The Dawnay School

Inspection Report The Dawnay Primary School

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130397 Unique Reference Number Surrey Local Authority 282143 Inspection number 7 °8 November 2006 Inspection dates Christopher Gray Reporting inspector

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

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Griffin Way School address Primary Type of school Great Bookham Community School category Leatherhead KT23 4JJ 4 °11 Age range of pupils 01372 456774 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01372 452267 Fax number 320 Number on roll (school) Mrs G. Scott-Moore Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Louise Emmett Headteacher 3 April 2000 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 282143 7 °8 November 2006 4°11 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 three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

The school is bigger than most primary schools. Most pupils are of White British heritage and very few speak English as an additional language. The headteacher was appointed in September 2006. The deputy headteacher left in the summer and a replacement has not yet been appointed. There are more pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities than in most schools and a larger percentage than usual have statements of special educational need. The school has two intakes: one form entry into reception, with a further 30 or so pupils entering in Year 3. The school holds the Gold Active Mark for sports and the Arts Mark Silver Award.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: The Dawnay Primary School, 7 °8 November 2006

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Grade: 3

This school gives its pupils a satisfactory standard of education, with strong features in the care offered to pupils and in their personal development, both during and after the school day. Pupils' achievement is satisfactory. They achieve standards in English, mathematics and science that are broadly average by the time they leave school, though standards in mathematics have declined in recent years. Pupils' progress in this subject is satisfactory overall though it is uneven from year to year. This is because teachers do not make enough use of information from assessment in planning the next steps in pupils' learning, especially in Years 3 to 6. This means that work does not always challenge pupils at their own level. The school has begun to tackle this. Provision in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory and children make sound progress overall and good progress in personal development. By the time they enter Year 1, most meet,

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Grade: 3

and some exceed, the goals expected of them. Pupils' personal development is good throughout the school. Behaviour is good, with a very few exceptions, and those with responsibilities take them very seriously. The 'Squabble Busters' are self-evaluative; 'We do a good job' said one. Pupils have an outstanding appreciation of the desirability of leading a healthy life style and they practise this thoroughly in their approach to sport and diet. The school has good partnerships with parents, other schools and a large number of outside institutions, which make a valuable contribution to pupils' personal development. The new headteacher has given a good lead in her first few weeks and has analysed the school's strengths and weaknesses accurately. She has begun to tackle weaknesses in mathematics through staff training and through a focus on particular small groups whose achievement can be improved. School evaluation highlights all the areas for

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Grade: 3

development described in this report and a start has been made already. Overall leadership and management are satisfactory; the role of subject leaders in the evaluation process is not sufficiently developed. The curriculum is satisfactory overall. Strengths include good provision for music, information and communication technology (ICT) and a very good range of sporting and athletics activities. However, it is not enabling some pupils to reach high enough standards in mathematics. The care, guidance and support offered to pupils are satisfactory. The personal care and guidance given to pupils are good and help them to develop into responsible and considerate people. Teachers and assistants have good relationships with their pupils. Systems to track pupils' academic progress are not sufficiently developed to ensure that all pupils achieve as well as they can.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Give pupils work in mathematics which is more closely matched to their ability in order to raise standards 2 Inspection Report: The Dawnay Primary School, 7 °8 November 2006 • Enable teachers to carry out more frequent assessment of pupils' attainment and to make more use of this information when marking pupils' work and in planning lessons • Develop the role of subject coordinators so that they have greater responsibility for evaluating and improving teaching and pupils' work

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Grade: 3

Pupils reach standards by Year 6 in English, mathematics and science that are broadly average. Given their starting points, this represents satisfactory achievement. Standards in mathematics could be improved if teachers were to give pupils more challenge in their work. This is especially so for the group of pupils who are attaining at the lower end of the average band, some of whom are underachieving. The same issue occurs, though to a lesser extent, in English. Pupils make good use of their ICT skills in many subjects. By the end of Year 2, standards are average in reading, writing and mathematics, though pupils are slow to take to joined-up writing in Years 1 and 2. Recent analysis has shown that boys perform better in National Curriculum tests than girls do. Further analysis of pupils' learning styles has been planned to see if there are reasons for this. No evidence was found during the inspection to show a marked

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Grade: 3

difference in their performance. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities receive good support towards the goals in their education plans and achieve at similar rates to other pupils.

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Grade: 2

Pupils clearly enjoy school, and this is confirmed by their parents. Attendance is good and has improved since the last inspection, as has punctuality. Pupils show real care and concern for one another. The degree to which pupils adopt a healthy lifestyle is outstanding. The participation of both boys and girls in the large range of sporting activities is high. As one pupil said: 'You can do what you want. If you really like football and you're a girl, it doesn't matter'. Pupils show a good understanding of the importance of a healthy diet. Pupils feel personally safe because they are confident that adults in the school can be trusted to address the rare occurrences of bullying. They make good contributions to the school and have opportunities to take responsibility. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils have a mature approach to the views of others. Of creation, one boy said, 'I don't

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Grade: 2

believe all this could have happened without a ruler'. When one disagreed, another pointed out, 'You can believe what you believe'. Pupils' economic well-being is presently limited by weaknesses in aspects of numeracy, such as quick recall of times-tables facts. 3 Inspection Report: The Dawnay Primary School, 7 °8 November 2006

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory. Most lessons are interesting and pupils named the whole range of subjects as their favourites. Teachers have a good capacity to engage their pupils and they manage their behaviour well, even on the odd occasion when it may be challenging. There are examples of constructive marking, for example, in the Year 6 topic books. However, the use of marking is inconsistent and in some cases does not give pupils enough guidance in how to improve their work. Pupils in Years 3 to 6 are taught in ability groups ('sets') for mathematics. The groups are based on pupils' prior attainment, but all pupils in the same set are frequently given the same activity. This sometimes means that higher attaining pupils are repeating activities that they can already do. On other occasions, it results in lower attaining pupils doing only small amounts because they find the work difficult.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory and has a strong topic-based approach. It fulfils statutory requirements but planning in mathematics does not always meet all pupils' needs. The enrichment of pupils' learning through music and sporting activities is a strength, which many parents commented on, and this enhances pupils' personal development. Most extra-curricular activities are run by the school staff and outside bodies run sports and gymnastics activities after school and in lessons. Music is a strong feature of pupils' learning, both in lessons and in clubs, such as recorders or the large choir, in which boys and girls participate equally. The provision for ICT is good and gives pupils frequent opportunities to use a computer without having to share.

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Grade: 3

The school provides satisfactory care, guidance and support for its pupils. Effective health and safety arrangements are regularly reviewed and all staff are fully aware of their responsibilities with regard to child protection issues. The benefits of healthy eating are promoted and pupils are alerted to the dangers of substance abuse. Throughout the school, relationships are good and pupils have confidence in their teachers and other adults. Staff receive training in identifying vulnerable pupils. Comprehensive strategies provide good support for these children and the school is quick to liaise with outside agencies as the need arises. Good care is offered to pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities. Procedures for assessing pupils' progress are not used with sufficient rigour and frequency to ensure that pupils do not fall behind in their achievement. Pupils do not 4 Inspection Report: The Dawnay Primary School, 7 °8 November 2006

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Grade: 3

have a clear idea of how to make their work better because they are not set targets for improvement.

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Grade: 3

The school's leadership and management are satisfactory. Since her recent appointment, the headteacher has been reassessing the future direction and management structure of the school. She is providing good leadership by identifying weaknesses in present arrangements and beginning to rectify them. For example, groups of pupils who have been underachieving in mathematics are receiving focused support, and new methods to evaluate their progress are being introduced. This shows that the impact of the school's self-evaluation is satisfactory. The overall capacity to improve is satisfactory. There have been recent changes in the leadership of some subjects and some have joint leaders. The result of this is that job descriptions are not consistent in their focus on tracking and evaluating pupils' progress and improving the quality of teaching. This is currently under review and the school acknowledges the need to give greater accountability to subject leaders.

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Grade: 3

The governors are highly committed to the school, have a clear understanding of their role, and provide good support. They are developing their knowledge of the school's strengths and weaknesses. 5 Inspection Report: The Dawnay Primary School, 7 °8 November 2006 .

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Grade: 3

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: The Dawnay Primary School, 7 °8 November 2006

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Inspection judgements

School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 3 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 3 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

3 How well do learners achieve? 3 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The behaviour of learners 2 The attendance of learners 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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and interests of learners?

3 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 7 Inspection Report: The Dawnay Primary School, 7 °8 November 2006

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 8 Inspection Report: The Dawnay Primary School, 7 °8 November 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

We enjoyed our visit to your school and thank you for being so friendly and welcoming. One of the things we liked best was talking to groups of you about your school and your ideas. I promised you that some of you might recognise quotations from what you said in the report and this letter; I wonder if you will. You behave well for most of the time and show care and responsibility for those younger or less fortunate than you. You are particularly good at setting examples of healthy lifestyles, with all the exercise you enjoy and the sensible foods you eat. As one of you told us, 'A balanced diet is more important than just and;quot;healthy foodand;quot; '. You enjoy the many good things your school has to offer, such as outings or belonging to the choir. One of the subjects you are fond of is ICT and you are lucky to have so many computers available to you. You have good relationships with all the adults in the school and they do their best to see that

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

you are safe and happy. Some of you reach good standards in English and mathematics, but, given extra help, more of you could reach higher levels in mathematics. We have asked teachers to keep a regular check on how much progress you are making, so that they can quickly spot if anyone falls behind. We have also asked them to make sure that the work they give you is of the right level of difficulty - not too easy or too hard. They may set targets for some of you, such as to use joined up writing or to make your books neater. Your headteacher has been with you for only a few weeks but already knows the school well. She has started on some of the things we are asking the school to do. Another of these is about those teachers who are in charge of subjects, to give them opportunities to see how well you are learning. I hope you continue to enjoy your time at The Dawnay. Yours sincerely Christopher GrayLead Inspector

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

9 Inspection Report: The Dawnay Primary School, 7 °8 November 2006

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