Seghill First School

122225 Unique Reference Number Northumberland LEA 281198 Inspection number 9 March 2006 to 10 March 2006 Inspection dates Mr Geoffrey Cooper Reporting inspector

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

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Seghill School address First Type of school Cramlington Community School category Northumberland NE23 7SB 3 to 9 Age range of pupils 0191 2370419 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0191 2373518 Fax number 190 Number on roll Mrs Lesley Laws Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr John Swinhoe Headteacher 1 October 1999 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281198 9 March 2006 - 3 to 9 10 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

Seghill Community First is a village school set in a former mining community on the edge of the Tyne and Wear conurbation. National data shows some relative educational disadvantage. Pupils come from an entirely white-British background. The proportion of pupils entitled to a free school meal is a little higher than the national average. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is about average although more pupils than usual have a statement of special educational need. Attainment on entry to school is a little below that which is typical for children of similar age. Speech and language skills are particularly weak.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Seghill First School, 9 March 2006 to 10 March 2006

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Grade: 2

This is a good school which provides good value for money. This judgement matches the school’s own accurate evaluation of its effectiveness. Senior staff and governors have a secure understanding of what the school does well and what needs to improve. Teaching is good, although the marking of pupils’ work in mathematics does not always show them how to improve and some science lessons lack challenge for the more able pupils. Standards are above average throughout the school and pupils make good progress, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. However, younger Year 2 pupils do not do as well as older ones in the same class. The quality of education in the Foundation Stage is good and the children make good progress. Pupils have positive attitudes to lessons and behave well, maturing rapidly in their personal development, but attendance is below the national average. The curriculum and the

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Grade: 2

care, support and guidance for pupils are good. The school is well led and managed. The school has made a good improvement since the previous inspection and is well placed to make further improvement. The school works well with outside agencies to enhance its effectiveness. It earns the respect of pupils and benefits from the positive views of parents. not applicable

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What the school should do to improve further

• Reduce the gap in attainment between the oldest and youngest pupils at in Year 2. • Ensure that the more able pupils in Years 3 and 4 are sufficiently challenged in science lessons. • Ensure that marking of the pupils’ mathematical work always shows them clearly how to improve. • Improve attendance further.

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Grade: 2

Achievement is good overall. Pupils make good progress throughout the school and standards are consistently above average. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities also make good progress even though their individual targets for progress sometimes lack clarity. Most children in the Foundation Stage are well on target to achieve the goals set for their age. They make good progress, especially in communication, language and literacy. The results of national tests and the pupils’ work show that standards are above average in Year 2. Because the school has given special attention to reading in the past, standards of reading have risen in each of the last four years. Although standards in writing are still above average, they are not as high as they were because of the school’s switched priority to improvement of reading. Standards in mathematics are above 2 Inspection Report: Seghill First School, 9 March 2006 to 10 March 2006

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Grade: 2

average. Standards in science are also above average with more than one pupil in three exceeding the standard expected for this age. However, the younger pupils in Year 2 tend to achieve less well than other pupils. In Year 4, standards in English and mathematics are again above average. Standards in information and communication technology (ICT) have improved and are now above average. However, by contrast with Year 2, higher achieving pupils in Years 3 and 4 are not always challenged by their work in science, which limits the progress they make.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development and their well-being, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, are good. Assemblies, religious education lessons and provision for personal and social education contribute a great deal to this. The consistently good example set by all of the staff further enhances pupils’ personal development. Pupils’ behaviour and attitudes are now good at all times. Despite the school’s vigorous endeavours, attendance is below average. Although most pupils have good attendance records, holidays in term time and the poor attendance of a few pupils reduce the overall figure. Pupils’ own declared enjoyment of school is confirmed by the views of parents. The pupils that say they feel safe in school. They say that the school helps them to live healthily, providing healthy choices at lunchtime and encouraging physical exercise. Pupils are well equipped with the skills necessary for the next stage of education and

