Ortu Corringham Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Senior leaders to provide further training for middle leaders in order for them to accurately monitor the impact of their actions on improving the progress of different groups of pupils.
• Teachers to raise the attainment of the most able pupils by ensuring that they are moved on quickly to work that is harder and more challenging.
• Further raise attainment in mathematics by ensuring that pupils have the opportunity to use and apply their skills and knowledge to solve a wider range of problems.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher’s passion, commitment, drive and vision have been fundamental in the rapid improvements made since the previous inspection. The school’s motto is ‘To be the best that we can be’ and this is certainly the code by which the headteacher, senior leaders, governors and pupils live.
• Senior leaders have the overwhelming support of the staff, who agree that the school has improved since the previous inspection. Parents also agree that the school has improved and the views of a large majority of parents can be summed up by the following parent comment, ‘a long journey for the school, where no child has been left behind’. Most parents would recommend the school.
• The headteacher and deputy head make regular visits to monitor the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. The findings from these visits are fed back to teachers and used to provide whole-school and individual training and coaching. Staff appreciate the support and training they receive. Leaders have an accurate view of the quality of teaching, learning and assessment.
• Performance management is rigorous and linked appropriately to teachers’ pay awards. Performance management together with the quality of training and the support teachers have received have been major contributors to improving teaching.
• Pupil progress is carefully and frequently monitored. Strong systems are in place to identify pupils who may be falling behind and areas within a subject where pupils may need extra help. As a result of quality support, pupils quickly catch up with their learning.
• The school’s analysis of disadvantaged pupils’ academic and pastoral needs is used to design individual support programmes. The result of this personalised support is that the progress and attendance of disadvantaged pupils continues to improve. Progress for disadvantaged pupils is good in all year groups. In some, disadvantaged pupils are making rapid progress, especially in mathematics and English.
• Leaders are using the primary sports funding to help to improve the quality of physical education teaching in the school. The money has also contributed to the purchase of extra sports equipment and the provision of before- and after-school activities. Over half of the pupils currently participate in sporting clubs.
• Through a range of imaginative topics such as, ‘town mouse, country mouse’, ‘you’re hired’ and ‘batteries included’, pupils study humanities, art, music, design technology, languages, computing and science. English and mathematics teaching is also linked to these themes.
• The curriculum is enriched by a range of trips, visits and visiting speakers to the school. These all make a valued contribution to the development of the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The school participates in the Thurrock ‘Trailblazer’ programme, which enables them to take part in cultural activities working with companies such as the Royal Opera House and the Royal Ballet. Pupils enjoy these activities.
• The school has benefited from the support of the Stanford and Corringham Schools Trust. The trust has supported the school with resourcing and provided independent consultants who have been able to validate the judgements of senior leaders. The trust enables teachers from the school to work closely with their secondary school colleagues. This has helped to improve standards and the transition from primary to secondary school.
• Strong links remain with the local authority and senior leaders work alongside leaders from two other local primary schools. They support one another in evaluating the performance of one another’s schools.

Governance of the school

• Governors are passionate about their work and improving the opportunities of every child in the school. The governors work closely with the Stanford and Corringham Schools Trust board.
• Governors have an accurate understanding of the performance of pupils in the school. Governors receive regular progress reports for all groups of children, including those supported by the pupil premium. They ask challenging questions of the school leaders about the impact of actions to improve pupil achievement.
• All governors spend at least one day in the school and the chair of governors is a frequent visitor. They use these days to look at the work of the school in order to improve their understanding of the daily work of the school.
• Governors understand their role and provide a good level of challenge and support.
• Members of the governing body rigorously check the arrangements for the appraisal of staff. Salary increases are linked to classroom performance and pupil progress.
• Governors effectively carry out their statutory duties. The governor with responsibility for safeguarding regularly conducts audits to ensure that the school meets the statutory requirements and that pupils learn in a safe environment.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• There is an ethos of vigilance rooted in the work of the school. The needs of all groups of pupils and protected groups are considered in both school policies and staff practice. Staff are watchful of the signs that may suggest a child is at risk and follow the school’s practices and procedures. Detailed record-keeping and well-kept incident logs are frequently monitored so that action points are followed through rigorously.
• Appropriate checks are carried out on all staff prior to employment and the identity of all visitors is carefully checked. Staff receive frequent training to keep up to date. All staff are trained in the ‘Prevent’ duty and know what to look out for to keep pupils safe in relation to child sexual exploitation, extremism and female genital mutilation.
• Pupils, parents and staff agree that pupils are safe in the school.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Overall teaching is good and improving across the school. Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ work and behaviour. Pupils enjoy learning and are proud of their achievements. Pupils value the ‘tickled pink’ stickers they receive for high-quality work.
• Teachers’ planning has improved since the previous inspection. Teachers set work that is matched to the learners and is mostly pitched at the right level. In most lessons the most-able pupils are set work that is more challenging. However, at times it is not sufficiently demanding and they finish the work quickly. As teachers do not always move the most able pupils on to the next task quickly enough these pupils’ progress is not as rapid as other pupils.
• Homework is set regularly and is relevant to the learning in the classroom. Evidence in homework books indicates that pupils complete their weekly homework.
• Reading is well taught. Teachers’ strong phonics knowledge is used to plan interesting activities for younger pupils. As a result, they quickly learn to use the letter sounds to work out unfamiliar words. Older pupils talked at length to inspectors about reading. Pupils were able to explain a variety of ways they could read unfamiliar vocabulary and find out the meaning of these words. Pupils all said that they enjoyed reading in class because the books were interesting.
• Teachers’ marking is thorough and all follow the school’s assessment policy. Pupils are given good guidance on how to improve their work. Almost all pupils consistently make the required improvements to their work.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities receive good support from learning support assistants who understand their particular needs. Learning support assistants work closely with the teachers so they are clear about their role in the lesson.
• The quality of mathematics teaching has improved and pupils do have the opportunity to develop their reasoning skills by solving mathematical problems. However, the problems are too similar, so pupils are not developing their full range of mathematical skills.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils recognise the different types of bullying and are very knowledgeable about keeping safe online. Pupils told inspectors that bullying is rare in the school and that if it should occur, ‘if you tell a teacher it will stop’. Pupils have the opportunity to talk openly about all types [of] bullying with their teachers. School records support pupils’ views on bullying.
• The school’s values of respect, responsibility, courage, honesty and compassion are understood by the pupils. Pupils are very enthusiastic and want to be nominated for the weekly roll of honour when they have demonstrated one or more of these values. Older pupils told the inspectors that they have learned how to respect religion, culture and differences through these values. Pupils also say that ‘we help new pupils when they arrive’.
• Pupils say they are very safe in school because the grounds are safe and adults are always there supervising them. The overwhelming majority of parents agree that their child is safe and happy at the school.
• The school provides exceptionally high-quality support for pupils with a wide range of physical, emotional and social needs. Through thoughtful planning pupils receive support that meets their individual needs. School staff know each pupil and their families very well. The pupil liaison team is highly effective in bringing together a number of agencies to support the well-being of the pupil and help to remove their barriers to learning. Parents appreciate this support and this typical comment expresses their views: ‘The care and pupil liaison teams are invaluable to this school. They make a huge difference to the welfare and confidence of the children.’
• The pupils from the speech and language provision are fully integrated into main classes and have full access to all aspects of school life. They gain confidence as learners as they feel totally involved in the classes.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils are confident, kind and caring towards one another. Pupils are proud of their school and have positive attitudes towards their learning. Pupils show determination and sustain concentration when completing work.
• Most pupils take care with the presentation of their work and keep their books neat and tidy.
• Behaviour around the school during social times is good. Pupils play cooperatively, sharing and taking turns. Pupils are well supervised at break and lunchtime and relationships between adults and pupils are positive.
• The proportion of pupils persistently absent from school has reduced over the last year. This is a result of careful weekly monitoring by the school. The school has developed good relationships with parents whose children are persistently absent from school. As a result of this support the proportion of pupils persistently absent from school has significantly reduced. Attendance is in line with primary schools nationally.
• The overwhelming majority of parents agree that behaviour in the school is good.
• Behaviour is not outstanding because on occasions, when pupils are given work that is not sufficiently challenging a small minority of pupils will engage in low-level disruptive behaviour or stop working.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• In 2016 the progress of pupils at the end of key stage 2 in reading, writing and mathematics was in line with the national average. When comparing the school’s performance with the national unvalidated data, pupils’ attainment in reading, writing and mathematics was in line with other pupils nationally.
• The proportion of pupils meeting the expected standard in the national phonics screening check in both Year 1 and 2 has been above average for the last two years.
• Pupils make good progress in writing. Work in pupils’ books indicates that pupils have the opportunity to write for different purposes and across all curriculum subjects. Pupils correct the mistakes in their work and take care with spelling and punctuation.
• Pupils read well. Pupils’ reading records indicate that they read frequently at home. Lower-ability pupils who read to the inspectors used a range of strategies, including phonics, to read unfamiliar words. Older most-able pupils read challenging books including classical novels. The most able pupils read with confidence and expression and have good comprehension skills. These pupils used their imagination to develop characters in their book.
• Disadvantaged pupils are making good progress in a range of subjects. In 2016 Year 6 disadvantaged pupils made progress in line with all pupils nationally in writing and mathematics. The progress of disadvantaged pupils at the end of key stage 1 met the national average. Disadvantaged pupils in the school are currently making progress that is equal to or above that of their classmates.
• Progress in a range of other national curriculum subjects is good for most groups of pupils. Pupils are developing their enquiry skills in science. Inspectors saw some excellent progress in art and humanities subjects. For example, the work Year 3 produced on Remembrance contributed to their historical knowledge but helped them to understand British traditions.
• Progress in mathematics has improved since the previous inspection. Pupils are provided with opportunities to use their mathematics skills in other subjects. Inspectors saw evidence of pupils developing their reasoning skills to solve a range of interesting problems as part of specific projects. However, for current pupils, progress is not as rapid as it is in reading and writing.
• Expectations of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are high. The school identifies and assesses pupil needs precisely and ensures that support effectively improves their progress. Pupils in the speech and language enhanced provision make rapid progress for their starting points, which are often significantly below average.
• The progress of the most able pupils and most-able disadvantaged pupils has improved but it is not as rapid as other groups of pupils in the school, or nationally. Most-able pupils meet the expected standard at the end of both key stage 1 and 2 but the proportion attaining the higher standard is below average.
• A well-thought-out programme of secondary transition and strong links with the main secondary school ensure that pupils are well prepared for the next stage in their education.

Early years provision Good

• Most children enter Reception with skills, knowledge and understanding that are typical for their age. As a result of teaching that is carefully matched to their needs and interests they make good progress. The proportion of children reaching a good level of development has been above average. Children receiving enhanced speech and language support make good progress as they are provided with well-targeted support.
• Disadvantaged children make good progress and the proportion reaching the expected level of development at the end of Reception is above the average for other children nationally.
• Children in the pre-school benefit from a stimulating learning environment. Activities are planned to reflect their interests. As a result, the children are motivated and interested in their learning.
• Children join Reception from a range of pre-schools. Children quickly settle into Reception as transition arrangements are robust and involve parents, the child’s pre-school and any other appropriate organisations. Parents have the opportunity to contribute to their child’s learning journeys throughout the year by adding ‘wow’ comments.
• Teaching is good because adults carefully record children’s progress and plan activities that match the next steps in the child’s learning. Learning activities are interesting and sustain the children’s concentration. For example, a group of children were showing high levels of concentration and perseverance to build a castle big enough for them to stand in.
• Children benefit from a well-resourced outside learning area. The wide variety of learning activities engages the children. Children play and work cooperatively together, sharing equipment and taking turns.
• Relationships are positive between adults and children. Adults listen to the children and ask questions that help them extend their understanding. However, at times, these questions are not probing enough to extend the learning of the most able children.
• Behaviour is good in the early years settings. Children listen to adults and follow instructions well. They show high levels of concentration in reading, writing and mathematics lessons.
• Children learn in a safe environment. Safeguarding arrangements in the early years setting are effective and staff are appropriately trained.
• The early years is well led. The early years leader ensures that the children’s progress is monitored and that individuals are making good progress. She monitors the quality of teaching and knows the strengths and areas for development. However, like other middle leaders she is not yet monitoring the impact of her work on the progress of different groups of children.
• Parents who expressed a view are very happy with the early years provision.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 140013 Thurrock 10019630 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Academy sponsor-led 2 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 470 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Anthony Eatherton Lorna Hamilton 01375 672157 www.tscst.co.uk/corringham-primary admin@corringhamprimary.com Date of previous inspection 9–10 July 2015

Information about this school

• The school is much larger than the average-sized primary school. The school has been part of the Stanford and Corringham Schools Trust since October 2013.
• The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium grant is below average.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school complies with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish.
• Most pupils are White British and speak English as their first language.
• The early years is made up of pre-school and Reception classes. The nursery is open full time and parents choose whether to send their child full or part time. Children attend full time in the two Reception classes. Children join Reception from a number of local pre-school providers.
• The school runs a daily breakfast club and after-school club. The school also runs a holiday club during the school breaks.
• The school provides enhanced speech and language provision for 11 pupils on behalf of the local authority. These pupils are fully integrated into the main school.
• In 2015 the school met the government’s floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors visited 19 lessons and made a number of shorter visits to classes to observe the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. Senior leaders joined the inspectors for four of the observations. The inspectors also looked at the work in pupils’ books in lessons and looked at a large selection of pupils’ books in each class in order to gauge the progress of different groups of pupils.
• Inspectors listened to two groups of pupils read and talked to them about their reading. Inspectors also observed reading in lessons.
• The inspectors observed behaviour in classrooms and around the school at break and lunchtime. They spoke formally to two groups of pupils and held informal conversations with pupils in the playground and dining hall.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, senior leaders, middle leaders, special educational needs coordinator and three members of the governing body. The lead inspector also spoke to the chief executive of the trust and a representative from the local authority.
• Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation, school policies, safeguarding documents, and pupil progress and attendance information.
• Inspectors spoke informally with parents at the start and end of the day and took note of their views. They also considered the 83 responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View, which included 40 free-text responses. Results from the school’s own parent survey were also considered by the inspectors.
• The inspectors considered the response from the 53 members of staff who completed the inspection survey. Results from the pupil questionnaire were not considered as there were too few responses.

Inspection team

Caroline Pardy, lead inspector Liz Cornish Simon Harbrow Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector