Shirley Warren Primary & Nursery School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Accelerate the progress of the most able pupils by ensuring that they are fully challenged.

• Boost teachers’ skills in using pupils’ responses during lessons to adjust the tasks they set for pupils with different aptitudes and abilities.
• Improve development planning by drawing together the wide range of assessment information to provide a sharply focused overview of pupils’ achievement.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher and leaders at all levels have worked successfully to create a strong sense of purpose. Staff share their ambition to ensure that all pupils do as well as they can. There is an ethos of high expectations. Leaders and governors have an accurate picture of the school’s strengths and weaknesses.
• The performance management system is used effectively and contributes to raising standards. Leaders check the quality of teaching and provide additional training when necessary. Staff are encouraged to share ideas and they benefit from in-house coaching from senior staff and subject leaders.
• Teachers work closely with support staff to provide a continuity of approach. As a result, pupils know what is expected of them, for example about how they should respond to teachers’ feedback about how they can improve their work further.
• The school has a wealth of assessment information. Leaders use it to closely monitor pupils’ achievement throughout the year. They gain an accurate view of how individual pupils are progressing and work with teachers to set appropriately ambitious targets. The information about how different groups are getting on is summarised to some extent, but is not presented succinctly to provide leaders and governors with an easily accessible picture of strengths and weaknesses in pupils’ achievement.
• The curriculum includes a wide variety of enrichment activities which benefit particularly those pupils with limited experiences outside their day-to-day lives. Writing scripts and broadcasting from the school’s own closed circuit radio studio, for example, adds an addition dimension to pupils’ learning and promotes their self-esteem.
• The curriculum takes account of the needs of the high proportion of pupils who learn English as an additional language and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Purposeful links between creative, technical and practical subjects drive key skills in reading, writing and mathematics. As pupils compose song lyrics, for example, they draw on their literacy skills.
• Deliberate and effective action is taken to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils develop a secure understanding of the values that are central to being a responsible citizen in modern Britain. One pupil remarked, ‘School helps everyone equally; we know that we shouldn’t be judged by the colour of our skin and we all have good in us... we all know that.’
• The school makes effective use of the additional funding that it receives. Pupils who are disadvantaged receive a wide range of additional support to ensure that they have opportunities to learn that are similar to those of other pupils.
• Additional physical education and sports funding is used well. Specialist sports coaches take physical education lessons, passing on their skills to school staff. They make a strong contribution to breaktimes and after-school clubs. Their expertise and enthusiasm draw a very positive response from pupils.
• Parents hold the school in high regard. They feel welcomed and well informed. Parents of children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities were highly complimentary about the school’s welcoming approach. This view was echoed by parents of children who entered the school speaking little or no English.

Governance of the school

• Governors share a strong ambition to promote the school’s core values of ‘ambition, respect, equality’. They routinely seek assurance from school leaders about the progress of different groups of pupils. The very detailed assessment information they receive, to some extent, constrains their view of the big picture of the school’s performance.

• Governors provide good support and backing for leaders, but are clear in their expectations and challenge robustly when impact is not evident. They use the school’s improvement plan effectively to check that leaders are making the improvements that they have identified.
• Governors make regular visits to the school to see for themselves the quality of provision. They are therefore well informed and know in detail what needs to be done to secure the school’s improvement. They seek assurance that the performance management system rewards effective teaching.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Meticulous records are kept and regularly monitored by governors. Designated safeguarding leads (DSLs) for each phase of the school indicate a strong commitment to safeguarding and a sense of shared responsibility.
• Regular training on safeguarding is provided for all staff and careful records are kept of all those who have completed it. Systems to check that staff, governors and volunteers are suitable to work with children are thorough.
• The school manages concerns and deals with external agencies effectively to meet pupils’ needs. Interventions are timely and outcomes are closely monitored.
• Parents and pupils described the school as a safe and caring environment. Pupils fully understand how to look after themselves in a variety of situations, including when using the internet. Pupils also care for each other. They have the confidence to speak to an adult should they have concerns about themselves or a friend.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers plan lessons well to enable pupils to build upon, consolidate and extend their skills. Much of the work in literacy and numeracy is in realistic contexts and linked to the curriculum topics that pupils are studying in other lessons.
• Pupils are aware of what they need to do to improve. Teachers make this clear during lessons, and both staff and pupils understand and implement the marking policy. Pupils routinely comment on their own work, showing an increasing level of independence.
• Skilful questioning and a variety of resources support pupils’ learning. Teachers create a purposeful atmosphere in lessons and pupils typically respond well to their skilful management of behaviour. Occasionally, pupils in Years 3 and 4 lose interest because the teaching does not fully engage them.
• Typically, work in literacy is carefully planned and taught in a way that links the skills of reading and writing effectively. Teachers successfully promote enthusiasm for reading. This was evident when pupils in Year 2 talked about their enjoyment of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. One commented, ‘I read books my mum used to read as a teenager.’
• Pupils in Years 5 and 6 respond eagerly to the many opportunities that teachers provide to write and edit their work, to hone their writing skills and to choose vocabulary and punctuation that engages the reader. Such enthusiasm is less evident in some lessons in Years 3 and 4.
• Teachers make sure that pupils are ready for the next stage in mathematics by setting, for example, a ‘passport to algebra’ test. They implement the school’s ‘step by step’ programme well. This helps to ensure that pupils are set tasks which build on their existing knowledge and understanding. Occasionally, across the school, the most able pupils, who have reached the ‘final step’ in a sequence of activities, are not set tasks which involve further applying their mathematical skills and developing a greater depth of understanding. This is also sometimes the case in English lessons.
• Teaching assistants work in close partnership with teachers. Their shared understanding of how individual pupils are getting on enables them to make a significant contribution to pupils’ learning. Following the example set by teachers, teaching assistants use questions well to draw out pupils’ understanding and address misconceptions as they interact with groups during independent work.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are very well supported. Their needs are assessed accurately and interventions, both during lessons and in withdrawal groups, help them to make good and often rapid progress from their starting points.
• Teachers take account of the fact that around half of the pupils are learning English as a second language. They use a range of strategies to support their learning; they model spoken language, include many opportunities for pupils to talk, provide lots of visual resources and place emphasis on developing pupils’ vocabulary. As a result, these pupils make good progress and often outperform their classmates.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.

• Pupils are extremely well cared for. Relationships are trusting and adults are instinctive regarding pupils’ needs. Leaders are meticulous about their understanding of individual children; they ensure that vulnerable children are well cared for. The well-run breakfast club provides a safe and calm environment for pupils.
• A highly inclusive culture is evident across the school, with a strong sense of mutual respect between pupils, and between adults and pupils. Leaders do all they can, with the support of external agencies, to support pupils with complex educational, behavioural and medical needs. Effective strategies enable children at risk to stay in education and be included.
• Pupils demonstrate a sense of pride in their school. They enjoy taking on roles and responsibilities, such as membership of the school council, sports ambassadors and the green council.
• Pupils and parents appreciate that achievements are valued and celebrated by the school. Parents of children with special educational needs were full of praise for the school’s support. One remarked, ‘I moved house because of the school’s reputation and I’m delighted I did.’
• Pupils feel entirely safe at school and trust the adults who work with them. They know that they can seek help if they need it. Pupils say bullying rarely happens and, if it does, is dealt with quickly. ,

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.

• Adults ensure that pupils enjoy being at school and learning. They promote positive attitudes to others from different backgrounds, religions and cultures. Staff systematically develop pupils’ abilities to communicate appropriately with each other and with adults. Pupils’ achievement and success are celebrated and achievement and success are recognised.
• Almost all lessons flow smoothly because pupils are interested and engaged by the activities. They show good levels of self-discipline because they know what is expected of them. Pupils are polite and friendly and warmly welcome visitors to the school. They follow well-established routines during meal times and help to tidy away happily. They show respect for one another and readily follow instruction from their teachers.
• Teachers place importance on developing the skills that pupils need to learn independently and through discussion with learning partners and groups. Most pupils learn quickly how to work productively and collaboratively, although some find it difficult to do so when not under the watchful eye of an adult.
• Pupils move calmly around the school building and during break and lunchtimes, when they have fun playing happily.
• Attendance has improved and is now above the national average. The proportion of pupils who are persistently absent has crept up a little. The school’s response to this temporary situation is sensitive and is making a positive impact on pupils’ attendance.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• The school’s detailed tracking data, alongside scrutiny of work and lesson observations, indicates that the big picture is one of good progress through the school. Children enter the early years with communication, language and numeracy skills frequently well below expectations for their age. By Year 6, pupils’ performance is close to the national average.
• The results of recent national assessments indicated that some pupils in key stage 1 had not fulfilled the potential they had shown at the end of Reception. Standards in reading at the end of Year 6 were lower than those in writing and mathematics. Because of more effective teaching and an engaging curriculum, pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, are making good progress and reaching higher standards.
• Children begin to acquire phonics skills in Reception and learn to apply these when reading and writing in Years 1 and 2. Older pupils read widely and discuss their reading preferences maturely. Discussing her reading of a series of books by Morris Gleitzman about the Second World War, one pupil remarked, ‘It’s very touching... makes you want to learn more about real things.’
• Pupils make good progress in writing, not least because they have many opportunities to write for different purposes. Their written work shows that pupils increasingly incorporate the literacy devices and vocabulary they come across in their reading. Pupils’ handwriting, spelling, punctuation and use of grammar are strong. One pupil in Year 6 commented, ‘I wouldn’t necessarily include all the school wants. I like writing freely.’ Much of pupils’ writing shows considerable flair. One wrote, for example, ‘Above the houses, which were covered with blankets of pure, white snow, there were dancing snowflakes gently hogging the air.’
• Pupils enjoy working through an increasingly challenging sequence of mathematical activities and are making good progress. Teachers focus on mastering concepts and then provide opportunities for pupils to solve problems. The most able pupils occasionally find the tasks rather easy, so their reasoning skills are not fully exploited to deepen their mathematical understanding.
• Good progress in science is evident from pupils’ workbooks. Pupils learn how to control a variable in science experiments and, by Year 6, hypothesise, draw conclusions and analyse results. That said, a reliance on worksheets to some extent limits pupils’ aspirations to explore and behave in a scientific manner.
• Pupils learning English as an additional language make good progress. They develop good communication skills and a wide vocabulary that enables them to learn at a similar pace to their classmates. The progress of disadvantaged pupils is not significantly different from other pupils nationally, reflecting the school’s success in supporting their learning.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make at least good progress from their starting points. Gaps in their learning are very quickly addressed and followed up very well. Following the introduction of an adult/child paired reading programme, pupils made significant headway; within four months, their average gains were equivalent to 20 months’ progress. Vulnerable pupils and those with highly complex needs are very well supported and make good progress towards their individual goals.

Early years provision Good

• As children enter the Nursery, their language and numeracy skills are typically below expectations for their age. Usually, at least half do not speak English at all. Frequently, the other children entering the school at this stage have no previous early years education. By the end of Reception, the proportion of children reaching a good level of development is close to the national average, indicating good progress across the early years. Around two thirds move into the school’s Reception class.
• Children soon settle in to the Nursery or Reception classes and grow in confidence. Adults provide excellent role models, demonstrating positive behaviour and respect. Children talk and play together happily. They quickly learn to take responsibility for their own behaviour, which is consistently good.
• Children’s needs are met through close observation of their learning and careful planning of next steps involving all staff. Adults know the children well, keep thorough records and plan interesting, motivating activities.
• Good teaching, timely support and intervention when children choose their own activities build on children’s prior learning. During one typical lesson, there was a hive of purposeful activity. Among the many things on offer, children played in the ‘builders’ yard’, tackled an adventure trail and engaged in early literacy and numeracy tasks. Adults encouraged lots of dialogue between children. Two children explained, ‘We’re writing a note for Freddie.’ As she ate her snack, one remarked. ‘Guess what, I love strawberries... apples... every single fruit!’ ‘But not oranges,’ insisted her classmate.
• All staff benefit from good-quality training and joint planning. Liaison across Nursery and Reception ensures a similar approach and the progressive promotion of children’s personal and physical development, alongside key skills in literacy and numeracy. Teaching assistants make a significant contribution and work closely with teachers.
• Close liaison with outside agencies ensures that children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities have their needs met effectively. The most able pupils generally make good progress, although there are some missed opportunities for adults to further extend their knowledge, understanding and skills.
• Safeguarding is rigorous and all statutory welfare requirements are met.
• Additional funding is used effectively to provide disadvantaged children with good-quality support, and they make good progress. Children at very early stages of learning English benefit from an environment rich in language. Adults offer excellent role models in their spoken language, and children’s learning is frequently supported by visual images and labels indoors and outside.
• Parents contribute to their children’s learning records. They increasingly participate in workshops to help them support their children at home. Parents made very positive comments about the provision in the early years. One stated, ‘This is a fantastic Nursery.’ Parents with Polish, Hungarian, Asian and Sudanese backgrounds expressed delight at their children’s progress in learning English.
• The early years leader has an accurate view of provision based on thorough monitoring. She has secured significant improvement and identified next steps to ensure that the provision keeps on developing.

School details

Unique reference number 116262 Local authority Southampton Inspection number 10032860 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 3 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 421 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Alice Hodges Headteacher Alison Mann Telephone number 023 8077 3975 Website www.shirleywarren.co.uk Email address info@shirleywarren.co.uk Date of previous inspection 9–10 July 2015

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• Shirley Warren Learning Campus Primary and Nursery is an above-average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above average.
• The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is above average.
• The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is above average. Around half of the pupils are at an early stage of learning English; this is over twice the national average.
• Children attend the Nursery part time and the Reception classes full time.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.
• The school runs an on-site breakfast club.
• The school manages pre-nursery provision that shares the same campus. This is subject to separate inspection.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed activities in all year groups. Most observations were undertaken with the headteacher and deputy headteacher.
• Inspectors met with members of the governing body and a member of the local authority.
• Meetings were also held with pupils to discuss their views on their learning and well-being and with parents to gain their views about the school.
• Inspectors heard pupils read from Years 1, 2 and 6. They talked to pupils at breaktimes and in the lunch hall, in lessons and as they moved around the school.
• Inspectors examined a range of school documents, including information on pupils’ performance across the school, school improvement plans, the school’s evaluation of teaching, learning and assessment, governor minutes and curriculum plans.
• Inspectors scrutinised a range of books to see what progress had been made across a range of subjects.
• Inspectors took account of 13 responses to the Ofsted parent survey, Parent View.

Inspection team

Rob Crompton, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Lynn Martin Ofsted Inspector Debra Anderson Ofsted Inspector