Priestley Primary School

Inspection Report Priestley Primary School

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126254 Unique Reference Number Wiltshire LEA 282083 Inspection number 20 June 2006 to 21 June 2006 Inspection dates Mo Roberts HMI Reporting inspector

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

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Prince Charles Drive School address Primary Type of school Calne Community School category Wiltshire SN11 8TG 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01249 812608 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01249 815573 Fax number 163 Number on roll Mr Chris Holland Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Andy Marsh-Ballard Headteacher 2 October 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 282083 20 June 2006 - 4 to 11 21 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 one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors and an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

Priestley Primary School is slightly smaller than the average primary school. It is located on the north-east of Calne and most of the pupils come from the local authority housing around the school. There is some marked social disadvantage locally. The proportion of pupils receiving free school meals is close to the national average. The proportion of pupils identified with learning difficulties or disabilities is twice as high as the national average. Over three quarters of the pupils are from White British backgrounds; almost all of those from minority ethnic groups speak English as their first language. The number of pupils has declined and the school has fewer staff than at the last inspection. A new headteacher joined the school in September 2005.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Priestley Primary School, 20 June 2006 to 21 June 2006

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Grade: 4

This school does not currently provide an effective education for its pupils. Standards are too low. However, the new headteacher has made a good start at halting the decline in pupils’ unsatisfactory achievement and pupils now make satisfactory progress in lessons. The headteacher has also rapidly developed and extended the work aimed at revitalising the school begun by the deputy headteacher when she was acting headteacher last summer. Pupils’ behaviour is now good. The quality of teaching has improved to a point where it is satisfactory overall, although it is not consistently good enough to make up for previous underachievement. Pupils in Reception and Year 6 make good progress because the teaching and provision are good in these classes. Teaching in the other classes does not ensure that every pupil is always challenged to their full potential. Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher has

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Grade: 4

forged a new senior management team with the vision and capacity to succeed. Together they have improved the accommodation, the budget, and the morale of both pupils and staff. Robust systems for monitoring pupils’ progress have been put in place to support continued improvement. The curriculum and the personal development and well-being of all pupils are satisfactory. Standards in information and communication technology (ICT) have risen, but other issues identified during the last inspection are not fully resolved. The school has been unsuccessful in recruiting a complete governing body. Those in post fulfil their statutory duties but they are not able to offer the level of support and challenge the school requires. The school evaluated its overall effectiveness as satisfactory, but because pupils’ academic achievement is so low compared with similar schools, this is not the case. The school consequently provides unsatisfactory value for money.

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Grade: 4

In accordance with section 13 (3) of the Education Act 2005, HMCI is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than in all the circumstances it could reasonably be expected to perform. The school is therefore given a Notice to Improve. Significant improvement is required in relation to: raising achievement and standards in English, mathematics and science for pupils in Year 1 to Year 6, and in developing the governing body so that it can fully support the school.

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What the school should do to improve further

• drive forward the initiatives to raise achievement and standards in English and mathematics, and devise a similar strategy to improve science • recruit and train sufficient governors to ensure that the school and the leadership team are fully supported and challenged • develop more consistency in the quality of teaching to ensure all pupils in all classes are fully challenged and progress well. 2 Inspection Report: Priestley Primary School, 20 June 2006 to 21 June 2006

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Grade: 4

Pupils make satisfactory progress in lessons, however they do not make enough progress to make up for previous gaps in their learning. Standards are too low. In both key stages, the schools’ results in national tests have been well below the national average for the last five years in English, mathematics and science. In the last two years, achievement and standards have been exceptionally low, although there are signs of improvement in mathematics in Years 1 and 2. Many children start school with skills and experiences that are lower than are normally found for children of this age, except in their physical skills. Their exact starting points are accurately established a few weeks after pupils start at the school. By the end of the Reception Year, they have made good progress, with the majority reaching the levels expected for children of their age. This momentum is not maintained, except in mathematics, and pupils do

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Grade: 4

not reach the required standards in reading, writing and science by the age of seven. The school did not meet its targets in 2005 for the pupils at the end of Key Stage 2. Pupils with learning difficulties follow a similar general pattern to that of their classmates. The new headteacher has taken swift action to diagnose and address the key problem areas. The pupils’ books and inspection evidence show that progress this year is satisfactory and that standards are slowly beginning to rise. Almost all pupils now have suitable individual targets for improvement.

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Grade: 3

The personal development and well-being of pupils are satisfactory. Attendance figures show an improving picture, almost reaching the national average recently. Pupils enjoy school. They demonstrate good attitudes and care for each other. There is mutual respect between staff and pupils, and relationships within the school are good. The behaviour of pupils has improved markedly and is now good. The staff have worked hard to develop this and to provide an atmosphere in which children are becoming more enthusiastic and confident learners. Pupils’ current level of achievement, however, is too low overall to ensure their future economic well-being. Pupil’s spiritual, moral and cultural development is satisfactory. Social development is good because of the emphasis placed on pupils being part of a community. In Reception, pupils learn the importance of working and cooperating with others and this cooperative spirit continues throughout the school. The school council involves

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Grade: 3

pupils in thinking about how they can make the school better, for example through the development of the house points system. Pupils have a good understanding of the need to eat healthily, take regular exercise and keep themselves safe. They contribute to the community by raising money for charity and taking part in locally run competitions such as the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. The school forges strong links with the secondary school through joint sporting and cultural activities and transfer arrangements at the end of Year 6 are exceptionally good for all pupils, including the most vulnerable. 3 Inspection Report: Priestley Primary School, 20 June 2006 to 21 June 2006

