Springwell Village Primary School
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Springwell Village Primary School Westfield Crescent, Springwell, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, NE9 7RX Inspection dates 14–15 July 2015 Previous inspection: Good 2 Overall effectiveness This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2 Summary of key findings for parents and pupils This is a good school. Pupils make good progress from their starting Pupils are very safe in school. They know that points, including those who are most able, adults will always listen to them and swiftly sort out disadvantaged pupils and those with special any worries and concerns. Bullying is extremely educational needs. rare. Standards have improved over time and are above Leadership, including that of the governing body, is average in reading, writing and mathematics at strong. The systems in place to check on pupils’ the end of Year 6. progress are rigorous. Consequently, pupils who Teaching is good. Teachers are skilled in need a little extra support are quickly identified and questioning and use this to make sure pupils effectively supported. always understand their work and to make them Equally, leaders systematically check up on the think even harder about what they are learning. quality of teaching. As a result, teaching continues Provision in the early years is good. Children’s to improve and weaknesses are tackled swiftly and physical development in the early years is decisively. supported by the well-planned outdoor learning The curriculum is especially rich. Pupils take part in areas that encourage them to experiment with a wide range of stimulating activities. These include balancing, climbing and exploring. many interesting outside visits and visitors to the Pupils’ behaviour is good. Pupils are very friendly, school that contribute to their good spiritual, moral, treat one another kindly and are polite and social and cultural development and prepare them courteous to adults. Pupils take pride in their work well for future life in modern British society. so that presentation in books is of a high quality. It is not yet an outstanding school because Pupils’ progress in mathematics across Key Stage Teachers’ written comments in marking do not 2 is not as strong as it is in reading and writing. always give pupils precise enough guidance on how This is because pupils do not have enough to improve their work. Additionally, pupils do not opportunities to apply their skills in mathematics routinely have time to respond to comments and to solve problems in other subjects of the this limits the impact of marking on improving curriculum. pupils’ work. Inspection report: Springwell Village Primary School, 14–15 July 2015 2 of 10 Information about this inspection Inspectors observed teaching and learning in a range of lessons or parts of lessons, one of which was a joint observation with the headteacher. Inspectors spoke to a range of pupils about their work and play in school. Meetings were held with five members of the governing body as well as school leaders and with a local authority representative to discuss support for the school. Inspectors considered a wide range of evidence, including the school’s records of the quality of teaching over time and pupils’ current work in books. Inspectors took account of 18 responses to the staff survey and the 56 responses by parents to the online questionnaire, Parent View. Additionally inspectors spoke to parents informally at the beginning of the school day or when attending the Year 6 leavers’ assembly. Inspectors observed the overall work of the school and checked various documents and procedures including the school’s plans for improvement and arrangements for checking pupils’ attainment and progress. They also examined documents relating to safeguarding, behaviour and attendance. Inspection team Janette Corlett, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Patrick Hargreaves Additional Inspector Inspection report: Springwell Village Primary School, 14–15 July 2015 3 of 10 Full report Information about this school This school is slightly smaller than the average-sized primary school. Most pupils are of White British heritage. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium is below average. The pupil premium is additional funding the school receives for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after by the local authority. The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress by the end of Year 6. The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs is below average. Currently there are no disabled pupils in the school Children in the early years receive part-time provision in the Nursery and full-time provision in the Reception class. The school operates a pre-school club to support families. This is run by the governing body and was part of the inspection. What does the school need to do to improve further? Improve pupils’ progress in mathematics in Key Stage 2 so that it is at least as good as it is in reading and writing by: giving them more opportunities to apply their skills in mathematical calculation across the wider school curriculum. Improve teaching by: making sure that teachers’ marking of pupils’ work consistently gives pupils enough information on what they need to do to improve ensuring that teachers routinely give pupils time to respond to their comments in marking to correct or improve their work. Inspection report: Springwell Village Primary School, 14–15 July 2015 4 of 10 Inspection judgements The leadership and management are good The determined leadership from the headteacher supported by a well-informed governing body results in a school that is a safe, vibrant and welcoming place where children thrive, behave well and make good progress. Most parents endorse this view and typically comment on the good level of information they receive on pupils’ learning and progress as well as regular newsletters and the school magazine. Leaders make effective use of the pupil premium to make sure that disadvantaged pupils have access to the full curriculum and achieve to their full potential. As a result, gaps in the achievement of these pupils compared to other pupils in school and other pupils nationally are closing. Leaders at all levels, including middle leaders, know the school well and have an accurate picture of its performance. Leaders welcome external viewpoints on how well the school is doing and use these to identify areas they can improve on so that pupils will have even better chances to achieve to their full potential. The school’s procedures to check on the quality of teaching are thorough. Checks on the performance of all staff are rigorous and lead to staff receiving high-quality training. This develops their practice and means that teaching is consistently good and sometimes outstanding. Collaborative working with the local triad of schools is particularly effective in supporting school improvement. Leaders and teachers work together to share good practice and raise standards. Equally, governors have participated in a ‘Governor Challenge’ programme that has improved their skills in holding school leaders to account. The rich and varied curriculum is a real strength of the school and contributes well to pupils’ good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils have an exceptional range of opportunities to develop their skills in creative arts and drama. Additionally, the curriculum supports their understanding of fundamental British values and prepares them well for future life in modern Britain. For example, pupils visited a large, local car manufacturing plant where they learned about the wide range of skills necessary for car production, including engineering, science and technology, art and design. Pupils also benefited from a visit from the local magistrates’ team, who explained how the justice system works. The recent general election campaign provided the stimulus for a visit from the parliamentary education outreach team that assisted pupils in holding their own election campaign complete with manifestos and ballot boxes. The primary school sport and physical education funding is used effectively to give pupils access to a wider range of sports and to increase their participation in sport. The use of external coaches has successfully helped teachers to develop their skills and expertise in teaching physical education. The local authority gives light-touch support to this good school that has been effective in improving assessment procedures in the early years and in supporting the school’s financial management. Leaders are effective in promoting equality of opportunity so that all groups of pupils make good progress and enjoy good relations with one another. Furthermore, there is no racism in the school and pupils are taught to value diversity. They really enjoy celebrating cultural differences. Safeguarding arrangements meet statutory requirements and ensure that pupils are very safe in school. The governance of the school: Governors bring a wide range of experience and professional expertise to the school. They receive regular updates on pupils’ progress and the quality of teaching. They use this information and data about the school’s performance to ask leaders to explain where there are any weaker areas and then make sure that the actions taken to address them are effective. Governors know how pupil premium is spent and are beginning to give effective challenge to school leaders about the impact of this on the progress of disadvantaged pupils. They know that any gaps in the performance of these pupils are narrowing and are determined that this trend will continue. Governors know that the quality of teaching is continually improving. They ensure that these improvements will be sustained and built on through giving a high priority to staff development in their good financial management of the school’s budget.