Weeke Primary School

116242 Unique Reference Number Hampshire Local Authority 290469 Inspection number 6 °7 February 2007 Inspection dates Beryl Richmond 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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Stoney Lane School address Primary Type of school Weeke Community School category Winchester SO22 6DR 4 °11 Age range of pupils 01962 882710 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01962 882555 Fax number 262 Number on roll (school) Mr Bruce Martin Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Maggie Hastie Headteacher 19 November 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 290469 6 °7 February 2007 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

Weeke is a larger than average, oversubscribed, primary school whose pupils come from owner occupied and housing authority homes. Typically, attainment on entry is above average, but with a wide range of abilities within each year group. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is above the national average, whilst the proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below the national average. A below average proportion of pupils is from ethnic minorities and there are no pupils in the early stages of learning to communicate in English.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Weeke Primary School, 6 °7 February 2007

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Grade: 2

Weeke Primary School provides a good education. Pupils and parents hold the school in high regard. One parent said, 'From the moment you enter the doors you can feel the energy and enthusiasm of the place.' Since the last inspection, standards of attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 have improved so that in 2006 they were significantly above the national average in English, mathematics and science. At the end of Key Stage 1 standards of attainment were above the national average, except in writing where they were below. The school identified that pupils' phonic knowledge was the area on which pupils' needed to concentrate in order to make better progress in writing and has put in place an extensive regular teaching programme. Overall, pupils achieve well. Leadership and management are good. Determined, enthusiastic leadership by the headteacher has created a cohesive, dedicated staff team. Parents comment positively

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Grade: 2

that the head teacher knows the pupils well. The school evaluates its practice well, and staff share a common vision and strong commitment to bring about further improvement. Governance is good. Pupils' personal development and well-being are outstanding. Parents said, 'The vibe in the playground is positive and supportive which was something that attracted us to this school.' Links with other organisations, for example neighbouring schools and the church, are exceptional in supporting pupils' learning and care. Care, guidance and support are good. Parents commented, 'Teachers care about the children they are teaching.' Pupils' knowledge of keeping healthy and safe is excellent and they develop outstanding workplace and other skills that contribute to their future economic well being. They also benefit from a wide range of exceptional opportunities to take on responsibility in their own and the wider community.

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Grade: 2

Teaching is good with some being outstanding. Pupils say that they really enjoy school because learning is fun. The good, broad, balanced and creative curriculum also offers pupils a wide range of interesting extra curricular opportunities including physical education, art and information and communication technology (ICT). The provision for pupils' personal, social and health education has led to good behaviour and relationships and outstanding attitudes to learning. Teachers track pupils' progress well and pupils understand fully how to improve. The quality and standards in Reception are good. The school recognises that the outside area lacks cover and is not fully developed with a wide enough range of resources and equipment. Consequently, there are missed opportunities for using this area fully to support children's learning. The school has improved well since the last inspection and is in a good position to make further improvements.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve standards in writing. • Improve and make better use of the outside area in Reception to enhance children's learning. 2 Inspection Report: Weeke Primary School, 6 °7 February 2007

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Grade: 2

The school sets challenging targets for improvement. The current Year 6 has an above average proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and so standards overall are likely to be lower than in 2006, but all pupils are achieving well. Achievement has improved because of better quality teaching and learning, and because the school tracks pupils' progress rigorously and provides good support and challenge which is well matched to their needs. Standards at the end of Key Stage 1 have fluctuated over recent years and were lower in 2006 than in previous years. This was because the class had a significantly higher than average proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and more younger pupils. Progress in writing was not good enough and standards fell to below the national average. The school has identified pupils' phonic knowledge as an area of weakness and recognises that creative and guided writing needs to be taught more frequently.

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Grade: 2

Children make good progress in Reception and their standards are above the national average in most areas of learning when they start in Year 1. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities and bilingual pupils are making good progress. There is no significant variation in achievement between different groups of pupils.

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Grade: 1

Pupils enjoy coming to school because, as they say, 'We like to learn new things and teachers make lessons fun'. They respond well to responsibility, for example when helping to manage the school office at lunchtime. The school council enables pupils to share in decision making. Members are proud to have achieved improved toilet facilities and the provision of a range of playground games equipment. Attendance is good and punctuality is outstanding. Pupils are lively, confident and courteous. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good, and they are aware of how their actions affect others. Pupils value healthy life styles and were pleased to collect a Healthy Schools award. Pupils benefit from outstanding links with other schools. For example, the school band has played at Winchester Cathedral and the choir has sung at the Guildhall with other schools. Community links are outstanding.