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Grade: 2

for future adult life. Basic skills in literacy, numeracy and ICT are well developed. Life skills are further enhanced by pupils’ personal and social skills.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good. The teachers manage pupils’ behaviour well and hold their pupils’ attention in lessons. Good relationships are a characteristic of lessons. Learning objectives and criteria for success are understood by pupils. Time, resources and the talents of the teaching assistants are all used effectively to stimulate pupils and maintain good behaviour. The teachers use ICT well to illustrate key points of the lesson and to motivate the pupils. The teaching of investigative science has improved and standards have risen but could be higher still. Despite the teachers’ generally high expectations of pupils, in Years 3 and 4 the work in science is too easy for the more able children, and pupils’ reports of their practical work are not written independently. Marking in mathematics, while satisfactory, does not always tell pupils how to improve their work. 3 Inspection Report: Seghill First School, 9 March 2006 to 10 March 2006

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good. Statutory requirements are met and the school responds effectively to national initiatives. It seeks to engage learners actively by making useful links between subjects and by finding stimulating and imaginative approaches to lessons which have beneficial effects of teaching and learning. A good programme of personal, social and health education has resulted in better behaviour and attitudes. The school makes proper provision for drugs awareness and sex and relationships education. The curriculum is further enriched by visitors to school, for example, representatives of the local community. Visits out of school and local studies also enhance the curriculum. Beyond the classroom, pupils take advantage of the homework club and participate in a range of after-school activities, including the choir, swimming, soccer training and learning playground games.

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Grade: 2

The care, guidance and support for pupils are good. Arrangements for health and safety are well managed, taking their lead from local authority guidance. There has been recent training for child protection. The awareness of all staff is enhanced by constant reminders about health and safety regulations and that every child matters. Staff are well placed to support and guide, because they know individual pupils well within a trusting relationship. The school has responded to expectations that, as far as is possible, pupils are healthy, happy and in a position to develop life skills. Pupils’ progress is monitored carefully. Although pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress, their targets for learning are too sometimes broad and do not give a sharp enough focus to their work. Information about attainment is used well to ensure that pupils continue to make progress. Tests are analysed to identify curricular strengths and areas for improvement.

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Grade: 2

However, a new way of analysing national achievement data reveals that the youngest pupils in Year 2 have not made as much progress as the older ones. This has caught the school by surprise and raised an issue for it to deal with.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher has created an effective team who work extremely well together. He has sharpened his own leadership skills while simultaneously developing those of other leaders, who provide good examples for the staff to follow. Leadership at all levels is well focused on achievement. Self-evaluation and monitoring of lessons are well established and accurate. The headteacher’s clear educational 4 Inspection Report: Seghill First School, 9 March 2006 to 10 March 2006 direction is leading to sustained improvement. Since the previous inspection, every element of school life has improved. The school’s good record of improvement, together with the combined strengths of leadership and management, shows that the school has the capacity to improve further. The governing body discharges its responsibilities well, providing a good level of challenge and support for the headteacher. This is based on a systematic monitoring

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Grade: 2

of the school’s performance and a thorough understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. The school is well staffed and the impact made on pupils’ progress by the deployment of resources and money indicates that the school’s spending decisions are providing good value for money. 5 Inspection Report: Seghill First School, 9 March 2006 to 10 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: Seghill First School, 9 March 2006 to 10 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 4 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 Mr John Swinhoe Seghill First School Seghill Cramlington Northumberland NE23 7SB 10 March 2006 Dear Children Thank you for welcoming us when we came to your school recently. We enjoyed all the smiles and polite things you did to make us feel comfortable. You attend a good school which is increasingly successful on your behalf. Your behaviour is good and, because you show an interest in lessons, you are achieving well. Teachers work hard to make learning exciting and this benefits your good achievement. Most of you find that lessons make you think. Teachers often give you good advice about how to improve when they mark your work but we think they could make this clearer in mathematics. Your school cares a great deal about you and you told us that you feel safe, healthy and happy. There are one or two things that could be better. Although children in your school generally

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

make good progress, some of the younger Year 2 children do not reach the same standards as the older ones. Sometimes the work you are expected to do doesn’t take enough notice of what you already know. Some targets need to be a bit more exact. Most of you have a good attendance record but some do not. This affects the progress of a small number of children and we have asked your school to try to make attendance better. We agree with your parents that you already work hard. You told us this, too. It will be a great encouragement to your school and the adults who work with you if you always do so. Best wishes Geoff Cooper (Lead inspector)

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