Belbroughton CofE Primary School

Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 1–2 March 2012 Inspection number 379299 Belbroughton CofE Primary School and Nursery Inspection report

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Unique reference number 116782 Local authority Worcestershire Inspection number 379299 Inspection dates 1–2 March 2012 Lead inspector Derek Aitken

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

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Type of school Primary School category Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 152 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Bridget Nisbet Headteacher Derek Higgins Date of previous school inspection 20 November 2006 School address Bradford Lane Belbroughton Stourbridge DY9 9TF Telephone number 01562 730208 Fax number 01562 731319 Email address office@belbroughton.worcs.sch.uk 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, work-based learning and skills training, 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

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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’.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.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.

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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

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days’ notice. Inspectors visited 20 lessons taught by nine teachers. Scrutinies of pupils’ work in English and other subjects were carried out. Inspectors listened to two groups of pupils in Key Stage 1 reading. Meetings were held with groups of pupils, members of the governing body and staff. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection. They observed the school’s work, and looked at documents, including policies and procedures relating to the safeguarding of pupils, self-evaluation records and assessment information. The inspectors analysed responses to questionnaires from 79 parents and carers, 52 pupils and nine staff.

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Information about the school

Belbroughton CofE Primary School and Nursery is smaller than most primary schools. The vast majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is low. The percentage of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is below average. The school provides for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage in a unit. This comprises one part-time Nursery class which operates in the morning and one Reception class.

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Information about the school

The school meets the current government floor standard, which sets minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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Information about the school

The school has had three different headteachers since its previous inspection. The previous headteacher and deputy headteacher left the school in July 2011. The present headeacher was appointed acting headteacher in September 2011 and confirmed as substantive headteacher in January 2012. Three other teachers also joined the staff in September 2011.

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Information about the school

An afternoon nursery (First Steps) and a before- and after-school club (Little Gems) operate on the school site. These are managed by independent providers and are subject to a separate inspection. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

 This is a satisfactory school. Its overall effectiveness is not good because there are inconsistencies in pupils’ achievement.  Pupils achieve satisfactorily throughout their time in school. They leave school at the end of Year 6 with attainment that is broadly average. Reading skills are taught well and progress is notably better in reading than in writing and in mathematics, where opportunities are missed to extend pupils’ skills.  Good relationships between staff and pupils promote a purposeful climate for learning. Some of the lessons observed had good elements, such as focused questions which moved pupils’ learning on and imaginative approaches which sparked pupils’ enthusiasm and engaged them fully in their learning. Overall, teaching is satisfactory rather than good because lesson planning and the use of both marking and oral assessment are not sharp enough to ensure all groups of pupils, particularly the more-able, are fully challenged.

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Key findings

 Pupils behave well. Children in Nursery and Reception become confident and develop close relationships with their peers and adults. Pupils are very keen to help each other and collaborate well in shared activities. They are exceptionally polite and courteous to visitors. Pupils, and their parents and carers, feel that they are well cared for and that the school is a very safe place in which to learn. The school works successfully to main attendance at above-average levels.  Leaders, under the firm and purposeful guidance of the new headteacher, have made a satisfactory start in tackling weaker areas of provision. More robust strategies and monitoring systems have been put in place but these are not embedded in the school’s work and governors do not yet fully hold the school to account. Best practice in teaching is not yet shared fully across the school. Other leadership roles and responsibilities for monitoring the effectiveness of

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Key findings

the curriculum are not fully established.

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Key findings

Schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory may receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise pupils’ achievement by:  spreading good practice in teaching across the school  ensuring that teachers consistently use prior assessment information to match work precisely to pupils’ different capabilities and, in particular, provide sufficient scope to challenge more-able pupils to do their best  making better use of oral assessment and marking to create more effective opportunities for pupils to take responsibility for improving their learning  developing a wider range of opportunities for pupils to practise their writing and mathematical skills in other subjects  ensuring that the school’s tracking and assessment systems are fully  integrated with provision to provide highly effective support for pupils’ progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by:  developing the roles and skills of all leaders to enable them to monitor closely the impact of new initiatives across the school and the quality of provision in their curricular areas  developing the capacity of the members of the governing body to hold leaders firmly to account for pupils’ achievement.

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Achievement of pupils

Children’s attainment on entry to Nursery is broadly in line with national expectations and sometimes higher in their personal and social skills. All children make sound progress and enjoy the fun activities, but sometimes opportunities are missed to move their learning on quickly.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils’ attainment in writing and mathematics is on a par with levels expected nationally at the end of Year 2 and Year 6. In all years pupils are typically working one term in advance of their national peers in reading. Pupils benefit from good opportunities to extend their skills, for example in well planned daily reading sessions in which parents and carers actively participate, so that by the end of Year 2, their attainment in reading is above average. Middle-attaining pupils read accurately with some fluency and expression showing due regard to punctuation. Less-able pupils also read accurately and demonstrate a secure understanding of phonic strategies for sounding out words. Pupils in both groups sometimes are less confident about identifying successful strategies for working out the meaning of unfamiliar words. By the end of Year 6, pupils’ attainment in reading is similarly above average.

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Achievement of pupils

All groups of pupils make sound progress in lessons. Disabled pupils and those who Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Achievement of pupils

have special educational needs are supported satisfactorily and also make sound progress. They make faster progress when faced with more challenging tasks. For example in a good Year 1 English lesson, these pupils devised an appropriately wide range of expressive vocabulary to complete their ‘wanted poster’ descriptions. Most parents and carers who responded to the questionnaire are pleased with their children’s achievement. A few responses expressed concerns that their children were not being fully stretched and this is confirmed by inspection evidence. On a few occasions, teachers do not provide pupils with sufficient high-quality guidance before they embark on their independent activities. This can result in pupils making mistakes in their written work. For example, pupils struggled in constructing complex sentences, although some of their writing was lively in style. Work in mathematics is sometimes over-reliant on worksheets comprised of calculation questions. These limit

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Achievement of pupils

opportunities for pupils to record their findings in different ways or practise higher order skills such as estimation. Opportunities for pupils to practise their writing and mathematical skills, for example through unaided work, are not consistently well planned throughout the curriculum. This reduces possibilities for pupils to deepen their understanding of concepts or rules in new contexts.

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Quality of teaching

Pupils and nearly all parents and carers who responded to the questionnaire stated that pupils were taught well. Inspection findings do not support this view, because there is not enough good teaching to enable all groups of pupils to achieve their full potential, particularly in writing and mathematics. Nursery and Reception children are enthusiastic learners but sometimes opportunities are missed to move their learning on faster. In all lessons teachers’ good expectations for pupils’ behaviour foster secure relationships and pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural development. The curriculum provides a satisfactory framework for teachers’ planning. Occasionally, in the better lessons, teachers make expert use of questions to probe pupils’ thinking and well-planned lessons provide good opportunities for pupils to work imaginatively. This was demonstrated in a good Year 5 mathematics lesson where pupils expertly

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Quality of teaching

used polyhedron shapes to test out the validity of results they had assembled from a visualisation exercise. Often, insufficient use is made of prior assessment information to plan lessons to stretch all groups of pupils, especially more-able pupils. Sometimes, this results in pupils spending too much time on less demanding, unvaried tasks which limits their opportunities for sharing findings and exercising independence and creativity. Questioning is sometimes not targeted carefully enough to engage more reticent pupils and build on pupils’ responses to extend their understanding. On these occasions assessment and/or success criteria are not exploited well enough to develop pupils’ skills briskly, challenge all groups of pupils and help them improve.

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Quality of teaching

Teaching assistants support less-able pupils, disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs satisfactorily, but on a few occasions the quality of their input is restricted by weaknesses in joint planning. One-to-one sessions are more consistently effective in enabling these pupils to work out things for themselves, acquire confidence and improve the standard of their work. Teachers mark pupils’ Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Quality of teaching

work conscientiously but feedback is often not precise enough, nor linked consistently to pupils’ new targets, to provide constructive opportunities for pupils to be actively involved in reflecting on the quality of their work.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils’ hardworking approach and positive attitudes are important factors in their enjoyment of school. Children settle well in Nursery, quickly forging trusting relationships with each other and the staff. This encourages them to listen carefully, act considerately and participate harmoniously in activities, such as joint decision- making. Parents and carers are unanimous in their views, as expressed in their responses to the questionnaire, that their children are safe and well looked after in school. Pupils concur with these opinions and have a strong sense that the school is a cohesive community, promoted for example through the house system and lessons where older and younger pupils have the opportunity to work together. Pupils concentrate well and are keen to help each other learn well, for example in group tasks. On a few occasions pupils are passive when methods or questioning lack the variety to sustain their focus.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils hold favourable views on the new behaviour code and respect its fair balance between sanctions and rewards. They are self-disciplined nearly all of the time and respond quickly to the staff’s guidance and expectations, as reflected in the absence of any forms of exclusion in the school’s records. These records also indicate that, on a very few occasions, individual pupils act thoughtlessly, but that they quickly regret their actions. Pupils report that bullying is very rare, with no homophobic or racist intent. They add that it is the norm for pupils to be respectful, behave well and act safely and that there is minimal disruption to their learning in lessons. Pupils acquire a good understanding of matters that might endanger their personal safety as these factors are effectively explored in the curriculum, including in Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) lessons. There are satisfactory opportunities for pupils to

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

contribute more widely to school life, for example as councillors, eco-representatives and as playground buddies. Pupils’ sense of well-being in school is reflected in their consistently above-average attendance.

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Leadership and management

School self-evaluation, conducted largely by the headteacher, is acute and unsparing in its analysis. Rapid action has been taken to tackle the dip in pupils’ achievement in 2011 and weaknesses in monitoring systems and in provision. More robust procedures, including a new tracking system, have been implemented to monitor the progress of all groups of pupils. Tighter systems have been established to enable staff to assess pupils’ progress more accurately to provide a secure base for lesson planning. Pupils, including disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, have been provided with group and personal targets, and some pupils are using these in lessons effectively to support their learning. Initiatives which have recently been implemented include regular lesson observations and staff training. These have been led effectively by the headteacher to support inexperienced staff Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

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Leadership and management

Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Leadership and management

and to develop teachers’ skills in assessment and in teaching writing. These well- considered actions have been well received by parents and carers, staff and pupils. They have increased the staff’s accountability for pupils’ progress, but are at too early a stage to have had more than a limited impact on raising pupils’ achievement.

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Leadership and management

The school promotes equalities and tackles discrimination satisfactorily as reflected in outcomes for pupils’ achievement. The curriculum fosters pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development satisfactorily but some opportunities are missed to develop pupils’ creativity and independence and links with other communities at home and abroad are not firmly established. The school development plan, which is solidly based on the headteacher’s initial analysis of provision, supports the school’s satisfactory capacity for improvement well. Governors have taken sensible decisions, at a time of transition and considerable changes in staffing, in support of the headteacher in his restructuring of school leadership. They have not yet fully acquired the capacity to hold leaders firmly to account for pupils’ achievement. Other senior staff, leading new teams, have an accurate overview of strengths and

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Leadership and management

weaknesses. They have not yet acquired the skills and experience to monitor pupils’ achievement sharply and the impact of new initiatives within their curriculum areas. The school’s arrangements for safeguarding meet current requirements.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 46 46 8 0 Primary schools 8 47 40 5 Secondary schools 14 38 40 8 Special schools 28 48 20 4 Pupil referral units 15 50 29 5 All schools 11 46 38 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ). The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools. Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attendance the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school’s efforts to encourage good attendance.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils’ punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school’s overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils’ freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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DY9 9TF

I would like to thank you for your help when the inspection team visited your school recently and for sharing your views with us, including through the questionnaires you completed. Yours is a satisfactory school with some very positive features in its work.

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DY9 9TF

 You are well cared for by the staff.  There is a strong ‘family feeling’ in the school. Older and younger pupils very much enjoy the chances they have to work together, for example during paired reading sessions.  Pupils behave maturely and act safely. This gives everyone the sense of feeling valued and respected. You very much enjoy helping each other out in lessons.  The headteacher is putting in place good plans to improve the school.

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DY9 9TF

You make satisfactory progress in your learning and, by the end of Year 6, you reach broadly average standards. We have asked the staff to do a number of things to help you make faster progress. The following are the most important.

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DY9 9TF

 Match work more carefully to your abilities to ensure that all of you, especially those pupils who find learning easier, are stretched to do your best.  Make better use of assessment to help you improve your work.  Give you more chances to develop your writing and mathematical skills in other subjects.  Make sure senior leaders, including governors, check very carefully that the important things they do to improve your achievement work well.

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DY9 9TF

You can help by continuing to work hard, especially in writing and mathematics.

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DY9 9TF

Derek Aitken Lead inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s 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 .

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