Dunton Green Primary School

Inspection Report Dunton Green Primary School

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118272 Unique Reference Number Kent LEA 280283 Inspection number 28 June 2006 to 29 June 2006 Inspection dates Clive Lewis AI Reporting inspector

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

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London Road School address Primary Type of school Dunton Green Community School category Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 2UR 5 to 11 Age range of pupils 01732 462221 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01732 743263 Fax number 170 Number on roll Mrs Hazel Lankestaer Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Miss C A Barton Headteacher 28 February 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 280283 28 June 2006 - 5 to 11 29 June 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

Dunton Green is a school of average size. There are few pupils who come from a minority ethnic heritage and a very small number for whom English is an additional language. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is below the national average. Attainment on entry is below average and the school has more pupils than average with learning difficulties and disabilities.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Dunton Green Primary School, 28 June 2006 to 29 June 2006

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Grade: 2

Dunton Green is a good school, a judgement senior management now subscribe to in their own evaluation of the school’s effectiveness. The school is well led and pupils make good progress because of the effective leadership, good teaching and a positive working environment for pupils. Children in the Reception year are now making satisfactory progress as a result of the introduction of an age-appropriate curriculum and more child-centred teaching. The majority are on course to attain the nationally expected early learning goals by the start of Year 1. Achievement in Years 1 to 6 is good and as a result, pupils’ attainment by the end of Year 6 is above the national average. The school is responding well to the disappointing results in writing and science in 2005. However, although the initiatives introduced have begun to show real improvements, there is still a need for more focus on writing across the curriculum,

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Grade: 2

for example in history and religious education. Although there are clear signs that standards in science are beginning to improve, more regular opportunities for pupils to investigate and experiment would improve standards further. Teaching and learning are good and typically, lessons are very lively and interesting. As a result, pupils take part with real enthusiasm. The curriculum offers pupils a good variety of interesting activities. Pupils’ attitudes and behaviour are good, they clearly enjoy school and this is reflected in their good attendance. Relationships are very good and play a key role in the good progress pupils make in their personal development. The provision for care and support is good. Parents are very positive about the school. The good leadership of the headteacher and the good support of the staff and governors give the school good capacity to improve further. The school provides good

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What the school should do to improve further

•Develop further the quality of provision in the Foundation Stage to enable children to achieve even better. •Further extend the opportunities for writing across the curriculum in order to consolidate the improvement in writing standards throughout the school. •Provide more consistent and regular opportunities for practical scientific enquiry in order to further improve standards in science.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ achievement is good and standards, apart from a dip in writing and science last year, have been broadly maintained since the last inspection. Children’s attainment on entry fluctuates significantly but is below average overall. The significant decline in writing and science standards in 2005 has been tackled well by the school and improvements are now beginning to show. Children are now making at least satisfactory progress during their Reception year as a result of the much improved provision introduced from the beginning of the school year. However, a small minority will not have attained expected standards for their age by the time they enter Year 1. Pupils 2 Inspection Report: Dunton Green Primary School, 28 June 2006 to 29 June 2006 in Years 1 and 2 make good progress and, as a result, their attainment by the end of Year 2 is close to the national average. From Year 2 onwards, this is built on well so

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Grade: 2

that by Year 6 attainment is above average. Boys and girls achieve equally well and there is no difference in the achievement of pupils of different cultural heritage. More able pupils, those with learning difficulties and disabilities and those with English as an additional language also achieve well. The challenging targets set in 2005 were broadly met although the numbers of pupils achieving higher levels for writing at age 7 and for science at age 11 were below predictions. The school has set equally challenging targets for current Year 6 pupils.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development and well-being are good. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. They respond well to the good opportunities provided for them to show respect and care for others. Pupils know their concerns will be listened to by all staff, and the youngest children in the school are well supported by older pupils. Pupils gain a good understanding of other cultures and through assemblies have good opportunities to reflect on their own and others’ feelings. Although a few very minor instances of inappropriate behaviour can occur, behaviour in and around school is good. Attendance is above average and is monitored well. Pupils state that they enjoy school because of its friendly atmosphere. Pupils are encouraged effectively to adopt healthy lifestyles through healthy eating and regular sport. Play areas are well equipped to encourage physical activity. Pupils feel safe and well cared for. The school council represents pupils’ views well and pupils

