Earby Springfield Primary School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date 14–15 March 2012 Inspection number 384849 Earby Springfield Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 119251 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 384849 Inspection dates 14–15 March 2012 Lead inspector Jane Millward HMI

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This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 which gives Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills (HMCI) the authority to cause any school to be inspected. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 129 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Alison Laycock Headteacher Dawn Liversidge Date of previous school inspection 2 March 2010 School address Bailey Street Earby Barnoldswick Lancashire BB18 6SJ Telephone number 01282 843598 Fax number 01282 843585 Email address head@earby.lancs.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 scho ol 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

Jane Millward Doreen Davenport Her Majesty’s Inspector Additional inspector

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with one day’s notice. Eleven lessons were observed, taught by eight teachers. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection. Meetings were held with groups of parents and carers, pupils, representatives of the governing body and members of staff. Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a range of documentation, including the school development plan, pupils’ work, progress data, minutes of governing body meetings, attendance data and safeguarding records. Questionnaires for parents and carers are not normally distributed for inspections conducted under section 8 of the Education Act 2005, unless inspectors have specific reasons to request that the school does so.

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Information about the school

Earby Springfield Primary is smaller than most primary schools. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is lower than the national average. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is lower than the national average and no pupils speak English as an additional language. The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is below average. The majority of pupils are from a White British heritage. The school meets the current floor standard.

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Information about the school

At the time of the last full inspection in March 2010, the school was placed in special measures. This was the fifth monitoring 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

 In accordance with section 13(4) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires special measures. Earby Springfield is a satisfactory school. It is not a good school because pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching are in need of some further improvement, although the school has strengths in relationships between staff and pupils and the care it provides for pupils, including those whose circumstances may make them vulnerable.

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Key findings

 Pupils’ achievement is satisfactory. Overall, pupils’ attainment is in line with national expectations. Most pupils, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make satisfactory progress.

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Key findings

 The quality of teaching is satisfactory. In some lessons, pupils are actively involved in their learning and work matches their abilities, with teachers using questions effectively. However, in other lessons, more-able pupils are not challenged and expectations are not high enough. Pupils are developing ways to assess their own learning but this is at an early stage. Marking of pupils’ work is inconsistent across the school. The curriculum is developing with an increasing focus on making learning relevant and purposeful. Opportunities to develop pupils’ understanding of cultural diversity are limited.

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Key findings

 Senior leaders are united in their approach to improve outcomes and are focused on raising achievement for all pupils, at the same time as continuing to support their personal development and well-being. There are systems in place to monitor and evaluate the school’s actions to improve performance and teaching, but these are not rigorous enough. Middle leaders are beginning to impact on their subject areas but this is not consistent across all areas of the curriculum.

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Key findings

 Attendance rates have improved and are above the national average. The majority of pupils are well behaved. They are polite and courteous and incidents of racist behaviour are extremely rare. Schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory may receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise attainment and rates of progress in reading, writing and mathematics by: - ensuring the more-able are sufficiently challenged - ensuring pupils consistently know how to improve in all subjects through effective marking of their work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and learning by: - ensuring teaching leads to pupils making good progress in lessons - engaging pupils in a relevant and creative curriculum, extending their knowledge of different cultures - developing ways for pupils to assess their own work - linking work to enrichment activities, including visits to support pupils’ learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of leadership and management by: - involving middle leaders in all subjects and that their monitoring leads to improving pupils’ outcomes - further improving monitoring and evaluation procedures.

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Achievement of pupils

Improvements in the quality of teaching have had a positive effect on achievement and pupils enjoy learning. Through a more interesting curriculum they find learning fun and are keen to succeed. The progress made by pupils across the school is satisfactory and they leave the school with attainment that is broadly in line with national averages. Girls attain better than the boys. Children start school with skills typically below those expected. Progress is satisfactory in the Early Years Foundation Stage and through Key Stage 1 pupils continue to make satisfactory progress. The school has implemented a range of strategies, including staff training and interventions to support pupils in need of additional help to catch up.

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Achievement of pupils

When pupils leave Year 6, attainment is average, with a considerable increase in the number of pupils who achieved the higher level in 2011. Current data show recent improvements are expected to be sustained. In the past, too many pupils have made too little progress, but due to a greater focus on the raising of achievement, progress is improving. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make satisfactory progress, and their progress in writing is stronger than in other areas. They appreciate the support provided for them and acknowledge it aids their progress in lessons. Attainment in reading is broadly in line with national expectations at both Key Stages 1 and 2. Pupils say they enjoy reading and a systematic programme to teach phonics (the sounds that letters make) is in place. Pupils show an awareness of how to decode words, but younger pupils show little awareness of authors, and say they would like teachers to read stories to them more

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Quality of teaching

Pupils enjoy learning due to a redesigning of the curriculum. There is a focus on making learning more purposeful and relevant. Their interests are taken into account and satisfactory progress is made in a range of skills. Pupils comment that learning is fun due to the topic work and they take pride in their work. Parents who spoke to inspectors are pleased with the progress their children make. Where good teaching was observed, it was characterised by well-targeted questions to ensure pupils move on in their learning. This provides a good level of challenge but also encourages pupils to develop their thinking skills. High expectations ensure pupils are keen to succeed and pupils are encouraged to be independent learners; for example, in a Year 6 science lesson pupils devised their own branching keys to classify leaf types. Most pupils are resilient and motivated learners. They are increasingly encouraged to

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Quality of teaching

assess their own work and teachers are developing ways to support this, although this is not used consistently. Teachers work hard to engage learners through whole- class teaching. For example, in a Year 3/4 lesson pupils were encouraged to understand the author’s use of language to describe characters. However, in some lessons the teacher directed the learning too much, which inhibited the more-able pupils from making as much progress as they might.

