Sinclair Primary and Nursery School - Part of the Learning Federation Partnership of Schools

Inspection Report Sinclair Primary and Nursery School

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133943 Unique Reference Number Southampton LEA LEA 282395 Inspection number 26 June 2006 to 27 June 2006 Inspection dates Hilary Bonser AI Reporting inspector

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

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Sinclair Road School address Primary Type of school Lordshill Community School category Southampton SO16 8GF 3 to 11 Age range of pupils 02380736663 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 02380741649 Fax number 202 Number on roll Mrs Heidi Hinton Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Debbie Adamson Headteacher Not applicable Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 282395 26 June 2006 - 3 to 11 27 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

The school was established with a newly appointed headteacher and deputy headteacher in September 2003, following the amalgamation of two former schools. It was in temporary accommodation until January 2005. It is similar in size to many primary schools. Most pupils come from disadvantaged backgrounds. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is well above average. Most of these pupils have social, emotional or behavioural difficulties. There are very few pupils from minority ethnic groups or at an early stage of learning English. There has been a high turnover of teachers in the last two years. The school has not been inspected previously.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Sinclair Primary and Nursery School, 26 June 2006 to 27 June 2006

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Grade: 3

This is an improving school. Inspectors agree with the school that it provides a satisfactory education for its pupils and satisfactory value for money. There are particular strengths in the strong leadership of the headteacher and in the care and support for well-being of individual pupils, which is reinforced by close links with parents and outside agencies. The school identifies its weaknesses and what is needed to remedy them very accurately. In the first two years, poor temporary accommodation, inadequacies in teaching and a high turnover of teachers had a negative effect on the standards, attitudes and achievement of older pupils in particular and slowed the impact of improvements on pupils' progress. This year however, the effects of decisive and wide ranging measures to improve teaching, the management of challenging behaviour and relevance of the curriculum are starting to be seen. They also

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Grade: 3

demonstrate the capacity for further improvement. Standards are rising and the sound progress made by children in the Nursery and Reception classes continues across the school so that achievement is now satisfactory. A substantial reduction in the number of exclusions reflects improving behaviour and personal development, which are currently satisfactory. The school acknowledges much work remains to be done. Standards are low at the end of Year 6 and more able pupils are not always challenged enough. There are some weaknesses in the curriculum and inconsistencies in the quality of teaching that slow progress in some lessons due to the inattention and misbehaviour of a minority of pupils.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve the quality of teaching so that it is consistently good across the school in order to raise standards and achievement further. • Ensure that the curriculum motivates all pupils and extends the more able.

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Grade: 3

Children achieve satisfactorily overall in the Nursery and Reception classes and make good progress in their personal and social skills. A rising number of children reach the learning goals expected by the end of their reception year but few exceed them, especially in numeracy and literacy. In Years 1 to 6, boys and girls make generally sound progress, although there is some variation between year groups due to staff turbulence and inconsistencies in the quality of teaching. Overall, pupils achieve satisfactorily now in relation to their attainment on joining the school. Standards are below average in Year 2. Although they are low in Year 6, this is an improvement from the exceptionally low standards of the previous two years. Few pupils reach the higher levels in either year group, but there is a good increase from last year in the proportion of pupils reaching the expected levels in English and mathematics. These met the

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Grade: 3

challenging targets set. This is very marked in Year 6, where boys and girls of all abilities have made particularly good progress since September. The greatest improvement 2 Inspection Report: Sinclair Primary and Nursery School, 26 June 2006 to 27 June 2006 this year has been in writing and mental mathematics which are areas of focused development. Last year's improved performance in science in Year 6 has not been sustained.

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Grade: 3

Staff have created a very caring environment where most pupils now enjoy school and feel safe. As a result, the previously poor attendance has improved to satisfactory. Younger pupils enjoy lessons a great deal but older pupils say they find some lessons boring. This is evident in a few lessons where pupils become restless and some disturb the learning of others. Playground bullying was a serious concern for parents and pupils in the past. The school has rightly given high priority to reducing it. Pupils agree that bullying now rarely happens, and when it does it is dealt with well. Behaviour is satisfactory. Pupils' spiritual development is good, through opportunities to reflect and be thoughtful about serious issues. For example, in an assembly led very well by the headteacher, pupils considered important moral decisions and explained their choices. Pupils have a good sense of right and wrong, but their social skills and awareness of

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Grade: 3

other cultures are satisfactory. Pupils use the good range of playground apparatus enthusiastically at break times as part of a healthy lifestyle. They are beginning to follow advice on healthy eating. Pupils say that school values their opinions and uses them well to contribute to the running of the school. These have led, for example, to a wide range of new clubs being formed. Pupils also are highly involved in charity fund raising. They develop adequate skills for their future economic well-being through such activities, as well as learning to work in groups and improving their skills in literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall. There are many examples of good practice in lessons but these are not yet consistent across the school. The high turnover of teachers has contributed to this. In the most effective lessons, varied and lively approaches capture and hold pupils' attention. In Year 6, the teacher used mime and paired discussion well to help pupils shape and improve their descriptive writing skills. Teachers make the purpose of each part of the lesson very clear so that pupils know exactly what they are expected to learn. This, together with the brisk pace of work and skilled questioning helps pupils to concentrate and learn well. Teachers plan and work closely with the skilled teaching assistants, enabling them to provide effective support. Staff generally manage incidents of very challenging behaviour well. However, in less effective lessons, teachers do not have high enough expectations of general

