Wootton Community Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve teaching, in particular in mathematics, so that all pupils make good progress by ensuring that teachers:
  • plan work that builds effectively on pupils’ previous learning, particularly at key stage 1
  • make effective use of assessment information to plan the next steps for pupils and adjust lessons swiftly if these need to change
  • set work that challenges the most able pupils.
• Improve leadership and management by:
  • monitoring and evaluating the impact of subject leaders’ actions incisively
  • analysing performance information about how well all pupils are progressing from their starting points, including the most able
  • giving precise feedback to teachers on how they can improve the progress for the different groups of pupils in their class.

S

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Leaders did not focus sharply enough on the progress that different groups of pupils were making in 2016. As a result, the leader of mathematics did not identify low attainment in 2016 quickly enough to ensure that more pupils could be helped to attain well at the end of key stage 2.
• Leaders’ evaluations of mathematics identify that not enough was done to improve weaker teaching last year. Leaders identified that teaching did not help pupils learn how to calculate and use the most efficient methods well enough. Teachers did not always explain these methods precisely so that pupils were clear about how to improve. These priorities remain. Recently, leaders have trained teachers to make improvements and current pupils are benefiting from this. However, expectations are not always high enough for the most able pupils across the school, in particular at key stage 1.
• The headteacher’s evaluation of the school’s strengths and weaknesses over time is honest and accurate. To strengthen teaching, the headteacher has recruited new staff and redeployed some to different year groups. However, teaching is not yet consistently good over time.
• English leaders are ambitious to see improvement and have ensured that staff benefited quickly this year from training. This has helped staff to improve the sequence of how they build up pupils’ skills in writing.
• Subject leaders are not clear enough about what they will monitor to check that teaching is improving. They do not set out their expectations for the most able pupils and those who are capable of attaining highly so that they can regularly check that these pupils are making good progress.
• Subject leaders’ plans identify what is being done and record training opportunities but are not targeted enough to check that outcomes improve. For example, in grammar, punctuation and spelling, leaders are not clear enough about how many pupils they want to meet the expected standard or which pupils are capable of more.
• Leaders have ensured that pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities benefit from regular checks of their progress. Leaders made immediate adjustments to the support that pupils receive this year and adults are guided well to help them in class. Clear plans are in place for individual pupils, with relevant targets and support.
• Leaders ensure that the pupil premium is used well. Most of the disadvantaged pupils benefit from well-deployed staff to guide them. More of these pupils than in the past are on track to meet age-related expectations. Leaders do not yet monitor the outcomes for the most able disadvantaged pupils closely enough, so a few are falling behind.
• Pupils are taught well to develop their spiritual, moral and social development. Older pupils speak confidently about tolerance and respect for people of different faiths. Pupils are given good opportunities to contribute to the life of the school in roles such as eco or safety officers. They run clubs for each other enthusiastically and benefit from wider opportunities to develop interests, such as the film club after school.
• The school provides a broad and balanced curriculum. Pupils have good opportunities to develop art skills and know about a range of artists. In Year 6, pupils studiously mixed watercolours to portray perspective skilfully and reflected on their adjustments as their compositions developed. They are proud of the high-quality work on display. In other subjects, pupils were eager to investigate, such as in Year 3 science when pupils investigated the properties of rocks, testing for absorbency, and were motivated by the enquiry set. However, pupils’ work shows that not all pupils benefit from these opportunities regularly.
• Pupils develop sportsmanship and positive attitudes to fair play as a result of effective use of sports funding. They have good opportunities to compete with each other in mixed cricket leagues and try out sports such as tag rugby and basketball. Adults join in with games at breaktimes and pupils eagerly take up opportunities to use simple equipment to make up their own games and rules.
• The local authority has supported the school well to recognise the urgent actions required this term. Staffing changes have weakened the impact of support over time, which consultants are urgently addressing through comprehensive training in English and mathematics for all teachers.

