Norwood Primary & Pre-School

Norwood Primary School Inspection report

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116078 Unique Reference Number Hampshire Local Authority 312171 Inspection number 15 °16 November 2007 Inspection dates Rob Crompton 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 177 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Anne Westcott Chair Mrs Jane Laurie Headteacher 6 November 2006 Date of previous school inspection Chamberlayne Road School address Eastleigh SO50 5JL 02380 322582 Telephone number 02380 653223 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 15 °16 November 2007 Inspection dates 312171 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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Norwood is a small primary school. It was found to have significant weaknesses in November 2006 and issued with a Notice to Improve. In April 2007, it was federated with a neighbouring school. An executive headteacher was appointed to lead both schools and they share the same governing body. The number on roll is increasing. The majority of pupils are from a White British heritage. About a quarter of pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds, most of whom have English as an additional language. Fourteen pupils are at an early stage of acquiring English. The school has an average number of pupils with learning difficulties, but the proportion of pupils with a statement of educational needs is above 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 11 Inspection Report: Norwood Primary School, 15 °16 November 2007

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Grade: 3

In accordance with section 13 (5) of the Education Act 2005, HMCI is of the opinion that the school no longer requires significant improvement. The school provides a satisfactory quality of education but there is much more to be done to raise standards and accelerate achievement. Children progress well in the Foundation Stage and most reach the standards expected for their age. Pupils are making good progress in the Year 1 and 2 classes and reaching broadly average standards. The elimination of pockets of inadequate achievement through Years 3 to 6 remains the biggest issue for the school to tackle. A legacy of underachievement means that there are many gaps in pupils' learning by the end of Year 6, and standards remain below average. Following the federation with a nearby school, there is now a satisfactory capacity to improve. Since the executive headteacher was appointed, improvements have been made in teaching and learning, assessment and the curriculum. The

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Grade: 3

impact of these improvements is evident in the more consistent quality of teaching and pupils' learning. Overall achievement is now satisfactory. However, some pupils, particularly the more able, are not always sufficiently challenged. The attainment of boys is much weaker than that of girls in both key stages. The newly constituted governing body has an accurate picture of the school's current strengths and weaknesses, and a clear commitment to change. The headteacher has established a comprehensive agenda for improvement and has the confidence of senior staff and parents. Some subject leaders are new to their roles so have not yet a major impact on the drive to raise standards through monitoring the quality of teaching and learning and by tracking pupils' progress. Overall, the school's capacity to improve is satisfactory. Pupils' personal development and well-being are good. They enjoy their lessons and behave

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Grade: 3

well. They benefit from an excellent range of enrichment activities that enliven learning and support their personal development. They are very positive about the good relationships throughout the school, and are caring and polite to each other, staff and visitors. One typical comment was, 'This is a really friendly place'. Pupils have a good grasp of what constitutes a healthy diet and know that exercise is good for them. Parents hold the school in high regard. They commented on the recent improvements, the openness of staff, their children's enjoyment of learning, the way the school welcomes all children and the care shown by all staff. Many parents agreed with the sentiments of one who wrote, 'A lovely friendly and helpful school'. Inspectors agree that the pastoral care provided for pupils is very good. Overall, the care, guidance and support they receive are satisfactory because the academic guidance for pupils is not yet making an impact on their progress. A start

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Grade: 3

has been made in using assessment data to set targets for individual pupils and to share these targets with them. However, this practice is not yet fully embedded through the school, so the level of challenge and pace is not always well matched to pupils' abilities. Improvements to the curriculum mean that it is now satisfactory. Weaknesses in provision for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have been addressed and some links between subjects are being made in order to enhance pupils' leaning and enjoyment.

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Grade: 2

Good provision in the Foundation Stage enables children to make good progress and reach the expected standards by the end of Reception. Induction arrangements are excellent. Children 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Norwood Primary School, 15 °16 November 2007 and their parents visit the school for ten 'songs and rhymes' sessions prior to starting in the Reception class. This means that when children start they are welcomed by familiar adults and soon settle into school routines. Detailed planning achieves an effective balance between activities directed by adults and those initiated by the children. The 'plan, do and review' sequence provides good opportunities for children to develop their speaking and listening skills and to articulate their thinking. The teaching is lively and underpinned by a good knowledge of how young children learn. The spacious indoor and outdoor accommodation is used to good effect to promote progress in all areas of learning. Through careful observation and regular

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Grade: 2

note taking, staff build up a clear picture of children's strengths and specific needs in order to refine their planning.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Raise the standards achieved by the end of Year 6.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Increase the level of challenge and pace in lessons, particularly for boys and more able pupils.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that subject leaders promote better achievement in their subjects by effectively monitoring the teaching and learning and tracking pupils' progress across the school. A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Grade: 3

As they enter the school, children's knowledge and understanding is below that typical of the age group. Although most are confident socially, many have limited language and number skills. Due to the good provision in the Foundation Stage, they make good progress, and reach expected standards for their age by the end of Reception. Pupils' progress through Years 1 and 2 has improved and they are now reaching broadly average standards in reading, writing and mathematics. However, the proportion reaching the higher levels is below average, particularly in writing. Girls generally outperform boys by a considerable margin. This gender gap is even more significant in Years 3 to 6. The school is working hard to address this imbalance; boys are making better progress in lessons, but there is much more work to do. The standards in English, mathematics and science at the end of Year 6 have been low for the last two years

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Grade: 3

but this pattern of underachievement is being gradually ironed out. However, overall standards remain below average.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. They have good opportunities to learn about the lives of people with different cultural backgrounds in British society. Pupils enjoy school and are keen to take on responsibility as members of the school council and for other tasks around school. Every pupil in Year 6 is a 'Reliable Year 6 Leader' with a specific area of responsibility, which they value. This helps them build their self-esteem and develop good personal skills. Pupils behave well and have good attitudes to their learning. Despite the school's efforts, attendance is below average. Pupils are actively involved in supporting charities and participate in worthwhile community activities. They are prepared reasonably well for the next stage of learning, taking account of their good personal development and satisfactory skills in literacy, numeracy and ICT. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Norwood Primary School, 15 °16 November 2007

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Grade: 3

Teachers have good general classroom skills and establish positive relationships with pupils. Behaviour is managed well and classrooms are harmonious places. Pupils' work is marked carefully and pupils say that they find it helpful in knowing how to improve their work. In the better lessons, learning moves along at a good pace and pupils are well challenged. However, this is not always the case. In some lessons, pupils do not achieve as much as they can as classroom tasks are not sufficiently demanding, particularly for the more able pupils. Teachers are aware the need to ensure that boys are fully engaged in learning and are taking positive steps to encourage them, for example by providing reading material which appeals to them. Teaching assistants play a vital role in supporting pupils with learning difficulties and those who are learning English as an additional language. As a result, these pupils often make good

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Grade: 3

The curriculum has improved since the last inspection and now meets all requirements. A strong focus on letter sounds is helping younger pupils to make a good start in developing confidence in attempting to read, spell and write unfamiliar words. Links between subjects are increasing to make learning more meaningful for pupils, but some work is rather mundane and lacks appeal. Planning for pupils with different abilities does not always take full account of assessment information to ensure that all are suitably challenged. An extensive range of visits, visitors and well-attended clubs add to pupils' academic and personal development and to their enjoyment of school. A local arts centre has 'adopted' the school and provides many opportunities for pupils to take part in creative activities.

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Grade: 3

Parents are very positive about the caring ethos of the school and value the support that the school gives to their children. A parent of a child unhappy at his previous school said, 'He is so happy and I am so grateful for the help of staff at Norwood'. The special educational needs coordinator works directly with families in order to provide the best possible support for their children. There is good provision for pupils who have difficulty managing their emotions and behaviour. Child protection and risk assessment procedures are secure and regularly reviewed. Pupils find teachers' 'two stars and a wish' marking system helpful in knowing how to improve and are much more involved in assessing their own learning using the 'traffic light system'. Systems for monitoring academic progress are relatively new. Pupils are more aware of their individual targets but there is not yet evidence of these developments having a positive impact

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Grade: 3

on their achievement. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Norwood Primary School, 15 °16 November 2007

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Grade: 3

The local authority has worked well with the school to address previous weaknesses in leadership and management. The federation with a successful neighbouring school has led to much stronger governance. The executive headteacher, who leads both schools, is playing a pivotal role in the drive to raise standards. Self-evaluation is more systematic and staff have strong commitment to improvement. At various levels, they have made good efforts to increase their skills. As a result, the quality of teaching has improved and teachers with specific responsibilities are clearer about their roles. There is some evidence of the impact of the new management structure; for example, class teachers are now more aware of successful assessment strategies and are providing good feedback to pupils. Some subject leaders, however, are very new to their role and do not have a full picture of the provision in their subjects in order to prioritise developments. This

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Grade: 3

limits both their ability to set challenging targets in order to raise standards and their input into whole school self-evaluation. Overall, leadership and management are satisfactory. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Norwood Primary School, 15 °16 November 2007 .

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Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Norwood Primary School, 15 °16 November 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 3 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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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 2 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 extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 3 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 How well learners enjoy their education 3 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Norwood Primary School, 15 °16 November 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 3 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 3 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Norwood Primary School, 15 °16 November 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

27 November 2007 Dear Children Inspection of Norwood Primary School,Eastleigh,SO50 5JL Thank you for your welcome when inspectors visited your school. We enjoyed talking to you in lessons and at break times and looking at your work. You told us that you enjoy school. We saw how well you behave and that you work hard. We found that the school is much better than it was a year ago, and is now satisfactory. You are still looked after very well but lessons are now more interesting and you have more opportunities to use computers to develop your ICT skills. The children in the Foundation Stage make a good start. Teachers and helpers give them lots of activities to explore and learn from. Even the youngest children are good at choosing what to do and discussing how they are getting on. In the other classes you enjoy learning, but the work is sometimes too easy. Teachers and other staff are always ready to help you when you

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

need it and you told us how helpful you found teachers' marking using 'two stars and a wish'. We were really impressed by the number of exciting extra activities provided outside your normal lessons. You enjoy and benefit from having visitors in school, going on trips, and taking part in school clubs and activities. We were pleased to hear about your creative work with 'The Point' and how much children had enjoyed performing in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' with professional actors. There are some things the school should do to get even better. In recent years, the standards reached in English, mathematics and science by the end of Year 6 have been too low. We have asked the school to make sure everyone does as well as they possibly can in each year so that standards improve. Girls generally make much better progress than boys so that is another important thing for the school to tackle. Some teachers need more advice about how to lead

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

their subjects and keep an eye on how well you are doing. The new headteacher, governors and staff have all worked hard to improve the school and they are keen to make things even better for you. I hope that you will carry on working hard and enjoying school. I wish you all the very best for the future. Yours sincerely, Rob Crompton Lead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Norwood Primary School, 15 °16 November 2007

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