Norwood Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Strengthen the teaching of mathematics, and thereby improve outcomes for all pupils, by ensuring that teachers provide pupils with regular opportunities to reason mathematically and explain their thinking in writing.
• Improve the teaching of writing and outcomes in writing by ensuring that all teachers consistently:
  • plan sequences of lessons that enable all pupils to learn, practise and embed the skills needed to be successful writers
  • assess pupils’ work carefully and adapt their teaching to address any mistakes and misunderstandings promptly.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Senior leaders, ably led by the headteacher, have a clear vision for the school to achieve the best possible outcomes for all pupils. They place a strong focus not only on academic achievement, but also on pupils’ social and emotional development, thus enabling pupils to become confident, thoughtful individuals.
• Parents recognise this ambition and appreciate the way that it creates a happy, inclusive school. One parent spoke for many when they said: ‘I’m very impressed with both their academic progress and with the care that staff have for the children’s general well-being. Staff constantly go over and above to ensure that children are flourishing at the school.’
• Senior leaders have a good understanding of the strengths of the school and the areas that require further improvement. They have a thorough understanding of what makes teaching effective and are skilled at evaluating the quality of teaching using a range of evidence. Their actions to improve teaching have brought about improvements. However, there are still some inconsistencies in teaching in the school.
• Staff are diligent and keen to extend their knowledge and improve their skills. Leaders provide regular training and opportunities for professional development to meet the needs of all staff. Senior leaders provide expert advice to teachers, which has helped strengthen the quality of teaching over time. Teachers and support staff also work together to offer support and advice to colleagues about how to sharpen their practice. This open culture helps to create a school where everyone wants to be the best they can be for the benefit of the pupils.
• Staff morale is high. All who expressed an opinion said that they enjoy working at the school and feel proud to be part of the school’s team.
• Middle leaders have a good understanding of their subject and how well it is taught in the school. They have high expectations and check that their subject is taught in such a way that it builds pupils’ knowledge and skills securely. All have plans to improve provision in their subject further.
• The curriculum is a strength of the school. Setting out to be ‘bold and courageous’, it offers pupils a wide range of experiences and knowledge to help them learn well. Pupils make good progress in subjects across the curriculum.
• Pupils enjoy science and the many interesting experiments that enable them to understand scientific concepts at first hand. Senior leaders also place a high value on music and the arts. Pupils benefit from a range of musical and theatre performances. The school now has an annual music festival where pupils perform at the local theatre to a large audience.
• The curriculum provides well for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils have many opportunities to learn about different cultures, beliefs and lifestyles. For example, an inspector observed a whole-school assembly in which pupils took the lead, teaching other pupils in the school about the festival of Holi. Pupils also enjoyed a visit from some pupils of their age from China, who spent several days in the school last year.
• The sport premium is used effectively, especially in engaging the active participation of disadvantaged pupils and those from minority ethnic groups. After-school clubs are heavily subsidised so that those who might not otherwise be involved in sports and physical education are able to do so.

