Fairstead Community Primary and Nursery School

Inspection Report Fairstead Community Primary School

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120906 Unique Reference Number NORFOLK Local Authority 291905 Inspection number 22 °23 January 2007 Inspection dates John Messer 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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William Booth Road School address Primary Type of school Fairstead, Fairstead Community School category King's Lynn, Norfolk PE30 4RR 4 °11 Age range of pupils

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01553774666 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01553764354 Fax number 303 Number on roll (school) Mr Kevin Baldwin Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Beverly Hunnable Headteacher 26 November 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 291905 22 °23 January 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

This school is larger than most primary schools. Most pupils are from White British families. Some are from minority ethnic backgrounds and a significant number speak languages other than English. A few pupils are at an early stage of learning to speak English. Attainment on entry is very low, especially in communication, language and literacy. Nearly a third of pupils have learning difficulties, which is well above average. The proportion of pupils who enter or leave the school part-way through their education is above average. The school serves an area that is relatively deprived.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Fairstead Community Primary School, 22 °23 January 2007

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Grade: 4

The overall effectiveness of the school is inadequate. In accordance with section 13 (3) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement. Significant improvement is required in relation to the pupils' achievement, the quality of teaching and learning and in the effectiveness of the school's leadership and management. Teaching and learning are inadequate because teachers do not always teach lessons that capture pupils' interest. Consequently pupils often become restless and misbehave in lessons. Pupils do not make as much progress as they should. As a result, standards are falling and are far too low in reading, writing, mathematics and science. The

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Grade: 4

curriculum is inadequately matched to pupils' interests and provision for literacy and numeracy is weak. Pupils do not develop the key skills they require to prepare them adequately for the next stage of their education or for their working lives. The quality of provision in the Foundation Stage is inadequate because pupils do not make enough progress in acquiring basic skills and are not adequately prepared for learning. Good work was seen in art and design. Swimming is taught well and pupils enjoy sport. They understand how to stay safe and lead healthy life styles. Pupils' personal development is satisfactory. Most pupils are willing to learn and eager to please. They are polite and talk sensibly about their work. They enjoy school. Their behaviour at lunchtimes and in the playground is satisfactory. Pupils report that bullying has been tackled successfully. One girl said, 'We have thrown bullying out of the

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Grade: 4

window and have opened the door to friendship'. The school council participates in decision making, such as considering which good causes to support. Care for learners is satisfactory but guidance and support to help them make adequate progress is not. Pupils say that they feel safe and secure in school. The leadership and management of the school are inadequate. The school has experienced many difficulties, mainly associated with staff absence. This has interrupted pupils' learning. Leaders, including subject co-ordinators, have not been able to improve the quality of teaching sufficiently. The headteacher and her deputy have begun to monitor teaching and to give teachers good advice on how to improve. There is evidence that the climate for learning is improving, but teaching is still weak and the impact of initiatives to improve it has been slight so the school cannot demonstrate that it has the capacity to improve. The governing body has not been successful in ensuring that

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Grade: 4

the key issues from the previous inspection report have been tackled successfully. Weaknesses identified at that time in teaching, managing behaviour in class and the assessment of pupils' learning remain. Standards are much lower than they were then. The school provides unsatisfactory value for money. 2 Inspection Report: Fairstead Community Primary School, 22 °23 January 2007

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What the school should do to improve further

• Develop the effectiveness of leadership and management at all levels so that measures to improve the quality of education are implemented systematically and as a matter of urgency. • Increase the amount of progress that pupils make and raise the standards they attain in reading, writing, mathematics and science. • Take immediate action to ensure that the quality of teaching and learning are at least satisfactory throughout the school.

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Grade: 4

Children do not make enough progress in the reception classes. Basic skills, such as teaching children the relationship between letters and the sounds they make, are not taught rigorously enough. Achievement is unsatisfactory and standards are much lower than would normally be expected of this year group. Assessment of progress is detailed and maintained well by teachers and classroom assistants. The achievement of all groups of pupils in Years 1 to 6 is unsatisfactory. National assessments for pupils in Year 2 confirm that standards are exceptionally low in reading, writing, mathematics and science. Although progress accelerates in Years 5 and 6 there are so many gaps in pupils' prior learning that standards remain exceptionally low. The school's performance in national tests for pupils in Year 6 in 2006 was exceptionally low in English, mathematics and science. Writing was particularly weak.

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Grade: 3

Most pupils enjoy school and value the wide range of additional activities provided for them during and outside the school day, such as residential visits to the Isle of Wight. Attendance is satisfactory. The school makes considerable efforts to chase up pupils who are absent. There have been a number of exclusions of boys in the last twelve months, which reflects the school's turbulent staffing and problems with some pupils' behaviour in lessons. Pupils feel safe in school. Most make sensible choices about what they eat and have a reasonable understanding of the importance of healthy lifestyles. The provision for swimming lessons is good and most learn to swim by the end of Year 6. Older pupils take on responsibilities willingly, such as caring for the younger children in the dining room. The school council has helped to improve the school's environment through, for example, anti-bullying activities and 'friendship stops' in the playground. Pupils

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Grade: 3

participate regularly in community events, such as the celebration of Kings Lynn's 800th birthday. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is satisfactory. Pupils report that behaviour has improved and they are happier in school. Reward certificates for 3 Inspection Report: Fairstead Community Primary School, 22 °23 January 2007 good work and behaviour are greatly appreciated by pupils. Few acquire enough of the key skills in reading, writing, mathematics and ICT that they will need later in their lives.

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Grade: 4

Teaching is not effective enough to raise standards. The school has been accurate in its diagnosis that teaching is inadequate. In satisfactory lessons activities were well matched to pupils' abilities, teaching assistants supported pupils well and teachers made sure pupils knew what they were learning. Behaviour was good because pupils were interested in what they were doing and teachers were skilled at rewarding, praising and averting potential behavioural flash points. In lessons which fell below standard, pupils made little progress. Activities were not pitched at the right level so pupils lost interest and misbehaved. Some teachers are too tolerant of poor behaviour and do not manage their classes well enough. Interactive whiteboards are not used adequately. Teachers do not fully understand how much progress pupils in their class are expected to make each term and each year. They have made an encouraging start in involving

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Grade: 4

pupils in understanding about learning and how they can improve. Systems have only recently been put in place to record progress and identify pupils who are underachieving.

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Grade: 4

A start has been made to make the curriculum more interesting and inspiring. However, the curriculum does not place enough emphasis on developing basic skills. There is not a strong curriculum base upon which to build and the school is currently working to find the right model to use. Pupils enjoy an interesting range of visits, especially the residential trip to the Isle of Wight. Anti-bullying work, as part of the school's developing personal, social and health education programme, has been successful in helping pupils feel safer and more secure.

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Grade: 4

Staff listen to pupils who need someone to talk to and pupils are happy that their concerns are taken seriously. Teaching assistants are skilful in supporting pupils' learning and providing guidance. Procedures to ensure the safety of pupils are in place. Relationships with external support agencies are satisfactory but the school has been unable to access the specialist behavioural support it so desperately needs. Pupils learn their targets for improvement conscientiously and most of the older pupils meet 4 Inspection Report: Fairstead Community Primary School, 22 °23 January 2007 them. However, the younger pupils do not fully understand what their targets actually mean, which hampers their ability to improve. Staff have not had enough training to teach pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds who are at an early stage of learning English. These pupils are not always adequately supported.

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Grade: 4

The school has experienced many difficulties in recent years. Financial problems caused redundancies and there has been a succession of long-term staff absences. Staff morale and pupils' learning suffered. The headteacher now has the support of a new deputy and together they have improved the climate for learning. The senior leadership's evaluation of the school is accurate and weaknesses have been identified clearly. There is some evidence that the pace of pupils' progress is improving. However, the quality of teaching has not improved enough and pupils' learning is not as effective as it should be. Detailed plans for development have been written but these have not yet had a marked impact on improving the school's performance. Hence the school has not demonstrated that it has the capacity to improve without extra support. Governors are closely associated with the school but some are new and have not yet developed

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Grade: 4

the skills required to monitor its effectiveness. 5 Inspection Report: Fairstead Community Primary School, 22 °23 January 2007 .

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Grade: 4

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Fairstead Community Primary School, 22 °23 January 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? 4 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 4 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 4 The capacity to make any necessary improvements No Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

4 How well do learners achieve? 4 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 4 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

3 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 4 The behaviour of learners 3 The attendance of learners 3 How well learners enjoy their education 3 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 3 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 3 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?

4 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: Fairstead Community Primary School, 22 °23 January 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? Yes Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 8 Inspection Report: Fairstead Community Primary School, 22 °23 January 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

24 January 2007 Dear Children Fairstead Primary School, William Booth Road, Fairstead, King's Lynn, Norfolk, PE30 4RR We enjoyed visiting your school. Thank you for being so helpful and for telling us all about the school. There are some good things about the school. You have been very successful in stamping out bullying. You are sensible and like taking on responsibility for helping around the school. Your school council has good ideas for improving the environment. You are good at art and design. You enjoy sport and are particularly good at swimming. You know how to look after yourselves and stay safe. You are friendly and polite. Most of you behave sensibly in the playground and around the school but a number of you do not behave so well in lessons. We think that there are many things that the school should do to help you to reach higher standards in your work. We believe that those who are in charge of the school should concentrate

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

more on helping you to make faster progress and reach much higher standards in reading, writing, mathematics and science. We think that your teachers should make lessons much more interesting so that you are not tempted to become restless and inattentive. We know that you want to do well and you really could help in many ways such as behaving well in lessons, continuing to support each other and helping those who get things wrong or who don't understand things first time round. We wish you all every success in the future. Yours sincerely John Messer (Lead Inspector) 9 Inspection Report: Fairstead Community Primary School, 22 °23 January 2007

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