SUMMARY OF THE INSPECTION REPORT

If you would like to read the full report, it is available on the Ofsted web site.  Ofsted Full Report  You will require a programme called Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this.  If you do not have this on your computer you can download the programme from the Ofsted site.

 This document summarises the full inspection report, which is available from the school or the link above.

Nettlestone is a sound and improving school with many good features. The school provides a good education for its pupils because the quality of teaching and curriculum is good. Standards are in line with national expectations in Year 4 but are above those typically found nationally in Year 2. The school is well led and managed and gives satisfactory value for money.

•Pupils achieve well in Reception and Infant years because teaching and learning are good overall and very good in Year 2. Expectations of Year 4 pupils could be higher. • Standards are above nationally-expected levels in English, mathematics, science, ICT, religious education, history, geography, music and physical education by Year 2.

• Standards in writing are not good enough in Year 4 and pupils’ achievement in ICT, although satisfactory, is constrained by inadequacies in resources.

• The partnership of headteacher and assistant headteacher provides a strong educational direction to the school community.

• The school’s well-planned curriculum is enhanced by very good provision for extracurricular activities and for gifted and talented pupils.

• Very good provision for pupils’ social and moral development promotes well pupils’ personal qualities, and their attitudes, behaviour and relationships are good.

• The school focuses well on self-improvement, but does not consider sufficiently measures to demonstrate the effectiveness of its actions on pupils’ achievement.

• Parents do not always have a clear view of the work of the school, how well their children achieve and what they need to do to improve further.

Improvement since the last inspection is satisfactory.

Initially, the school was slow in addressing the key issues raised then, due to a period of uncertainty in its leadership and management. However, good efforts in the last two years, under the leadership of the current headteacher, have led to success in tackling the main points for action: coordinators are effective in their subject management roles and the school now makes effective use of assessment information in English and mathematics to raise standards. The school has made good progress over the last two years because management and governors are committed to improvement. The small numbers of pupils involved makes it unwise to make direct comparisons between standards achieved at the end of Year 4 or between national test results in Year 2 in different years.

Pupils’ achievement is satisfactory overall. Children in Reception achieve well and are on course to attain or exceed the early learning goals in all areas of learning by the end of the Reception Year. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 achieve well and standards by Year 2 are above those expected nationally in English, mathematics, science, ICT, history, geography, physical education, religious education and music. No judgements were made on standards in other subjects in Year 2. The achievement of pupils in Year 4 is satisfactory. Standards in English, mathematics, science, ICT and religious education are as expected nationally. Standards in history are above expectations. No judgements were made on standards in other subjects. In Year 4, achievement in writing is not matching that in reading and speaking and listening. Pupils’ achievement in ICT is constrained by the shortcomings in the school’s resources. Pupils with special educational needs are well supported and achieve well. More able pupils generally make good progress in lessons. The school provides very well for its gifted and talented pupils.

Pupils’ personal development is good. Their spiritual and cultural development is good and moral and social development very good. Pupils’ attitudes to learning, their behaviour and relationships are good. No incidences of bullying were observed. Attendance and punctuality are good.

Teaching is good overall and very good in Year 2, but is not as strong in Year 4 because the teacher does not always expect enough of the pupils. Teaching was at least satisfactory in all lessons seen with a high proportion of good lessons and some very good lessons. Teaching in English, mathematics and science is mostly good. Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and foster a positive ethos for learning. They plan lessons well and use a good range of teaching methods and resources. Pupils’ learning is enhanced by an effective team of committed and experienced support staff. However, the use of homework to support pupils’ learning is inconsistent. The school provides a good curriculum enhanced by a very good range of extra-curricular activities. Provision for gifted and talented pupils is very good and for pupils with special educational needs good. Assessment in English and mathematics is good but teachers do not give pupils sufficient guidance on how to improve further, particularly in writing. Pupils are well cared for and the school has effective measures to deal with any incidences of bullying or misbehaviour. Links with other schools are good. Links with parents are satisfactory but could be improved, if parents were better informed about pupils’ achievement and their targets for improvement.

The leadership and management of the school are good.

The headteacher and assistant headteacher give the school strong and effective educational leadership. The headteacher’s high expectations and drive are significant factors in promoting the continuing improvements to the school. Senior management is responsive to change and innovative in its approach, and management of the curriculum is good. An effective governing body provides good support and challenge and ensures that all statutory requirements are met. The school development plan is a good tool for improvement but the school does not use sufficient effective measures to evaluate how well it is doing. The school’s finances are managed well.

Most parents have satisfactory views of the school but some have concerns about bullying, homework and information about their children’s progress which the school has not fully addressed. Pupils like their school and feel that the school considers their views and ideas.

IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

• Raise standards in writing, especially in Year 4, and raise pupils’ awareness of what constitutes good quality writing, and involve them more in evaluating their own work.

• Ensure expectations of Year 4 pupils are sufficiently high to enable them to achieve well.

• Provide pupils with better access to I.C.T resources.

• Inform parents more about homework, pupils’ targets and the school’s success stories.

• Ensure that the school improvement plan has clear measures to evaluate the effectiveness of planned actions.