Lambton Primary School

Lambton Primary School Inspection report

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108817 Unique Reference Number Sunderland Local Authority 324839 Inspection number 30 September 2008 Inspection date Sue Sharkey Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare, managed by the governing body, was inspected under section 49 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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Primary Type of school Community School category 3–11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 241 School (total) 0 Government funded early education provision for children aged 3 to the end of the EYFS 0 Childcare provision for children aged 0 to 3 years The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Linda Williams Chair Mrs Susan Bell Headteacher 1 November 2005 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Caradoc Close School address Lambton Village Washington Tyne and Wear NE38 0PL 0191 219 3750 Telephone number 0191 021 93753 Fax number

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3–11 Age group 30 September 2008 Inspection date 324839 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. 2 of 9 Inspection Report: Lambton Primary School, 30 September 2008

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one Additional Inspector who evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues:

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Introduction

■ how far is the school successfully tackling reading and writing so that it has a sustainable impact on achievement and standards ■ how well tracking and data analysis are used to ensure that all groups of pupils are supported

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Introduction

■ the extent to which academic guidance is securely in place to justify the self-evaluation of care, guidance and support as outstanding. Evidence was gathered from discussion with leaders, a governor, pupils and staff, visits to classes, scrutiny of pupils’ work and documentation. Other aspects of the school’s work were not investigated in detail, but the inspector found no evidence to suggest that the schools own assessments, as given in the self-evaluation, were not justified, and these have been included where appropriate in the report.

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Description of the school

This is an average size primary school where the proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is below the average and most pupils are from White British backgrounds. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is above average. The school has an Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) unit and offers extended services to families before and after school.

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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: Lambton Primary School, 30 September 2008

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Grade: 1

This is an outstanding school. It has a deservedly good reputation and parents praise the school for ‘the high standards and excellent discipline’. Excellent links with other schools, agencies and organisations bring substantial benefits to pupils’ learning and personal development. For example, an outside specialist brings history to life, when Year 2 pupils are looking at the life and work of Florence Nightingale. Every child in school is important and valued as an individual. Pupils’ behaviour throughout the school, is excellent, they have positive attitudes and enjoy their learning as demonstrated by their good attendance. In this secure and happy environment, all necessary safeguarding procedures are in place, and pupils enjoy all aspects of school life. Their personal development and well-being, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, are outstanding. Their understanding of the

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Grade: 1

importance of healthy lifestyles, the part that particular food plays in their growth and development and the importance of exercise is excellent. They readily take on responsibilities and play an active part in community activities. Older pupils demonstrate maturity, very good self-discipline and a strong work ethic. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are well supported and achieve extremely well. In their aim to continually give support, the school works closely with parents and provides opportunities for pupils to complete their homework at school if this is appropriate. The skills and confidence that these pupils develop ensure that they are extremely well prepared for the next stage in their education and for the future. From a low starting point pupils achieve exceptionally well so that by the time they leave in Year 6 standards are well above, and often significantly above the national average. The good

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Grade: 1

progress established in the EYFS continues through Key Stage 1 so that by the end of Year 2 pupils are achieving above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. In Key Stage 2, pupils achieve particularly well in mathematics and science and provisional results for 2008 Year 6 tests indicate that these high standards have been maintained. Rapid action was put in place to address the 2007 dip in standards in reading and writing. The 2008 provisional results indicate how successful this focus was, particularly for Year 6 pupils at a higher level. There is clear evidence from pupils’ work and writing displayed throughout the school that they are proud of their writing skills. Teaching staff work hard to enliven the topics they teach through environmental visits and a variety of visitors. Teaching is good overall. Teachers and other adults show what they are trying to achieve in lessons through careful planning, which ensures that pupils’ needs are met.

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Grade: 1

Teaching assistants play an active role, within the classroom and beyond, and support pupils’ learning well. Marking is regular and clearly shows in English what pupils need to do to improve. However, this is not yet the case in mathematics and science. During Key Stage 2, where there are examples of outstanding teaching, progress accelerates considerably and pupils exceed the national standards expected by the end of the Year 6 tests. This quality of teaching shows that when lessons are creative and capture the imagination of pupils, and there is confident use of subject knowledge, pupils learn at a brisk pace. Academic guidance is very good. Pupils’ progress is tracked closely and pupils are very clear about how to achieve the targets set for them. The first class curriculum provides an excellent balance between creative, physical and academic work. A particular strength is the way in which different subjects are linked together to motivate

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Grade: 1

and engage pupils giving them extensive opportunities to apply their basic skills of literacy and numeracy. Information and communication technology (ICT) is well threaded through the 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Lambton Primary School, 30 September 2008 subjects to ensure that there are many occasions for pupils to use these skills. For example, Year 6 pupils find the average temperatures of Egyptian cities, studied in history, using a relevant computer program. Pupils enjoy the links with a school in Ethiopia and had the pleasure of welcoming these pupils to their school. This exemplifies the exciting curriculum that is experienced. The excellent leadership of the headteacher, coupled with her focus and vision, result in a clear direction for the school’s work. The leadership team are rightly focused in their desire to pursue a continuous rise in pupils’ achievement. However, as yet they have not been entirely successful

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Grade: 1

in raising the quality of teaching across the whole school so that it is consistently very good and outstanding. The governors have a clear understanding of the school and are a significant factor in the schools’ outstanding capacity to improve. They support the headteacher, question her thinking and play an important role in monitoring the work of the school. Parents value the links they have with school. They know they are always welcome and that the headteacher and staff will help them if they have a problem. There are extremely good relationships between adults and pupils who say that in school they will be listened to and helped.

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Grade: 2

The effectiveness of provision in the EYFS is good and children make good progress. Children enter the Nursery with levels of basic skills below those typical for their age. Teachers and assistants have a secure understanding of children’s needs. Within a stimulating environment, activities are well chosen; they excite children and support the different areas of learning, both indoors and outdoors. For example, children made good progress in their language and communication when they visited their garage to check whether the tyre on their bike had been repaired by the mechanics. Outside, children were exploring water to investigate whether it flowed up or down hill. Children in the Nursery settle well because of the excellent induction programme and the strong parental involvement. Children’s progress is checked regularly and provides a clear picture of what they need to learn next. This means that by the start of Year

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Grade: 2

1 children are reaching broadly average standards and some exceed this level in communication and thinking skills. Leadership and management are good and ensure that adults plan together. Good links with Year 1 ensure continuity of learning.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that marking in mathematics and science consistently tells pupils how well they are doing and guides them on how to make further progress. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Lambton Primary School, 30 September 2008 .

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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: Lambton Primary School, 30 September 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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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? 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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EYFS?

2 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? 2 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 1 How effectively is the welfare of children in the EYFS promoted? 2 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed?

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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/or disabilities make progress

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Achievement and standards

1 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: Lambton Primary School, 30 September 2008

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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 The extent to which 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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learners' needs?

How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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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 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 2 How well does the school contribute to community cohesion? 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: Lambton Primary School, 30 September 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

October 2008 1 October 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Lambton Primary School, Sunderland NE38 0PL I am writing to thank you for making me feel so welcome when I inspected your school. I was amazed at how much space you had, and was really impressed with the super range of work you had displayed on the walls in the corridors and your classrooms. No wonder I was able to say that activities planned for you are outstanding. Your reading and writing has certainly improved so that I was able to report that your achievements in English, maths and science are outstanding. I really enjoyed talking to you and have good memories of how friendly you are, not just towards me but also towards each other and your teachers. I was impressed with how keen you were to talk, telling me about your many activities. I would have loved to join in with your street dancing at lunchtime, but unfortunately I was short of time! I looked at other parts of school life, including how teachers help you to understand about

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

being healthy. When I asked you about this you were so good at telling me how much you knew about the importance of healthy food, regular exercise and how to keep safe that I thought this was outstanding. I enjoyed spending time in each of your classrooms, not just watching you learning inside, although that was good, but outside as well. Your teachers work very hard and they are going to do more things to help you improve your learning. When I looked at your books it was good to see how teachers mark your work and write comments that help you to know how you can improve. I have asked the school to ensure that they also do this in your mathematics and science books to help you further. Teachers always try to do their very best for you and I was able to say that their teaching is good. I was pleased to tell your headteacher that your school is an outstanding school. I know how proud the school is of all that you do. Well done and I hope you all continue to work hard and

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

enjoy school. Sue Sharkey Lead inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Lambton Primary School, 30 September 2008

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