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Grade: 3

Teaching has improved and is now satisfactory. This enables pupils to make satisfactory progress in their lessons but is not yet good enough to make up for previous poor progress. The new initiatives for improvement, for example in writing, are being used effectively to raise the standards. However, teaching is still not consistently good enough to ensure that all pupils succeed all the time. Pupils in Reception and in Year 6 are consistently well taught and they learn at a good speed in these classes. In the other year groups, pupils who learn at different rates do not always have their needs fully met. The more able pupils are not always challenged sufficiently. Records sometimes lack enough detail to monitor pupils’ progress effectively, especially for one or two of the pupils with learning difficulties. Teaching assistants offer good support when working with groups and on a one-to-one basis. In the best lessons,

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Grade: 3

plans are clear and well matched to every pupil’s needs. These lessons are briskly paced and teachers monitor assiduously to check that pupils understand the key points. The teachers’ questions help all learners. For example, children in Reception were all introduced to complex words aimed at extending the more able, but by the end of the session, all children understood the meaning of the word ‘camouflaged’. Where planning is weakest, it fails to match the age and needs of the pupils. Questions are too narrow and do not encourage pupils to think for themselves, or, in mathematics, make them think of various ways to solve a problem. When the pace lacks urgency, pupils get restless while waiting for the next point or instruction. Some introductions to lessons are too long for the attention span of younger pupils in some classes. Assessment is not used by these teachers with sufficiently rigour to identify the next step in learning

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Grade: 3

for each pupil and to ensure it is built into future planning.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory in its breadth and balance, following a recent review of the time spent on each subject. The curriculum in Reception is well designed to promote learning. Links are being developed between subjects through the implementation of a new whole-school curriculum plan. Throughout the school, additional programmes for mathematics and English provide support for a range of pupils who need additional help. However, the school has an insufficient range of activities that effectively challenge and engage the more able pupils. There is a satisfactory range of additional activities provided by the school. These are in addition to those, such as sports clubs, that are supported by the secondary school. The school provides a good range of educational visits, including a Year 6 residential visit. A strong feature of the curriculum is the personal and social education programme. This helps pupils to understand how

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Grade: 3

they can lead healthy and safe lives, and to begin to understand the responsibilities of being a citizen. Across the curriculum, ICT is used satisfactorily. This is an improvement since the last inspection. 4 Inspection Report: Priestley Primary School, 20 June 2006 to 21 June 2006

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Grade: 3

The care, guidance and support given to pupils is satisfactory. Staff ensure that children are safe and give them good guidance on how to keep healthy. Child protection arrangements are satisfactory and are understood by all staff. Risk assessments are attended to carefully. Pupils feel safe from bullying and are confident that they can talk to an adult who will help if they have any concerns. Recent changes have ensured that pupils with learning difficulties are particularly well cared for and are now supported effectively. A satisfactory start has been made on the use of individual targets for pupils and most pupils are aware of their goals. However, some are less clear as to what steps they need to take to reach them. The systems for monitoring pupils’ progress are generally effective. Previous weaknesses in closely tracking pupils with learning difficulties have been largely resolved.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are now satisfactory. The school’s self-evaluation is mostly accurate and includes evidence from the new monitoring systems that have been introduced. The school’s over-estimation of its effectiveness is because the full impact of low achievement and standards over previous years has not been taken into account sufficiently. The headteacher and senior managers have moved the school forward in many respects since September; the budget has been sorted out, the buildings improved and the pupils are calmer. The introduction of the house points system and the weekly celebration assemblies has worked to raise self-belief and confidence amongst the pupils. Parents are positive about the recent changes and staff are involving them more. The new computerised monitoring system has helped the management team to decide where additional effort and support are needed to ensure improvements in pupils’ achievement. Staff work well together and have begun

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Grade: 3

to share the good practice that exists. Senior managers have recently had valuable assistance from a local authority adviser and an advisory headteacher. This has helped them to get the school’s basic systems working more effectively, including the detailed monitoring of teaching and learning. The governors work with the new headteacher well, but they recognise that they are too few in number to be effective in supporting and challenging the school’s attempts to raise standards and pupils’ achievement. The school improvement plan is clear and recent initiatives, such as successfully raising pupils’ attendance levels, show that the school has the capacity to improve further. 5 Inspection Report: Priestley Primary School, 20 June 2006 to 21 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: Priestley Primary School, 20 June 2006 to 21 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 2 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 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 4 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 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 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 3 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 4 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 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 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 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 into your school and being so friendly. We really enjoyed the two days we spent with you. We were very pleased to see how much you enjoy coming to school. These are the things we liked most about your school: You behave sensibly and care for each other; this means the school is a safe and happy place. The youngest pupils in the school get a great start to school. Your headteacher and staff care for you well and are already working hard to help the school improve. You are beginning to understand about why we need to eat healthy food and to take lots of exercise. The Year 6 pupils have worked hard to try and improve their work so they are ready for secondary school. They have had good opportunities to get ready for their move in September. These are the things we think the school needs to improve: We have asked your teachers to make sure that you all learn as fast as you can in reading and

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

writing (English), mathematics and science as standards are not high enough in the school. We have asked the school to find more people in the local community who would like to be governors, so they can help to check that your school is a good place where all children learn as much as they can. We have asked your teachers to share with each other their ideas and methods for helping you to learn and progress, so all lessons are always a challenge for you. In a year’s time, inspectors will come back to the school to see the progress that has been made, so we hope that you will work hard for your teachers. With very best wishes for the future and keep up the recent good work on getting to school everyday and on time!

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