Governance of the school

• Governance is good.
• Governors challenge leaders robustly. This has led to some teaching improving. They have evaluated systems to monitor performance so that they can evaluate the attainment of the most able pupils more effectively this term. They check on leaders’ actions regularly and review the work of leaders by working alongside them during lesson observations, when checking books and at reviews of performance information. This has helped the headteacher to have an accurate view of the school so that everyone is clear about the priorities. Governors have deployed funding so that teachers are supported well to improve teaching. A panel of governors has reviewed the targets they set for the headteacher so that they correctly address the new priorities.
• Governors are committed to raising ambitions further and improving the profile of the school in the local community. They have undertaken training to evaluate the curriculum so that it can prepare pupils for experiences beyond island life. They regularly listen to the views of pupils to shape improvements and are proud of the installation of Grimshaw’s glade. This is a new outdoor area which benefits pupils’ welfare at breaktime.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Staff are trained in safeguarding pupils at levels appropriate to their responsibilities and are up to date with the latest national priorities regarding the different risks to children. Staff and governors have had recent training related to extremism and preventing radicalisation. Leaders have adapted the curriculum so that pupils are supported well to discuss rules and laws when expressing opinions, including on the use of the internet. Older pupils debate media reports so that they can consider risks beyond their immediate experiences and reflect on viewpoints.
• Suitable records have been kept of any concerns raised, and pupils who may be at risk are referred on to social services. The systems for tracking work with other agencies are strong, including for those in the care of the local authority.
• Pupils say that they feel secure and are well looked after. Parents agree.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teaching is not yet consistently good over time. Improvements in the teaching of mathematics are not yet widespread. At key stage 1, the most able pupils are not challenged enough to deepen previously acquired skills. The teaching of mathematics remains a mixed picture at key stage 2, with some continuing shortcomings. For example, some teachers do not ask questions incisively to probe pupils’ understanding to ensure that they use the most efficient methods.
• The teaching of phonics is not sufficiently rigorous. Consequently, too few pupils achieve the expected standards by the end of Year 1. Teachers model technical vocabulary well, encouraging pupils to build up their skills to read and write words and notice spelling patterns. They do not check pupils’ progress regularly enough to ensure that they can adjust teaching and move pupils on to new learning. Some pupils make repeated errors because adults do not get them to check carefully that they have spelled words correctly.
• Pupils appreciate the regular opportunities they have to read frequently at home and to write book reviews to develop a secure sense of authorship. This is also promoted through the interrogation of an author’s intention. For example, in Year 4 pupils reflected on techniques used to convey inner thoughts in ‘The Flood’. The school promotes these skills effectively, and as a result most pupils achieve well in reading by the time they leave the school.
• The teaching of English grammar is improving as a result of recent training. In some key stage 2 classes pupils are guided to apply their knowledge of technical features well and justify why they are including them. Teachers’ expectations in the past have not been high enough, so not enough pupils have caught up to reach the expected standards by the end of key stage 2. Where guidance is given, pupils say that they respond to it positively and it helps them to make better progress. Some pupils have noticed the improvements in the teaching of writing this term.
• In an example of effective teaching at key stage 2, pupils were motivated by film footage of Matilda and analysed it carefully to refine their portrayals of the characters. Skilful questioning probed pupils to deepen their use of technical skills and honed precision by considering the impact of their writing. Teaching challenged pupils to eliminate ideas that were not good enough and guided pupils well so that they met the high expectations demanded of them.
• Teachers use extracts from high-quality books such as ‘The Iron Man’ to stimulate most pupils to write well. They guide pupils to generate vocabulary and build up sentences with purpose, focusing on the inclusion of each word. However, the most able pupils are not stretched to grapple with ambitious vocabulary or draw on their inference skills to determine meaning and deepen their understanding.
• Teachers meet the needs of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils well through targeted support. They model carefully what these pupils need to learn and check on them regularly to address misconceptions.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils are proud of their school and its family atmosphere. They speak enthusiastically about their ‘Boom Days’ and ‘University Fridays’. This is when they learn together and care for each other in mixed-age groups. They appreciate opportunities to learn skills such as how to make the bed and manage a budget. Older pupils appreciate days spent at their local secondary school to prepare them for this next step.
• Pupils enthuse about opportunities to make a positive contribution to their school and community. They eagerly recall designing and installing flowerbeds as part of the Isle of Wight in Bloom competition and talk about how they help residents in a local hospice.
• Staff care well for pupils. Pupils trust them to sort out any problems. These are rare. Parents support this view.
• Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe at all times, including when online or off-site. The youngest children learn to keep safe when crossing the road and practise this in their community. Children in the Reception classes learn to take responsibility and look after themselves and others when moving equipment around. Older pupils are supported well to learn about road safety when cycling.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Recent improvements in teaching have helped most pupils to raise their expectations of themselves so that they can contribute well to lessons. Older pupils thrive in the lessons where they are given opportunities to work in collaboration to debate their ideas and negotiate examples to share with other pupils. This helps pupils to have a strong sense of self-worth.
• Pupils readily listen to each other and learn from each other’s mistakes. Older pupils demonstrate resilience when teachers question them to refine their ideas further or eliminate them altogether and think up better ones.
• Older pupils note down information taught by their teacher and other classmates before they write. They say that this helps them to contribute better to lessons and remember what to do. They know that this is important if they are going to get better at their work. Some attend homework club and appreciate this opportunity to get on with their tasks with help on hand from adults.
• Pupils are courteous and helpful to one another. They show visitors around their school with pride. They are motivated by reward systems such as house points and certificates and enjoy celebrating together with parents in assemblies.
• Pupils conduct themselves well around the school. At times, younger pupils become distracted in lessons as a result of weaker teaching, which does not challenge them to do their best.
• The youngest children in the Reception classes are encouraged to reflect on how to ask others to improve their behaviour so that they learn to resolve everyday problems themselves. For example, an adult suggested sensitively that a child could write a ticket to warn his friend that he was cycling too fast and may cause an accident.
• Pupils attend school regularly. Those that do not are supported well to improve. Increasing absence is partly due to unauthorised holidays in term time.

