School report

Discovery New School

Broadfield House, Crawley, RH11 9RZ

Inspection dates Overall effectiveness Achievement of pupils Quality of teaching Behaviour and safety of pupils Leadership and management

12 May 2013 Previous inspection: This inspection: Not previously inspected Inadequate Inadequate Inadequate Require improvement Inadequate 4 4 4 3 4

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires special measures. Too many pupils are in danger of leaving the school without being able to read and write properly. Unless this is put right quickly, pupils are unlikely to flourish in their secondary schools and future lives. Arrangements for assessing pupils progress in reading, writing and mathematics are inadequate. The headteacher lacks the skills and knowledge to improve teaching. Too much teaching is inadequate, and the headteacher has an over-optimistic view of its quality. Provision for pupils who have special educational needs is inadequate. Too many pupils are assessed as having special educational needs when this should not be the case. Some of them simply need better teaching. The school has the following strengths Pupils like their school and talk readily about their work. They think for themselves, make choices and develop independence. Teaching staff relate to pupils well. Senior leaders believe the school is far better than it is. They describe at length what the school is doing but do not check, systematically, whether or not the school gives its pupils a good enough education. Senior leaders are not giving the school a clear sense of direction. They have been far too slow to act on essential recommendations from a visit by the Department for Educations advisor, which took place over seven months ago. Governance is inadequate. Governors are not knowledgeable enough about the schools serious shortcomings. They do not have a clear view of the quality of teaching and pupils achievement. Governors do not challenge senior leaders to help the school improve.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors observed seven lessons, four of which were lengthy observations. All four teachers were seen at least once. The headteacher joined inspectors for parts of two lessons. Inspectors looked at pupils written work and talked to pupils in lessons and during lunch breaks. Meetings were held with all senior leaders and two governors, including the new Chair of the Governing Body. Inspectors took into account 50 responses to the online Parent View questionnaire. They talked informally to parents and held telephone discussions with a small sample. Inspectors also considered, alongside other evidence, issues raised through several complaints submitted to Ofsted prior to the inspection. Responses from 11 staff questionnaires were analysed. Inspectors looked at a range of documentation, including the senior leaders summary of the schools effectiveness, policy documents and minutes of the governing bodys meetings. No school improvement plan was available for inspectors to scrutinise.

Inspection team
Margaret Dickinson, Lead inspector Phillip Minns Her Majestys Inspector Her Majestys Inspector

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Full report
In accordance with the Education Act 2005, Her Majestys Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. Inspectors strongly recommend that the school should not seek to appoint newly qualified teachers.

Information about this school

Discovery New School is a small Montessori primary school. Montessori is a method of teaching that is based upon the principle that children have innate curiosity and interest in learning, and that by presenting the child with the right environment and materials, children should make progress and learn to be self-motivated and independent. The school opened in September 2011 as one of the first free schools in the country and the first Montessori free school. The school started with pupils from Reception to Year 3. Currently, the oldest pupils are in Year 4. The school will, in time, grow to the full primary age range, catering for pupils up to Year 6. The proportion of pupils who receive extra help in class (school action) is well below average. The proportion who need more help than this (school action plus) or who have a statement of special educational needs is well above average. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium (additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, those in the care of the local authority and those with a parent serving in the armed forces) is well below average. This school does not have any pupils who are in the care of the local authority or whose parents are in the armed forces. Just under half of the pupils come from White British backgrounds, with most of the remaining pupils coming from other White or mixed ethnic groups. The schools senior leadership team comprises the headteacher, the business director and the special educational needs coordinator.

What does the school need to do to improve further?

Improve teaching urgently so that none is inadequate and more is good or better by: providing systematic training for teachers to fill the gaps in their knowledge so that they feel confident to teach reading, writing and mathematics successfully making better use of reading sessions to support weaker readers, promote a love of reading and broaden pupils knowledge of books and authors improving the effectiveness of teaching assistants so that they make a strong contribution to pupils learning in every lesson making sure that writing skills are systematically planned and taught and that all pupils receive more help to improve their work, through marking, advice and short-term targets providing more specific support and training for teachers and teaching assistants on how to identify and support pupils who have special educational needs and those of lower ability. Improve pupils progress rapidly, particularly in reading and writing, by: raising senior leaders and teachers expectations of the standard of work pupils should aspire to for their ages and capabilities improving the quality of teachers plans so that they help all pupils to make good or outstanding progress in lessons and, particularly, over time

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making sure that assessments of what pupils know and can do are accurate and are used to plan the right work for all pupils, to help them thrive and flourish academically keeping parents much better informed about their childrens progress so that they are in a better position to support their learning at home. Urgently improve the effectiveness and impact of the senior leadership team by: strengthening senior leaders capacity to evaluate the schools strengths and weaknesses accurately and reliably, with a sharp focus on pupils learning and progress ensuring that leaders adopt a more strategic approach to the schools improvement, identify clear priorities and draw up an effective plan for rapid improvement providing training for the senior teachers in monitoring the quality of teaching and learning so that their judgements become accurate, and teachers are helped to teach good or better lessons ensuring that pupils progress in reading, writing and mathematics is formally checked at least six times each year, that assessments are accurate and that they are used well to promote good progress improving the organisation and management of provision for pupils with special educational needs so that these pupils have a well-organised, structured and tailored programme of support that everyone concerned knows and follows. Improve governance by: providing training for governors on how best to hold the schools leaders to account and provide a helpful degree of challenge for the senior leadership team making sure governors are fully aware of the strengths and weaknesses in teaching and achievement, know what is being done to improve the weaker aspects and are clear about whether or not actions are working making sure that the arrangements for the headteachers and teachers performance management meet statutory requirements writing clear procedures that are understood by all staff and assure impartiality, and ensure that they are followed should a complaint be made against a member of staff.

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Inspection judgements
The achievement of pupils is inadequate

The pupils who have been in school since it opened have not made enough academic progress. Parents who are concerned about their childrens progress, and want more information from the school on how well their children are doing, are right to be worried. Too many pupils are not reaching their potential and are not having the chance to benefit from a good education. The flaws in how the school checks pupils progress is holding back their learning, particularly in reading and writing. The gaps in pupils knowledge are not being identified and filled. Pupils work is not checked regularly enough to find out what they can or cannot do. Attainment in reading and writing is much lower than it should be. Inspectors found some assessments were over-generous. Pupils work in mathematics is better than their reading and writing. The schools approach is more systematic in mathematics and pupils do not have as many gaps in their learning in this subject. Pupils who have special educational needs do not receive enough support to help them learn and succeed. The plans for these pupils are not organised or communicated well enough to make sure that all staff are clear about what is needed for each pupil. Pupils in Year 1 have not made enough progress since they left Reception. The school has not made good use of the information provided by the local authority on these childrens attainment at the end of the Reception Year. Their attainment was below average in important areas. Leaders have not done enough to help them catch up this year. Pupils are not learning to read successfully. They are not developing a strong foundation in early reading skills because the teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds they make) is weak. Pupils struggle too much to read words they should find easy. Last year, a lower proportion of pupils reached the expected mark in the national reading check for six-year-olds than was the case nationally. This applied especially to girls. The Year 1 pupils who did not reach the expected standard have not been helped to catch up quickly while in Year 2. Teachers expectations of the quality of pupils writing are too low. Unfinished, untidy writing, with inaccurate spelling and incorrectly formed letters is the norm in too many pupils books. Pupils struggle to spell words they should know because their knowledge of phonics is not secure. Once a week, they write longer pieces and some of this work is of a better quality. Senior leaders have not identified potential gaps between the Montessori curriculum and aspects of English and mathematics on which pupils are tested at Year 2 and, in time, will be tested at Year 6. For example, pupils do not have enough opportunities to apply their mathematical knowledge and understanding in problem-solving situations. Teachers want to put their pupils in the best position for the national assessments but have not had enough training to do so. The school has not been open long enough to make comparisons between the Year 2 assessments from one year to another. The number of pupils supported through the pupil premium last year was very low and too small to make reliable statistical comparisons in English and mathematics.

The quality of teaching

is inadequate

Teachers have not received enough support from senior leaders to help them teach the aspects of reading, writing and mathematics with which they are less familiar. The gaps in teachers knowledge are preventing pupils from developing a good grounding in basic skills, particularly in literacy. Aspects of mathematics are also not being taught well. Pupils are not assessed carefully enough to find out the strengths and gaps in their skills and knowledge. Teachers have not had enough guidance on how to assess pupils work accurately. When inspectors looked at pupils books, or heard them read, the inspectors assessments of the pupils attainment often did not match those of the school.

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Teaching does not allow pupils opportunities to make choices for themselves, or to express their ideas and to experiment. In one lesson, all pupils in Reception and Year 1 had to make a hot air balloon in the same way. There was no option for pupils to put their own stamp on their designs, take an alternative approach or experiment with different materials. Teachers do not have a secure enough knowledge of how to teach phonics. Pupils who struggle to read different sounds and blend them together to read whole words do not get enough help. Reading sessions are not used well to encourage reading, support weaker readers or inspire those who are fluent to broaden their diet in reading. A lot of written work is undated and unmarked. Pupils do not get the help they need to improve their reading and writing skills. They are not sure how well they are doing in reading, writing and mathematics and what they should do to make their work better. Staff are caring towards pupils and there is a happy atmosphere in classrooms. Teachers are encouraging when talking to pupils on an individual basis. They listen to pupils views and preferences and are sensitive when pupils become demanding or distressed. When pupils make choices, within a structured situation, their learning is more successful because they are clear what they have to achieve. Some of the lessons observed during the inspection were too relaxed. Pupils were seen wandering without purpose for too long in some lessons, achieving very little. On one occasion, the pupils were sitting with coats on and book bags to hand, ready to go home, when the timetable showed 20 minutes of story time and practical life. Teachers have not received enough support to help them identify and teach pupils who have special educational needs successfully. Learning for these pupils is not sufficiently adapted to help them take part fully in lessons and succeed. This is particularly the case for pupils who have behavioural and/or emotional difficulties. Work is not adapted well enough for pupils who are less able, some of whom are inappropriately identified as having special educational needs. Teaching assistants are not deployed well enough. They are not well briefed by the teachers so that they are clear what is expected of them and how they should support pupils learning.

The behaviour and safety of pupils

require improvement

Pupils enjoy school and several told inspectors they preferred this school to their previous one. Pupils are polite and cooperative. They relate well to one another and show initiative. Some step in spontaneously to try and mediate when others find it hard to manage their own behaviour. Pupils take responsibility readily, clearing away plates, helping to serve food or loading the dishwasher at lunchtimes. Some unsettled behaviour was seen during lessons, not necessarily caused by the pupils who are known to have difficulty behaving well. Some pupils are over-boisterous at lunchtime and adults supervising play do not always step in early enough to defuse disagreements between pupils. Pupils are good at getting on with their work independently, particularly the older ones. However, there are times when pupils attention wanders for too long and they spend long periods of time not participating in lessons. This happened in a physical education lesson for Years 2 to 4, when too many pupils did very little. Pupils report that there is some teasing and unkind behaviour in school from time to time. They are clear about what happens if they misbehave Inspectors asked several pupils what happened on these occasions and all were clear that pupils were sent to the headteacher. Pupils attendance is broadly in line with the national average.

The leadership and management

are inadequate

Over a third of parents who submitted their views, through Parent View, disagree or strongly

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disagree that the school is well led and managed. These parents are right to have concerns. Inspectors could not identify any strengths in the schools leadership and management. The leadership of teaching is inadequate. Teaching is not checked regularly to make sure it is as good as it needs to be. The headteacher reported to inspectors that she does not have the skills to do this. Teachers responded well to feedback from inspectors and expressed appreciation for advice and suggestions. Leaders do not provide enough helpful feedback for staff on a regular basis. Performance management for staff is not fully in place and is a factor in the inadequate teaching. Senior leaders have not dealt with the weaknesses that were identified by an advisor from the Department for Education in September 2012. The key priorities from this report were to: improve pupils progress in reading and writing; improve teaching; and develop better systems for keeping pupils attainment and progress under review. None of these have been dealt with; all remain key weaknesses in the school. Senior leaders do not have the capacity to evaluate the schools effectiveness accurately. They are unclear about the schools strengths and weaknesses. Leaders describe at length what is happening, or about to happen. They do not have a diagnostic approach to checking whether or not actions have made a difference to pupils learning, progress or behaviour. There is no strategic plan to guide priorities and improve the schools effectiveness. Leadership of provision for pupils with special educational needs is inadequate. The plans for individual pupils, especially those who need help with their behaviour, are not good enough. Some pupils who are less able are identified as having special educational needs when better teaching would support their learning more effectively. The senior leaders were not well prepared for the inspection. The key documents and evidence that all schools are asked to provide for inspectors were very slow to materialise and had to be chased up several times. The governance of the school: Governors do not know the strengths and weaknesses of the school and have not been involved in checking its effectiveness. They have relied too much on the views of the headteacher, who has reassured them that the school was providing a good education with good teaching. This is not the case. Governors have not used the School Data Dashboard, available on Ofsteds website, to ask leaders essential questions about pupils attainment. They are not familiar with the pupils achievement, including how well different groups of pupils are performing. Governors have not made sure that proper arrangements for managing teachers performance are in place. The turnover in governors has been high, given the length of time the school has been open. This has left governors unable to assure inspectors that the headteachers performance management has been carried out in line with statutory guidance. The arrangements for safeguarding pupils are appropriate, with all necessary checks carried out and recorded. The governing body has not considered well enough the procedures that need to be in place for complaints.

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What inspection judgements mean

School Grade Grade 1 Judgement Outstanding Description An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the schools leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

Grade 2

Good

Grade 3

Requires improvement Inadequate

Grade 4

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School details
Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 137326 West Sussex 400337

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

Type of school School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Number of pupils on the school roll Appropriate authority Chair Headteacher Date of previous school inspection Telephone number Fax number Email address

Academy free school Maintained 49 Mixed 62 The governing body Mr Chris Clark Mrs Lindsay Snowdon Not previously inspected 01293 649320 Not applicable admin@discoverynewschool.org

Any complaints about the inspection or the report should be made following the procedures set out in the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsteds website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 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 childs 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.ofsted.gov.uk

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 Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council childrens services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to Subscribe. Piccadilly Gate Store St Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk Crown copyright 2013