Governance of the school

• Governors and senior leaders make a strong team, working together to improve the school. Governors have a good mix of skills and experience that enables them to offer advice and expertise in such areas as finance, safeguarding and health and safety. They audit their skills regularly and undertake training to strengthen and update their knowledge.
• Governors know the school well. They provide the right balance of support and challenge, asking questions about important aspects of school life, including the quality of teaching. They reach their view of the school by visiting regularly and taking part in a wide range of activities.
• Governors share senior leaders’ drive to help pupils achieve well, while ensuring that pupils’ well-being is placed at the heart of the school’s work. They attend meetings where pupils’ progress is discussed. This helps them to appreciate the detailed knowledge of pupils that teachers have and how leaders target additional support and challenge where needed.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Pupils are safe in school. Parents, staff and pupils all agree that this is true. Pupils trust staff to look after them and deal with any worries or concerns that they have, because adults listen carefully to children and act decisively when the need arises.
• Senior leaders have ensured that there is an embedded culture of safeguarding throughout the school. Everybody understands and embraces their responsibility to safeguard pupils. Office staff provide information about various aspects of safeguarding to everyone who visits the school. There are also many posters and reminders about child protection around the school. Everyone who works in the school is checked carefully before they can work with children.
• This strong safeguarding culture is underpinned by regular training for staff in all aspects of child protection, including radicalisation. All staff have a detailed understanding of how to spot the early signs that a pupil may be at risk. Staff understand how to report and record their concerns swiftly and accurately. Where needed, senior leaders engage the support and expertise of external agencies.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers have high expectations of pupils and plan lessons that interest and challenge them, including the most able pupils. Pupils in turn work hard to meet these expectations. Presentation, particularly in key stage 2, is of a high standard. This reflects improvements that have been targeted by teachers and leaders.
• Teachers’ subject knowledge is mostly strong, and they have a good understanding of the age group with which they are working. This enables staff to ask searching questions that check on pupils’ understanding and draw out their thinking.
• Learning support assistants play an important role in supporting and challenging pupils both in lessons and in interventions outside the classroom for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
• Pupils achieve well in reading. They learn phonics right from the pre-school and can sound out words confidently because of accurate teaching. This equips pupils of all ability levels to become successful readers, who read with increasing fluency and expression. Pupils enjoy reading and talk about favourite authors and books they have read. One older pupil said that books and stories enable you to ‘go to another place in your imagination, even if you are at home’.
• The teaching of mathematics is effective. Pupils are confident at calculating because teachers use a variety of approaches to build their understanding. Pupils practise arithmetic using different contexts, for example in money problems or when calculating missing angles in a triangle. Teachers also provide pupils with many opportunities to apply their mathematics by solving challenging problems. However, pupils have very few opportunities to reason mathematically and explain their thinking in writing.
• The teaching of writing has been a target for improvement. Pupils write well and use their growing knowledge of grammar, punctuation and spelling to write accurate, interesting pieces. Pupils make good progress from their starting points, including pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils. As pupils move through the school their vocabulary becomes more sophisticated and as a result engages the reader well. However, in key stage 1, teachers’ plans sometimes lack a clear sequence of learning, so pupils do not always have the opportunity to build securely on previous knowledge.
• Pupils benefit from the advice and guidance that teachers provide, and this helps them learn from their mistakes and deepen their understanding. However, occasionally, some teachers do not notice when pupils struggle and so do not adapt learning to help them overcome these obstacles, especially in writing.
• The teaching of subjects in the wider curriculum is effective because teachers plan lessons that build pupils’ knowledge and skills and apply these in different situations. Many visits help to bring learning to life for pupils. For example, Year 6 visited Paultons Park and used their observations from this trip to identify the forces at work behind various rides. Teachers made sure that pupils had the right vocabulary to describe these forces and resulting movements. Pupils designed and ran experiments at school to deepen their knowledge further, before applying this in designing and making a model fairground ride for themselves. The approach helps to excite pupils and make them eager, proactive learners.
• Staff help pupils to develop a very strong understanding of equalities. Pupils noticed that the characters representing the school’s ‘learning heroes’ did not represent a range of different ethnic groups. They asked for these to be changed to reflect the wide range of cultures represented in the school and in modern Britain.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding. The personal and emotional development of all pupils is central to the school’s work. This results in pupils being confident, enthusiastic, positive individuals who enjoy school and love learning.
• Teachers welcome pupils individually into class in the morning with a personal greeting. This helps to develop strong, respectful relationships. Pupils feel valued right from the start of the day and are ready to learn. Pupils trust staff to help them deal with any concerns that arise.
• Leaders place a high priority on instilling fundamental British values in pupils. Pupils understand and can explain the importance of tolerance, respect and following rules. The school’s ‘golden rules’ are understood and followed by pupils.
• Pupils understand the difference between bullying and occasional fallings-out. They understand cyber bullying and what to do if it happens. Pupils say that bullying happens occasionally, but everyone understands how important it is to report any incidents to staff, even if the pupil is not directly involved. Staff are swift to deal decisively with any incidents of bullying that do occur.
• Teachers make sure that pupils understand risk and how to manage it. When pupils go out on trips, staff involve them in undertaking risk assessments, so that they understand how to stay safe out of school. An inspector saw a lesson in Year 6 where a teacher was leading a discussion with pupils about what to do if they found themselves in a situation that was becoming out of control. Pupils’ thoughtful, considered responses showed that they had a good understanding of how to keep out of harm’s way.
• Pupils enjoy lessons, work hard and take pride in their achievements. Only very occasionally when pupils become stuck or do not understand something, their attention drifts for a short time. Their own learning slows, but this rarely disrupts other pupils.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. In classrooms, when moving around the school, in assemblies and at free times, pupils behave impeccably. They are well mannered and polite, often offering a cheerful greeting to a visitor.
• Pupils all agree that the playground is a friendly place where everyone gets on well together and pupils of all ages play happily. At lunchtime, the playground is a hive of activity. Adults provide strong supervision, and staff, together with older pupils who are ‘young leaders’, organise and run games for other pupils. As a result, the playground is orderly and calm, although also very busy. Pupils show consideration, patience and respect for each other.
• Leaders have worked hard to ensure that pupils attend school regularly. Levels of attendance are high, as they have been in recent years. Few pupils are persistently absent, because leaders leave no stone unturned in helping pupils to be in school every day, especially those from vulnerable families.
• In recent years, the number of fixed-term exclusions has been above the national average. Leaders understand the underlying reasons and have taken effective action to improve the behaviour of the very few pupils at risk of exclusion. As a result, there have been no exclusions this academic year.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Pupils currently in the school are achieving well and making good progress because of effective teaching, especially in reading and mathematics. The proportions of pupils across the school who are on track to achieve and exceed the expected standards for their age are at least in line with national figures.
• In the last three years pupils have achieved consistently well at the end of Year 2. Numbers of pupils who achieve the expected standard in reading and writing and mathematics have been above the national average. The proportion of pupils achieving the higher standard has also been above the national average in writing, and in line with this figure in reading and mathematics.
• Pupils achieve well in the Year 1 phonics screening check because of effective teaching. Outcomes in phonics have been consistently at or above the expected standard in the last three years. Disadvantaged pupils achieve in line with other pupils in the school.
• In 2016 and 2017, pupils at the end of Year 6 made similar progress to other pupils nationally. However, in 2018, overall progress dipped to below the national average in writing and mathematics. Attainment at the end of key stage 2 also dipped in 2018 to below that seen nationally, especially in writing and mathematics. However, the proportion of pupils who achieved the higher standard in reading and mathematics was above the national average.
• Leaders understand the reasons for this dip in outcomes at the end of key stage 2 and they have acted correctly to improve teaching. The proportion of pupils currently on track to achieve the expected and higher standards in reading and mathematics at the end of Year 6 are in line with those seen nationally in recent years. Pupils’ attainment in writing is still weaker than in other subjects.
• The attainment of disadvantaged pupils at the end of Year 6 in the last three years has been in line with the national average, both at the expected and higher standard. Only in reading did disadvantaged pupils achieve less well than others at greater depth.
• Disadvantaged pupils currently in the school attain less well than their peers in the school. However, in most year groups, there is clear evidence that they are making similar progress to others in the school.
• Pupils with SEND are making progress towards their targets, some from very low starting points. Some make better progress and are starting to catch up with their peers.