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Quality of teaching

The quality of provision is developing in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Children are increasingly encouraged to take responsibility for their actions and cooperation between children is improving. There is a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activities, and some children show perseverance with their activities. However, opportunities are sometimes missed to develop children’s knowledge, skills and understanding. The way progress is recorded is in its infancy, but the Early Years Foundation Stage leader has developed plans to ensure learning journeys become a valuable document to show the capabilities of each child in all areas of learning.

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Quality of teaching

Marking of pupils’ work is inconsistent across the school. Some effectively guides pupils in how to improve their work, especially in literacy. However, this is inconsistent across all subjects and often marking simply affirms the efforts of pupils.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Attendance is above the national average and pupils are punctual. Furthermore, rates are consistently improving. The school has worked to reduce absence rates and has successfully introduced a range of strategies to encourage pupils to attend school regularly and on time.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Generally, pupils show positive attitudes to learning at all stages, showing consideration to their peers and to adults in class and around school. They generally listen well to one another and respond to activities such as ‘talking partners’ which contribute well to their learning. Where incidents of poor behaviour occur they are managed effectively by members of staff. Pupils behave safely and look after one another. For example, the older pupils ‘buddy’ the younger pupils at playtimes, joining in with shared games. Racist incidents are rare and the number of pupils who are persistently absent has declined. Pupils demonstrate an awareness of risk and unsafe situations. They have a well-developed awareness of internet safety and know about different types of bullying. Parents and carers report their children feel safe in school. Behaviour is managed well by staff in lessons and there is little disruption to learning, due to good support for more-challenging pupils. There are

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

clear rewards and sanctions in place to tackle behavioural issues, although these are more effective in Key Stage 1. The headteacher monitors behaviour logs and analysis is shared with the governing body.

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Leadership and management

A consistent approach to following agreed policies and procedures ensures the school has a satisfactory capacity to improve. This is combined with improvements since the last inspection, especially in levels of pupils’ achievements and an improved picture of teaching and learning. Improved tracking systems, implemented by the headteacher, ensure all staff have an accurate view of pupils’ progress and attainment. This results in staff being more able to quickly intervene when pupils start to fall behind. A raft of interventions has been introduced and the headteacher monitors the impact of the support.

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Leadership and management

The creative curriculum is in its early stages of development. It takes note of pupils’ interests and aims to stimulate learning through relevant and meaningful topics. There are clear plans to develop the curriculum further, including developing writing skills through a cross-curricular approach. Currently, cultural development is limited. A range of enrichment activities are in place, including a variety of after-school clubs. However, there are limited opportunities to visit different localities and places of interest to enhance pupils’ learning.

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Leadership and management

The governing body is aware of the strengths and weaknesses within the school and is holding senior leaders to account. Its members monitor school performance and develop themselves professionally by accessing training. They fulfil their statutory duties, and are developing links between teachers and governors to ensure all governors are kept up to date on school performance.

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Leadership and management

Middle leaders are enthusiastic and keen to impact on outcomes in their subject area. While some work is effective in improving English and mathematics, this is not consistently applied across all subjects. Senior leaders have devised a cycle for monitoring and evaluation purposes. This includes observing lessons, learning walks and scrutinising pupils’ books. While they provide an insight to strengths and weaknesses, they are not sufficiently focused on further improving school performance. Leaders promote equality of opportunity satisfactorily and all groups are identified and their performance carefully tracked. This is resulting in the school closing the gap in attainment for some groups.

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Leadership and management

Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted satisfactorily. Although there are opportunities to engage in musical and sporting activities, these are not well linked into the curriculum, and pupils have limited understanding of their own heritage. Pupils show respect for cultural diversity, but the school does not enable them to engage more deeply in the richness of cultures. The school has focused on ways of developing links with parents, including a new informative website and detailed newsletters. Parents are appreciative of the open lines of communication and the school has systems to canvass their views. The school’s arrangements for safeguarding pupils meet statutory 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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Inspection of Earby Springfield Primary School, Barnoldswick, BB18 6SJ

On behalf of the inspection team I would like to thank you for the very friendly welcome you gave us when we inspected your school recently. As you know we came to see how well you were doing and what you said helped us with our findings.

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Inspection of Earby Springfield Primary School, Barnoldswick, BB18 6SJ

Earby Springfield is a satisfactory school and no longer requires special measures. From conversations with you it is clear that you feel safe in school and you know who to turn to if you have a problem. We agree that your teachers take good care of you. Your achievement is satisfactory but we can see you are starting to attain better in your lessons and are beginning to make faster progress. You also attend school regularly and are punctual.

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Inspection of Earby Springfield Primary School, Barnoldswick, BB18 6SJ

It is our job to find out how schools can do even better. We have asked your headteacher, teachers and the governing body to work on three things in particular:  to raise attainment and improve your progress in reading, writing and mathematics  improve the quality of teaching and learning  improve the quality of leadership and management.

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Inspection of Earby Springfield Primary School, Barnoldswick, BB18 6SJ

We know that you will want to help in every way you can, so please continue to try hard in lessons and continue to attend school regularly. We wish you every success in your education.

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Inspection of Earby Springfield Primary School, Barnoldswick, BB18 6SJ

Jane Millward Her Majesty’s 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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