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Grade: 2

Teachers know their pupils well and match their teaching to a range of learning styles. They have good subject knowledge and use this to challenge their pupils. Pupils respond effectively and develop good problem-solving strategies. Drama is used well to promote language within a creative curriculum. Outstanding use of whiteboard technology adds pace to lessons and promotes good learning. Pupils with learning 3 Inspection Report: Weeke Primary School, 6 °7 February 2007 difficulties and disabilities are well supported in high quality group activities by teachers and learning support assistants in this highly inclusive school. Pupils achieve well because all staff have high levels of engagement with them. This supports their well-being, care and personal development. On some occasions, opportunities to extend pupils' skills in speaking and listening and making choices are missed. The use of the outdoor environment in Reception is not maximised.

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Grade: 2

Weaknesses found during the last inspection have been fully addressed and planning to develop pupils' skills is in place in all subjects. Subjects are linked together well to make learning meaningful. The thoroughness of curriculum planning ensures opportunities for all pupils to work at the right level of challenge. All statutory requirements are met and the school has responded well to parental requests to share homework arrangements. A new phonics programme has recently been introduced to help pupils improve their reading and writing. The school has also identified that creative and guided writing need to be taught more frequently to ensure that pupils make better progress. Good use is made of outside expertise, such as for skills development in science. There are many useful opportunities for enriching pupils' experiences, including clubs, visitors and educational visits. Year 6 pupils benefit from

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Grade: 2

the opportunity to participate in a residential visit. The good provision for pupils' personal, social and health education helps them develop into confident knowledgeable individuals.

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Grade: 2

Parents express confidence that their children are safe and well cared for. The school carries out risk assessments of activities, regular site inspections and independent audits of school safety procedures. Arrangements for safeguarding pupils are good and proper checks are made of people who have regular contact with pupils. The school prioritises partnership in learning with parents to help ensure that they are fully informed about their children's progress. There are good systems in place to ensure all pupils have good academic guidance and achieve challenging targets. Pupils know what they need to do to improve their work. However, the impact of this work has been more effective for the older pupils and it did not ensure that younger pupils made enough progress in writing in 2006. Outstanding transition arrangements are in place when pupils move from one stage of education to another.

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Grade: 2

Good leadership and management have led to a good improvement in the opportunities the school offers its pupils and in their personal and academic development. Team work is good. In particular, the headteacher has been instrumental in bringing about 4 Inspection Report: Weeke Primary School, 6 °7 February 2007 improvements, especially in the quality of teaching and learning through effective monitoring. Other leaders are knowledgeable and enthusiastic about their areas of responsibility and are fully involved in the monitoring and evaluation process. The need to improve pupils' writing skills has now been identified and is being tackled. Tracking systems are good and are now used well to pinpoint pupils' specific needs. There is a strong emphasis on pupils' achieving their best and on developing well through raising self esteem. Resources are well managed and targeted to provide effective support and challenge for pupils.

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Grade: 2

The views of parents and pupils are regularly gathered through, for example, the use of questionnaires. Their suggestions are used to bring about further improvement. Parents hold the school in very high regard and also contribute well to pupils' learning by volunteering their help and supporting their children's learning at home. The governing body provides good support and holds the school to account. 5 Inspection Report: Weeke Primary School, 6 °7 February 2007 .

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Grade: 2

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Weeke Primary School, 6 °7 February 2007

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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? 2 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 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

2 How well do learners achieve? 1 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 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 1 How well learners enjoy their education 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 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?

2 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: Weeke Primary School, 6 °7 February 2007

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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: Weeke Primary School, 6 °7 February 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for your help during the inspection, especially by talking to us about all the interesting things that you are able to enjoy at your school. We think that your school is good and that you are making good progress in your learning. Here are some of the things that we liked best about your school. • You enjoy school because you learn in a happy environment and you play your part by behaving well. • All the adults in your school make sure that you are safe and well cared for. • You are developing very good personal and academic skills that will help you have a successful adult life. This is because you work hard and do your best. You benefit from good and sometimes outstanding teaching. • Your headteacher and the staff have improved the school and are always trying to make it even better. • Your school provides you with interesting and varied opportunities to learn, to take on responsibility and to develop your personal skills.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Here are the things that we think could be better. Standards in writing. We think that the younger pupils could learn sooner to write better, particularly as they do well with their reading and mathematics. The outdoor area in Reception and its use. We think this area could have a cover, more equipment and more interesting things to do so that the children in Reception would have better opportunities to learn and play outside. We enjoyed our visit to your school and would like to send you our very best wishes for your future success. Yours sincerely, Beryl Richmond Lead inspector 9 Inspection Report: Weeke Primary School, 6 °7 February 2007

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