Newburgh Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of Newburgh Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 23 January 2019, I write on behalf of Her Majesty"s Chief Inspector of Education, Children"s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in January 2015.

This school continues to be good. The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. There have been considerable changes in the school, which has grown in size substantially over the last few years.

This expansion has been managed very well and the quality of education has been maintained during this time. You and the de...puty headteacher have only recently been appointed to your roles. You have both embraced your new leadership responsibilities and have quickly set about reviewing how the school could be improved further.

For example, you have involved middle leaders in reviewing the curriculum and identified „subject champions" to provide additional support to enhance the quality of teaching in all subjects. You have also appointed an experienced leader of special educational needs. Staff appreciate the support you provide them with and are particularly appreciative of your consideration towards their well-being.

Strong and positive relationships are apparent between all pupils and staff. Pupils are polite, behave well and are confident to share their learning with visitors. They are, rightly, proud of their school.

Your work to develop pupils" resilience is paying great dividends. Pupils are keen and willing to „have a go" in their learning and take responsibility for their own belongings and behaviour. Pupils show a high level of tolerance and respect to everyone in school.

They understand and adhere to the school"s value of „consideration" and say, „We need to be considerate to everyone." Parents and carers are highly supportive of the school. During the inspection, an exceptionally high number of comments were received that expressed overwhelmingly positive views of the school.

„Newburgh School very much lives up to its motto, “A caring school where every child matters”," is just one of many comments that summarises parents" views of the school. At the time of the last inspection, the school"s leaders were asked to improve the quality of pupils" handwriting and increase their opportunities to write at length. You have introduced a new approach to the teaching of handwriting.

This has been very successful and by the end of Year 6, pupils" handwriting is fluent, joined and presented very well. Pupils also have opportunities to write more sustained pieces of work, in a range of subjects. Teachers provide pupils with opportunities to develop their vocabulary through discussion and role play, which in turn help them to develop their ideas before writing.

Work in pupils" books shows that the majority of pupils, especially the most able, make good progress in writing. However, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do not make strong progress. Teachers do not have a clear understanding of what the additional needs of these pupils are.

This means that teachers do not provide pupils with SEND with work that supports their learning. This limits their progress. Leaders have not checked the progress of pupils with SEND well enough, so this underachievement has not yet been tackled.

Leaders were also asked at the last inspection to ensure that the most able pupils are fully challenged. In some subjects, such as reading and writing, the most able make strong progress. Reading books are of a high quality, challenging and develop pupils" reading skills well.

Work currently in pupils" books shows that the most able write to a high standard. You introduced a new approach to the teaching of mathematics with the aim of providing further challenge for the most able. Teachers ensure that pupils" basic mathematical skills are secured before moving them on to the next concept.

This effectively develops the learning of the majority of pupils and enables them to apply these skills in a range of ways, including in problem-solving and reasoning activities. However, some teachers do not spot when the most able pupils have grasped and secured the skills quickly. As a result, teachers do not move the learning of the most able forward well enough.

While the most able pupils make progress in mathematics, it is not as strong as it should be. Safeguarding is effective. You and other leaders ensure that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose.

You carry out all relevant checks on staff and volunteers before they work in school. Staff receive regular safeguarding training and you check that staff both understand and apply the school"s safeguarding policies and procedures. You provide staff with weekly updates, so that they are aware of any safeguarding concerns relating to pupils.

You also ensure that mid-day supervisors receive briefings each month to refresh their safeguarding knowledge and understanding, so that safeguarding is at the forefront of what they do. This work continually reinforces the importance of safeguarding to all staff, who are highly vigilant to any possible concerns about pupils. Staff report their concerns to you and other leaders and you take swift action to seek all relevant help, guidance and support to keep pupils as safe as possible.

You have developed a highly effective curriculum for personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education. This is taught very well and helps pupils to understand how to keep themselves safe in a range of situations. Pupils show a strong understanding of what to do if they feel threatened and are confident that they can say, „Stop it please," and what to do if they continue to feel at risk.

Pupils are also taught to recognise „early warning signs". This encourages them to talk to a trusted adult if they are worried. All pupils can confidently name five adults whom they would turn to.

This work is exceptionally effective at giving pupils confidence to seek help quickly when they feel vulnerable. Pupils say that they feel very safe in school. E-safety is taught throughout the curriculum and teachers remind pupils of safe internet use whenever the computers are in use.

Pupils have regular lessons on e-safety in every year group, which deepens and develops their understanding of how to use computers safely, including social media, over time. You have also taken time to educate parents about the importance of being highly vigilant when their children are using computers at home. Inspection findings ? Governors have a detailed understanding of the school"s strengths and provide you with a high level of challenge when they feel that improvements need to be made.

They are fully involved with the life of the school, visiting regularly to check that the information you provide accurately reflects the school"s performance. Highly experienced and skilled governors hold you and other leaders to account very well and make a strong contribution to the leadership of the school. ? You and other leaders have focused on designing a curriculum to enthuse and engage pupils.

A range of topics has been developed, matched closely to pupils" interests. Teachers plan the topics carefully to ensure that the full range of national curriculum subjects are taught in a creative way. The topics also encompass the teaching of English, with reading books and writing opportunities threaded throughout the learning.

• You and the teachers ensure that the topics cover the full range of knowledge pupils are required to learn from the national curriculum. However, teachers do not have a clear enough overview of the skills pupils have developed in previous year groups. Consequently, teachers do not plan to develop pupils" skills in subjects other than reading, writing and mathematics well enough.

• To further develop the quality of teaching in all subjects, you have reviewed how the middle leaders of different subjects monitor and further develop the quality of teaching. To enhance this leadership, you have also identified „subject champions" to model high-quality teaching in the subject. However, this leadership structure has only recently been introduced and the leaders require further support and training to help them to develop in their roles.

• The school provides pupils with a wealth of opportunities to broaden their learning experiences through extra-curricular and enrichment activities. This is a real strength of the school. Pupils take part in a wide range of sporting activities and musical opportunities, include the choir and orchestra.

Pupils gave many examples of the wide range of clubs, trips and visits in which they participate. Their joy and excitement about their work with the Royal Shakespeare Company shine through. Pupils talk enthusiastically about their study of Shakespeare and how they are currently practising their performance of „Romeo and Juliet".

Your work with the Royal Shakespeare Company as a lead associate school enables pupils to engage in high-quality dramatic performances that develop their confidence and love of literature. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: ? all teachers and staff who work with pupils with SEND understand their additional needs and plan carefully to effectively meet these needs both inside and outside the classroom ? the progress of pupils with SEND is checked carefully ? middle leaders and subject champions receive further support and training to develop their leadership skills to ensure that pupils" skills are developed progressively over time in all subjects ? teachers provide greater challenge for the most able in mathematics. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children"s services for Warwickshire.

This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Ann Pritchard Her Majesty's Inspector Information about the inspection I met with you, the deputy headteacher, two phase leaders and a group of governors. I talked to pupils about their learning, visited lessons across key stages 1 and 2 with you and the deputy headteacher, and looked at examples of pupils" work.

I observed pupils" behaviour before school and during breaktime. I spoke to parents and pupils informally throughout the day. I also met formally with a group of pupils.

I reviewed a range of documentation, including leaders" evaluation of the school"s performance, the school development plan, documents relating to keeping pupils safe, and the most recent information about pupils" achievement. I considered the 131 responses from parents to Ofsted"s online questionnaire and the 132 „free-text" comments from parents. I also considered 37 responses from the staff questionnaire and 169 responses from the pupil questionnaire.

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