Summerlea Community Primary School

Summerlea Community Primary School Inspection report - amended

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131518 Unique Reference Number West Sussex Local Authority 293774 Inspection number 1 March 2007 Inspection date John Seal HMI 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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Primary Type of school Community School category 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 443 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Andrew Lauretani Chair Brian Ball Headteacher 29 January 2001 Date of previous school inspection Windsor Drive School address Rustington Littlehampton BN16 3SW

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01903 856783 Telephone number 01903 856784 Fax number

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4 °11 Age group 1 March 2007 Inspection date 293774 Inspection number

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Amended Report Addendum

Report amended due to administration error

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Amended Report Addendum

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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Amended Report Addendum

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.

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Description of the school

Summerlea Community Primary is an above-average-size school. When pupils join the school their attainment is at least in line with that normally expected. The percentage of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities (LDD) and statements of special educational need is in line with the national average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 10 Inspection Report: Summerlea Community Primary School, 1 March 2007

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Grade: 2

This is a good school with some outstanding features. Particular highlights during the inspection were the total involvement of all the staff and pupils in 'World Book Day'. Pupils and staff all took part in dressing as characters from stories and the staff performed in an assembly which excited and motivated the pupils for the rest of the day. This was not an unusual event for the school. Examples such as the spectacular sarcophagus of Tutankhamen built in one of the classrooms to stimulate the pupils' learning and many other practical and first-hand experiences were seen throughout the school. The pupils have an outstanding start to the school in Reception and make good progress towards the beginning of Key Stage 1. By Years 2 and 6, pupils are generally achieving above-average standards. In 2006, their attainment was significantly above average, especially in mathematics, which was well above average at the end of Key Stage 2. Pupils also achieved well-above-average

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Grade: 2

English results, although the school was disappointed that this was not matched with better writing results, especially for the more able. Teaching and learning are good, and there are many examples of outstanding practice which are a major contributory factor to the raising of standards in mathematics. The school has rightly chosen to spend a high proportion of its time developing an outstandingly lively and engaging curriculum. It matches the current needs of pupils and the way they are able to build on their prior attainment supports their good progress. Many lessons are exciting and interactive and encourage pupils to work both on their own and with others on a wide range of activities. Leadership and management are good. The headteacher's focus on improving the quality of teaching and learning has been very effective. Through its improvement plan, the school has appropriately identified its next area for development: it now matches the current needs of

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Grade: 2

pupils more closely; they are able to build on their prior attainment, which supports their good progress. Although provision for pupils' care, guidance and support is outstanding, there are some pupils who are not as clear as they could be about what they need to do to improve their writing. The school improvement plan does not prioritise sufficiently and does not identify clearly enough the numbers of pupils in each year group who will achieve higher standards of attainment. In some lessons, teachers use assessment information to plan lessons and set targets in a more detailed and methodical manner. Where this is the case, increased rates of progress and higher levels of attainment can be seen for all groups of pupils. Another of the school's strongest features is its ability to support pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities and those from all vulnerable groups to help them make good progress. As one

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Grade: 2

parent commented, 'This school is in tune with the children'. Morale is high amongst the staff; this allied to the strong relationships between all adults and the children, means that the school's provision for personal development and well-being of pupils is outstanding. Pupils' behaviour is outstanding. Throughout the school they are polite, courteous and are able to express their opinions and feelings with confidence and fluency. Pupils thoroughly enjoy their lessons and are keen to come to school. Their attendance is above average. Pupils have access to a range of activities and experiences, including visits from religious leaders, which provide them with exceptional spiritual, moral and cultural development. Pupils' emotional development is supported strongly through the very well-led provision for personal, social and health education. Pupils play and work safely in both lessons and around the school. They are living healthier lifestyles because of the extensive and active out-of-school

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Grade: 2

4 of 10 Inspection Report: Summerlea Community Primary School, 1 March 2007 provision and extra-curricular activities which have enabled the school to earn the Healthy Schools Award and Active Mark. Pupils make an outstanding contribution both to the community and their future economic well-being through their involvement in the 'Social Entrepreneurs' project. The school's good track record in successfully addressing all areas from its last inspection report means that it is strongly placed to make further improvements in securing and sustaining consistently high standards of achievement for its pupils. It has already identified and started work on the issues identified for further improvement.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Develop a clear, detailed and methodical improvement plan which is focused on limiting the number of priorities and linking them to measurable outcomes for all pupils. • Build upon current good practice within the school to ensure that all pupils understand what they need to do next to improve their writing.

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Grade: 2

The school has initiated a wide range of strategies to ensure tracking of pupils' attainment is monitored and evaluated. As a result of this, within the school's creative curriculum and linked to a higher proportion of good and outstanding teaching, all pupils are now making good progress, leading to the well-above- average standards of achievement. This is especially the case in mathematics. Results in English are also well above average overall but the school recognises that this is attributable to how well pupils do in reading rather than writing. It has identified among its priorities the need to further boost standards in writing, particularly for more-able pupils.

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Grade: 1

This is an outstanding area of work in the school of which it is justly proud. Pupils enjoy their time at school and come to school with enthusiasm and a keenness to learn and take part in the exciting curriculum on offer. A particularly strong feature of the school is its exceptional achievements in a range of sporting activities which effectively match the health and well-being needs of a high proportion of pupils.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good. In Reception, teachers provide an exciting and relevant experience which is outstanding. In Years 1 and 2 there is a high proportion of good and many examples of outstanding practice. Pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities are fully included in all aspects of lessons. Good use of the interactive whiteboards was seen during the inspection where pupils were researching the internet to find information about an author. The teaching in Years 3 to 6 is never less than satisfactory with many good and some outstanding lessons. Teachers prepare well-planned, structured and challenging lessons which have clear learning outcomes and are often very creative and practical. Teachers track pupils' progress 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Summerlea Community Primary School, 1 March 2007 effectively and some have built the national expectations into their planning. This is not yet a

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Grade: 2

consistent feature across all planning, which sometime leads to higher-ability pupils underachieving in their writing.

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Grade: 1

This is an outstanding feature of the school. The use of practical and motivational activities which the school calls 'kick-start' activities have introduced a lively and exciting way to inspire and motivate learning for all pupils. Teachers are not afraid to take risks and often base their lessons on a wide range of practical activities, which is beginning to pay off in terms of the quality of pupils' work and higher standards overall. They are providing pupils with a rich set of experiences on which they can really engage with learning and sustain concentration to make good progress. When teachers blend these approaches with a setting of targets based on national expectations, pupils' progress is rapid and sustained over time. Underpinning these activities is good provision for literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology.

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Grade: 1

Pupils receive outstanding care, guidance and support. The improvements the school has put into place are enabling pupils to make increasingly good progress. The school works exceptionally well with other agencies, and the parental feedback on how the school works with them is extremely positive. The school has ensured there are robust safeguarding procedures and policies in place.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher has effectively ensured that the school is the hub of a number of local initiatives which have benefited the pupils. The recently restructured leadership team support his vision for the school, which is very creative and innovative and one that has embraced all initiatives well. The governing body is both supportive and effective. It has contributed to the very high regard in which the school is held within the community and draws well on support from the parent body to improve resources. The pupils' progress and the quality of teaching and learning are monitored effectively and evaluated by the leadership team. There are appropriate strategies in place which support observation and enable teachers to learn from each other. These are improving the range, repertoire and proportion of good teaching strategies even further across the school. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Summerlea Community Primary School, 1 March 2007

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: Summerlea Community Primary School, 1 March 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? 1 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 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?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 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?

1 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. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: Summerlea Community Primary School, 1 March 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? 9 of 10 Inspection Report: Summerlea Community Primary School, 1 March 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you very much for your friendly welcome when I visited your school. I enjoyed talking to you and seeing you in lessons. You told me that your school is a good school and I agree. You make good progress and many of you reach above-average standards in your work, especially in mathematics and reading, where many of you are well above average. This is because your teachers and helpers give you very exciting lessons which are often great fun to be in. You also work very hard and concentrate well on what you have to do. In your writing, you need to work with your teachers on how you can make even more progress by learning exactly what it is you need to do to improve. Your teachers are very good at checking how well you are getting on so they can help you do even better. They are working hard to continue to make your writing lessons interesting and are already planning ways to do this by spending more time on planning ways of helping you

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

know what each of you needs to do in all your lessons. Your headteacher and staff know how well the school is doing and are good at making it even better. I have asked them to write a plan which says very clearly how much progress you will make each year. I hope you continue to be happy at school and to learn as much as you can. 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Summerlea Community Primary School, 1 March 2007

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