Ongar Place Primary School

Inspection Report Ongar Place Infant School

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125042 Unique Reference Number Surrey LEA LEA 281868 Inspection number 24 May 2006 to 25 May 2006 Inspection dates Wendy Simmons AI Reporting inspector

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

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Milton Road School address Infant Type of school Addlestone Community School category KT15 1NY 4 to 7 Age range of pupils 01932 842785 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01932 842785 Fax number 167 Number on roll Mrs Kay Durrant Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Gloria Liddaman Headteacher 6 June 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281868 24 May 2006 - 4 to 7 25 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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This popular school educates pupils from diverse social and economic backgrounds, although the proportion eligible for free school meals is low. Most pupils have White British backgrounds, with a few pupils from a wide range of other minority ethnic groups. A small, but increasing number of pupils speak English as an additional language. The proportion of children with learning difficulties and disabilities is lower than average. The school has gained the 'Investors in People' award and is currently working to attain 'Healthy Schools' status and the 'Partnership with Parents' awards.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Ongar Place Infant School, 24 May 2006 to 25 May 2006

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Grade: 2

Inspectors agree with the school's judgement that this is a good school with outstanding features. The school gives good value for money. Pupils' moral and social development is exceptional and results in pupils behaving extremely well. Relationships are outstanding. The school works very closely with parents, other schools and outside agencies to promote pupils' well-being. Notably, the care for vulnerable pupils is outstanding. Parents confirm that they are very happy with the school and pupils say that they really like school. Pupils make good progress and attain high standards. Children are given a good strong start to their education in the Foundation Stage and make outstanding progress in their basic reading and writing skills. Good leadership and management, especially by the headteacher, underpin this successful school. There is a good capacity for further improvement, as evident in the school's developments since the last inspection. Science has improved from

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Grade: 2

unsatisfactory to good and writing shows significant improvement. The quality of teaching, pupils' progress and attendance have improved from satisfactory to good. The school's self evaluation is good and accurately identifies marking of pupils' learning as an area for further development. The school acknowledges that there are too few books and learning resources that reflect the backgrounds of pupils learning English as an additional language. The school is already addressing these weaker elements.

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What the school should do to improve further

Focus on: • improving the marking of pupils' work, so that they are guided in how to make even more progress in extending their ideas and skills • increasing the range of learning resources that reflect the backgrounds of pupils for whom English is as an additional language.

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Grade: 2

Standards are higher than average in reading, writing, mathematics and science. Pupils also reach very high standards in swimming. Overall, pupils achieve well. Children start school showing levels of skills and knowledge that are close to those expected. They make good overall progress in the Foundation Stage and outstanding progress in reading and writing because skills are regularly practised and taught in a systematic way. Standards are higher than expected by the beginning of Year 1. Good progress continues in Years 1 and 2 because learning is challenging, exciting and well planned. 2 Inspection Report: Ongar Place Infant School, 24 May 2006 to 25 May 2006 Pupils who are learning English as an additional language make good progress due to the whole school focus on speaking and listening. Those with learning difficulties make good progress because they are quickly assessed and given effective help. More able

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Grade: 2

pupils think and learn for themselves. The school has set and achieved challenging targets to improve standards, especially in writing and science. Pupils rise to these. As one pupil commented, 'I'm a good scientist, I just love doing it'.

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Grade: 1

Personal development and well-being are outstanding. Pupils enjoy school and attend regularly. Pupils relish responsibility, as evident in their 'litter patrols' and when expressing their views to local councillors about environmental issues. Pupils are actively involved in helping the school to improve. For example, they introduced a 'Buddy Bench' for pupils feeling in need of a friend. Pupils understand about how to care for their environment and also how to manage money, as evident when the school's council priced water butts for use during the hose pipe ban. Pupils make an outstanding contribution to the community, especially by raising money for charities. Pupils are exceptionally good at making healthy lifestyle choices. Children commented, 'We are healthy because we eat apples and grapes at school'. Pupils are very aware of the importance of exercise and benefit greatly from regular swimming. Pupils are very well

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Grade: 1

prepared for their future education. Pupils' outstanding moral and social development results in outstanding behaviour. They are polite and friendly to each other and visitors and. in the last two years there have been no exclusions. Good cultural and spiritual development helps pupils to broaden their awareness of their own and other cultures. In a drive to lift cultural education from good to outstanding, the school has started to increase resources that reflect the range of languages spoken by all pupils.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good. Relationships are outstanding and this contributes strongly to pupils' enthusiasm and enjoyment of learning. Teaching and learning are good in the Foundation Stage and of very high quality in promoting of basic reading and writing skills. Throughout the school, teachers have high expectations and plan challenging work that is well matched to pupils' individual needs. As a consequence, pupils grow in confidence and develop good thinking and problem-solving strategies. Pupils develop good creative ideas, especially in writing. Pupils' speaking and listening skills are developed extremely well, thus allowing them to explain complex ideas with clarity. Teaching and learning are good for those learning English as an additional language and for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities, with assistants making a significant contribution to pupils' learning. As a result of effective assessment of

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Grade: 2

3 Inspection Report: Ongar Place Infant School, 24 May 2006 to 25 May 2006 pupils' progress, teachers set challenging and achievable targets for their improvement. Nevertheless, teachers' marking does not always guide pupils in how they might improve.

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Grade: 2

The school provides a good curriculum. The Foundation Stage curriculum effectively links all six areas of learning and fosters independent enquiry, which continues well in Years 1 and 2. Moreover, there is a strong emphasis on discussion in literacy, numeracy and science activities. These features help pupils to reach high standards by the end of Year 2. The emphasis on discussion is an important factor in why pupils learning English as an additional language make good progress. However, the school has very few dual language story books and tapes for these pupils and is attempting to overcome the issue by asking parents and advisory teachers to help with translations. The curriculum enables pupils with learning difficulties to make good progress. Pupils enjoy learning and value the good range of extra activities and interesting visits. For example, pupils made hair gel when representatives from a major company visited the

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Grade: 2

school. The curriculum enables pupils to contribute to the wider community, develop their self-esteem and adopt healthy and safe lifestyles.

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Grade: 1

The school takes outstanding care of its pupils and rigorously promotes activities that promote learners' health, personal development and safety. Pupils feel that there is always someone they can go to if they have problems or are upset. Vulnerable children are particularly well supported, for example, by making close links with mental health agencies for pupils with emotional difficulties. Robust child protection procedures are in place. Bullying is rare and parents and pupils confirm this. Good systems are in place to assess how well pupils are progressing and pupils know their targets well. Children settle quickly into school because staff are very supportive, information is very clear and a strong partnership quickly develops with parents. Parents confirm that this is a warm and caring school. As one parent said, 'It's a pity they are only here for two years'.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher is leading the school very well. Care and achievement of pupils are at the heart of the school's work. Parents agree strongly that the school is well led. One parent commented, 'They are a fabulous, caring and hardworking staff'. All managers and staff work well as a team and they regularly seek the views of pupils and parents. For example, they acted quickly to improve school uniform, at parents' request. 4 Inspection Report: Ongar Place Infant School, 24 May 2006 to 25 May 2006 The school's self evaluation is good. Leaders show a good capacity for improvement, as is evident in the way standards have risen almost continuously since the last inspection. Good leadership ensures that recent initiatives, such as 'Every Child Matters' are central to the school's work. As a result of asking pupils about what they would like, staff have introduced more investigation work and problem-solving activities to

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Grade: 2

make learning more enjoyable. They have already identified teachers' marking as an area for improvement and rigorously evaluate and review their performance, showing a desire to lift pupils' progress from good to outstanding. Governance is satisfactory. Governors are clear about the strengths and some areas for development. Recently, they have become more active in monitoring the school's performance, although this is underdeveloped. However, they are becoming more instrumental in planning and guiding school improvements, as evident in their action to increase support for more able pupils, which is working well and resulting in all pupils making progress. 5 Inspection Report: Ongar Place Infant School, 24 May 2006 to 25 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: Ongar Place Infant School, 24 May 2006 to 25 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 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 1 The behaviour of learners NA 2 The attendance of learners NA 1 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 1 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 1 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 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

Pupils You may remember that two inspectors came to your school recently to find out how good it is and how well you are doing. Thank you for being so friendly and telling us about your school. We are writing to let you know what we found out. We think that you are lucky to be attending a good school where you are really well cared for, and happy learning. Well done for working so hard and behaving so outstandingly well because this helps you to make good progress.Mrs Liddaman and other adults are working hard to make your school even better. We like the range of activities that help you to enjoy learning and think for yourselves. We know that you are well taught. We especially like the opportunities that you have to learn how to respect others and learn important social skills. You do especially well in learning to read and write and are getting very good at science, so well done for working hard on this and keep it up!

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

I have asked Mrs Liddaman and the teachers to help you even more by writing notes in your books to tell you how to make your work even better. Also, I have asked them to buy some books and CDs with different languages in them, especially for those of you who speak more than one language. Yours sincerely Wendy Simmons Lead Inspector

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