St Crispin's Community Primary Infant School

St Crispin's Community Primary Infant School Inspection report

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118411 Unique Reference Number Kent Local Authority 312929 Inspection number 2 °3 July 2008 Inspection dates Gavin Jones 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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Infant Type of school Community School category 4 °7 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 226 School The governing body Appropriate authority Peter Corey Chair Margaret Kehoe Headteacher 5 July 2004 Date of previous school inspection St Crispin's Road School address Westgate-on-Sea CT8 8EB 01843 832040 Telephone number 01843 832040 Fax number

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4-7 Age group 2 °3 July 2008 Inspection dates 312929 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

This is an average size school. The percentage of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is above average. Almost all of the pupils are of White British origin. A quarter of pupils join the school later than the Reception Year.

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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: St Crispin's Community Primary Infant School, 2 °3 July 2008

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Grade: 2

This is a good and effective school. 'My son can't wait to go to school every day, which says everything,' wrote one parent. St Crispin's takes pupils from very mixed backgrounds and with diverse needs. 'The school gives my special needs child excellent support,' said one mother. It gives good support to another significant group of pupils who do not start in Reception but who join at other times. Almost all pupils make the progress expected of them, so that by the end of Year 2, the vast majority have reached the levels expected for their age in reading, writing and mathematics. This shows good achievement and progress. More importantly to many parents, the school promotes personal development exceptionally well. Care is at the heart of all that the school does. It is this exceptional care that creates such outstanding personal development for its pupils. Parents know that their children are confident,

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Grade: 2

greatly enjoy school, behave well and are provided with good life skills. 'It's a shame they have to leave when they are seven,' said one parent. Pupils have an excellent understanding of the need for healthy eating, take part in many activities both in and out of school and gain skills that will help them in the future. This is often the result of good teaching throughout the school. The school is well run. However, the monitoring of teaching does not always identify how the good teaching can be helped to be even more effective. Teachers' daily planning is good. End of key stage targets are not always noted, however, when planning for the longer term. This results in targets being too short term and not aimed at challenging pupils enough over the long term. The good curriculum and very good opportunities for enrichment provided by the school keep pupils interested and engrossed in their work. The school has put in place

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Grade: 2

a number of successful initiatives such as counselling services and a permanent place for family support to be based, both of which have had significant and positive effects on pupils' development. It has been able to improve standards in writing, information and communication technology (ICT) and physical education. Attendance is only average, as early childhood illnesses take their toll. Some parents take their children out of school for holidays, thus disrupting their learning. The school's development plan is well constructed and has the support of a governing body that knows the school well and is prepared to hold it to account for its actions.

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Grade: 2

Children start school with abilities that are below those expected for their age. A significant minority of children have poorly developed communication and language skills which hold back their learning. Children all respond positively to the well established routines in the Reception classes, which promote their self-confidence and independence very well. Good teaching positively affects children's learning, so that almost all make good progress in all six areas of learning. Lessons are well planned, interesting and stimulating. Children are very well supported by experienced teaching assistants. The curriculum reflects the national guidance and provides a suitable balance of activities led by adults and those that children choose themselves. By the end of their year in Reception, although all have made good progress, there are still a number of children who have difficulties with aspects of literacy and language. Opportunities for outdoor

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Grade: 2

play are limited by the difficulties in having a free flow of activities from the indoor to outdoor areas.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ 4 of 11 Inspection Report: St Crispin's Community Primary Infant School, 2 °3 July 2008 ■ Improve the monitoring of teaching in order to focus more sharply on identifying what teachers need to do to make their teaching even more effective. ■ Ensure that end of key stage targets are reflected more accurately in lesson planning.

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Grade: 2

The majority of children make good progress in the Foundation Stage, but a significant minority still enter Year 1 with deficits in communication, language and literacy. This has an effect on the whole of their time at St Crispin's. In spite of this, and because of good teaching, standards have improved over the past three years so that they are now in line with national averages in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 2. This represents good achievement. The most recent results confirm this. This is in spite of the fact that about a quarter of pupils who were assessed at the end of Year 2 joined the school after the Reception Year and therefore had not received the full benefit of what the school can offer. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make the same good progress as their peers because of good focused support. Progress in writing is better than progress in reading and mathematics as the result of the

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Grade: 2

school's initiatives in writing. Progress in ICT is good, with pupils regularly working at levels above those expected for their age. Good standards were also noted in physical education lessons.

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Grade: 1

Pupils show great enjoyment at being at school and are enthusiastic about their lessons. Behaviour is good and pupils clearly understand the differences between right and wrong. They listen carefully to adults and respond very well to their high expectations. They say they are safe and happy in school. One pupil said, 'I know that you can come to school and know that nothing bad will happen'. Pupils think deeply about issues such as poverty and those children less fortunate than themselves. They have a very good understanding of healthy lifestyles and take part in many sporting activities in and out of school. They participate enthusiastically in a variety of local events. One parent wrote, 'The school creates a real community feel'. Older pupils often look after younger ones in Reception, effectively promoting their social development. Good progress is made in literacy, numeracy and ICT skills, preparing them well

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Grade: 1

for the future. Although attendance is only average, the school does all it can to improve this.

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Grade: 2

Teachers work well in their year teams, giving each other good support. There are elements of teaching that are outstanding, but these elements are not common to all lessons, neither are they common to specific subjects. Learning objectives for well planned lessons are carefully explained so that pupils know what they will learn. Pupils are also guided to understand how they might recognise that they have achieved the objectives. Good teaching ensures that pupils learn effectively through a range of enjoyable experiences in a range of teaching styles. Teaching assistants work in close cooperation with the teachers and make a significant contribution to the progress that pupils make. Such resources as the interactive whiteboards motivate pupils well and keep them focused on their tasks. Occasionally, the work set for more able pupils is 5 of 11 Inspection Report: St Crispin's Community Primary Infant School, 2 °3 July 2008

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Grade: 2

not as challenging as it might be, bearing in mind the standards expected of pupils by the end of Year 2. Teachers tend to focus a little too much on current targets for their pupils without looking further ahead, taking note of longer term targets, so that short term gains can be put into a framework of longer term progress.

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Grade: 2

The school's good curriculum helps promote good progress as it is imaginatively planned so that pupils enjoy a very wide range of enriching experiences. Teachers plan and achieve this with varying degrees of success. For example, an outstanding lesson in Year 1 saw pupils using their ICT skills to produce a postcard, which helped them illustrate a particular type of writing whilst linking closely with work in history. The provision, within the curriculum, for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is outstanding. The whole staff is very effectively involved with pupils' reviews and the mapping of provision for these pupils. This helps the school provide intervention programmes to boost their progress. The high number of visitors enhances the curriculum by providing valuable first-hand experiences for pupils. After-school sports clubs usefully contribute to pupils' healthy lifestyles.

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Grade: 1

Pupils are exceptionally well cared for. The school's extremely caring ethos means that pupils are valued highly as individuals. As a result, they thrive and make excellent progress in their personal development. 'The headteacher knows every child well,' said a parent. The school provides highly effective pastoral support and guidance. This is extended to families through the school's counselling and family support services. Robust procedures are in place for health and safety, child protection and staff recruitment. There are excellent links with outside agencies that effectively support staff, pupils and parents. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are very well supported. As a result, they make good progress in respect of their own targets. The tracking of pupils' progress in general enables teachers to see how pupils are performing and quickly identify anyone who may be falling behind. The school then provides

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Grade: 1

skilful and thorough support and intervention programmes to boost standards and achievement.

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Grade: 2

The headteacher and her leadership teams ensure that the focus of the school's work is equally divided between academic improvement and personal development. The headteacher's clear vision is shared by her staff, who work together closely. Pupils' care, guidance and support are very well supported by Year leaders who understand their roles well. Particularly strong is the way in which they organise termly progress meetings where every child's current situation and future progress, both in academic and personal development, are closely scrutinised. Subject leaders look after their subjects well and are clear about their strengths and areas for development. The school works closely with other local schools, where the support for physical education, for example, has been helpful. The school provides effectively for all pupils, including more vulnerable groups. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: St Crispin's Community Primary Infant School, 2 °3 July 2008

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Grade: 2

The school has put in place a number of very successful initiatives in relation to improving arrangements for pupils' welfare and personal development. It has also been effective in improving standards in writing across the school, along with improvements in ICT and physical education. Very recent initiatives in raising standards in reading and mathematics have not had time to impact on standards. There is one area of the school's monitoring that is not as sharply focused as it might be. For example, the monitoring of teaching does not make clear how good teaching can be improved to be even better. The school has nevertheless shown good capacity to make further improvements. Governance of the school is good. The 'strategic group' of governors is very well informed and makes decisions and holds the school to account for its actions. Governors have a clear picture of the school's strengths and areas for development

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Grade: 2

and are fully committed to its future success. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: St Crispin's Community Primary Infant School, 2 °3 July 2008 .

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: St Crispin's Community Primary Infant School, 2 °3 July 2008

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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 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

2 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?

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 3 The attendance of learners 2 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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: St Crispin's Community Primary Infant School, 2 °3 July 2008

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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 2 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 2 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: St Crispin's Community Primary Infant School, 2 °3 July 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

4 July 2008 Dear Children Inspection of St Crispin's Community Primary Infant School, Westgate CT8 8EB Thank you all very much for helping us when we visited your school. You were very helpful, you showed us around the school when we got lost and you talked to us about your school. We found that all the teachers and their helpers work very hard to help you become successful in your work and help you make good progress. They look after you extremely well and your parents are very happy to send you to school every day because they know that the school cares for you so well. Teachers help you understand how you can stay healthy and you know a lot about things that are good for you to eat. We know that you thoroughly enjoy being at school, you work very hard in your lessons and behave well. This is part of the reason that you make good progress in your work. You understand that there are other people in the world who have far less than you do and when you can, you

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

help by raising money for them. Your teachers prepare lessons that interest you and help you learn. They organise lessons well and ask you questions to see how much you know and have learned. Their assistants work hard, too, and give you very good support. Your headteacher leads the school well and keeps everyone focused on helping you learn. We have asked your headteacher if she can help make things even better by looking very closely at your teachers when they teach, just in case there are little improvements that could be made. We have also asked your teachers if they can keep a closer check on your progress, always remembering the targets they have set for you for the end of your time at St Crispin's. You can help, too. You can continue to work as hard as you can, listen to your teachers and behave well at all times. We would also be very pleased if your parents could try not to take you on holiday in school time as it interrupts your learning and sometimes makes it difficult

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

for you to catch up when you return. With best wishes Gavin Jones Lead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: St Crispin's Community Primary Infant School, 2 °3 July 2008

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