Wainscott Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• In order to further improve pupils’ attainment, ensure that:
  • pupils of all abilities, and particularly the most able, are challenged more effectively in their learning so that more pupils achieve greater depth in their skills, knowledge and understanding and reach the high standards of which they are capable
  • teaching and learning in lower key stage 2 build more rapidly on pupils’ achievement at the end of key stage 1.
• The headteacher and leaders and managers at all levels, including governors, work more strategically to ensure that there is a sharp focus on how the improvements that have been accurately identified through effective monitoring can be rapidly achieved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The school has improved since the previous inspection to ensure that pupils receive a good education at Wainscott. Teaching and learning have improved. Pupils now make faster progress in their learning, which has helped to improve outcomes.
• A key factor in pupils’ improved progress is the impact of the curriculum on their learning. The headteacher has successfully introduced a curriculum and a learning environment that inspire and motivate learners and are underpinned effectively by pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Activities are planned around themes, which are carefully chosen to meet the needs as well as the interests of pupils.
• Several parents commented that their children were motivated by the curriculum. One wrote: ‘I think the school and the management team have made great progress in the last two years, improving the curriculum and also the extra-curricular activities. The range of projects and subjects covered is vast and exciting for my daughter and I’m really pleased with the progress she has made.’
• Appropriate attention is given to reading, writing and mathematics while ensuring that pupils experience a broad and balanced range of subjects. There are good opportunities for pupils to apply their skills, particularly in writing, across the curriculum. The curriculum is enriched with a wide range of clubs and visitors to school. Motivating visits are planned that link to the topics taught.
• Year 2 pupils, for example, were very enthusiastic about their visit to Wingham Wildlife Park, which took place during the inspection. The visit provided pupils with memorable learning experiences. A group agreed with one pupil who said: ‘It was great to actually see and touch the animals, much better than just looking at pictures of them in a book.’ The range of additional activities helps pupils to learn new skills and makes a significant contribution to their personal as well as their academic development.
• Tolerance and respect are fostered very effectively through the school’s values and the subjects taught. Leaders have correctly identified that there is more scope to further extend the promotion of fundamental British values and have actions in place to achieve this. Pupils learn about and celebrate different faiths and cultures. In their questionnaire, nearly all pupils agreed that the school encourages them to respect people from other backgrounds and to treat everyone equally.
• The headteacher, senior leaders and governors share the ambition to provide the best learning and personal experiences for pupils. Since the last inspection there have been considerable changes in staffing as well as in the culture and ethos of the school. The very large majority of staff and parents have welcomed and embraced these changes, which have helped to improve the school. One parent expressed the views of many with the comment: ‘Great school, so happy my children got in. The teachers are friendly and helpful. I love what the headteacher brings to the school, making it a fun and family-friendly environment.’ A few parents and staff expressed some concerns with the changes, demonstrating that the headteacher and governors should work to further strengthen partnerships and communication.
• The performance of the school is monitored effectively, which gives leaders a clear view of strengths and weaknesses and informs the school improvement plan. The headteacher and chair of the governing body have correctly identified that this information is not always translated into tight enough strategic planning in some areas of the school’s work. As a consequence, it is sometimes more difficult to assess and review the success of the actions taken and so improvement is not always as rapid as it could be.
• The school uses additional funding effectively to provide a range of support for disadvantaged pupils, which is appropriate to their needs. This ensures that these pupils are included in the full life of the school and, as with other pupils, their progress is improving.
• Good use is made of the primary physical education and sport funding to enhance the provision for physical education. The funding is spent in a range of ways, including the provision of additional sports clubs and increased opportunities for pupils to compete in competitive sports. Sports specialists work with teachers and pupils to enhance their skills, leading to improved outcomes for pupils.
• Currently, additional special educational needs funding is used effectively to ensure that pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are appropriately supported and make good progress.
• Previously, the identification of pupils requiring special educational needs support has been inaccurate. The smaller proportion of pupils who are currently receiving support is a more accurate reflection of pupils’ needs generally.
• Middle leaders are knowledgeable about their subjects. They benefit from working in subject teams and with senior leaders in school, and from external support. This has helped to develop their skills and confidence so they have an increasing impact on pupils’ outcomes. They know what needs to be done to make further improvements.
• Effective checks are made on the quality of teaching and learning, and senior leaders have a good knowledge of what needs to be done to improve teaching further to ensure that all pupils are learning as well as they can. Where weaknesses are identified, effective support is given and improvement is expected.
• The local authority provides good support and challenge to the school to ensure that improvements are made.

