East Wittering Community Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Continue to improve the quality of teaching and learning in order to further improve outcomes for pupils by ensuring that:
  • tasks planned by teachers more frequently offer sufficient challenge for the most able pupils, including the most able disadvantaged pupils.
• Strengthen leadership further, by:
  • making better use, in action plans, of clear targets and descriptions about what will be achieved by pupils and groups of pupils at key points in the year, to enable senior leaders and governors to monitor the impact of actions taken
  • continuing to develop the assessment system and tracking of pupils’ progress so that leaders can check the impact of their work across all subjects in the curriculum.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher, governors, senior leaders and staff are all fully committed to helping every pupil thrive and achieve well. They assess pupils’ work regularly and check how well they are meeting the standards expected of their age. Pupils who are falling behind are supported to catch up through effective interventions.
• Staff morale and relationships within the school are very positive. The staff who completed a survey as part of the inspection overwhelmingly support the school’s leaders and feel proud to work at the school. Staff benefit from effective professional development to improve their skills.
• Capacity for further improvement is strong. School leaders show determination to address weaknesses, and do so successfully. For example, leaders correctly identified the need to improve reading at the school. At the beginning of the year, they introduced a new scheme for learning phonics, supported by a comprehensive programme of staff training. Systematic monitoring and evaluation of this initiative shows better teaching and improved outcomes in phonics and reading.
• Funding to support pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is used well. The effective special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) identifies and implements appropriate support so these pupils make good progress. The SENCo checks the impact of strategies used rigorously and, where necessary, changes the response until the pupil makes the desired progress. This demonstrates strong leadership.
• The pupil premium is spent well. Disadvantaged pupils, particularly those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities or low starting points, benefit from some well-targeted support that enables them to catch up. Many disadvantaged pupils make good progress. Nevertheless, leaders acknowledge that the most able disadvantaged pupils have not been extended fully.
• Pupils study a wide range of subjects within each topic so that they can make links across subjects. Throughout the school, pupils were immersed in the current Amazon theme, with fabulous models and art work on display. During the recent Egyptian topic, pupils designed and tested pharaohs’ thrones made with newspapers. Visits and interesting activities enrich the curriculum and are used well to capture pupils’ interest. For example, recent activities by all pupils to support the school’s application for a gold Artsmark had clearly inspired and enthused the whole community.
• Pupils benefit from swimming lessons in their own pool, which helps them to acquire the skills and confidence useful for living so close to the sea.
• The curriculum is enriched by a wide range of extra-curricular activities which are well attended by pupils, such as the lunchtime gardening club enjoyed by pupils during the inspection.
• Enthusiastic subject leaders are confident that the subject for which they are responsible is fully covered through the curriculum. However, systems to check pupils’ progress in subjects other than English and mathematics are not thorough enough to inform leaders’ evaluations of the quality of teaching across the curriculum fully.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding is well developed. In subjects such as religious education and history, pupils learn about other faiths, cultures and customs, and reflect on the beliefs of others.
• The physical education and sport premium for primary schools is spent judiciously to increase the number of pupils participating in sporting activities on a regular basis, and to improve the expertise of both staff and pupils.
• Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the school. Parents who spoke to inspectors or responded to the online survey, Parent View, commented positively about the progress their children are making, the level of care for pupils, and the approachability of staff.
• Leaders and teachers have a detailed understanding about the attainment of individuals in the school and how well they have acquired new skills. Leaders rightly recognise that they do not systematically report to governors how well all groups of pupils are progressing from their starting points. Although standards achieved by most pupils are high, it is not clear whether the rates of progress of individuals, and groups of pupils, could be even greater. For example, the school’s leaders could monitor the progress of groups of pupils, such as the most able, better.
• Leaders and governors know their school’s strengths and weaknesses, although paperwork does not always reflect this as well as it could. Their self-evaluation reflects the many positives about the school, but sometimes is not as insightful about the areas identified for improvement as it should be. Development plans address some appropriate priorities. However, these plans lack measureable targets for pupils’ outcomes so leaders are unable to assess the impact of their actions.
• The local authority provides light-touch support for the school. It has an overgenerous view of the leadership of the school and could have offered sharper challenge.

