Bedenham Primary School

Bedenham Primary School Inspection report

p.1

131117 Unique Reference Number Hampshire Local Authority 315726 Inspection number 10 °11 July 2008 Inspection dates Barnard Payne Reporting inspector

p.1

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

p.1

Primary Type of school Community School category 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 236 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Lynette Hobbs Chair Mrs Anne Phipps Headteacher 26 January 2004 Date of previous school inspection Bridgemary Avenue School address Gosport PO13 0XT 01329 280445 Telephone number 01329 232774 Fax number

p.1

4-11 Age group 10 °11 July 2008 Inspection dates 315726 Inspection number .

p.1

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors.

p.3

Description of the school

Most pupils attending this average sized school are from White British backgrounds. The number eligible for free school meals is higher than average. A high percentage of pupils have learning difficulties and disabilities and a high number of these have statements of special educational needs. Most have difficulties with literacy and numeracy, but the school also has designated provision for pupils with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties. The school has gained the enhanced Healthy Schools Award and Investors in People status.

p.3

Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Bedenham Primary School, 10 °11 July 2008

p.3

Grade: 3

Bedenham is a satisfactory school. Pupils enjoy their education and feel confident that staff listen to them and take account of their views and feelings. This reflects the school's values, which place a strong emphasis on creating an inclusive, happy community in which children broaden their experiences and gain confidence and independence. A parent commented, 'My daughter has had fabulous experiences at this school.' Achievement is satisfactory overall. Children start school with attainment in literacy and numeracy that is below average. Good provision in Reception is improving pupils' reading, writing and number skills, although a significant minority remain below the national expectation at the end of Reception. There has been steady improvement in standards in Key Stage 1 in recent years and pupils reach the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. Given their starting points, this shows good achievement. Improvements have been much slower in

p.4

Grade: 3

Key Stage 2, although standards are improving and achievement is satisfactory. Pupils' standards reach the national average in mathematics and science, but in English are below average because attainment in writing is low. Pupils feel safe and the school cares for them well. Pupils learn in a friendly, purposeful atmosphere because staff manage behaviour consistently and positively,. The school provides a wide range of enjoyable activities and there is good take-up for after school provision. Pupils have a good knowledge of how to keep healthy and take part enthusiastically in physical activities. They show care and respect for one another. Their personal development provides them with valuable skills that they will use in their future lives. These include the satisfactory acquisition of basic skills. Numeracy and information and technology skills are good and literacy skills are satisfactory. This is because, while pupils learn to read well, they struggle more with

p.4

Grade: 3

writing. Teaching is satisfactory and rising standards show that it is improving. Teachers make lessons fun, using methods that keep pupils actively involved and keen to learn. Improvements in the teaching of writing have not yet had a full impact on work in Key Stage 2. This is because teachers do not consistently enable pupils to develop their skills and do not always give hard enough work to the more able pupils. The marking of pupils' work is also inconsistent in Key Stage 2 and does not always tell pupils what they have done well and how they can improve. The headteacher's vision is strongly evident in the school's care for pupils and in its inclusiveness. Problems in recruiting staff and uneven quality of teaching in recent years have left a legacy of low standards. The picture is now improving. The headteacher has built a stable, committed team of staff, leading to improved achievement. This shows that the school has satisfactory

p.4

Grade: 3

capacity to continue improving. There is still work to do and the school has identified the most important areas to address. The head is building a team-based approach to leadership and management and this is leading to better provision. However, the actions identified in the school improvement plan are not specific enough to give staff and governors all the help they need to identify each step to take.

p.4

Grade: 2

Effective leadership and management are ensuring good provision in Reception. This includes rigorous assessments that enable staff to identify children's learning needs. There is a very 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Bedenham Primary School, 10 °11 July 2008 good balance between adult-directed and independent activities. Teachers help the children to initiate ideas, and then build learning activities around them. During the inspection, the children's chosen theme was 'Pirates'. Planning covered a rich variety of literacy and numeracy activities linked to the theme, leading to good progress. An assembly, led by the Reception class, gave children the opportunity to role-play, sing and share their work with the whole school and a large number of parents. They did this confidently, with judicious support from adults, who ensured that they did not intervene too much. This shows that children develop their personal and social skills well. In class, they happily share activities and develop a good

p.4

Grade: 2

level of independence. They are making good progress in all areas of learning.

p.5

What the school should do to improve further

■ Identify specific steps to raise standards, particularly in writing in Key Stage 2.

p.5

What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve the quality of teaching and learning in Key Stage 2 to provide greater challenge for those who are more able. ■ Improve the quality of marking in Key Stage 2 to help pupils understand how well they have done and what to do next. 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.

p.5

Grade: 3

There has been an upward trend in Key Stage 1 results. Over the past two years, pupils achieved the national average in reading, writing and mathematics, having previously been below, and provisional 2008 results show a similar level of achievement. Key Stage 2 attainment in English, mathematics and science has been significantly lower than the national average in recent years. The provisional 2008 test results show improvements in all three subjects. Science results improved significantly, with more pupils reaching the higher level 5. However, few pupils reach the higher level in English because of weaknesses in their writing. Given pupils' starting points, and the learning difficulties of a significant minority, their achievement is satisfactory and it is good in the younger classes. All groups make satisfactory progress, but the more able do not always do as well as they could because the levels of challenge for them in Key Stage 2 are not

p.5

Grade: 3

consistent. The school has made significant improvements in its collection of performance data for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities over the past year. Already, this is leading to improvements in the achievement of pupils with learning difficulties that join the school late, as the school is able to target support more effectively.

p.5

Grade: 2

Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. They care for one another well and are fully of aware of their rights and responsibilities. They enjoy being in school and form positive relationships with one another and with staff. Pupils feel safe and are polite and friendly. They enjoy the wide range of physical activities provided and show a good knowledge of how to stay healthy. Pupils are involved in making decisions through the school council. They play a good part in the wider community through local events, such as the carnival. Attendance is satisfactory and has improved over the past year. Pupils' preparation for their 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Bedenham Primary School, 10 °11 July 2008 future economic well-being is satisfactory. They develop independence and the ability to work effectively with others, but still have weaknesses in their writing skills.

p.5

Grade: 3

Improvements in teaching have led to good progress in Key Stage 1. Teaching in Key Stage 2 is satisfactory, but there are inconsistencies in planning work that is demanding enough for the more able. The best teaching in Key Stage 2 develops pupils' skills effectively. For example, in a lesson on interpreting a text, the teacher's explanations were very clear and there was good use of time and resources. Teachers throughout the school establish good relationships with pupils. They ensure pupils play an active role in lessons, for example using talk partners. Teachers use questioning well to engage pupils. They make consistent use of success criteria to help pupils understand what it is they are expected to learn.

p.6

Grade: 3

The school provides a wide range of activities that pupils enjoy, including a breakfast club and after-school activities. It provides effectively for pupils' personal development. The school has ensured that it is an active curriculum, recognising how pupils learn best. It makes effective use of the school grounds, which include a nature trail, pond area and a garden in which pupils grow vegetables. Pupils enjoy learning Spanish in Key Stage 2. However, the school does not consistently provide activities to cater for the more able pupils. The English curriculum covers a variety of styles and topics but does not focus sufficiently on the progression of writing skills in Key Stage 2.

p.6

Grade: 2

The inclusion of all pupils is central to the school's values, and pastoral care is strong. The school's systems ensure that all pupils feel safe, secure and valued. It has an excellent understanding of the needs of the more vulnerable pupils and has very effective provision in place to meet those needs. The action taken to reduce absence is leading to improvement. Strategies for managing pupils' behaviour are well established in all classes. This enables pupils who have problems in managing their own behaviour to make good progress towards their personal targets, in an atmosphere of trust and support. Academic guidance is satisfactory and pupils have targets to help them in their work. However, these are general rather than personal and this restricts their usefulness to pupils.

p.6

Grade: 3

The leadership of the school ensures all pupils feel safe, happy and play a full part in the school community. The school has carried out an accurate self-evaluation. It knows its strengths and areas for improvement. It is committed to ensuring equality of opportunity, but recognises that there is work to do in providing more effectively for the more able pupils. The school's leadership 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Bedenham Primary School, 10 °11 July 2008 has had to manage a high level of staff turnover in recent years, but has now established a committed team of staff, which is leading to improvement. The leadership and management for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities are bringing about improvements in provision for this group, through better use of assessment information and clear guidance to staff about planning and targets. Governors understand their role, providing a balance of support and

p.6

Grade: 3

challenge to the headteacher. They have identified the need to increase the level of challenge they give the school and to develop monitoring procedures to direct their work. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Bedenham Primary School, 10 °11 July 2008 .

p.7

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: Bedenham Primary School, 10 °11 July 2008

p.8

Inspection judgements

School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

p.9

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

p.9

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

p.9

learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 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

p.9

and interests of learners?

2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

p.9

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: Bedenham Primary School, 10 °11 July 2008

p.9

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: Bedenham Primary School, 10 °11 July 2008

p.10

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

18 July 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Bedenham Primary School,Gosport,PO13 0XT Thank you for making us so welcome in your school, for talking with us and for showing us around. We know that you enjoy school and feel confident that staff listen to you and take account of your views and feelings. We feel that Bedenham is a satisfactory school and that some aspects are good. Your school is friendly and cares for you well. You show care and respect for one another. We know that you enjoy a wide range of enjoyable activities. You have a good knowledge of how to keep healthy and take part enthusiastically in physical activities. Teachers make lessons fun and you are keen to learn. You get off to a good start in Reception. Your standards have steadily improved in Key Stage 1 and you reach the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. This shows good achievement. Improvements have been much slower in Key Stage 2, although standards are improving. In Key Stage 2, we feel that

p.11

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

you need better help to improve your writing and that some of you find some of the work too easy. Some of the marking in Key Stage 2 books does not tell you clearly enough what you have done well and how you can improve. We have asked the school to help you to make more progress in Key Stage 2 by:

p.11

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ being clear about how to make writing better

p.11

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ providing you with greater challenge and clearer targets, particularly those of you who find some of the work easy ■ improving marking to help you understand how well you have done and what to do next.

p.11

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

You can help by discussing with your teachers what to do to improve your writing and by working with them to set yourselves new challenges. Yours sincerely Barnard Payne Lead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Bedenham Primary School, 10 °11 July 2008

p.11