Moat Hall Primary School

Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 9–10 February 2012 Inspection number 380828 Moat Hall Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 124191 Local authority Staffordshire Inspection number 380828 Inspection dates 9–10 February 2012 Lead inspector David Edwards

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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 Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 455 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Anthea Staples Headteacher Andrew Bramwell Date of previous school inspection 13 May 2009 School address John's Lane Great Wyrley Walsall WS6 6BX Telephone number 01922 857005 Fax number 01922 857005 Email address office@moathall.staffs.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 and observed 18 teachers who were teaching at the time of the inspection. Three lessons were observed jointly with the headteacher and two with the deputy headteacher. The inspectors also heard children reading, scrutinised pupils’ work, visited an assembly and undertook other activities in order to observe the pupils’ learning. They held meetings with parents and carers, groups of pupils, a number of staff and a member of the governing body. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection. The inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at school self-evaluation and planning documents, policies and procedures, as well as the school’s own analysis of pupils’ attainment and progress. A total of 111 questionnaires completed by parents and carers were received and analysed, as well as questionnaires from pupils and staff.

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Information about the school

Moat Hall is much larger than most primary schools. However, the school population has declined by almost one hundred pupils since the last inspection. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is broadly in line with the national average. The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage, with only a few minority ethnic pupils. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is above average. Pupils are taught in single age classes throughout the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stages 1 and 2. The Year 6 pupils are grouped by ability for mathematics lessons. The school has met the government’s floor standard, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress at the end of Year 6. It has gained a number of awards, including the Eco-School award, Healthy School status, Activemark, Dyslexia Friendly award and Investors in People. The previous headteacher retired in July 2011. The

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Information about the school

new headteacher has been in post since September 2011.

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Information about the school

There is a breakfast club on site which is managed by an independent provider and is inspected separately. 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

In accordance with section 13 (3) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s 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.

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Key findings

 The overall effectiveness of the school is inadequate because there is not enough good teaching to accelerate pupils’ progress and to ensure they achieve well. Children in the Nursery are not achieving as they should, although they make satisfactory progress in the Reception class. Pupils make satisfactory progress in Key Stage 1. Their progress slows in Key Stage 2, particularly in mathematics, because of weaknesses in the quality of teaching.

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Key findings

 The teaching is inadequate. There is too much variation in quality to ensure rapid improvement in outcomes for pupils. Some satisfactory and better teaching was seen during the inspection and this is beginning to accelerate pupils’ progress in Reception, Key Stage 1 and in Year 4. However, teaching in other year groups lacks pace and does not challenge more able pupils to achieve as well as they should. Teachers’ marking does not consistently guide pupils to improve further. Teaching and learning in the Nursery are inadequate.

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Key findings

 The behaviour of pupils is satisfactory. They know the school routines and pay heed to adults’ directions. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe and have an adult to turn to if they have any worries.

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Key findings

 Leadership and management are inadequate. Although the new leadership team has correctly identified the reasons for the school’s weaknesses in mathematics, they have not had time to secure the improvements to the teaching that are needed. Leaders and managers monitor teaching and learning, but current procedures lack rigour and subject leaders do not have a clear enough view of standards in their subject. These shortcomings in leadership were raised at the 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

time of the last inspection and have not been adequately addressed. Provision in the Nursery is inadequate. Leaders and managers have failed to act quickly enough to bring about improvements in provision which would accelerate children’s progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise achievement and accelerate pupils’ progress in mathematics, and ensure that pupils’ attainment reaches the national average by July 2013, by:  establishing greater consistency in the quality of mathematics teaching  improving the teachers’ knowledge of the subject  creating more opportunities for pupils to use and apply their mathematical skills across the curriculum.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Rapidly improve the quality of teaching and learning so that it is consistently good or better and has a positive impact on pupils’ achievement by:  ensuring that all lesson planning and teaching take account of the specific needs of all groups of pupils, especially those of higher ability  achieving consistency in the teaching and pace of learning in lessons to accelerate the progress of all pupils across the school  improving teachers’ marking across the school so that it guides pupils more effectively to understand how well they are doing and the next steps in their learning  teaching pupils the skills to evaluate the quality of their own work and that of others, so they are able to take control of their learning and assess their own progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the effectiveness of leadership and management at all levels by:  ensuring that rigorous and extensive monitoring of teaching leads to accurate evaluations that will have a direct impact on improving pupils’ learning and progress, particularly in mathematics  evaluating the impact of the curriculum in meeting the needs of all pupils  developing the skills and accountability of middle leaders and giving subject leaders opportunities to judge the quality of teaching and learning in lessons, so they have a clear picture of standards in their subject.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve provision in the Nursery class so that it meets the learning needs of the children and accelerates their progress by:  ensuring that the activities planned to improve the children’s basic skills of reading, writing and numeracy are better matched to their age and abilities  giving children experience of all the areas of learning indoors  ensuring that there are more accurate assessments in children’s ‘Learning Journeys’ to help staff build on what the children have already learned and to plan the next steps for improvement. 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

Children begin Nursery demonstrating the knowledge and skills which are broadly in line with those expected of three-year-olds. However, they do not make enough progress in the Nursery class because of inadequate teaching and the limited range of learning activities provided for them. Their progress improves in the Reception class because the tasks they are set better meet their needs. While attainment is broadly average by the end of Key Stage 1, too few more-able pupils achieve the higher levels of which they are capable.

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Achievement of pupils

In Key Stage 2 pupils’ progress slows, particularly in mathematics. The latest published national test results for the end of Year 6 show that pupils did not make enough progress and left the school with low attainment in mathematics, reflecting a similar trend in previous years. Although the school is taking steps to bring improvement these are yet to have an impact in mathematics because there is still some weak teaching. With the exception of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, all other groups of pupils underachieved at Key Stage 2.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils’ attainment in reading is broadly average by the end of Key Stages 1 and 2, but too few pupils, particularly boys, reach the higher levels. Attainment in English at the end of Key Stage 2 rose in 2011. However, the information the school collects about the pupils’ progress shows that too few pupils are currently making the progress expected of them. Although these data show some encouraging signs of improvement in pupils’ attainment in English at Key Stage 1 and in Year 4, pupils currently in Years 3, 5 and 6 are still not making fast enough progress in reading, writing or mathematics.

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Achievement of pupils

The achievement of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is satisfactory. The provision for them is well organised and managed carefully to meet their specific needs. Learning is broken down into small and manageable steps. Senior leaders pay appropriate attention to developing the skills that staff require to meet the needs of those pupils whose circumstances make them vulnerable. Pupils from all groups are writing more widely for a range of purposes and are rightly proud of what they achieve.

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Achievement of pupils

Most parents and carers who responded to the inspection questionnaire said their children were making good progress and that the school meets their needs. Inspectors found this not to be the case.

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Quality of teaching

The pace of some lessons is too slow and there is not enough good teaching to accelerate the pupils’ progress in mathematics in order to overcome the legacy of underachievement. This has led to inconsistencies in the pace of learning, particularly 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

in Key Stage 2, and the progress of more-able pupils across the school. A lack of consistency in approaches to teaching mathematics is compounded by weaknesses in subject knowledge. This was evident, for example, where Year 6 pupils were learning to reflect images of two dimensional shapes. Inaccurate teaching resulted in some confusion and inadequate progress. In English, the inspectors saw examples of teaching which was better adapted to meet pupils’ needs. For example, in an effective Year 2 writing lesson the teacher set a task that successfully extended pupils’ historical and literacy skills. The good pace in learning and effective challenge in the task ensured that most pupils made good progress. However, this is not common practice in all year groups, particularly in Key Stage 2.

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Quality of teaching

Children and teaching staff enjoy positive relationships in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Behaviour is good and children collaborate well. However, teaching and learning are inadequate in the Nursery because provision is poorly planned for children. It is not meeting their needs in mathematical or language and communication development. Teachers in the Nursery are not assessing accurately enough or using children’s ‘learning journals’ to full effect to set the next steps in children’s learning. There is a distinct improvement as children move into the Reception class, where teaching and learning are satisfactory and engage children in more effective and purposeful activities.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers ensure that pupils develop good social and communication skills by planning frequent activities in which pupils talk in pairs and small groups. As a result, relationships at all levels are strong and groups of pupils work well together. Most pupils enjoy learning at this school and generally take pride in their work. The teaching helps pupils, for example, to develop their appreciation of art. The teachers encourage the pupils to value other points of view, develop their self-esteem and reflect on important aspects of life and their learning. They learn about different faiths and cultures through religious education and from their extensive links with schools where pupils come from contrasting backgrounds to their own White British heritage.

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Quality of teaching

A majority of parents and carers and pupils in the school believe teaching is good. This was not the judgement of inspectors because the considerable variation in the quality of teaching results in too many pupils making inadequate progress and not reaching the levels of attainment they should, most notably in mathematics.

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Quality of teaching

While there were a small number of examples of effective marking that set out for pupils their next steps in learning, this is not the case throughout the school. Pupils are not being consistently shown how to assess and measure the quality of their own learning and progress through the use of grade descriptors to judge the success of their learning.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The safety and behaviour of pupils are satisfactory. Inspectors observed good behaviour during the inspection in classrooms, corridors, on the playground and in 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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Behaviour and safety of pupils

the dining hall. However, there were occasional instances of low-level disruption in lessons, particularly where the pace of learning was too slow and the level of challenge was not sufficient to hold all pupils’ attention or to accelerate their progress. A number of pupils in the school have individual needs in relation to their behaviour but since the arrival of the new headteacher the school is better managing their needs so as to minimise disruption to the learning of other pupils. The school also works in partnership with parents and carers, other agencies and organisations to support the needs of these pupils effectively. Exclusion rates at the school are low and records indicate that racist incidents are very rare. All pupils spoken to by inspectors during the inspection reported that bullying was not an issue in the school. The vast majority of pupils who responded to the Key Stage 2 questionnaire

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

felt that the school deals with all types of bullying well, should it occur. A small minority of parents and carers who responded to the questionnaire had concerns about behaviour in the school and occasional disruption to their children’s learning. An inspector spoke with parents and carers from different year groups and found they did not share these concerns. This mixed picture reflects the inspection’s overall findings.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils have a sound knowledge of how to keep themselves safe in all aspects of their daily life including using the internet and mobile phones. The vast majority of pupils say they feel safe in school and parents’ and carers’ views support this. The school is rigorous in pursuing the interests of all pupils whose circumstances make them vulnerable through its good partnership with parents and carers and outside agencies.

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Leadership and management

Leaders and managers are not demonstrating sufficient capacity to improve the school further. The new headteacher and acting deputy headteacher, with the satisfactory support of the governing body, have accurately identified the key priorities for improvement this year. There are some encouraging signs that the teaching is improving as a result of recent training, but the new leadership team has not had time to make sustained improvement.

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Leadership and management

The governing body understands that pupils’ achievement in Key Stage 2 is not as good as it should be and is aware of the actions the school is taking to bring improvement. The school monitors the quality of the provision for pupils but leaders and managers, particularly subject leaders, are not using the information they gather well enough to bring rapid improvement. Subject leaders are not being given opportunities to gain a clear view of standards within their subject. Furthermore, they are not evaluating the impact of actions to raise attainment and accelerate progress on the outcomes for pupils. The school has a comprehensive system for tracking the progress pupils make but this has not been used effectively enough to set challenging targets, particularly in mathematics and for more able pupils. Consequently, equality of opportunity is inadequate because all groups of pupils are not achieving as well as they should be by the end of Year 6. Systems to safeguard

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Leadership and management

the welfare of pupils meet requirements. 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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Leadership and management

The quality of the newly introduced curriculum varies considerably. While there are opportunities for pupils to develop their literacy and communication skills in a range of subjects there are not enough opportunities for them to develop their mathematical skills in a range of contexts. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and spiritual development is promoted satisfactorily through the curriculum. There are opportunities for pupils to work together and learn about their responsibilities through the personal, social and health education programme. However, the new curriculum has not been in place for long enough to accelerate pupils’ progress and raise their attainment. Leaders and managers have yet to evaluate its impact.

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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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Inspection of Moat Hall Primary School, Walsall, WS6 6BX

I visited your school recently with two other inspectors. Thank you for giving us your views, particularly those of you who missed a few minutes of their lunchtime to be with us and those of you who filled in a form to tell us what you thought about the school, and also for being so polite and helpful. You told us that you feel safe in school and are confident that the teachers and other adults can always sort out any problems that you may have. I would also like to thank your parents and carers for giving us their views about the school.

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Inspection of Moat Hall Primary School, Walsall, WS6 6BX

While there are some positive things happening, overall, the school is not doing well enough so we have placed the school in special measures. We have asked the headteacher, teachers and governors to make some urgent improvements. Another inspector will visit the school during the next year to check how well it is doing.

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Inspection of Moat Hall Primary School, Walsall, WS6 6BX

There are times when some of you do not do as well as you should, particularly in Key Stage 2. So we have asked the school to make sure that teaching always helps you to make good progress, especially in mathematics. We have asked your teachers to make sure that the pace of teaching is always fast enough, so that all of you, and particularly the most able amongst you, make the progress of which you are capable. We want the school’s leaders to measure more accurately how well things are working, to see which are proving to be successful. We have also asked your teachers to ensure that the marking of your work consistently tells you how well you are doing and what you need to do to improve. The teaching in the Nursery is not of a high enough standard to ensure that children do as well as they can. We have asked the school leaders to improve teaching and learning in the Nursery class.

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Inspection of Moat Hall Primary School, Walsall, WS6 6BX

Your headteacher, the staff and the governing body want the school to get better. You can all help too by continuing to come to school as often as you can and trying as hard as you can in all of your lessons. Thank you once again for helping us.

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Inspection of Moat Hall Primary School, Walsall, WS6 6BX

David Edwards 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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