Eastergate CofE Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Raise standards for the most able by ensuring that teachers:
  • consistently plan tasks and activities that build upon what pupils already know, so that they make good progress
  • challenge the most able pupils with questions, activities and tasks that develop their knowledge and deepen their understanding.
• Further increase middle leaders’ contribution to school improvement, by:
  • developing their monitoring skills so that they can successfully evaluate the outcomes in their areas of responsibility
  • using their expertise to help teachers improve their teaching, particularly in setting appropriately challenging work for all groups of pupils.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The highly effective headteacher has brought rigour and urgency to all aspects of school improvement. She has sensibly put improvements in teaching and outcomes for pupils at the top of the school’s agenda, while embedding high levels of nurture, care and personal development. Leaders share an ambition and drive to achieve the very best for the pupils in the school.
• Leaders’ actions to develop community spirit within the school have resulted in parents, pupils, governors and teachers working together to achieve the school’s vision of ‘Learn, grow, achieve – together’. Parents appreciate the time the headteacher has taken to get to know their children and are grateful for the new opportunities to come into school to celebrate with their children. One parent commented: ‘The headteacher is extremely approachable and we believe she genuinely encourages parents’ involvement.’ Parental support for the leadership of the school has significantly improved since the previous inspection.
• Leaders’ actions to improve teaching have ensured that teaching is now good. Leaders check lessons and provide clear, unambiguous feedback so teachers know what they need to do to improve their practice. Teachers now have much higher expectations of what pupils can achieve. Most pupils are completing more work in lessons and making better progress. However, leaders know there is more to do to ensure that the most able pupils are consistently fully challenged.
• Leaders ensure that assessment information is checked and used effectively, so that pupils do not fall behind. Teachers analyse the progress their pupils are making and identify any pupils who need support. Swift action is taken to provide appropriate interventions so that pupils maintain their good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The funding to support pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is used very well. Effective teaching and rigorous monitoring ensure that these pupils are making progress. The individual and group support they receive is well planned and carefully checked to ensure that it is helping pupils catch up. One parent commented: ‘The school has worked extremely hard to ensure that my son keeps up with the other children.’ This is typical of the comments made by parents.
• Most middle leaders are relatively new to post. Through effective coaching and mentoring from the headteacher, they are rapidly developing the skills to drive improvements in their areas of responsibility. For example, the current whole-school focus on spelling is being led by middle leaders. Further training is planned to help all middle leaders fully analyse standards in their area of responsibility, and provide useful support for other teachers.
• The school offers a broad and balanced curriculum that meets the needs of pupils well. The school teaches a variety of topics and utilises opportunities to teach literacy and numeracy through other subjects. For example, in Year 6 pupils wrote a diary entry as a Roman citizen, while in Year 2 pupils used number codes to solve problems as part of the ‘Gunpowder Plot’. New computer software enables pupils to use computing as a tool for learning.
• Central to the curriculum is the promotion of pupils’ personal development. There are many opportunities for pupils to develop their social skills and gain confidence to share their ideas and speak in public. Pupils now lead collective worship and hold debates which enable them to discuss and explore their thinking. The curriculum is suitably enhanced by visits such as to the planetarium, linked to Year 4 and 5’s space topic. Extra-curricular clubs, including football, choir, book club and multi sports, are available to all pupils.
• The school provides good opportunities for pupils to discuss and learn about the importance of British values. Pupils celebrate democracy through the elections of their school councillors and house captains. They appreciate that people may have different views or beliefs than their own. Pupils say that they learn to be tolerant through their personal, social and health education lessons. Pupils learn in an environment that is free from discrimination.
• There are good opportunities to develop pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural awareness. Pupils think that their teachers and parents are good role models, who help them to make the right choices. Spirituality is effectively developed during assemblies, when pupils have time to reflect. Working with their partner school, Mercy in Kenya, pupils learn to appreciate the contrasting cultures and opportunities that other young people have.
• Funding to support disadvantaged pupils is sharply targeted to ensure that these pupils make faster progress than their peers. Interventions, such as daily reading programmes, are regularly evaluated to make sure they are effective and that these pupils are doing as well as their peers.
• The sport premium is used effectively to enhance activities for the pupils at playtime. New fitness equipment to help with pupils’ gross motor skills and develop stamina is especially popular with pupils. As a result, they are more active and are taking part in more team games during breaktimes.

Governance of the school

• Governors are very well informed and have a very good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas of development. They have significantly benefited from a formal review of governance and now work much better together to fulfil their roles. They are more systematic in their approach. Governors appreciate the useful support that has been provided by the local authority.
• Governors effectively challenge leaders to ensure that pupils are doing as well as they should be. Governors receive high-quality performance information from the headteacher, which they effectively scrutinise to make informed strategic decisions. As a result, accountability at all levels is now securely in place and part of the school’s culture.
• Procedures for managing the performance of staff are improving. Targets are clear, linked directly to the progress different groups of pupils make. Support is provided through training opportunities to help teachers develop their skills. Governors make well-informed decisions about any possible pay progression for staff based on transparent criteria.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• There is a strong culture of safeguarding in the school, shared by all staff. Pupils’ welfare is a very high priority. This is demonstrated in the detailed recording the school undertakes as part of its child protection procedures. These records are regularly reviewed to ensure that no child is put at risk.
• Up-to-date training for staff and governors ensures that all staff are clear on what they must do if they have concerns for a pupils’ welfare. The single central register is reviewed termly by the governing body and pre-employment checks are detailed to ensure that all adults are properly vetted before coming into school.
• Leaders work closely with external agencies to ensure that pupils and families get the support that they need to help pupils succeed in their learning.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• The quality of teaching, learning and assessment has improved since the previous inspection and is now good. Teachers, supported by leaders, understand how much work pupils can complete in lessons and how much progress they should be expected to make. As a result, pupils are making better progress over time.
• Teachers focus on key basic skills in literacy and numeracy and ensure that these are embedded. Teachers often use assessment information well to plan interesting lessons which build on what pupils already know and understand. Pupils are making better progress in their learning because they are not going over work they already know. However, there are times when the matching of work to pupils’ different abilities is not exact enough, so their progress slows. This is particularly the case for the most able pupils.
• Pupils are encouraged to share their views, ask questions or justify their answers with their peers. Discussion between pupils is used effectively as a learning tool. Pupils explain their thinking and listen to others’ ideas to develop their understanding. Consequently, pupils are confident and inquisitive learners. They develop their speaking and listening skills and most importantly learn from one another.
• Teaching assistants and class teachers plan carefully to provide the right balance of support and challenge for disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. This helps these pupils to make good progress and achieve well in lessons.
• The teaching of reading is systematic and builds on pupils’ skills and understanding as they progress through the school. Effective phonics (letters and the sounds they represent) teaching in the early years and key stage 1 ensures that by the time pupils enter key stage 2, most can read accurately and fluently. Recent innovations such as ‘read 100 books’ and ‘Drop Everything and Read’ are raising the profile of reading further and encouraging parents to promote reading for pleasure.
• The teaching of writing is improving. Teachers are concentrating on the basic skills of sentence construction and correct punctuation. As a result, pupils are more disciplined in their writing, correctly demarcating sentences and dividing their writing into paragraphs. Further up the school there is a focus on pupils correcting spelling and editing their work for greater clarity or to make sentences more adventurous. Teachers consistently focus on these areas and, as a result, pupils produce writing containing more complex, correctly spelled vocabulary and sentences.
• Basic mathematics skills are effectively taught. Number recognition, counting forwards and backwards and the use of number in a wide variety of contexts are the building blocks of success in the school. Teachers’ subject knowledge is good and activities are well planned to develop mathematical concepts. Teachers are working hard to provide more problem-solving activities, particularly for the most able pupils, that stretch and challenge pupils’ thinking.
• In other subjects, such as history and geography, teachers prepare interesting tasks that encourage pupils to utilise their literacy and numeracy skills. The standard of work in these books is generally similar to pupils’ work in literacy but, on occasions, handwriting and presentation are not as good.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• School leaders make pupils’ personal development a key feature of learning in the school. Pupils study a wide range of cultures and faiths and there are many opportunities to discuss mature issues. For example, Year 6 discuss the aboriginal novel ‘Rabbit-proof fence’ to examine tolerance and discrimination. Years 3 and 4 explore respect and stereotyping through the novel ‘The boy in the dress’.
• Pupils particularly like their roles as ‘buddies’, where they look after and support younger pupils. In their learning they enjoy the opportunities they get to discuss their work with one another. One pupil commented: ‘It really makes you think: you really have to justify your answers.’
• Pupils say they feel safe because they trust the adults that look after them. Parents agree and acknowledged the high standard of care that their children receive. One commented: ‘No issue is too small. If it matters to the child it matters to the school.’ Pupils have a very good understanding of how to stay safe online and say they have regular lessons about internet safety.
• Pupils of all ages have a good understanding of what constitutes bullying and how it differs from ‘falling out’ with someone. A small number of parents raised concerns about bullying. Pupils said that instances of bullying were very rare and that if it did happen, teachers dealt with it swiftly. Checks on records show this to be the case.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils behave very well in lessons and work hard to improve their work. They have excellent attitudes to their learning and enjoy working with a partner or in small groups. Relationships are strong; pupils have respect for school staff and their parents and get on well with one another.
• In lessons, pupils usually try hard and concentrate. Only on rare occasions does their focus waver so that their learning slows. The school is providing more opportunities to foster pupils’ greater independence so that pupils take more responsibility for their own learning.
• Pupils are welcoming and polite, standing aside to let adults and younger pupils pass through doorways. They understand the school behaviour policy and appreciate that good behaviour is rewarded. They particularly like earning ‘golden time’ for doing good work or for showing kindness to one another.
• Attendance is in line with all schools nationally.
• Parents and staff agree that behaviour is good, prompting one parent to say: ‘They all get on so well and show so much care for one another.’

Outcomes for pupils Good

• In 2017, the progress made by pupils by the end of Year 6 in reading and mathematics was close to that which was achieved nationally. Progress in writing was below national averages; however, work in books confirms the school’s assessment that current pupils’ progress has improved and is now good.
• In the early years, the proportion of pupils who achieved a good level of development was above that achieved in 2016 in school and above that achieved by other schools nationally. The proportion of Year 1 pupils who met the expected standard in the phonics screening check was below that achieved nationally. However, current Year 1 pupils are making good progress in their phonics and are on track to achieve age-related expectations. Checks on pupils’ work, together with assessment information, show that the Year 2 pupils who failed to meet the required standard in Year 1 are all on track to meet the standard by the end of the school year.
• In 2017, the proportion of pupils who reached the expected standard at the end of Year 2 in reading, writing and mathematics was similar to that seen nationally. The proportion of pupils who gained greater depth in reading, writing and mathematics combined was above the national level.
• Outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics are improving across the school. The systematic approaches to teaching are leading to faster progress so that more pupils are reaching the expected standard for their age.
• Disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities achieve well. They are well supported in lessons and targeted interventions make sure that they do not fall behind in their learning.
• Provision for the most able pupils is improving. The school recognises that these pupils need to be given more challenging tasks and activities to capture their interest and deepen their understanding so that more can reach higher levels by the end of Year 6.

Early years provision Good

• Children enter early years with skills and knowledge that are typical for their age. They make good progress in Reception as a result of good teaching.
• Children are confident and happy. There are excellent induction arrangements that include both parents and children, to ensure that children feel safe and secure during their first days at school. Parents particularly appreciate the family discussions that help the children to get to know the teacher and setting. One parent commented: ‘My child settled in perfectly: she knew exactly where to go and exactly what to do.’
• As with the rest of the school, children’s personal development has a high priority. A high level of care, supported by clear routines, enables children to feel secure. Teaching encourages children to talk about their learning and share their ideas with their friends. Children are listened to and their ideas are used to plan activities, helping engage their interests and develop a love of learning.
• Phonics teaching is effective. Children learn initial sounds and blends systematically so that when faced with unfamiliar words they have the necessary skills to decode words and understand their meaning. Oral work is often followed up with written activities that challenge children to spell unfamiliar words using prior knowledge.
• Children learn through topics that promote literacy and numeracy effectively. Traditional stories are used well across different areas of learning. For example, teachers used ‘Goldilocks and the three bears’ to develop children’s literacy skills through writing about and describing the clothes Goldilocks was wearing. They developed their numeracy skills by counting the numbers of items such as beds required and available in the story. Children are encouraged to write menus, invitations or prescriptions when playing imaginatively.
• In a very short space of time, the new early years leader has identified the priorities for development and begun to make improvements. The outside area has been completely reorganised to make the different areas of learning accessible to children. Planning is shared collaboratively with the teaching assistant to make sure the children get access to the full range of the early years curriculum. Adults are now focusing on providing more timely intervention in children’s activities to consolidate and challenge children’s understanding.
• All early years staff are well trained in matters of child protection, ensuring that safeguarding arrangements are effective. Regular checks on equipment and security ensure that all welfare requirements are fully met.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 125981 West Sussex 10036936 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 Voluntary controlled 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 143 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Hedda Wells Catherine Ward 01243 542297 www.eastergateprimaryschool.uk office@eastergate.w-sussex.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 16–17 July 2015

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The current headteacher was appointed in January 2017.
• The school is a smaller-than-average-sized primary school, with seven classes. Key stage 2 is organised into mixed classes of Years 3 and 4 and Years 4 and 5.
• Most pupils come from White British backgrounds. The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is well below average, as is the proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium.
• 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

• The inspector visited lessons, accompanied by the headteacher, to observe pupils’ learning.
• Discussions were held with senior leaders, members of staff, pupils, a group of parents, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.
• The inspector examined a wide range of documentation, including that relating to attendance and behaviour, school improvement planning, assessment information, monitoring of teaching, minutes of governing body meetings, local authority reports and school policies relating to safeguarding.
• The inspector listened to pupils read from Year 2 and Year 6, and met formally with a group of pupils to discuss their learning, behaviour and safety. The inspector evaluated pupils’ books, displays of pupils’ work and the school’s assessments of the progress made by pupils.
• The inspector took into account the views of 40 parents and carers who responded to the online questionnaire, Parent View, as well as meeting a group of three parents.
• The inspector took account of eight responses to the pupil questionnaire and 13 responses to the staff questionnaire.

Inspection team

Bill James, lead inspector

Ofsted Inspector