Eastwood Primary School & Nursery

Inspection Report Eastwood Primary School

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134860 Unique Reference Number SOUTHEND-ON-SEA Local Authority 294188 Inspection number 31 January °1 February 2007 Inspection dates Sandra Tweddell 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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Rayleigh Road School address Primary Type of school Leigh on Sea Community School category Essex SS9 5UT 3 °11 Age range of pupils 01702 525137 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01702 525137 Fax number 366 Number on roll (school) Mr P Stephens Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mr P Davies Headteacher Not previously inspected Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 294188 31 January °1 February 2007 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 three Additional Inspectors over two days.

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Description of the school

The school opened in September 2005, the result of an amalgamation of an infant and a junior school. Children enter the school from a very wide range of socio-economic backgrounds. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is similar to most schools. There are fewer minority ethnic pupils than in most schools and very few pupils at early stages of learning English but the number in the nursery increased this year. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is broadly average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Eastwood Primary School, 31 January °1 February 2007

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Grade: 3

This new school gives satisfactory provision and sound value for money. It has made a good start and in its first 18 months of existence has laid an effective foundation. The headteacher is a good leader who is giving a clear direction for the work of the school. Leadership and management are satisfactory. The school's leadership has established a good relationship with parents and other agencies. Middle managers now have clear roles but their work has not yet had a full impact on achievement across the school. One of the challenges for the school has been to create a cohesive unit from two separate schools. The management team has been successful in tackling this. The new governing body has established systems for its work but is still rather dependent on the headteacher for information. Pupils achieve satisfactorily and achievement in writing is good. Standards are broadly average, but are lower in mathematics than in English and science. Teaching and

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Grade: 3

learning are satisfactory mostly because of inconsistencies between classes but have recently improved. Teaching develops pupils' basic skills soundly. Provision for the youngest children, in the Foundation Stage, is satisfactory. They achieve soundly and most leave with the knowledge, skills and understanding expected of their age group. Achievement in personal development for pupils is good because the school's leadership places a high priority on this area. Pupils make a positive contribution to their own school community through the school council, and to the wider community through raising money for charity. The school council has equipped the school's playground with more facilities for fun and games. One pupil commented, 'We make the school a better place'. The majority of pupils behave well and enjoy school effectively. Pupils are managed well through skilled support. The pupils' personal needs are cared for

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Grade: 3

well. Pupils' care, guidance and support are satisfactory. The curriculum encourages pupils to live a safe and healthy lifestyle well and extra-curricular activities are good, many supporting effectively pupils' contribution to the community. The curriculum is sound but does not yet ensure that all pupils achieve as well as they could, particularly in mathematics. The capacity for improvement is good because of clear leadership and a shared vision for the future of the school. Middle and senior leaders are involved in self-evaluation and understand effectively the strengths and areas for improvement. The school's leadership is carefully monitoring and analysing its work. The self-evaluation has identified appropriate issues for improvement and these are being tackled well. The school's leadership supported by staff have been successful in developing good assessment systems in writing which mean that pupils make effective progress in this

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve standards in mathematics. • Raise the quality of teaching and learning to that of the best. • Develop the role of subject leaders and the middle management group. 2 Inspection Report: Eastwood Primary School, 31 January °1 February 2007 • Extend governors' systems for evaluating the work of the school.

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Grade: 3

For the past two years, the school's data show that children enter the school with attainment that is close to average. They achieve satisfactorily in the Nursery and the Reception classes and achievement in personal development is good. The small number of pupils for whom English is a new language achieve well because of effective teaching. Achievement in Years 1 and 2 is satisfactory. Standards at the end of Year 2 last year were below national averages because fewer pupils gained the higher levels of the tests. However, these were the first results for the school. At the time of the inspection, standards were broadly average and the achievement of boys and girls similar. At the end of Year 6, standards are close to average and achievement satisfactory but in writing, an area that the school had focused on in its first year, achievement is good. There is little difference in the achievement of different groups of pupils. Standards

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Grade: 3

in mathematics across the school are lower than in English and science.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is good. Pupils enjoy coming to school and have positive attitudes to learning. Attendance is broadly average, the main causes of absence being long term illnesses and a small number of persistent absentees who are followed up well. Most pupils are confident, happy and behave well in and around school. About a year ago, many parents were concerned about behaviour but at the time of the inspection, parents had fewer concerns. A small minority of pupils have behavioural difficulties, which affect their learning. Pupils develop healthy lifestyles effectively through regular exercise and healthy diets. They feel safe in school and know that there is someone they can turn to if in difficulty. Pupils are suitably equipped with the basic skills necessary to prepare them for future lives.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory but have improved steadily since the school opened and some lessons are good. There are some inconsistencies between year groups and classes that are being tackled well. One inconsistency is how well pupils learn to think for themselves. In some classes this is excellent and in others it is less effective. Planning of lessons has been an area for improvement and planning is consistently thorough as a result. Relationships are good and most teachers know their pupils well so pupils work productively. Teaching assistants effectively support 3 Inspection Report: Eastwood Primary School, 31 January °1 February 2007 pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities so that they make appropriate progress. Assessment is satisfactory as systems are still being developed. Assessment in writing is good. Portfolios of writing are rigorously evaluated and provide a good record of

