East-the-Water Community Primary School

Inspection Report East the Water Primary

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113130 Unique Reference Number Devon LEA 284149 Inspection number 18 January 2006 to 19 January 2006 Inspection dates Andrew Watters HMI Reporting inspector

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

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Mines Road School address Primary Type of school Bideford Community School category Devon EX39 4BZ 3 to 11 Age range of pupils 01237 475178 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01237 423439 Fax number 227 Number on roll Mrs Claudia Sanders Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Martin Winter Headteacher Not applicable Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 284149 18 January 2006 - 3 to 11 19 January 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 (HMI) and one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

The school is situated in a mainly residential area of Bideford, where most homes are owned by local housing associations. Almost all pupils are of white British origin. When the pupils enter the school their attainment is generally well below what is expected for their age. Local and national census data indicates that the school serves an area of significant social deprivation. The proportion of pupils on the school’s register of special educational needs is above average. When East-the-Water School was inspected in September 2003 it was judged to require special measures. In February 2005 the headteacher left the school and the governors, in consultation with the local authority (LA) appointed the school’s assigned adviser as the acting headteacher. The long term absence of several members of the teaching staff and the resignation of three teachers and the deputy headteacher in the autumn term 2005 further impeded the school’s progress. Nevertheless the recruitment of five

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Description of the school

senior teachers and the restructuring of the senior leadership team have given the school a more secure basis for improvement. Seven of the eleven teachers are employed on permanent contracts. Governors expect to secure permanent teachers for all classes and appoint a substantive headteacher by the end of the summer term 2006.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: East the Water Primary, 18 January 2006 to 19 January 2006

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Grade: 4

In accordance with section 13 (4) of the Education Act 2005, HMCI is of the opinion that the school no longer requires special measures. Nevertheless, 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 standards, eliminating underachievement and increasing the rate of the pupils’ progress. The school remains in a fragile position. Relatively recent changes in leadership, management, teaching and learning have improved the quality of education but there is still much to do. While the current standard of education is acceptable the school agrees that its overall effectiveness is inadequate because standards are far too low.

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Grade: 4

Consequently the school gives unsatisfactory value for money. The provision in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory, although standards are very low. Teaching and learning in the nursery are currently good. Planning and assessment is satisfactory in English, mathematics and science but is weaker in other subjects. Nevertheless, the curriculum is satisfactory overall. The quality of teaching varies too much. Some of it is outstanding but some of it is not good enough. The overall quality of teaching is satisfactory, ranging from outstanding to inadequate, although there is not enough teaching that is of consistently good quality. The pupils behave well, have positive attitudes and their personal development is good. The acting headteacher provides very good leadership. He receives good support from senior teachers. Monitoring and evaluation are rigorous and systematic. There is a good team spirit and a strong sense

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Grade: 4

of shared responsibility for raising standards. While improvement since the last inspection has been unsatisfactory because standards have not risen sufficiently and the pupils’ progress has been too slow, the rate of progress increased when the acting headteacher and, subsequently, other senior teachers were recruited. As a result, the school’s capacity to improve was strengthened and is now satisfactory.

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What the school should do to improve further

•Raise standards and the achievement levels of all pupils, particularly in their basic skills in literacy and numeracy. •Increase the proportion of good and outstanding teaching and match the pupils’ work more consistently to their different starting points and capabilities. •Further develop and improve the quality of planning and assessment in all subjects. 2 Inspection Report: East the Water Primary, 18 January 2006 to 19 January 2006

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Grade: 4

In each key stage, the results of the 2005 national tests showed that standards in reading, writing, mathematics and science were well below the national average. Standards in the English tests were very low. Boys’ attainment was very weak, particularly in reading and writing. The low levels of attainment are reflected in much of the pupils’ current work and many pupils are a year or more behind. Pupils’ achievements are inconsistent. Not enough pupils make satisfactory progress towards meeting their targets, which are generally challenging. The gap between what they are expected to achieve for their age and what they are currently attaining is not closing fast enough and is still too wide. Nevertheless, since September 2005 the work in the pupils’ books and the school’s assessment information show that a significant minority are achieving well. Some of the pupils in Years 1, 2, 4 and 6, are making better

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Grade: 4

than average progress. Overall, however, the pupils’ progress in relation to their different starting points and capabilities is not yet good enough. A significant proportion of the pupils are underachieving.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development is good. They behave well and have positive attitudes. Parents, staff and pupils say that this is an improvement on the way things used to be, and this is clearly the case. Pupils enjoy school and feel safe. They appreciate being taught how to follow a healthy diet and keep fit. Their attendance is generally average. Pupils get on well together. “There’s not much bullying and the headteacher always deals with it fairly,” reported one Year 6 boy, and many others agreed. Strong relationships mean there is an atmosphere of trust where pupils of all abilities show growing confidence and are eager to join in class and school activities. Pupils have a good sense of right and wrong and are very considerate. Their spiritual and cultural development and awareness of multicultural issues are satisfactory. Through the school council, assemblies and class discussions pupils make a positive contribution to being

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Grade: 2

part of a community. Fund raising activities encourage them to consider the welfare and lifestyle of families in different countries, such as in Uganda. There is a strong focus on improving the pupils’ basic skills to help prepare them for the world of work, although progress towards achieving this aim is slow.

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Grade: 3

The quality of teaching and learning ranges from outstanding to inadequate and is satisfactory overall. The best teaching is characterised by teachers’ high expectations and good subject knowledge and is having a very positive impact on raising standards, 3 Inspection Report: East the Water Primary, 18 January 2006 to 19 January 2006 particularly in writing, reading and mathematics. This is most evident in Years 2 and 6. A few teachers use assessment information well to inform their daily planning and ensure that their written marking explains what the pupils need to do next to improve their work. However, these are not consistent features in all classes. Routines are becoming well established and relationships between most adults and pupils are very good. Nevertheless, there are still improvements that need to be made in teaching. The most significant area for improvement is to make sure that the pupils’ work is

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Grade: 3

consistently matched to their different starting points and capabilities.

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Grade: 3

The school provides an adequate curriculum which is generally broad and balanced. Recent improvements in planning include a two year rolling programme of activities for the mixed age classes in Years 4, 5 and 6, although the impact of this work has yet to be evaluated. The school is aware that planning and assessment in the foundation subjects are not as strong as in English and mathematics. Some encouraging work has taken place to develop links between subjects. This has been particularly successful in literacy and history, and between information and communication technology (ICT) and mathematics. The Foundation Stage curriculum meets statutory requirements, although the provision for outdoor play is only just satisfactory. “There are lots of trips and things to do after school,” said one member of the school council. Extra-curricular activities make a good contribution to pupils’ learning, but some opportunities are missed to make more use of homework to consolidate and

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Grade: 2

The pupils receive a good level of care in a safe and generally secure learning environment. Child protection procedures are effective. All staff have been made aware of these procedures and know what to do should they have any concerns. Safety checks and risk assessments are carried out regularly and attended to carefully. The quality of support and guidance for the pupils who have learning difficulties is good. The provision for the pupils who have a hearing impairment is very good with some outstanding features, such as the one to one teaching they receive and their inclusion in class activities. Teaching assistants make a generally positive contribution to raising standards. All staff give the pupils a good level of pastoral support. The nursery and reception children are helped to settle in to school routines well and pupils are taught how to express their feelings and emotions, which has improved their self esteem. Pupils of

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Grade: 2

all age groups say there is always someone to turn to if they have a problem. Targets for improvement are generally challenging, particularly in English and mathematics. 4 Inspection Report: East the Water Primary, 18 January 2006 to 19 January 2006

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Grade: 3

The quality of leadership and management is satisfactory. The acting headteacher provides very good leadership. He is a strong, fair and effective leader who has restored the community’s and the pupils’ confidence in the school. He has relentlessly challenged poor and unsatisfactory performance which has led to recent improvement in the quality of teaching and learning, although this has not yet had sufficient time to impact enough on raising standards. Since September 2005, the senior leadership team has given good support to the acting headteacher and strengthened the school’s capacity to improve. There is a strong sense of team work and shared responsibility for improvement. Subject leadership is very good in English and satisfactory in mathematics and science. It is less secure, but improving, in other subjects. Monitoring of teaching, evaluation and intervention strategies are rigorous and systematic and are having a positive impact. The school has accurately identified its

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Grade: 3

most pressing priorities and knows what needs to be done to raise standards at a faster rate. The views of parents, pupils and governors have contributed to the effective self evaluation procedures. The recent introduction of new systems for assessing the pupils’ attainment, tracking their progress and setting targets for improvement is a very good development and is beginning to be used well to raise standards. The local authority provides good support and is meeting its commitments to the school well. Governance is satisfactory and the chair of governors provides good leadership. 5 Inspection Report: East the Water Primary, 18 January 2006 to 19 January 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: East the Water Primary, 18 January 2006 to 19 January 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 3 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 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 4 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 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 3 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 3 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

Thank you for welcoming us to your school. We have really enjoyed talking with you and visiting your lessons. You are friendly, cheerful and polite and have made sure that for the two days we have been with you we have felt a part of your school. Thank you for sharing your work with us. We could see that you try hard to do your best and help each other. Well done! We think your school council does a good job and works hard to improve things for you. We were pleased to hear from many of you that you really appreciate the changes that have been made and that you now enjoy coming to school. As you know, I have been visiting your school each term to check that it is getting better. I am very pleased to tell you that your school has really improved, although there is still a lot more to do. We had a good time talking to your teachers and it was good to see how well they and you got on together in lessons. Your teachers, the headteacher and all the other adults in school

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

work very hard to make sure that you are safe, that you do well with your work and enjoy it. We have asked Mr Winter and the teachers to carry on improving the school to make sure that your writing, reading and mathematics keeps getting better, that all your lessons are really good and that you have lots more opportunities to do interesting and exciting work in all your subjects. Thank you again for being so helpful and friendly.

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