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Grade: 2

make a good contribution to the community through their active involvement in sponsored activities for charity. Older pupils act as ‘buddies’ for the younger ones, helping them in many ways. They all enjoy opportunities to work in teams, and develop skills that contribute well to their future economic well-being.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good. Typically, lessons are well planned and resourced and fully engage pupils in a very positive learning atmosphere. Very good relationships are used well to encourage pupils and to ensure they behave well. Pupils are attentive and well motivated although at times they learn at a slower pace because the planning for lessons does not challenge them sufficiently to stay on task. A good range of resources, such as interactive whiteboards and practical mathematics equipment, is used effectively to enhance learning. Teaching assistants provide good support for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities to ensure their active participation in lessons. Pupils have clear targets for 3 Inspection Report: Dunton Green Primary School, 28 June 2006 to 29 June 2006 what they should achieve and regularly assess these. This enables them to understand what they are working towards and provides a clear focus for teachers’ planning.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good and covers all the subjects and areas that it should. Now that an appropriate child-centred, Early Years curriculum has been introduced in the Reception class, children are making better progress. There is appropriate emphasis on developing pupils’ reading and mathematical skills and the new curriculum initiatives to support writing across the school are beginning to show improvements. Opportunities for practical investigations in science are limited and, following good improvements in information and communication technology (ICT) since the previous inspection, better ICT links have been established with other subjects. There is an inspiring range of out-of-school activities and clubs including a wide range of sports. All these activities are greatly enjoyed by pupils and encourage them to lead active and healthy lives. Pupils’ learning is regularly enriched by visits to museums and the local environment

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Grade: 2

and visitors to the school, who include dancers, musicians and authors. These opportunities widen pupils’ interests and help guide their future lifestyles. The school makes good provision for pupils who have learning difficulties and, as a result, they make good progress. Gifted and talented pupils also have their skills extended effectively by a range of additional activities in and out of school organised in conjunction with the local cluster of primary schools.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good. The school provides a caring and supportive environment where pupils are happy and confident. Teachers know the pupils well and the very good relationships established are a key factor in the good progress pupils make. Pupils with particular learning difficulties receive good quality extra support where necessary and make good progress. Good attention is paid to ensuring pupils’ health and safety. Child protection and health and safety procedures are securely in place and known by all. Arrangements for pupils to transfer to secondary school are effective and ensure that learners are confident in coping with new situations. The school’s systems for tracking pupils’ progress are good and the information is used well to promote faster learning. All pupils are aware of and work hard to achieve their challenging targets in English and mathematics.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher and governors set a clear educational direction for the school, clearly linked to school improvement. They successfully promote the well-being of all pupils with good regard for equality of opportunity. Although the school was unnecessarily modest in its judgements earlier 4 Inspection Report: Dunton Green Primary School, 28 June 2006 to 29 June 2006 in the school year because of the significant upheaval in staffing, the methods for evaluating the school’s work, the effectiveness of decisions and areas to be improved are good. Areas for development are acted upon effectively. Teamwork is promoted strongly and is reflected in the school improvement plan which was created with the full involvement of staff and governors. Subject leaders manage their areas of responsibility well and, together with the effective use of external expertise, are impacting positively on pupils’ learning. For example, provisional data indicate that

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Grade: 2

the strategies employed to raise standards in writing and science are beginning to have the desired effect in matching the high standards pupils achieve in reading and mathematics. Governance is good and the governors use their clear understanding of the school effectively to hold it to account. They manage the school’s finances well and ensure that efficient use is made of resources. Parents are very satisfied with the school and are effectively involved in helping their children to learn. The school has a good capacity to improve further and provides good value for money. 5 Inspection Report: Dunton Green Primary School, 28 June 2006 to 29 June 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: Dunton Green Primary School, 28 June 2006 to 29 June 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 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

Thank you for welcoming us to your school. We enjoyed our visit and seeing you at work and play. You gave us lots of comments that helped us to form a true picture of your school. This is what we found out: •Your teachers and all other adults in the school help you to learn well. •You behave well and you know how to tell right from wrong. •You clearly enjoy coming to school because there are lots of interesting activities for you to take part in. •We were pleased that your level of attendance is better than many schools. •We were impressed that the school is helping you to stay healthy by encouraging you to eat healthy foods and take regular exercise. •We also liked the way that you get on very well together, support each other and care for one another. There are three things we have asked the school to do to make it even better: •To give you more opportunities to practise your writing in other subjects. •To continue to

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

improve the Reception class. •To give you more chances to investigate and experiment in science. We think that your school is a good one and one which you should be proud of. We are confident that, with your help, the school will improve still further. Good luck to you all in the future.

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