Governance of the school

• Since the last inspection, a new chair of the governing body has been appointed. He brings a wealth of experience and expertise, quickly identifying the need for governors to work more strategically to hold leaders to account more effectively for the school’s performance. Governors now have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and where it should improve further, and the governing body now provides an effective level of challenge to leaders. This was an issue for improvement at the last inspection.
• Governors have a good awareness of the information about pupils’ achievement. This enables them to question the progress and attainment of different groups. They check that the pupil premium funding and the primary physical education and sport funding are used effectively to determine that they are making a difference for pupils. They apply less rigour in checking on the additional special educational needs funding.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The very large majority of parents who responded to the online questionnaire, Parent View, agreed that the school keeps their children safe. All staff agree that pupils are kept safe.
• The headteacher and the inclusion leader have up-to-date training as designated safeguarding leaders.
• All staff are aware of their responsibility to keep pupils safe and are vigilant in doing so. Staff know the procedures to follow if they have any concerns.
• The school site is secure. All visitors are checked in and wear badges so that pupils can identify them. Appropriate risk assessments are carried out, including for when pupils go out on trips.
• The school’s single central record to check that everybody who works with pupils is suitable to do so is currently being updated. All of the required information is held by the school and is in the process of being transferred to a new format introduced by the chair of the governing body, who is also the governor responsible for safeguarding.
• Leaders ensure that any referrals to external agencies are acted upon rapidly. Parents are involved as appropriate to ensure that pupils receive timely and effective support to ensure their safeguarding and protection.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teaching has improved since the last inspection and is now typically good. As a result, pupils are making better progress in their learning.
• The teaching of reading has been a focus for the school. The success of the actions taken, led by the deputy headteacher, is evident in pupils’ improved achievement in reading. Phonics (letters and the sounds they represent) skills are taught well and used effectively by most pupils to help them read unfamiliar words. These skills get them off to a good start in the early years and key stage 1.
• Reading for enjoyment is promoted well. Teachers plan effectively a range of work across the curriculum based on motivating and inspiring texts. Pupils in Year 5, for example, were thoroughly engrossed in writing balanced arguments based on their class’s novel, ‘There’s a boy in the girls’ bathroom’. They said how much they were enjoying the text and that it had inspired them to seek out other books by the same author. Pupils’ empathy and moral and social development are promoted well through their discussions and debates of the consequences of characters’ actions.
• There is a consistent approach to teaching reading skills and making accurate assessments of pupils’ reading ability with texts that are well matched to their needs. Pupils discuss authors’ choices of vocabulary and structure effectively to develop their comprehension, inference and retrieval skills.
• In mathematics, teachers have focused on providing pupils with more opportunities to use skills of problem-solving and investigation. A mathematics specialist and new approaches to teaching mathematics have been introduced, and the impact on pupils’ achievement is evident. Leaders are aware, however, that more needs to be done to develop pupils’ reasoning skills and ensure pupils learn with a deeper level of understanding.
• Pupils benefit from specialist teaching in other areas as well, art and music for example, which has a positive impact on pupils’ skills, knowledge and understanding in these aspects.
• Teaching assistants often make a considerable contribution to pupils’ learning through supporting groups and individuals in class or outside of the classroom.
• Teachers make good use of displays in classrooms to support teaching and learning. There is a purposeful, calm and strong work ethic in the school, which promotes learning well.
• Within the overall good quality of teaching and learning, leaders are aware that there is some variation in the quality of teaching and learning in some classes where successful strategies are not consistently evident and pupils’ attainment is not as high as it should be. Leaders are actively tackling these weaker aspects.

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 a credit to the school. They are friendly, polite and respectful of each other and adults.
• Pupils have positive attitudes to learning, which helps them make good progress. They enjoy their time in school and participate with enthusiasm in all that the school offers them.
• The curriculum ensures that pupils think of others who may be less fortunate than themselves as well as considering issues that affect society as a whole.
• Good support is provided for pupils’ emotional and social development as well as their academic achievement. The family support worker makes a valuable contribution to supporting pupils who may be vulnerable and their families.
• In discussions, and in response to their questionnaire, pupils said they feel safe in school. They know how to stay safe when using the internet and in a range of situations in and out of school.
• Pupils said that bullying is rare in their school. They have a clear understanding of what constitutes bullying and are confident to turn to staff should they have any worries. They know they will be listened to and helped.
• The very large majority of parents who responded to the online questionnaire, Parent View, agree that their children feel safe in school and are well looked after.
• Pupils who attend the breakfast or after-school club receive a safe, happy and sociable start or end to the school day.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils conduct themselves well in the playground, at lunchtimes and around the school. They are courteous and well mannered.
• Behaviour in lessons is mostly good and this supports pupils’ good progress. They are usually attentive, concentrate well and work hard. Lessons are rarely disrupted by inappropriate behaviour. Occasionally, when pupils do not have sufficient challenge or their learning time is not used well, they are less attentive, do not listen as well as they should and lose their focus on learning.
• The large majority of parents who responded to Parent View agree that the school makes sure pupils are well behaved. Almost all staff agree that pupils’ behaviour is good.
• Most pupils attend school regularly and attendance is broadly in line with the national average. The attendance of disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, however, is below that found nationally, and too many pupils from these groups are persistently absent from school. Although differences remain, leaders’ determined efforts have improved the attendance of these groups this year. Leaders work hard with families and external agencies where attendance issues persist and keep careful records to track the attendance of individuals and groups.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Current assessment information and work in pupils’ books indicate that pupils in most year groups make good progress across a range of subjects including English and mathematics. Progress is, however, a little uneven across the school. Leaders monitor and analyse pupils’ progress and hold regular meetings to discuss individual progress so that they can intervene and help pupils catch up if they fall behind.
• The proportion of pupils who reached the expected standards for their age by the end of Year 2 in 2016 was in line with that found nationally in mathematics, and above national averages in reading and writing. The proportion reaching a greater depth of understanding was above national averages in reading, writing and mathematics.
• In 2016, progress between the end of Year 2 and the end of Year 6 was not significantly different from that found nationally in writing, but it was significantly below in mathematics and reading. By the end of Year 6 in 2016, the proportion that reached the expected or higher standards for their age was below that found nationally in reading and mathematics and above the national averages in writing.
• Pupils in key stage 2 did not make better progress last year because of weaker teaching in the past, and gaps in pupils’ learning remained. Current pupils make stronger progress, particularly in Years 5 and 6. However, pupils in Years 3 and 4 do not always build as rapidly as they could on their achievements at the end of key stage 1.
• The school’s assessments and pupils’ work indicates that the proportions of pupils who are on track to reach the expected standards for their ages by the end of the Year 2 and Year 6 are set to improve this year.
• The impact on pupils’ achievement in reading, which has been a focus for the school, is evident. Pupils develop a range of strategies to help them read with fluency and understanding. In key stage 2, there is scope for pupils’ improved reading skills to have an even greater impact on their writing skills as they have a growing sense of what will keep a reader engaged and motivated. Pupils are enthusiastic writers and understand that writing requires different features, depending on the purpose of the work.
• Leaders track the progress of different groups. The school’s information shows that generally, disadvantaged pupils currently in the school are making similarly good progress to others from their starting points. Differences remain in their attainment but these are diminishing. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities also make similar progress to others.
• The proportion of pupils that reached the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening test has been improving over the past three years and in 2016 it was above average.
• The most able pupils currently in the school, including those who are disadvantaged, are often challenged to achieve well. Leaders have correctly identified, however, that expectations should be higher to ensure that this group, as well as pupils of all abilities, achieve greater depth and high standards in their learning. In mathematics, for example, the most able pupils occasionally find the tasks rather easy, so their reasoning skills are not fully exploited to deepen their mathematical understanding.

Early years provision Good

• Children start in the early years with skills and knowledge that are often below those typical for their ages when they start in the Nursery or the Reception Year. Children make good progress and catch up in the early years, including those who are disadvantaged and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• The proportion of children achieving a good level of development by the end of the Reception Year has steadily improved and in 2016 it was above that found nationally. Children are well prepared to continue their learning in Year 1.
• The headteacher and external support have successfully developed the leadership in the early years. This has ensured that the leader has an accurate view of the strengths in the provision and areas for further development.
• Staff work very well together as a strong team. They are skilled and enhance their expertise through their professional development to meet the specific needs of the children. They provide a happy, safe and nurturing atmosphere.
• Teaching and learning are good. The classrooms and outdoor areas are stimulating and motivating learning environments and are well resourced. One parent wrote: ‘My child’s teachers have gone above and beyond my expectations to create memorable learning environments and experiences for all the children.’
• Activities are organised well to promote learning in all areas and capture the interest and imagination of children. Children were very enthusiastic to perform their magic show outside. They were proud of their achievements, insisting that an inspector watched what they could do.
• There is a good balance of activities between those directed by staff and those where children make their own choices. Staff interact well with children, asking appropriate questions which help to extend children’s language and develop their thinking skills. Staff track children’s development carefully, which enables them to plan the next steps for individuals.
• The teachers and other staff know the children well and have positive relationships with them. As a result, children are happy, settle well into the routines of the day, and develop their confidence and independence. Children behave well and feel safe. They share and cooperate and play and learn well together.
• Parents are pleased with their children’s start in the early years. There are good procedures to ensure a smooth start for children and parents into the early years and continuing links with parents so that home and school can work together to support children’s learning.
• Children’s early reading and writing skills are promoted well. Children enjoy reading and listening to stories and rapidly develop good phonics skills. They are provided with and create their own purposeful reasons to write. Children happily made their own books about the life cycle of a butterfly, for example, and others made a sign for the entrance to the den they made outside. One parent wrote: ‘They have turned a boy who had no interest in even writing his own name to one who now writes story after story, and wants to open a book shop!’
• Children’s safety and well-being are priorities and children are well cared for. All the necessary actions are taken to support any children whose circumstances may make them vulnerable.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 118325 Medway 10032844 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 343 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Ian Chappell Hugh Greenwood 01634 332550 www.wainscott.medway.sch.uk greeh192@medwaymail.org Date of previous inspection 17–18 March 2015

Information about this school

• Wainscott is larger than the average-sized primary school, with a rising roll as it moves to a two-form entry school. Currently there are two classes in each year group in Years 1, 2 and 3, and one class in each of Years 4, 5 and 6.
• There is provision for the early years in a Nursery, which children attend for a morning or afternoon session, and two Reception classes, which children attend full time.
• Most pupils are of White British heritage.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below average.
• The proportion of pupils supported through the pupil premium funding is below average.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The school provides a daily breakfast and after-school club.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors observed learning in all classes. Some observations were conducted jointly with the headteacher.
• Inspectors talked to pupils about their learning and examined work in pupils’ books. Inspectors observed pupils in the playground and asked them for their views on the school. They also talked to pupils about reading and listened to some pupils read.
• Discussions were held with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, senior leaders and other staff with key leadership responsibilities. Meetings were held with two governors, including the chair of the governing body. An inspector held a discussion with the local authority school challenge and improvement leader.
• Inspectors examined a wide range of documents, including: leaders’ checks on the school’s performance and the quality of teaching; the school improvement plan; information on pupils’ progress; and records relating to attendance, behaviour and safeguarding.
• Inspectors considered the 61 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, which included 42 written responses. They also spoke to some parents at the start of the school day, and received one letter. Inspectors took account of 26 responses to the questionnaire for staff.

Inspection team

Margaret Coussins, lead inspector Linda Taylor Rosemary Keen

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector