management for teachers, are not fully in place. 5 Inspection Report: Newchurch Primary School, 1 February 2006 to 2 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: Newchurch Primary School, 1 February 2006 to 2 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 3 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 4 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA No The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA No Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 4 How well do learners achieve? NA 3 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 4 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 3 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 3 The attendance of learners NA 3 How well learners enjoy their education NA 3 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 3 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 3 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 4 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 4 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 4 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 4 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 4 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 No 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 No 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 very much for helping us to feel welcome in your school and for answering our questions and sharing your work with us. I expect you have heard that following our visit we have decided that your school needs special measures. This means that, though your school does some things well, there are some very important areas we think the school needs help to sort out. Here are some of the good things we found:* You enjoy school and behave well both in the classrooms and around the school * Your teachers and other adults look after you carefully. They make sure that you get help if you need it* You work hard in class and do well with your reading* You have a useful school council that helps you improve things in the playground, like the buddy bench and the playground game* You have a number of school clubs which sound like fun. Here are some of the things that we thought should be better:* The people who lead your

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

school and the governors need to spend more time making sure you are all learning as well as possible and deciding what things need to be improved* Even though you work hard, your teachers could help you do better at writing and mathematics, especially those of you who find the work quite easy* The school should help your parents and carers to know more about how you are getting on in school and how they can help you.You will not be surprised that we have asked the school to improve these things as quickly as possible. Your teachers will be provided with the help they need and inspectors will visit the school regularly to check on the progress being made. We hope you enjoy the rest of your time at Newchurch Primary School and that you do your very best.

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