Early years provision Good

• Children get off to a good start in the early years. Leaders have a clear understanding of where children are achieving well and where they need to make better progress.
• Outcomes at the end of the early years have been above the national average in the last two years. Pupils currently in both the pre-school and Reception classes make good progress, sometimes from low entry points.
• Leaders place children’s personal and social development at the heart of the early years provision. Children behave well. They are independent, confident and able to concentrate for quite long periods of time. They get on well together and appreciate the importance of sharing and taking turns.
• In the pre-school, children are attentive and maintain focus on the many activities on offer. They are interested and curious, because staff pay careful attention to children’s interests and plan activities to reflect these. For example, recently children became fascinated by balloons. Staff wasted no time in arranging for the classroom to become a treasure trove of activities across the curriculum about balloons, including in phonics. This helped children to become excited in their play, learn well and develop positive attitudes to learning.
• In the Reception class, children also have a wide range of activities that contribute well to their progress and development. The outdoor environment is stimulating and well resourced, providing well for the whole early years curriculum. For example, an inspector saw children being helped to practise their knowledge of mathematics while riding one of the trikes in search of a shape that represented ‘double four’.
• The quality of teaching is good. Staff are well trained and are always on the lookout for ways to help children take the next step in their learning. They consistently reinforce children’s phonics knowledge and provide opportunities for them to write. Progress in writing is typically less strong than in other subjects.
• Occasionally activities lack challenge, especially for the most able children. Also, at times, questioning does not give children the opportunities to think carefully and develop their ideas fully.
• Transition arrangements are effective. Such activities as ‘stay and play’ sessions and home visits, where parents and children can meet staff from school, help to prepare children well for school. As a result, they settle into school quickly, regardless of whether they join the pre-school or Reception.
• Parents are welcome in the early years. They contribute to assessments of their child’s progress and are kept up to date with how children are achieving. Parents are very positive about the strong start their children receive. One parent of a child in Reception said: ‘I couldn’t ask for a better start for my daughter’s educational career.’ This was typical of the comments that inspectors received.
• Children are safe in the early years. The strong culture of safeguarding that permeates the school is equally strong there. Staff receive up-to-date training in all aspects of safeguarding, including in paediatric first aid. Risk assessments make sure that any risks are identified and minimised.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 116078 Hampshire 10058152 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 Community 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 359 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Jinty Williamson Rosemary Diskin 02380 322582 www.norwoodprimary.com adminoffice@norwood.hants.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 20 March 2018

Information about this school

• This is a larger-than-average primary school. There are two classes in most year groups. There is a pre-school for 49 children.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is close to the national average. Levels of deprivation are also in line with those seen nationally.
• Nearly three quarters of the pupils are White British. There are several groups of pupils from different ethnic minorities. The proportion of pupils for whom English is an additional language is above that seen nationally.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND is similar to that seen in other schools across the country.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors had several meetings with the headteacher and senior leaders about various aspects of the school’s performance, including leaders’ self-evaluation of the school and how well pupils are currently achieving.
• The lead inspector met with the chair of governors and four other governors, including the vice-chair of governors. He also spoke to a representative of the local authority on the telephone.
• Inspectors observed learning in all classes. Most of these observations were undertaken jointly with the headteacher or one of the two deputy headteachers. Inspectors observed two assemblies.
• Inspectors looked at pupils’ work across the curriculum from all year groups. Work included that of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.
• Inspectors met with several senior and middle leaders, including those responsible for mathematics, English, science, the early years and SEND provision.
• Inspectors listened to pupils read and talked to a group of them about school life. They also met pupils on the playground and observed behaviour at free times around the school.
• Inspectors spoke with several staff members throughout the inspection.
• Inspectors took account of the 68 responses to Parent View, the online questionnaire, and the five written comments that were submitted. The lead inspector also considered an email from a parent that had been sent to Ofsted. Responses from 32 staff were also considered.
• Inspectors met with parents at the start of both days of the inspection.
• An inspector visited the breakfast club run by the school.
• The inspectors looked at a range of documents including those recording the work of the governors and the single central record of checks on people who work at the school. They examined information on pupils’ current progress and scrutinised the school’s safeguarding procedures.

Inspection team

Bruce Waelend, lead inspector Deirdre Crutchley Becky Greenhalgh

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector