School report Brighstone Church of England Aided Primary School New Road, Brighstone, Newport PO30 4BB Inspection dates 19–20 April 2016 Overall effectiveness Requires improvement Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement Early years provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good Summary of key findings for parents and pupils This is a school that requires improvement  Leaders, managers and governors have not secured consistently good teaching and learning throughout key stage 2. They have also had limited success at recruiting and retaining good teachers.  The roles of leaders and managers are underdeveloped. This limits their influence on raising standards at key stage 2.  Roles and responsibilities are not shared sufficiently well among staff.  Governors do not hold leaders to account rigorously enough about the progress made by different groups of pupils. Furthermore, where governors identify areas of concern they do not follow these up rigorously enough.  The assessment and moderation of pupils’ work across the school does not always provide an accurate view of pupils’ progress and standards.  Teachers’ subject knowledge in English and mathematics is not good enough at key stage 2. Consequently, levels of support and challenge for pupils from Year 3 to Year 5 are limited.  Teachers do not all use assessment information well in order to plan learning that promotes good levels of progression in pupils’ understanding, knowledge and skills in English and mathematics.  Where teaching does not meet the needs and interests of pupils, this leads to pupils losing interest in their learning.  Pupils who are disadvantaged, have special educational needs or disability, are of lower ability or are most able, do not make good progress in Years 3 to 5 in English and mathematics. Consequently, few are set to exceed age-related expectations. The school has the following strengths  Teaching and learning in the early years, at key  Standards in reading, writing and mathematics are stage 1 and in Year 6 are a strength of the school. consistently high by the end of key stage 1.  A high proportion of pupils reach a good level of  The development of pupils’ personal development development by the end of the Reception Year. and welfare is good.  The recently appointed interim headteacher is helping the school to improve. Full report What does the school need to do to improve further?  Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment at key stage 2, particularly in English and mathematics, so that it is consistently good or better by: ̶ ̶ developing teachers’ subject knowledge so that they are better able to support and challenge pupils, particularly in Years 3 to 5 ensuring that assessment information and the moderation of pupils’ work is used well to support good levels of progression in pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills improving the quality of support and challenge for pupils with special educational needs or disability, disadvantaged pupils, those of lower ability and the most-able pupils ensuring that those pupils who reached a high standard in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 1 exceed age-related expectations in successive year groups and by the end of key stage 2. ̶ ̶  Improve the effectiveness of leaders, managers and governors in helping the school to become good or better by: ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ensuring that governors hold leaders to account more rigorously about the progress made by different groups of pupils, particularly those who are disadvantaged, have special educational needs or disability or are of lower ability, as well as the most-able pupils governors following up on aspects of the school’s work that are not yet good ensuring that governors and leaders explore options for employing and retaining good teachers developing the roles of senior and middle leaders so that they are able to provide guidance and support to staff in key stage 2, and that they are provided with the time to do this to review the deployment of leadership and management roles and responsibilities among staff. An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved. Inspection report: Brighstone CofE Aided Primary School, 19–20 April 2016 2 of 10 Inspection judgements Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement  The effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement because leaders and governors have not sustained an ambitious culture in the school since the previous inspection. Consequently, standards, although broadly average at the end of key stage 2, have declined. Pupils at key stage 2 do not make good progress given the high standards achieved at the end of key stage 1.  The promotion of equality of opportunity requires improvement. This is because pupils in the school who are disadvantaged, have special educational needs or disability, are of lower ability or who are most able, do not achieve as well as others.  The school has a vision which includes ‘To promote the love of learning and enable every child to achieve their best’. However, this vision has yet to be firmly embedded across the school.  Leaders have not ensured that information about the progress made by pupils is accurate. This is improving, but there is still too much school assessment information that is overly generous. There has not been enough rigorous moderation of pupils’ work to support the assessment of their progress and standards.  The small leadership and management team have many responsibilities and have insufficient planned time to complete their tasks aimed at helping to raise standards at key stage 2. Their roles and responsibilities are not well developed or shared equitably with other staff. This limits the school’s capacity to make good progress and develop other staff as leaders and managers.  The management of teachers’ performance has been used to help improve teaching, but areas for improvement are not always followed up. Nevertheless, there are examples across the school where the quality of teaching has recently improved, such as in the Reception Year as well as in Years 1, 2, 5 and 6.  Under the leadership of the highly effective interim headteacher the quality of leadership and management at school is improving. There is now an accurate view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses, and expectations of staff and pupils have risen.  The interim special educational needs coordinator has correctly identified priorities for improving the provision of special needs across the school. This includes revising the school’s documentation and practice and reviewing how pupils are identified, how well they are progressing, and the difference that intervention strategies make to raising standards.  Leaders are developing effective strategies to prepare pupils for life in modern Britain. They ensure that fundamental British values are taught, such as what it means to live in a democratic society. However, some aspects of this work are still in their infancy, such as teaching pupils about the dangers of extremism and radicalisation.  The planned curriculum contains a strong emphasis on developing pupils spiritually, morally, socially and culturally. This enabled pupils to, for example, contribute to the school’s effective anti-bullying policy.  The school has adopted Hampshire’s model of a broad and balanced curriculum, which is in line with the revised national curriculum. This has started to raise teachers’ expectations of what pupils should achieve at the end of each year group. However, the school only assesses the progress that pupils make in English and mathematics and not in other subjects.  The wide range of extra-curricular activities contribute well to developing pupils’ confidence and physical skills. This year boys and girls from the school were rugby and football champions for West Wight.  Additional funding through the pupil premium is used effectively to increase the attendance of some disadvantaged pupils. There is good use of this funding to support the teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds that they make) at key stage 1. As a result, more disadvantaged pupils achieved the expected standard in phonics last year than has previously been the case. However, this additional funding is not used as effectively as it could be for pupils in Years 3, 4 and 5. Although the school reported that the funding was used last year to close gaps, the gap in 2015 between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils increased by the end of key stage 2.  The additional sports funding is used well to increase the number of sports clubs, provision of physical education and resources. This contributes successfully to increasing pupils’ enjoyment of school and to developing their self-esteem and understanding about how to be fit and stay safe.  The local authority has identified the school as a high priority. There has been effective support provided by local authority officers for the leadership of English, mathematics and special educational needs. The local authority was also instrumental in securing the services of a highly effective school leader from another school to act as interim headteacher until a new substantive headteacher is appointed.  The diocese has an accurate view of the school and is committed to working collaborative with the local authority to help the school to improve. Inspection report: Brighstone CofE Aided Primary School 19–20 April 2016 3 of 10  There are good links between the school and parents. Parents volunteer regularly in school and are supportive of the school’s work. However, some of the parents who spoke to the lead inspector expressed concerns about the high turnover of staff at the school and the number of different teachers their child has experienced over the year.  All of the staff who responded to the questionnaire are proud to be a member of staff at the school. There were several very positive comments about the interim headteacher. One member of staff stated that in a very short space of time ‘his leadership has already had a positive impact on the teaching and learning in the school’.  The governance of the school ̶ With support from the local authority and diocese, governors developed a rigorous process for interviewing candidates for the post of headteacher. ̶ New governors undertake relevant training about areas such as safeguarding and safer recruitment. ̶ Governors contribute to the management of staff performance, ensuring that only those members of staff who met their targets received a pay rise. However, they have not done enough to help secure good teaching across key stage 2. ̶ Governors have had limited success in helping to recruit and retain good teachers. This has compounded the high levels of staff turbulence. ̶ Governors do not hold leaders sufficiently to account for the progress made by different groups, particularly pupils who are disadvantaged, have special educational needs or disability, and are of lower ability or who are most able. They are not rigorous enough in monitoring the impact of pupil premium funding. ̶ When governors identify areas for improvement they do not follow these up to ensure that issues have been resolved or are improving quickly. ̶ Governors recognise the need to improve their practice. They are in the process of commissioning an external review to review their effectiveness in order to help them to become more effective.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. ̶ The school checks the suitability of staff to work with children rigorously. ̶ All staff and governors have been trained so that they know what to do should an issue of a safeguarding nature arise. ̶ Staff work closely with other agencies to help support the needs of those pupils whose circumstances make them vulnerable. This ensures, for example, that pupils with an education, health and care plan are well supported. However, some of the school’s documentation for recording incidents requires further revision. This includes ensuring that all documents include a clear chronology of what has taken place and when. Furthermore, staff do not always check that plans are followed up and that actions have been evaluated. ̶ Pupils say they feel safe and parents are confident that the school keeps their children safe. Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement  The quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement because it is not good enough at key stage 2.  The quality of teaching in Years 3, 4, and 5 does not support and extend the learning and progress of different groups of pupils well enough. Consequently, the good rate of progress that pupils make in key stage 1 slows when they get to key stage 2. This is exacerbated by the high turnover of staff.  Not all teachers who work in key stage 2 have a strong enough knowledge of English and/or mathematics to provide all groups of pupils with good levels of support and guidance. This is especially the case for pupils who are disadvantaged, have special educational needs or disability, are of lower ability or who are most able.  Where teaching is less effective, teachers do not make enough use of assessment information to plan lessons that challenge the most able or cater well enough for pupils’ interests and differing needs. At times, this leads to pupils repeating work they have already completed successfully.  All too often learning objectives do not focus enough on what pupils are expected to learn in English and mathematics but on tasks and activities.  In most of key stage 2, additional adults are not used well enough to support pupils who have special Inspection report: Brighstone CofE Aided Primary School, 19–20 April 2016 4 of 10           educational needs or disability, or who are of lower ability. At times this is because they have not received enough guidance or direction from the class teacher or they are not sufficiently aware of pupils’ individual needs. Conversely, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is particularly good in Reception, at key stage 1 and in Year 6. Some inspirational teaching was observed during the inspection in all of these classes. Teachers in these year groups have high expectations of what all their pupils can achieve. They assess accurately the learning and progress that pupils make, and use this information very well to plan challenging and engaging lessons. Pupils with special educational needs or disability receive high-quality support that uses a range of different resources to meet pupils’ needs very well. Where teaching is particularly effective, teachers check pupils’ understanding and progress during lessons and respond quickly to any misconceptions. Additional challenge is provided to the most-able pupils, and this helps to deepen their learning. In an English lesson in Year 6, the teacher made effective use of a video about Martin Luther King giving his speech ‘I have a dream’. This inspired pupils about how to write a speech of their own. The lesson provided ample opportunity for pupils to enrich their vocabulary. When they encountered unfamiliar words such as ‘sweltering’, these were looked up in a dictionary. The lesson also provided an appropriate opportunity for pupils to debate rights and responsibilities, historical events and unacceptable behaviour such as racial discrimination. The teaching of mathematics for the most-able pupils in key stage 1 and in Year 6 includes complex problems to develop pupils’ skills and understanding as well as their mastery of topics, for example fractions and decimals in Year 6. Teaching at key stage 1 encourages pupils to demonstrate their methods in mathematics. Additional adults provide good support in this part of the school; they challenge pupils’ misconceptions and encourage them to find and correct errors. Teaching across the school is providing increased opportunities for pupils to use and develop their mathematical skills in different subjects, but this is not yet done consistently well in all classes. Pupils told the inspectors that when their teachers clarify the learning objectives and success criteria for a lesson this helps them to know what to do and what to aim for to be successful. Some pupils in key stage 2 told inspectors that they did not always understand what they were expected to learn in some lessons, while others said they found some of their lessons too easy. The vast majority of parents who completed Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, believe their child is taught well. Most pupils who responded to Ofsted’s questionnaire say they enjoy learning at school and a large majority believe their teachers help them to do their best. Personal development, behaviour and welfare requires improvement Personal development and welfare  The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils are confident; they know how to keep themselves safe, including from bullying. They believe the school helps them to learn about eating healthily and how to keep fit. They use the internet safely.  Pupils learn about other cultures and faiths in assemblies as well as in lessons, but evidence of their understanding about different cultures is limited.  Pupils are starting to develop an effective awareness of radicalisation; for example, they have been learning about why some people are referred to as terrorists and what this means.  The school liaises appropriately with outside agencies to support the welfare of those pupils who are potentially vulnerable or have an education, health and care plan.  Pupils feel they have a voice. They learn about the rule of law and what it means to live in a democratic society. Some pupils are currently using their knowledge of writing persuasively, together with what they have learned about British values, to petition the interim headteacher about some of the changes he has introduced since his arrival relating to lunchtimes.  Pupils enjoy taking on responsibilities such as being on the school council or being a ‘playground buddy’.  The school’s Christian ethos is evident in displays around the school and in the way that pupils as well as staff show consideration and kindness to others.  Support staff, including those who work in the school office, make a good contribution to supporting the welfare of pupils. Inspection report: Brighstone CofE Aided Primary School, 19–20 April 2016 5 of 10 Behaviour  The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.  Where teaching does not engage pupils’ interest and does not cater well enough for their needs, some pupils lose focus and become visibly bored and easily distracted in lessons.  A very small minority cause low-level disruption, which pupils say at times prevents them from getting on with their work. This is particularly the case in lower key stage 2.  Pupils are typically kind and respectful to each other. They play nicely together and their behaviour out of class and around the school is generally good. Where teaching is good, pupils are well behaved, work hard and demonstrate good self-discipline.  In their responses to Parent View, parents believe that the school manages behaviour well, but a significant minority of pupils indicated that they believe behaviour is only good ‘sometimes in their lessons’.  Pupils enjoy coming to school and this is reflected in their high levels of attendance. Outcomes for pupils require improvement  Outcomes for pupils require improvement because their progress at key stage 2 does not build well enough on their high levels of achievement at the end of key stage 1.  Standards at the end of key stage 2, having initially risen after the school was last inspected, have declined over time and were lower in 2015 than they were in 2012.  In 2015, the attainment at the end of Year 6 was broadly average in reading, writing and mathematics but was significantly below average in spelling, punctuation and grammar. Significantly fewer pupils than in most schools achieved the higher Level 5 in writing.  Published data shows that by the end of key stage 2, pupils have been significantly underachieving for the last three years. The current progress across key stage 2, while not as bad as it has been in the past, is still not good.  Although few in number, disadvantaged pupils at key stage 2 achieved less well than others last year. This is a continuing trend in the school, except for Year 6 where gaps are closing. Nevertheless, gaps between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils are not closing quickly across the rest of key stage 2.  The high turnover of staff has proved a significant barrier to the school’s efforts of securing good levels of continuity and progression in pupils’ learning between Years 3 and 5.  Those pupils who reached high standards at the end of Year 2 are not being sufficiently well challenged in their subsequent year groups to enable them to continue to make good progress. Some of them told the inspectors they find the work too easy; the evidence in their books shows that, at times, pupils unnecessarily repeat work already covered, and in a way that does not deepen or extend their learning.  Although there is evidence of some good progress, including in mathematics in Year 5, this is too inconsistent across key stage 2. Typically the most-able pupils at key stage 2 are not sufficiently well challenged and therefore do not routinely deepen their knowledge and skills in English or mastery of mathematics.  Pupils of low ability, some of whom are disadvantaged, are at times taught skills but not given enough time to practise applying their new learning, such as learning about place value in mathematics or the use of connectives in English.  Pupils who have special educational needs or disability do not all make sufficient progress because their needs are not sufficiently well catered for. At times they are given the same activities to repeat, such as basic calculation of addition and subtraction using a column method. However, the repetition of the same method and exercise does not take sufficient account of the different ways pupils learn and therefore does not help this group of pupils to catch up quickly with the rest of their class. Work in books showed some continuing levels of confusion for this group of pupils, for example about place value.  The books that pupils read in lower key stage 2 are not always sufficiently well matched to pupils’ needs and abilities. Books are at times either too easy or too difficult. Pupils of lower ability in Year 3 do not use their phonics skills well enough to help them with their reading.  All groups of pupils are currently progressing well in Years 1, 2 and 6.  Outcomes for pupils at the end of key stage 1 are particularly good and rising. For the last three years more pupils than has been the case nationally have either met or exceeded the expected standard by the end of Year 2. Inspection report: Brighstone CofE Aided Primary School, 19–20 April 2016 6 of 10  Pupils in this part of the school use their phonics skills confidently to help them to read and write new and unfamiliar words.  Pupils in Years 1 and 2 demonstrate resilience, independence and creativity, and they welcome challenge. They can add two-digit numbers and are learning to demonstrate their methods when solving problems. The most-able pupils, as well as those who are disadvantaged, those of lower ability or who have special educational needs or disability in these year groups are currently achieving well.  Outcomes for pupils at the end of Year 6 are set to rise, although there are still too few expected to exceed age-related expectations. Nevertheless, these pupils are making good progress this year given their starting points in September. In English, pupils are developing a rich vocabulary and learning to produce a range of written work for different purposes. They can debate topical issues such as whether or not the United Kingdom should remain in the European Union. In mathematics, work in books shows that pupils with special educational needs or disability and the most-able pupils are making effective progress in their knowledge and skills, for example through their work on fractions as well as using decimals and percentages.  The most-able pupils in Year 6 have made good progress in mathematics, for example from working out fractions of digits in January 2016 to dividing fractions by whole numbers and solving problems using decimals and percentages using multi-step operations.  Some pupils know how well they are progressing thanks to the school’s new way of marking their work and providing feedback. They enjoy opportunities to peer-assess and self-assess, although this varies depending on which class they are in.  Despite the shortcomings in key stage 2, pupils are nonetheless adequately prepared for the next stage of their education. Early years provision is good  Provision in the early years is good. From their broadly average starting points, more pupils than in most schools reach a good level of development by the end of the Reception Year.  The early years leader has benefited from good training and guidance, particularly in supporting pupils’ communication, language and literacy skills as well as their mathematical development.  The progress of every pupil is closely monitored, and the assessment of pupils’ learning and development is now accurate and reliable.  There are currently no disadvantaged pupils in the early years who would attract additional funding.  As boys have not achieved as well as girls in the past, special topics have been chosen that engage boys’ interests, such as the current theme about superheroes.  Teaching typically reflects high expectations and pupils respond happily to the challenges set for them.  There is good teaching and learning of phonics. This helps pupils to learn to read and write new words with ease. One pupil wrote ‘The pig was in the bath covered in mud’. The class teacher emphasised the importance of pupils being able to read each other’s work, and this helped pupils to think carefully about how they shape their letters.  The majority of pupils can select from a range of different activities and are confident about speaking when in a familiar group. They are well behaved and know when certain behaviours are unacceptable.  Staff develop good links with parents; they undertake home visits and provide parents with information about what to expect when their child starts school. This helps pupils to settle quickly and to make a good start when they begin school.  Arrangements for ensuring the health and well-being of pupils are good. Staff conduct regular checks on the learning environment to make sure it is safe and clean.  Although the leadership and management of the early years is good, the progress made by different groups of pupils is not tracked closely enough. While the early years leader knows which pupils are at risk of underachieving, no groups have been formally identified in the early years action plan. Inspection report: Brighstone CofE Aided Primary School, 19–20 April 2016 7 of 10 School details Unique reference number 118192 Local authority Isle of Wight Inspection number 10000545 This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 165 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Daphne Brooke-Smith Interim headteacher Mark Snow Telephone number 01983 740 285 Website www.brighstoneprimary.org.uk Email address brighstonepri@lineone.net Date of previous inspection 28–29 February 2012 Information about this school  Brighstone is smaller than the average sized-primary school.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is below average. This is additional government funding for pupils who are looked after by the local authority, or are known to be eligible for free school meals.  The vast majority of pupils are White British. A smaller proportion than in most schools receive support for special educational needs. The proportion with a statement or education, health and care plan is above average.  The former substantive headteacher left the school at the end of the spring term 2016. The headteacher from a good school locally was appointed as interim headteacher at Brighstone for the summer term 2016.  The majority of the governing body are relatively new and many became governors at the beginning of this academic year. The chair of the governing body has been in post for 12 months.  At the time of this inspection, the school was interviewing prospective candidates for the position of headteacher for the school.  The school meets the current government floor standards.  There has been a high turnover of staff, particularly at key stage 2. Inspection report: Brighstone CofE Aided Primary School 19–20 April 2016 8 of 10  Information about this inspection  Inspectors observed pupils working in six lessons or part lessons. In addition, the lead inspector made shorter visits to six classes with the interim headteacher. Inspectors listened to pupils from Years 1 and 3 reading.  Inspectors looked at the work in pupils’ books and at displays around the school. The lead inspector spoke to parents informally at the beginning of the first day of the inspection.  Meetings were held with school leaders, staff and members of the governing body, including the chair.  The lead inspector spoke to a representative from the local authority and from the Diocese on the telephone.  A range of school documentation and policies were scrutinised. These included information about the progress made by pupils, the behaviour of pupils, the school’s procedures aimed at keeping children safe, special educational needs, the curriculum, attendance, minutes of meetings held by the governing body, the school’s improvement plan, its single equalities policy and its self-evaluation. Inspectors also scrutinised the school’s system for checking the suitability of staff to work with children and the school’s website.  Inspectors took account of the 41 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, as well as 15 questionnaires completed by staff and 21 by pupils.  Inspectors met with a couple of groups of pupils to seek their views about the school.  The behaviour of pupils was observed in and around the school including at playtimes.  This inspection began as a short one-day inspection; it converted to a full two-day section 5 inspection when at the end of the first day the lead inspector had not found enough evidence that the school was still good. Inspection team Gehane Gordelier, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Rosemary Beattie Ofsted Inspector Rebecca Greenhalgh Ofsted Inspector Inspection report: Brighstone CofE Aided Primary School, 19–20 April 2016 9 of 10 Any complaints about the inspection or the report should be made following the procedures set out in the guidance 'Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection. You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. 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