Westdene Primary School

Westdene Primary School Inspection report

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114380 Unique Reference Number Brighton and Hove Local Authority 311576 Inspection number 3 October 2007 Inspection date David Collard 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 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 488 School The governing body Appropriate authority David Crossley Chair Debbie Crossingham Headteacher 1 December 2003 Date of previous school inspection Bankside School address Westdene Brighton BN1 5GN 01273 294900 Telephone number 01273 551901 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 3 October 2007 Inspection date 311576 Inspection number .

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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 one Additional Inspector. The inspector evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues: the consistency of pupils’ achievement throughout the school and across subjects; the quality of all aspects of pupils’ personal development and well-being; and the effectiveness of actions taken at all levels of leadership to ensure the success of the school. Evidence was gathered from lesson observations, interviews with the headteacher, senior leadership team and chair of governors, and discussions with pupils and staff. Other aspects of the school’s work were not investigated in detail, but no evidence was found to suggest that the school’s own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation, were not justified, and these have been included where appropriate in this report.

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Description of the school

This is a larger than average school on the outskirts of the city. Attendance is above the national average. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below average and only a low proportion of pupils are entitled to free school meals. Attainment on entry varies but is usually at least as expected for the children's ages.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 9 Inspection Report: Westdene Primary School, 3 October 2007

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Grade: 1

This is a very highly effective school that, through incisive and searching self-evaluation, can show that it knows itself very well. Pupils achieve high standards. The school has sustained the good improvement that was evident at the last inspection. It has an undoubted capacity to continue to do so. Excellent leadership is highly focused on achieving a realistic balance between pupils' personal and academic success. The strong and very clear educational direction provided by the headteacher ensures effective teamwork of all staff. The breadth of staff expertise is used to the full. Planning of further developments reflects the headteacher's high expectations for the school. In addition, the excellent governing body is able to question and support the process of self-evaluation and development planning knowledgeably. Pupils are extremely enthusiastic learners who are very keen to take on extra responsibility.

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Grade: 1

The school is highly successful at developing all pupils' independence, enabling them to become very well prepared for their future lives. Many pupils are involved in a raft of initiatives such as presentations to local authority representatives, local dignitaries, the governors and parents. As one pupil said, when talking about his involvement in the school council and eco-committee, 'With the help of the teachers, it is the children who have the meetings and make decisions.' Pupils' behaviour is exemplary and they are a delight to talk with. They are extremely enthusiastic about sharing their successes and are highly reflective about what they want to achieve. Some Years 5 and 6 pupils, for example, explained how the introduction of their roles of responsibility as peer mentors and buddies came about. The analysis of pupils' responses to surveys indicated that younger pupils are sometimes happier talking through their concerns with their friends

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Grade: 1

than with adults. The pupils themselves identified that interviews with teachers would be necessary to highlight which pupils have the necessary skills to provide support as buddies and mentors and would be sensible enough to know when an adult should intervene. This example demonstrates pupils' strong contribution to the school community and their very well developed sense of how to look after each other and stay safe. Pupils fully understand the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle. They have been influential in developing new menus for lunches and are presently trying to establish a 'walking bus' as part of the school's travel plan to help more pupils keep fit by walking to school. The high quality of pupils' personal development has not been achieved at the expense of academic excellence. Children make a good start in all areas of their learning in the Nursery and Reception classes. Results in national tests have been high for a number of years, particularly

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Grade: 1

at the end of Year 6. In 2007, the results were even better. Almost all pupils in Year 6 achieved the age expected Level 4 in English, mathematics and science and nearly three quarters reached the higher Level 5. These results were substantially above the challenging targets that had been set for them two years previously. More importantly, the progress that these pupils made between Year 2 and Year 6 was significant. The reason for this success is the consistently high quality teaching and the way that the school has instigated additional support where necessary to meet the needs of each individual. All lessons challenge pupils to think and to use the knowledge that they have. One Year 2 class, for example, undertook a shopping sweepstake. A group had to choose items against a target amount. This activity helped their mental skills as well as helping them learn how to add and subtract money quickly.

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Grade: 1

Although achievement is outstanding, the school has identified that a relatively lower proportion of boys than girls reach the higher levels in writing at the end of Year 2 and that fewer girls 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Westdene Primary School, 3 October 2007 than boys reach the higher levels in mathematics at the end of Year 6. The school is working hard to address this issue through projects drawing on the expertise from within the school and the local authority. An extremely wide range of curricular opportunities ensures pupils gain high levels of expertise in many subjects. For example, pupils have good information and communication technology skills. Their recent business enterprise day, in conjunction with a national bank, involved them working as project managers, financiers and catering managers, using spreadsheets, financial programs and presentations to develop sales. Success in activities such as this shows how very

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Grade: 1

well prepared pupils are for their economic futures. In several classes, displays show that there are a number of budding artists, historians and technologists. Pupils are also rightly proud of their excellent achievements in a wide variety of local sports competitions and their high level of involvement in local, national and international community projects. The overwhelming support of parents for the school is evident from the many positive comments such as 'The school goes above and beyond the call of duty in terms of trips, drama and extra teaching sessions.'

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Grade: 2

Children make a good start and achieve standards above those expected for their age by the end of the Reception Year. A good balance is provided between activities that are initiated by adults and activities that allow children to explore and play by themselves. Both the inside and outside areas are stimulating. Adults plan activities that link work in different areas of learning and this is an aspect of provision that is steadily improving and doing much to accelerate children's progress. Some of this good early years practice is also being used well in Years 1 and 2 to ensure a smooth transition between years. Although the leadership of the Foundation Stage is relatively new, it is strong and the actions taken for improvement are already taking effect.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Raise the proportion of boys achieving the higher levels in writing by the end of Year 2 and girls reaching the higher levels in mathematics by the end of Year 6. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Westdene Primary School, 3 October 2007 .

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What the school should do to improve further

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 of 9 Inspection Report: Westdene Primary School, 3 October 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? Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

1 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 1 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 extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The attendance of learners 1 The behaviour of learners 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. 7 of 9 Inspection Report: Westdene Primary School, 3 October 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 1 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 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 of 9 Inspection Report: Westdene Primary School, 3 October 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Dear Pupils Inspection of Westdene Primary School, Brighton BN1 5GN Thank you for looking after me so well during my recent visit. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to you telling me all about the wonderful things you get up to. As I promised some of you, the bullet points below will tell you the most important points of my report.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Your school is outstanding. I am sure this is no surprise to you because that is what many of you told me. Your excellent headteacher, with the help of all the other staff, knows exactly what to do to make your school even better. ■ I was very impressed by your superb behaviour and how excited you are about learning. You are a real credit to your parents and carers. ■ You reach very high standards by the time you leave the school. The national tests results this year were some of the highest ever so you all have a lot to live up to. ■ Most importantly, I have said that you make really good progress through each year in a wide range of subjects. Not only do you do well in reading, writing, and mathematics but, from the examples you gave me, I could see that this was also happening with your computer work and sports. I was very impressed with the lovely artwork that was on display, especially some of the drawings.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Your teachers make sure that all your lessons are good and I know that some are excellent. In fact, you gave me some good examples of how your teachers make sure that you think hard and have a chance to be more independent. From the discussions I had, I can see that you are all being very well prepared for your next school. ■ Your teachers are now going to work on making sure that all the younger boys do really well with their writing and the older girls do as well with their mathematics. Finally, I would like to wish you all the very best for the future. I am sure you will all be very successful in whatever career you decide on. You can continue to help improve your school by working on all the ideas you have through your eco-committees, school council and playground friends. Keep up the good work! Best wishes David Collard (Lead inspector) 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Westdene Primary School, 3 October 2007

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Annex B

Inspection of Westdene Primary School, Brighton BN1 5GN

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Annex B

Thank you for looking after me so well during my recent visit. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to you telling me all about the wonderful things you get up to. As I promised some of you, the bullet points below will tell you the most important points of my report.

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Annex B

• Your school is outstanding. I am sure this is no surprise to you because that is what many of you told me. Your excellent headteacher, with the help of all the other staff, knows exactly what to do to make your school even better. • I was very impressed by your superb behaviour and how excited you are about learning. You are a real credit to your parents and carers. • You reach very high standards by the time you leave the school. The national tests results this year were some of the highest ever so you all have a lot to live up to. • Most importantly, I have said that you make really good progress through each year in a wide range of subjects. Not only do you do well in reading, writing, and mathematics but, from the examples you gave me, I could see that this was also happening with your computer work and sports. I was very impressed with the lovely artwork that was on display, especially some of the drawings.

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Annex B

• Your teachers make sure that all your lessons are good and I know that some are excellent. In fact, you gave me some good examples of how your teachers make sure that you think hard and have a chance to be more independent. From the discussions I had, I can see that you are all being very well prepared for your next school. • Your teachers are now going to work on making sure that all the younger boys do really well with their writing and the older girls do as well with their mathematics.

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Annex B

Finally, I would like to wish you all the very best for the future. I am sure you will all be very successful in whatever career you decide on. You can continue to help improve your school by working on all the ideas you have through your eco- committees, school council and playground friends. Keep up the good work!

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