The Crescent Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve pupils’ progress so that it is closer to national averages by:
  • accelerating the progress of middle-ability pupils in reading and mathematics.
• Improve leadership and management by:
  • ensuring that teachers’ expectations of pupils’ work are as high in other subjects as they are in reading, writing and mathematics
  • making sure that teachers expect pupils to present their work neatly across the curriculum by paying more attention to their handwriting and use of punctuation.
  • Ensure that the school’s website is regularly kept up to date.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher and deputy lead with determination and clarity. They have brought about rapid improvement to teaching and learning. Staff understand leaders’ expectations and do their best to fulfil them.
• Senior leaders monitor the quality of teaching closely. They work with teachers to improve their teaching and have acted robustly to tackle weak teaching where that has proved necessary. They also make sure that teachers receive good-quality training to enhance their skills. Teachers have received coaching and use technology to reflect on their teaching techniques. This has had significant impact. For example, teachers now use assessment more effectively to identify gaps in learning during lessons.
• Leaders have also made good use of support provided by the local authority to improve the teaching of reading and mathematics. As a result, pupils are now making more rapid progress in these subjects.
• Leaders know the strengths and weaknesses of the school well. This means that leaders are well focused on the most important priorities.
• Leaders make effective use of pupil premium funding to support the progress of disadvantaged pupils. Pupils are now monitored more closely, and leaders use a broad range of additional support to help pupils catch up. Staff have a clear understanding of pupils’ barriers to learning and use effective teaching strategies such as pre-teaching, which help pupils to learn better.
• The special educational needs coordinator has a very good understanding of how well pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities learn. She has worked effectively with parents to ensure that pupils’ education, health and care plans are in place. She ensures that pupils who need additional support in school receive it.
• Middle leaders are beginning to take on more responsibility for ensuring that the quality of teaching is consistently good across the school. They are increasingly effective as a result of the training they have been given.
• The curriculum is broad, balanced and accurately pitched. Pupils have a wide range of opportunities to develop new skills. Music is a strength of the school, and pupils have the opportunity to learn different instruments such as the recorder, ukulele and drums. Parents value the wide range of clubs that the school provides which enrich the curriculum further. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain and have a good understanding of British values.
• Leaders have made good use of the sports premium. Teachers are trained to use resources that improve the quality of physical education across the school. This gives pupils access to a broad physical education curriculum.

Governance of the school

• The governing body checks the work of the school well. It is effective in holding leaders to account. Its ambition and high expectations have been instrumental in improving the standards of pupils currently at the school.
• Governors evaluate the impact of their work well. They work in close partnership with the school’s senior leaders to improve teaching and learning.
• The governing body ensures that the pupil premium and sport premium funding are used well. Plans include clear goals against which progress can be measured. The governing body monitors these plans well to ensure that spending leads to the desired outcomes.
• Leaders and governors have not made sure that the information on the website is kept regularly up to date.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• There is a strong safeguarding culture across the school. All staff are vigilant for any signs that a child could be at harm. The school has thorough and effective systems in place to support vulnerable pupils. The pastoral support leader oversees this work very well.
• Pupils feel safe and are happy in school. Parents are satisfied with how the school cares for their children. The school’s curriculum includes a range of different opportunities for pupils to learn how to keep themselves safe.
• Staff receive regular and useful training in safeguarding. Leaders take swift action to follow up on any concerns raised by staff. Governors monitor safeguarding arrangements robustly to ensure that the correct procedures are being followed.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Pupils are making good progress because teachers ensure that the work they set is closely matched to pupils’ needs. Teachers’ subject knowledge is strong and they plan pupils’ next steps in learning well, particularly in English and mathematics. As a result, learning is built up effectively across the various units of work.
• The quality of assessment is good. Consequently, teachers are clear when pupils do not understand something they have been taught. Disadvantaged pupils are monitored closely. When teachers identify that a pupil is at risk of falling behind, they make sure the pupils have extra support. Leaders have a range of strategies at their disposal and use those which support pupils’ individual needs best.
• Teachers group pupils flexibly to address misconceptions and provide further challenge for those who need it. For example, in a mathematics lesson one group of pupils working separately during the input were clearly consolidating their understanding of the properties of shapes.
• The teaching of phonics is precise and effective. As a result, pupils blend sounds well. The teaching of reading, which has been less effective in the past, has substantially improved. Teachers now teach the skills of reading more effectively. For example, pupils are encouraged to be reading detectives to find clues to help them develop their inference skills. Pupils’ decoding skills are strong, and teachers have instilled a love of reading across the school. Pupils enjoy the ‘reading cafe’, where they have the opportunity to share books with their parents.
• Writing is taught effectively. Teachers show pupils how to use a wide range of language features such as interesting sentence starters and figurative language.
• Teaching is good in mathematics. Teachers make sure that pupils practise their number fluency and that they are able to reason and solve problems. Teachers ensure that the most able are challenged appropriately, and are given more complex problems to tackle.
• Pupils with SEN and/or disabilities are well taught. Teachers know the barriers these pupils face and put appropriate support in place to overcome them. Teachers work well with teaching assistants to support pupils and help them to make good progress from their starting points.
• Teachers’ expectations of middle-ability pupils are not always as high as for other groups. These pupils sometimes do not settle to their work quickly enough and make slower progress than others as a result.
• Pupils do not achieve as well in other subjects as they do in English and mathematics. The quality of their writing in history and geography, for example, is lower. Consequently, the pupils’ use of basic literacy skills such as handwriting and punctuation is weaker in these subjects.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Almost all pupils show pride in their work and in their school. For example, they enjoy the opportunities they have to represent their school in music and sporting events.
• Parents value the school’s support for pupils’ personal development and welfare, and feel it is a strength of the school. One parent said, ‘This school has been nothing short of brilliant. My children are thriving here!’
• Pupils’ attendance is high, and persistent absence is reducing. Pupils said that they enjoy learning. Effective support from the pastoral support team has resulted in rising attendance of disadvantaged pupils. Pupils are punctual and are well prepared for school.
• Pupils know how to keep themselves safe, including when using the internet. Bullying is rare, and pupils are confident that teachers will deal well with any issues should they occur.
• Pupils work and play well together. They are courteous and polite when talking to adults. Pupils are also taught to be respectful of those who hold different opinions.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are attentive and apply themselves well in lessons.
• Pupils’ attitudes to learning are strong and these have a good impact on the progress that they make.
• The school provides a calm and orderly environment. Pupils conduct themselves well around the school at breaktimes and lunchtimes. Relationships between staff and pupils are positive and respectful. Pupils told inspectors that they feel safe. They are confident that if they have any problems they could tell an adult, but say this is rarely needed.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• From their various starting points, pupils currently in school make good progress, particularly in the early years and key stage 1. Progress is also strong in key stage 2, but some pupils experienced weaker teaching in previous years. This weaker teaching resulted in some gaps in pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding, particularly for the pupils who left the school in 2016 and 2017. These issues have been addressed, and pupils in the current Year 6 are making rapid progress.
• In the past, pupils’ progress in reading was significantly lower than that in other schools. This was because the middle-ability pupils did not make the progress that they should have. However, pupils are now catching up as a result of the focus that teachers are putting on developing the skills of inference and deduction.
• Over the last two years, progress in mathematics has not been as strong as progress nationally. Current pupils are making strong progress in mathematics due to a greater focus on developing pupils’ reasoning and problem-solving skills.
• The school’s assessment information shows that pupils throughout the school are on track to make good progress and achieve standards in line with national averages. Leaders use standardised tests to inform teachers’ judgements, and external moderation has found them to be accurate. Pupils’ work in core subjects confirms that pupils are making good progress.
• Pupils reach standards in the Year 1 phonics check that exceed the national average. This is because assessment information is used effectively to plan what the pupils need to learn next.
• Current disadvantaged pupils make good progress across reading, writing and mathematics because of well-targeted support and teaching.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make good and sometimes rapid progress from their starting points because teachers understand their needs and make sure they have the necessary help.
• Pupils’ progress in subjects other than English is weaker, as teachers’ expectations of basic writing skills are not high enough in these subjects.