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Grade: 3

behaviour and noise levels. This results in low level disturbance that hinders pupils' 3 Inspection Report: Sinclair Primary and Nursery School, 26 June 2006 to 27 June 2006 learning. Although teachers use new assessment procedures effectively to track pupils' progress and set targets, they are not always used well to involve pupils in their learning or to extend the more able.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory and meets statutory requirements. Adjustments already made to some aspects of the curriculum have contributed to improving standards, although planning does not take enough account of the needs of more able pupils. However in other areas, the curriculum often fails to fully capture the interest of all pupils and this contributes to some bad behaviour in lessons. The curriculum includes good provision for pupils' personal, social and health education, including awareness of substance misuse and sex and relationships education. Experienced and caring teaching assistants and emotional literacy support assistants (ELSAs) provide good support for vulnerable pupils and those with learning and other specific needs. This helps them to make satisfactory, sometimes good, progress towards their targets. The curriculum is enriched well and this helps to make learning more relevant to pupils.

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Grade: 3

They enjoy a wide range of visitors and opportunities to take part in art, drama and music activities. School trips include a visit to France for Year 6 pupils. Many pupils of all ages attend a very wide range of clubs run by dedicated staff.

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Grade: 2

The care, guidance and support provided for pupils are good and illustrate the commitment of the staff. This is reflected in their recent award of the Inclusion Quality Mark. Pupils at risk are quickly identified because the school has good systems for checking when individuals are not making enough progress. The school uses a wide range of high quality methods to support the needs of pupils. Many external specialists work closely with the school. Some pupils are supported very well by nurture or inclusion groups. 'Family' lunchtimes in classrooms and a breakfast club all contribute well to care and support and promote pupils' personal development well. The team of ELSAs are highly valued by pupils with emotional difficulties. For example, one said, 'They are helpful and kind - just brilliant!' The school values the involvement of parents and works hard to increase it. Teachers have improved the way they use their assessment information to provide

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Grade: 2

better support for pupils and to monitor the progress of vulnerable groups. However, assessment and marking are not yet used consistently well in all classes to guide pupils to their next learning steps. The school assesses and manages risks to pupils appropriately. 4 Inspection Report: Sinclair Primary and Nursery School, 26 June 2006 to 27 June 2006

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory overall and good in some areas. The headteacher provides strong leadership. Her very clear sense of direction is fully focused on raising achievement and standards in all areas of pupils' learning. She is building a new staff team committed to ongoing improvement underpinned by good teamwork, comprehensive monitoring and evaluation and detailed tracking of pupils' progress. The headteacher is supported well by her deputy. Other key managers lack experience but have made a good start in developing their new roles. There is a rigorous and accurate process of self evaluation on which well focused priorities for development are based and regularly reviewed. The views of the whole school community are taken into account well. The significant difficulties faced by the school initially hindered the rate of improvement, but the impact of decisive action taken, for example, to eliminate inadequate teaching and to manage challenging

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Grade: 3

behaviour more effectively, is evident this year in the improving standards and progress. The school is now well placed to continue improving. Close attention to the needs of individual pupils is reflected in the use of resources to employ and train additional staff to support vulnerable pupils and those with social emotional and behavioural difficulties and to provide outreach programmes for pupils unable to attend school. Better support is planned for more able pupils. Governors are supportive of the school. They are developing their monitoring activities but are not yet in a position to use these to hold the school to account. The school works in very effective partnership with the local authority and other outside agencies to support all aspects of pupils' development. 5 Inspection Report: Sinclair Primary and Nursery School, 26 June 2006 to 27 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: Sinclair Primary and Nursery School, 26 June 2006 to 27 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 NA Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 3 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 3 The behaviour of learners NA 3 The attendance of learners NA 3 How well learners enjoy their education NA 3 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 3 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 3 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 3 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 3 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 I am writing to let you know what we found out when we visited your school. Thank you for taking part in the inspection. We really enjoyed seeing you at work and at playtimes and liked talking to you. There are lots of things we like about your school. We liked these things the most:* Most of you enjoy coming to school.* Your headteacher runs the school well.* The school works very hard to give each of you the kind of help you need.* The staff care for you, keep you safe and look after you really well.* The school arranges interesting and exciting activities for you.* The school listens to you when you suggest how things could get even better. We have asked your teachers to:* Give you work that makes you all think hard and helps you to do even better.* Make all of your lessons really interesting.Thank you again. Yours sincerely, Hilary Bonser Lead Inspector

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