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Grade: 3

progress for teachers, pupils and their parents. This model is starting to be used for other areas of the curriculum.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory and has some good features. The school's focus on writing has brought about improvements and these are extended through activities linked, for example, to Africa week when Year 4 pupils enjoyed writing their own Malawian stories. The Foundation Stage curriculum is satisfactory overall but particularly effective in developing pupils' personal and social skills. In Years 1 to 6, the curriculum does not support consistently good progress, particularly in mathematics. Improvements have been made to the curriculum for information and communication technology (ICT) that are improving the range of teaching styles used as well as developing pupils' skills. The successful personal, social and health education programme ensures that pupils know how to keep safe and healthy and learn to get on with others. The school offers a good range of popular clubs and activities that provides additional

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Grade: 3

opportunities for pupils to exercise and develop their creative skills. School visits add another good dimension to pupils' learning. They are particularly effective at developing historical, scientific and personal and social skills.

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Grade: 3

Pupils are well safeguarded because effective procedures are in place to cover health, safety and child protection issues. A very rigorous approach ensures that the school meets requirements and all information is recorded and organised very well. Pupils who are vulnerable or who experience difficulties with their learning or behaviour receive very good support through a range of different strategies. The behaviour of most pupils in the school is therefore good. The school liaises well with other agencies. The learning mentors are particularly effective in working with pupils whose attendance is not good and those who could face exclusion. Because of their work and the school's focus on trying to include all pupils, the number of exclusions has declined. A good start has been made with the new system for checking what pupils have achieved and setting individual targets. However, insufficient time has passed for the impact of this

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Grade: 3

work to be seen. Currently, some pupils are aware of their targets in English but in other areas are unsure about how they could improve their work.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The leadership of the headteacher is good and has had an impact on the quality of teaching, learning and standards of 4 Inspection Report: Eastwood Primary School, 31 January °1 February 2007 writing. The style of management is one of shared involvement. For example, the school is applying for Investor in People status and the group involved in this consists of governors, teaching assistants and teachers. This style of management has led to the creation of a middle management group that includes new roles of key stage leaders. Their leadership is currently satisfactory as it is a relatively new group that is starting to implement its roles of monitoring and evaluation. The group is cohesive and is clear about how the role needs to evolve. Subject leaders are coming to grips with their roles and are starting to monitor the quality of provision in their subjects.

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Grade: 3

Governance is satisfactory for a school at this stage of development. The main focus of governors' work has been upon the amalgamation of the two schools so systems of evaluating the work of the school have not yet had priority. The school's self-evaluation is accurate and is the basis for current developments, the results of which are not yet seen. 5 Inspection Report: Eastwood Primary School, 31 January °1 February 2007 .

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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: Eastwood Primary School, 31 January °1 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? 3 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA 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 2 The behaviour of learners 3 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: Eastwood Primary School, 31 January °1 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: Eastwood Primary School, 31 January °1 February 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

2 February 2007 Dear Pupils, Eastwood Primary School, Rayleigh Road, Leigh on Sea, Essex, SS9 5UT I am writing to let you know what we found out about your school when we visited it recently. Thank you all for being so helpful, especially the school council members who spoke to us over lunch. Your new school has made a good start and so the standards of your work are what we would expect to see. You told us that you enjoy school and are given a great deal of help by all the adults, especially when you feel the need to talk to someone about any problems you may have. We found that your personal needs are well cared for. Mr Davies is a good leader who, with the other adults in your school, has worked hard to bring your two schools together. Your teachers work closely together to plan their lessons and teaching is getting better all the time. You are taught to be fit and healthy and also to look after yourselves and others.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

We have asked the staff and governors to continue with their plans to raise the standards of work in mathematics and to make sure that all teaching is of the highest quality. We have also agreed with your school that the teachers who have responsibilities for management need to continue to develop their roles. Your governors have worked hard to make sure that your new school was ready and their next task is to come and visit you so they can see what you are doing. Thank you for a pleasant two days. Every good wish for the future. Yours sincerely, Sandra Tweddell Lead Inspector 9 Inspection Report: Eastwood Primary School, 31 January °1 February 2007

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