Early years provision Good

• Standards in the early years have been above the national average over the past three years.
• There is a wide range of opportunities to play and explore in the well-resourced learning environments both inside and outside. Children enjoy investigating and learning together. For example, the children enjoyed making observations about how their tadpoles have changed over the last couple of weeks. This has helped them to understand the life cycle of a frog.
• Disadvantaged children and those who have SEN and/or disabilities are well supported. Additional funding has been carefully spent to address their areas of need through specialist speech support. Because of this they are making good progress from their starting points.
• Children’s reading skills are developed well, both through the systematic teaching of phonics and by regular reading sessions to apply their knowledge. For example, during a reading session a child was using her phonic knowledge to sound out simple words.
• Children are kind to each other and play well together. They are supported well by the adult team, who helps them to develop language and social skills effectively.
• Early years provision is well led. Leaders are reflective about their work and continually seek to improve teaching and learning. They also ensure that the children are kept safe. Systems to protect children are robust.
• Transition from the pre-school providers to the Reception Year is good because communication between the two settings is effective. Transition to Year 1 is also good as children go up with the skills they need.
• Parents contribute to assessments through the online record of achievements. Parents who spoke to the inspectors felt that their children had settled quickly into school.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 115886 Hampshire 10045471 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 Maintained 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 530 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Interim Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Dominic McGrath Lisa Hodgkinson 023 8061 2536 www.thecrescentprimary.com gadams12@crescent.hants.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 25–26 February 2014

Information about this school

• The Crescent is a larger-than-average primary school.
• The substantive headteacher was appointed in April 2016. She is currently on maternity leave and an interim headteacher is in place for the academic year 2017/18.
• The school meets the current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.
• Most pupils are of White British heritage.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is above the national average, but this has reduced over the past year to be in line with national figures.
• The proportion of pupils who are supported by the pupil premium is in line with national figures.
• The school does not meet requirements on the publication of information on its website. For example, tests results for 2017 have not been uploaded and some policy documents are not the most recent versions.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors observed learning across the school.
• Inspectors listened to pupils read and reviewed the work in pupils’ books.
• Pupils’ behaviour in lessons and during break was observed.
• Inspectors talked to pupils in lessons and around the school, and held a formal meeting with pupils.
• Inspectors held discussions with the headteacher, senior leaders and class teachers. In addition to this, they met with members of the governing body, a group of staff, and those responsible for safeguarding and attendance. Inspectors also spoke to a representative of the local authority.
• Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including leaders’ evaluation of the school’s performance and the school’s improvement planning. They also looked at minutes of the governing body meetings, the school’s own policies and documentation relating to safeguarding and attendance.
• Inspectors considered the views of parents during the inspection, as well as the 117 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View. Inspectors considered the views of staff and pupils gathered in formal and informal meetings.

Inspection team

Mo Galway, lead inspector Christine Bulmer Penny Orme

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector