Whitburn Village Primary School

Inspection Report Whitburn Village Primary School

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131917 Unique Reference Number South Tyneside Local Authority 293886 Inspection number 5 °6 December 2006 Inspection dates Rosemary Rodger 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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Cleadon Lane School address Primary Type of school Whitburn, Sunderland Community School category Tyne and Wear, SR6 7NS 3 °11 Age range of pupils 0191 5293069 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0191 5295202 Fax number 219 Number on roll (school) Mr Eddie Oliver Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Enid Fairbrother Headteacher 1 January 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 293886 5 °6 December 2006 3°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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

The school is situated in a small village near to South Shields. Pupils attend from a number of villages and the immediate locality. An average proportion of pupils have free school meals. Most pupils are of White British heritage with a small number of pupils from minority ethnic cultures, none of whom are in the early stages of speaking English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is average. The headteacher has been in post for just over a year, following a long period of instability in the school’s leadership. There is one newly qualified supply teacher covering the absence of a teacher. The school has a part-time Nursery on site. There are also a breakfast club and a crèche in school.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Whitburn Village Primary School, 5 °6 December 2006

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Grade: 3

Whitburn Primary is a satisfactory school, which has a good capacity to improve under the rigorous expectations and hard work of the recently appointed headteacher. Parents are very happy with all she is doing to improve the school and their children’s enjoyment. A period of staffing turbulence in the past four years had resulted in pockets of underachievement. Actions to tackle this are well underway with the support of the local authority and recent improvements to the quality of teaching. Standards of attainment of children starting in the Nursery are typical for their age. The quality of education in the Foundation Stage is good. The children make good progress, which provides a firm foundation for their later learning. By the time they leave Key Stage 1, pupils achieve satisfactorily. Recent improvements in the quality of teaching are leading to satisfactory progress. In the most recent national tests,

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Grade: 3

pupils reached the nationally expected Level 2, but too few reached the higher levels in writing. The school’s results in the 2005 national tests for pupils in Year 6 were above average; although some lower attaining pupils underachieved in English and mathematics. The 2006 results show a fall in standards but the pupils nevertheless achieved satisfactorily from their below average attainment at the end of Key Stage 1. Current progress is satisfactory in Key Stage 2 because of the impact of satisfactory and sometimes good teaching. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities make satisfactory progress. Teaching is satisfactory and improving. Effective use is made of whiteboard technology and recent improvements to planning and assessment information means that work is appropriately matched to the pupils’ individual needs. Teaching assistants make a good contribution to the learning of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities.

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Grade: 3

Relationships are good and pupils respect their teachers. The curriculum is satisfactory and enriched by a good range of after school sports clubs, which alongside the specialist sports coaching in school, contributes well to developing pupils’ healthy lifestyles. Pupils also enjoy the wide range of other clubs. Pupils are cared for satisfactorily and procedures to ensure that they are safeguarded are satisfactory. Leadership and management are satisfactory. The leadership of the headteacher is good because of the difference made to morale and team spirit since her appointment. The clear direction she sets and changes needed to improve standards are beginning to make an impact on all aspects of pupils’ enjoyment and enthusiasm for school, although the roles of some senior managers are underdeveloped. The chair of governors is well informed and supports the school well. The school is ably supported by the

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Grade: 3

local authority to assist in raising standards by improving the quality of teaching and learning.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve standards in writing throughout the school. • Make sure all management activities are carried out in full. 2 Inspection Report: Whitburn Village Primary School, 5 °6 December 2006

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Grade: 3

Children’s standards on entry to the Nursery are broadly average in all areas of learning. They achieve well in the Foundation Stage, so by the time they start in Year 1, they achieve and often exceed the goals set for their learning. Attainment in personal, social and emotional development is particularly high. At the end of Key Stage 1, standards in the most recent national tests were below average. Too few pupils reached the higher levels. There is a legacy of underachievement in Key Stage 1 that is now being tackled successfully. Improvements in the quality of teaching mean that pupils now make satisfactory progress. The school’s results in the 2005 national tests for pupils in Year 6 were above average in English, mathematics and science. The pupils made satisfactory progress from the above average standards they attained at the end of Key Stage 1. The 2006 results show a fall in standards but the pupils nevertheless achieved satisfactorily, because

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Grade: 3

the levels they attained in Year 2 were lower than those attained by the previous year group. Pupils were close to meeting their targets in mathematics, but not in English because of weaknesses in writing that the school are currently addressing with the support of the local authority. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities achieve satisfactorily. There are a very small number of pupils with English as an additional language whose progress matches that of all other pupils.

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Grade: 2

Personal development of the pupils is good. Pupils are friendly and welcoming and put themselves out to help. They enjoy their lessons and their teachers’ support and encouragement. This is well reflected in the above average attendance in the past year. The pupils are well aware of how to keep safe because of the help they receive in school. They are taught how to swim and to cycle safely. The pupils know about healthy lifestyles. They are encouraged by the school to eat healthily. They have fruit at playtime and take a good amount of exercise during playtimes, physical education lessons and the many clubs held at lunchtimes and after school. Responsibility is effectively fostered through the jobs that older pupils have, such helping out at Key Stage 1 playtimes by assisting younger children play safely. Pupils take positive action to improve the school by raising money for school games at playtimes as well as raising

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Grade: 2

money for national charities. Behaviour is consistently good in lessons, but more variable around school because some areas are not well enough supervised. The school council plays an important part in helping improve the school and they know their opinions are listened to and acted upon. The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils is good. 3 Inspection Report: Whitburn Village Primary School, 5 °6 December 2006

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Grade: 3

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. All teaching makes effective use of whiteboard technology to demonstrate and explain what pupils are expected to learn. There are good relationships between pupils and their teachers in all classes. Sometimes, pupils are encouraged to be involved in learning when talking to a partner. Teaching assistants provide good support to pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities. Assessment procedures are improving because they have been streamlined and the progress pupils make year by year is appropriately tracked and those making insufficient progress are given extra support. At times, whole class introductory sessions are too long and pupils are not involved sufficiently because teachers talk too much. Teaching is good in the Foundation Stage. Well resourced areas and a good balance between free choice and activities supported by the adults encourages good enjoyment

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Grade: 3

of learning in the Foundation Stage. Parents are well prepared to support their children’s learning by attendance at family learning classes for literacy and numeracy.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory. Statutory requirements are met and the curriculum is responsive to national initiatives like teaching French in Key Stage 2. The curriculum is well enriched by visiting speakers, educational visits and trips such as the visit to a Sikh temple. It is also enriched by the very many clubs held at lunchtimes and after school, for example, the choir and Scottish country dancing. In response to pupils’ views, an indoor games club was set up for pupils who wanted something quieter. Links with the local community are fostered in partnership with the local church where several events are celebrated. The partnership with the local secondary school helps support a smooth transition between the two schools, effectively supported by teachers coming to the primary school to teach physical education.

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Grade: 3

Satisfactory procedures and routines are in place to keep pupils safe and healthy. Pupils say the caretaker ‘really safeguards us by making sure all the doors are locked and always fixing things’. Child protection procedures are established and good links with outside agencies are made to ensure that the needs of pupils, especially the vulnerable, are met. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities make satisfactory progress because they are generally well supported. The quality of their individual educational plans is satisfactory. Some are written in a way pupils do not easily understand and the targets are not sufficiently sharp for pupils to see how well they are progressing. The school has successfully put in a lot of hard work into improving 4 Inspection Report: Whitburn Village Primary School, 5 °6 December 2006 punctuality and attendance. Arrangements for the safeguarding of pupils meet

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The recently appointed headteacher provides a clear steer for the school’s development and is greatly appreciated by her staff for the strong sense of direction and support she is providing to improve teaching and learning. Her high expectations, hard work and attention to detail are improving the school, making it a better place for everyone. The recently introduced senior leadership team is developing well, although some senior managers do not have a high enough profile around the school and their roles are not fully developed. This is adding to the headteacher’s workload and detracting from the efficient running of the school on a day-to-day basis. Actions to monitor the school’s work are good. This is beginning to have a good impact on improving the quality of teaching, and was well illustrated by the comment of an experienced teacher, ‘I am a much better teacher than I was.’

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Grade: 3

All staff receive detailed feedback on their teaching which is beginning to improve the overall quality of teaching in school. There is no inadequate teaching, which is a great improvement. Self-evaluation completed by the headteacher is modest and does not give credit for the work she and the local authority have done to improve all aspects of pupils’ learning. Governors support the school well. The chair of governors’ direct approach and no nonsense analysis of the school’s current situation are indicative of the support and challenge he provides to the headteacher. The school provides satisfactory value for money and has made satisfactory improvement since the last inspection. 5 Inspection Report: Whitburn Village Primary School, 5 °6 December 2006 .

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Grade: 3

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Whitburn Village Primary School, 5 °6 December 2006

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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

3 How well do learners achieve? 3 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 3 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 3 The behaviour of learners 2 The attendance of learners 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 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?

3 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: Whitburn Village Primary School, 5 °6 December 2006

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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: Whitburn Village Primary School, 5 °6 December 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Whitburn Village Primary School Cleadon Lane Whitburn Sunderland Tyne and Wear SR6 7NS 5 December 2006 Dear Children What a splendid two days my colleague and I spent in your school recently. We enjoyed talking to you and observing your lessons. Thank you for all the help you gave us. The things that we liked are listed below. • You work hard and enjoy school. • The older children have many responsibilities. • You have many clubs and sports activities to help keep you fit. • You know all about healthy eating. • You really like your headteacher and teachers. • You like singing and getting ready for Christmas. We have asked your school to do a few things to make it an even a better place for you. They are: • to help you all to improve your writing • to make sure your headteacher is given all the support she needs to make your school a good school. You can help by always trying your best and joining your letters when you are writing in Years

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

4, 5 and 6. Yours sincerely Rosemary Rodger Lead inspector 9 Inspection Report: Whitburn Village Primary School, 5 °6 December 2006

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