Outcomes for pupils Require improvement

• In 2015, pupils’ attainment at the end of key stage 2 was broadly in line with national averages in reading, writing and mathematics, including at the highest levels. However, not enough Year 6 pupils made expected progress in mathematics.
• In 2016, the school’s provisional performance information indicates that the proportion of Year 6 pupils who achieved the standards expected for their age in the overall combined subjects of reading, writing and mathematics was lower than that seen nationally. In mathematics, pupils did not make enough progress from their starting points.
• Attainment in mathematics was low in 2016. Pupils who attained the expected standards did not do as well in the tests in mathematics as they did in other subjects within the school, or compared with pupils nationally. The school’s current assessments, checking of pupils’ work in books and observations of teaching confirm that more pupils than in the past are meeting expectations overall in mathematics across the school. Pupils have further to catch up in some year groups where progress has been slow in the past due to weaker teaching.
• In 2016, the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in grammar, spelling and punctuation tests was lower than in their writing assessments and low when compared to other pupils nationally. Leaders have acted quickly to train teachers to improve their teaching of English and mathematics and pupils in the school are now benefiting from these improvements.
• In the past, the proportions of Year 6 pupils who have attained the standards expected of them in reading have been in line with the national average. In 2016 this picture remains the same. This is also the case for the proportions of the most able pupils who attained well from their starting points.
• The progress and outcomes for pupils entitled to the support of pupil premium funding are improving, but remain variable. More of these pupils in Year 6 are attaining the expected standards than in 2016. The numbers of these pupils in the school remain low in most year groups. Leaders check on them regularly and put in additional help to guide them. A few of the most able disadvantaged pupils are not attaining the highest standards that they are capable of.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well to make good progress from their starting points in reading, writing and mathematics. They are supported by adults who check regularly on how well they are doing and report to leaders so that they can use funding wisely.
• For the past two years, the proportion of pupils meeting the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics check has been below the national average. Leaders’ actions to reorganise and adapt teaching have not yet improved pupils’ outcomes well enough.
• In 2015 and 2016, pupils in key stage 1 attained as well as others nationally. The school’s own records show that progress is too slow for some pupils from their starting points. Not enough of the most able pupils attain the highest standards, even though they entered Year 1 well prepared for the next stage of their learning.

Early years provision Good

• The proportion of children reaching a good level of development at the end of Reception is improving each year and has remained above the national average for the past three years. Few children exceed these expectations and the proportions that do are lower than the national average.
• Most children make good progress in the early years because adults assess their starting points well. They use these assessments to plan motivating experiences, which capture children’s interests so that they want to contribute. Adults know the children well and children benefit from nurturing relationships which settle them quickly to class routines. Parents appreciate this and most contribute regularly to the school’s assessments.
• The vast majority of children join the Reception class from the pre-school on site. Most children enter with skills and abilities that are typical for their age. Some children are achieving beyond this. Most children make good progress in the Reception classes to meet at least expected standards. More children than in most schools reach a good level of development for their age. This means that they are well prepared for Year 1.
• All adults use questioning well to stimulate discussions and check understanding. They model language clearly so that children build their vocabulary and develop mathematical understanding. For example, an adult guided a child learning to speak English as a second language to count the cat’s whiskers on her painting, while others were encouraged to make mathematical comparisons between the total number of eyes and noses. This helped children develop the concepts of ‘more’ and ‘less’.
• Children manage risks well. They explore simple forces as they push soap suds around the playground and down into the drain, by self-selecting different kinds of brushes. This stimulates their curiosity to brush faster to explore what happens and how they can alter the direction of the flow. They cooperate well, posing questions aloud. Adults respond sensitively and assess carefully what equipment to introduce next into their play.
• Adults play alongside children, introducing new ideas thoughtfully for children to take up and test out. For example, when a small group were forming numerals, an adult suggested that the children could display them around the classroom and hang them on the washing line. This motivated them to want to form different numerals and the adult suggested that they order them to check that they were correct. Other children applied this knowledge of ordering when playing skittles together. They constructed their own rules. They squealed with laughter as they scored points and discussed who had more or less.
• Children have good opportunities to sustain their concentration. An inspector watched two boys exploring tessellating shapes on the floor becoming engrossed as their design took shape. They negotiated and re-adjusted pieces when they did not align precisely and made alterations, listening to each other’s advice and simple instructions. They counted and re-checked repeatedly, practising tapping each tile to make sure that they had not missed one out so that they were accurate. They recognised that there were more left in the box than on the floor and estimated that there must be at least 20, applying knowledge of numbers beyond their counting skills.
• Children are encouraged to read and write at the earliest opportunity. Adults pronounce sounds clearly and guide children to notice where to place their tongue and feel how their mouth changes shape when different sounds are made. Children respond eagerly, recognising some letter shapes and collecting objects which start with the same sound. They make marks to record this. Others use magnetic letters so that they can record words successfully before they have developed the skills to write them. Adults record how the children hold their pencils and plan activities to improve their strength and coordination so that they can improve their grip.
• Adults guide children well to combine letters to make simple words to read. Some children are motivated to move letters together to make words and read them to check that they make sense. Others are encouraged to scan simple words that they cannot yet read and recognise known letters hiding within them so that the adult can assess how well they have learned them. Adults address misconceptions swiftly when children make mistakes and confuse letter shapes such as p and d.
• Leaders’ use of assessment is shaping their actions for the year. They respond swiftly to external advice and take up good training opportunities. The new leader has strengthened opportunities to write and improved opportunities to develop mathematical understanding outdoors this year, as a result of the school’s self-evaluation.
• Leaders analyse assessment information well and have identified the need to increase the levels of challenge for the most able children so that more of them can make faster progress than in the past. This is evident in how they have adapted their provision to make a quick start this year to teaching the sounds that letters make.

School details

Unique reference number 118172 Local authority Isle of Wight Inspection number 10019879 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 5 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 195 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Maggie Hartley Headteacher Peta Mather Telephone number 01983 882 505 Website www.thelifecloud.net/schools/WoottonComunitySchool Email address admin@woottonpri.iow.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 11–12 December 2014

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school is below average in size.
• The vast majority of pupils are White British.
• The proportion of pupils eligible for pupil premium is below average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is low.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors observed pupils working in 23 lessons, 15 of which were observed jointly with school leaders. They looked at work in pupils’ books, including across wider subjects beyond English and mathematics, and listened to less able and most able pupils read in Year 2, 3 and Year 6.
• Inspectors observed pupils as they moved around the school and in the playgrounds and spoke informally to pupils. They attended an assembly, took a tour of the school with pupils and discussed the curriculum with pupil representatives. They took into account the views of pupils by considering the 22 responses to the pupil survey.
• Inspectors held meetings with school leaders, teachers and two groups of pupils. They met with a small group of governors and two representatives from the local authority.
• Among the documents scrutinised were school development plans, records relating to pupils’ behaviour and safety and minutes from governors’ meetings. Inspectors also looked at information showing pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The views of parents were taken into account by analysing the 43 responses to the online survey, Parent View. Inspectors also spoke informally with parents during the inspection. The views of staff were taken into account by considering the 12 responses to the staff survey.

Inspection team

Susan Aspland, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Doug Brawley Ofsted Inspector