Governance of the school

• Governors fully share the headteacher’s commitment to East Wittering Community Primary School and they care deeply about each pupil that belongs to it. They are very proud of the school’s achievements.
• Governors visit the school regularly and this is helping them to get to know the school better.
• Governors know about the school’s strengths and weaknesses because of information provided by the headteacher, and their own experiences in the school. However, they do not always hold senior leaders to account as rigorously as they could, particularly about the progress of groups of pupils, including the most able pupils.
• Governors have ensured that pay increases for teachers are only awarded when the staff are effective in their work.
• Pupil premium funding is used to provide a range of additional enrichment and support designed to help disadvantaged pupils make better progress. However, the information about the use of the pupil premium and its impact is not set against any explicit targets so governors do not know whether disadvantaged pupils are making as much progress as they could or the school expects of them.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The school is a nurturing, caring environment in which every pupil is valued and cared for. Staff have very positive relationships with pupils and know them well. This means that staff are alert to any changes in pupils that may indicate a concern. Pupils feel safe in school. They are confident in knowing there is always a trusted adult they can speak to in school if they are worried about something.
• Safeguarding records are up to date and referrals are followed up promptly and well documented. The school’s leaders work closely with parents and other agencies to help pupils receive the support they need.
• Staff have received appropriate training for their roles and responsibilities and know what to do if they have a concern.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers create a positive climate for learning. Relationships are strong and pupils enjoy learning. Pupils work well together and particularly enjoy the opportunities given to discuss activities and share ideas.
• Teachers and teaching assistants have strong subject knowledge. They use this well to develop pupils’ skills and understanding. As a result, pupils make good progress, particularly in writing and mathematics, and increasingly in reading.
• Teaching assistants are skilled contributors to pupils’ learning in phonics because they have received effective training. For example, in phonics lessons in key stage 1, teaching assistants checked pupils’ understanding to adjust their teaching and to challenge pupils. Consequently, pupils achieve well.
• Teaching assistants provide precise support and challenge for individuals, and small groups of pupils, during intervention sessions out of lessons. During lessons, teaching assistants offer some useful support for pupils, but sometimes provide too much support so, although tasks are completed, learning is limited.
• During lessons, teachers check pupils’ understanding and respond to their needs, providing additional support or challenge as required. Teachers give immediate feedback to pupils about their learning and are quick to pick up and address any misunderstandings. Teachers also give helpful written feedback to pupils about their work. In accordance with leaders’ expectations, teachers indicate where pupils have been successful and set out their next learning steps. This consistency makes an effective contribution to pupils’ good progress.
• Pupils’ achievements are reviewed regularly to check how well they are progressing towards the standards expected of their age. Where pupils are found to be falling behind, the SENCo sets out to identify the barriers to the pupils’ learning. She rightly distinguishes between the pupils who are attaining standards below those expected and pupils who have difficulties due to special educational needs and/or disabilities. The SENCo oversees a programme designed to close the learning gaps of the low-attaining group and meet the individual requirements of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. This carefully graded provision enables pupils who have fallen behind to catch up, and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities to progress well from their starting points.
• The introduction of a highly structured programme for teaching phonics has led to improving standards in both phonics and reading.
• Teachers provide many opportunities for pupils to write in a wide range of meaningful contexts and for different purposes. Teaching consistently helps pupils to use a range of sentences and language features to create lively character descriptions. This promotes good progress.
• In mathematics, basic skills are taught well and pupils are confident in manipulating numbers. Daily arithmetic practice helps pupils develop good habits. Reasoning is increasingly being promoted, but opportunities for pupils to explore mathematics by looking at more complex problems are variable. As a result, some pupils, especially those who are most able, do not consistently have the opportunity to think deeply and develop their understanding fully.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils say they feel happy and safe at school and parents who responded to the online survey, Parent View, agree. Pupils trust the adults in school and say that their concerns are taken seriously. They say that instances of bullying are rare and staff act swiftly to resolve any issues.
• There is a strong focus on helping pupils to learn strategies to cope in difficult situations and to not give up. Pupils report that this is helping build their confidence.
• Pupils have a good understanding of how to say safe when using the internet. They appreciate fully why they should not give personal information when using the internet or social media.
• Senior leaders are planning to review the personal, health and social education curriculum to improve pupils’ understanding of healthy lifestyles further.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• In lessons and around school pupils’ behaviour is good, and the school is an orderly, well-organised environment for learning. Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Pupils respond well to these expectations. Pupils are polite and play happily together. They listen well in lessons and are respectful of each other and their teachers.
• A review of the school’s behaviour and incident logs confirms that there are few incidents of bullying, derogatory language or unkind behaviour. When any incidents do occur the school deals thoroughly with them.
• Pupils’ attendance is broadly similar to the national average and is improving. The school has worked effectively with individual families to improve the attendance of pupils whose attendance had previously caused concern.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Over the past year, the progress pupils make has improved considerably and it is now good. Leaders’ and teachers’ hard work and focus on improving pupils’ outcomes is evident in the all-round improvements to pupils’ learning and achievement.
• In 2016, pupils’ achievement at the end of Year 6 was broadly in line with the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. Attainment at the end of Year 2 was similar to the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. While the proportions of pupils who achieved the expected standards in both key stages were similar to the national average, fewer pupils achieved the higher levels at the end of key stage 2 or showed greater depth of learning at the end of key stage 1. No disadvantaged pupils achieved the higher levels in reading or writing at the end of key stages 1 or 2, but a few did in mathematics.
• Stronger teaching is now enabling the most able pupils to make at least good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Consequently, they are on track to exceed the expectations for their age. Nevertheless, leaders rightly recognise that they can increase the proportion of pupils who reach the higher levels in both key stage 1 and key stage 2.
• In 2016, the proportion of pupils who achieved the expected standard in the phonics screening check was just below the national average. Senior leaders have taken effective action to rapidly improve achievement in phonics. Pupils are now making good progress in their phonics. This includes a small number of pupils in Years 3, 4 and 5 who previously had gaps in their knowledge.
• In 2016, disadvantaged pupils achieved less well in reading and better in mathematics than other pupils at the end of key stage 2. Currently, where underachievement of disadvantaged pupils has been identified, a well-targeted support programme has enabled these pupils to make good progress.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress. Through effective teaching and support, many pupils make strong progress in their learning, confidence and independence. These pupils receive caring, individual support tailored to their needs.
• Progress in pupils’ reading is improving. New initiatives, combined with targeted support where needed, are helping pupils to develop their confidence and fluency to read a range of texts.
• Throughout the school, pupils’ writing is a strength. Over time, pupils develop greater stamina for writing, make more adventurous vocabulary choices and write increasingly complex sentences.
• In mathematics, pupils’ basic arithmetic skills are secure. However, opportunities for pupils to apply these skills in problem-solving and reasoning are not consistently provided. As a result, the most able pupils do not always use their skills across a range of contexts.
• Pupils’ strong progress, growing confidence and independence ensure that they are well prepared for their transition into secondary school.

Early years provision Good

• Children in the early years get a good start to their schooling. They make good progress from their starting points. More children currently in Reception are set to achieve a good level of development at the end of the year than previously. Standards have risen steadily each year. Disadvantaged children are making the same good progress as others with the same starting points.
• Provision for those children who find learning difficult is well balanced between support and challenge. Teachers work well with the SENCo and external agencies so that children and families get the help they need.
• Leadership of the early years is strong. Leaders have a good understanding of the strengths and areas for further development, such as opportunities for most-able children. Teachers are working hard to offer more challenging tasks to help children develop their thinking and deepen their understanding.
• Safeguarding is effective. All staff are well qualified and receive regular training.
• Teachers’ high expectations of behaviour and consistent routines across classes settle children well, and give them good opportunities to learn. Children listen carefully and show positive attitudes to learning.
• The curriculum is well balanced. Both teacher-led and child-initiated activities focus on what pupils already know, and what they want and need to learn. Children are interested to learn and teachers provide a rich learning environment for them to do so. While learning about butterflies one child commented, ‘I can see the spotted wings through its cover; it’s changing into a butterfly!’
• A recently improved, stimulating and well-resourced outside area is used effectively to capture children’s imagination and develop their understanding. Teachers strike the right balance between helping children and enabling them to find things out for themselves. Teachers and teaching assistants follow up outside activities with high-quality questioning so that children make good progress.
• A recent focus on engaging boys in writing by focusing on topics such as ‘super heroes’ has seen an improvement in the proportion of boys reaching the expected level in 2017.
• Assessment is used effectively to help plan children’s next steps. Occasionally, this could be more focused for most-able children. For example, in one phonics session most-able children were challenged in their sounds but then were not expected to use these words in their follow-up writing activity.
• Parents are encouraged to support learning by being given good information and visiting the learning environment. Parents appreciate the arrangements for transition into school. One parent spoke for many when they commented, ‘always very welcoming, excellent starting pack and very reassuring’.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 125829 West Sussex 10033011 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Community 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 251 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Stuart Blunden Susan Parker 01243 672208 www.eastwittering.w-sussex.sch.uk head@eastwittering.w-sussex.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 13–14 February 2013

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school is a little smaller than the average-sized primary school.
• The school has provision for early years foundation stage children with two Reception classes. There are three mixed Year 1 and 2 classes, a Year 3 class, two Year 4 classes, one Year 5 class, a mixed Year 5 and 6 class, and one Year 6 class.
• Most pupils come from White British backgrounds.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is similar to the national average, as is the proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium.
• A significant number of pupils join or leave the school at times other than in Reception Year.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors carried out 12 lesson observations, some of which were undertaken jointly with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. Inspectors also made a number of shorter visits to classes and looked at a wide range of pupils’ work in books across the school. The lead inspector also visited most of the classes with the headteacher.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher and other members of the senior leadership team. Inspectors also met with staff, governors and a representative from the local authority. Eighteen staff completed the staff questionnaire and these responses were taken into account.
• Pupils’ views were gathered through meetings with different groups of pupils and through informal conversations at playtime. Inspectors also viewed 35 online responses to the pupil survey.
• Inspectors took into account parents’ views through the 40 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, and through informal conversations at the beginning of the school day.
• Inspectors scrutinised a wide range of the school’s documentation including: the school’s information on pupils’ progress; the school improvement plan; the school’s own evaluations; minutes of governors’ meetings; and safeguarding documentation.

Inspection team

Theresa Phillips, lead inspector Bill James Jon Hills Lesley Corbett, lead inspector

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector