Lawley Primary School and Nursery

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 17–18 May 2012 Inspection number 395395 Lawley Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 123377 Local authority Telford and Wrekin Inspection number 395395 Inspection dates 17–18 May 2012 Lead inspector Susan Williams

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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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 389 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sandra Price Headteacher Carol McQuiggin Date of previous school inspection 15 January 2008 School address Off Arleston Lane Lawley Telford Shropshire TF4 2PR Telephone number 01952 388410 Fax number 01952 388429 Email address carol.mcquiggin@taw.org.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 observed 21 lessons or part lessons including phonics sessions (where pupils learn letter patterns and the sounds they represent). Three of the lessons were joint observations with members of the senior leadership team. Meetings were held with the headteacher, members of the governing body, staff and groups of pupils, and two meetings were held with local authority representatives. Inspectors took account of the responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection. They observed the school’s work and looked at a wide range of documentation, including the school self-evaluatiuon document, the development plan and associated documents, data the school has collected on pupils’ attainment and progress, procedures for keeping pupils safe and records of pupils’ behaviour. Inspectors scrutinised 112 questionnaires completed by parents and carers, together with those returned by

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Information about the school

Lawley Primary School is larger than most primary schools. Most pupils are of White British heritage with a very small proportion from minority ethnic backgrounds. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs, is below average. The number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is less than half that seen nationally. The number of pupils on role has risen since the previous inspection. The school meets the government’s floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress. The headteacher was appointed in 2009 having previously held the positions of associate headteacher and acting headteacher in the school. There is a pre-school and out-of-school-hours club which are not managed by the governing body and so were not inspected.

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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 significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than in all the circumstances it could reasonably be expected to perform. The school is therefore given a notice to improve. Significant improvement is required in relation to the leadership and management of the school.

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Key findings

 This is not a satisfactory school because the inadequate impact of leadership and management has led to a decline in pupils’ achievement, in the quality of teaching, and in behaviour and safety since the previous inspection. The management of performance has not been robust enough to hold teachers to account for the progress of pupils.

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Key findings

 The school is providing an acceptable standard of education for its pupils because, although pupils’ achievement has declined, it is satisfactory. Pupils’ attainment is broadly average at the end of Year 2 and Year 6.

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Key findings

 Teaching over time is satisfactory. Information on pupils’ achievement and in books shows they make satisfactory progress. A range of teaching from good to inadequate was seen on the inspection. Teachers do not always plan work to ensure all pupils are challenged. Sometimes the pace of lessons is slow because teachers talk for too long so pupils have limited time to develop their learning independently. In the best lessons pupils are all challenged with activities well matched to their needs so they make good progress. The quality of teachers’ marking is variable.

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Key findings

 Pupils are respectful of each other and adults. They show sound attitudes to learning. Routines are established to which pupils respond well, ensuring an environment in which they feel safe. Pupils are not all positive about behaviour; they feel that sometimes there is poor behaviour although they are confident the school deals with it.

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Key findings

 The leadership of teaching and learning is inadequate. Teaching is monitored but leaders do not focus closely enough on the impact teaching is having on learning, and staff are not given specific enough priorities to work on to improve. Targets for pupils’ attainment are not challenging enough.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the leadership of teaching and learning so that pupils achievement and the quality of teaching are at least good by:  giving teachers sharply focused priorities to improve their practice  focusing on the impact on pupils’ learning when observing teachers  using a range of evidence to evaluate the quality of teaching over time.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ progress to good by ensuring:  teachers match work in lessons more closely to learners’ needs so that all pupils are challenged  lessons proceed at an appropriately fast pace  when teachers talk to classes they do so efficiently and effectively so pupils have opportunities to develop their learning independently  teachers’ marking is developmental and makes the next steps in learning clear for the pupils.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Drive school improvement rigorously by establishing robust quality assurance processes, setting challenging targets for all pupils and monitoring pupils’ progress regularly to ensure they make good progress.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils’ achievement is satisfactory overall. Children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills broadly at the levels found nationally for their age. They make satisfactory progress and attainment is broadly average on entry to Key Stage 1. Children are supported to develop their early reading skills well in Reception with a systematic phonics programme. Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 in reading, writing and mathematics has been broadly average over the last three years. Attainment at Key Stage 2 in reading, writing and mathematics was above average three years ago and declined to be broadly average last year. Some pupils underachieved in mathematics. The inadequate progress last year in mathematics has been addressed and pupils now make satisfactory progress in mathematics across the school.

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Achievement of pupils

Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make satisfactory progress. Their learning is satisfactory and at some times good in lessons, and they take a full part with others in the class. Work in lessons, in books and the school’s information on pupils’ progress confirms that there is little difference in the achievement of different groups.

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Achievement of pupils

Most parents and carers who responded to the questionnaire are positive about the progress made by their children. Inspectors found that pupils make satisfactory progress. The school’s information on pupils’ progress shows some classes and year groups making better progress than others. The same variation was evident in the lessons observed. Pupils’ learning was satisfactory overall in the lessons seen, but there was a clear difference between lessons planned to take full account of pupils’ varied needs, and those which were not. In less effective lessons, pupils were not fully challenged. Some finished the work early, limiting their progress, or had too little scope for independent learning. Better lessons saw pupils given work that challenged all abilities. For example, in a Year 6 mathematics lesson pupils applied mathematics in real life situations, through a range of activities matched to their level

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Achievement of pupils

of ability. Pupils were very engaged and enthusiastic, and learnt well.

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Quality of teaching

Teaching over time has a satisfactory impact on pupils’ achievement. Strengths of teaching include the good relationships between staff and pupils. Pupils remain positive and do not disrupt learning even when they do not know what to do or when work is too easy and they finish it early. In the best lessons teachers use assessment well to match work to pupils’ needs, the pace of learning is quick, pupils are enthusiastic about their learning and have opportunities to work in pairs or groups. In a Year 2 mathematics lesson the teacher captured pupils’ imagination with the use of an alligator puppet’s mouth to demonstrate ‘more than’ and ‘less than’ on a number line; pupils then investigated this further through a range of activities planned for their different abilities and all made good progress. Pupils told inspectors that the best lessons are those that allow them to organise their work and to solve

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Quality of teaching

A very large majority of parents and carers who responded to questionnaires thought their child was taught well. Inspectors found teaching is less effective where teachers give long introductions which continue even when some pupils are ready to move to more active learning. Work in a number of lessons is planned for the middle-ability pupils in the class, and so the expectations of all pupils are too similar. Pupils' work is marked regularly and in the best practice there are developmental targets for pupils to improve their work, but this is not consistent across the school.

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Quality of teaching

Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are given effective support by teaching assistants. They ensure the pupils engage in appropriate activities which enable them to make satisfactory and in some cases good progress. In a Year 6 mathematics lesson the teaching assistant skilfully supported pupils through the well-planned activities. She used good questioning to challenge pupils and to develop their understanding, so they progressed well.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The school has created an ethos which promotes satisfactory attitudes to learning and an atmosphere that allows pupils to feel safe. Pupils respect each other and adults. They are polite and courteous and support each other well. Appropriate expectations of standards of behaviour in and out of the classroom result in an orderly environment. However, pupils do not always have enough opportunities to develop good independent learning skills or take responsibility for improving work in response to teachers’ marking. Pupils play together well in the playground and know how to keep safe, such as by not using the tyre area when it is wet. Routines at the end of break work well. When teachers put their hands up this signals pupils to line up quietly: little further direction is needed from staff and pupils do this very sensibly. The very large majority of parents and carers who responded to questionnaires thought behaviour was good in school and the large majority of pupils

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils told inspectors that there was very little bullying and that all forms of bullying, including prejudice-based bullying, are rare. They are confident that if it does occur it is dealt with immediately. School records over time showed instances of bullying are few and dealt with appropriately by the school, so they do not recur. The proportion of fixed-term exclusions is low. Pupils take part in weekly yoga sessions which they say gives them time to reflect. Almost all parents and carers who responded thought their children felt safe in school. Most pupils said they felt safe in school although some raised concerns about the new road outside the school. Attendance has improved and is now above average. Pupils are punctual to school and to their lessons.

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Leadership and management

The effectiveness of leaders and managers is inadequate because the governing body and senior leaders have not ensured quality assurance processes are applied rigorous enough to maintain the high standards from the previous inspection. Pupils’ achievement has declined and there is variability in the quality of teaching, including some that is inadequate. The impact of performance management and professional development is therefore inadequate. In monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of teaching, school leaders do not draw on a wide enough range of evidence, nor link judgements about the quality of teaching with its impact on pupils’ achievement. As a result, judgements on the quality of teaching over time are overgenerous and records of monitoring are not precise enough about how teachers can improve their teaching.

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Leadership and management

Leaders and managers have introduced new systems to track pupils’ achievements but targets are not challenging enough. Progress towards the targets is not monitored tightly enough to hold staff to account for ensuring pupils make good progress. Due to the decline in achievement, teaching, and behaviour and safety from the previous inspection, school leaders have not demonstrated the capacity for sustained improvement.

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Leadership and management

Leaders and managers at all levels are committed to promoting equality of opportunity and the school has successfully ensured that there is no difference in the progress of different groups of pupils. However, the weaknesses in target setting limit the school’s effectiveness in ensuring good progress for all. The school meets all statutory requirements for safeguarding children; staff are well trained and policies and procedures are kept up to date.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum is satisfactory because it provides an appropriate framework for teaching and contributes to pupils’ satisfactory achievement. Strengths include the wide range of trips, visitors and events such as the skip-a-thon and world record dance attempt that took place during the inspection. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is effectively promoted across the curriculum, particularly in arts events, lessons and assemblies. Regular opportunities to reflect in assemblies, class worship sessions and in yoga support pupils’ spiritual development well.

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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 54 42 2 2 Primary schools 14 49 32 6 Secondary schools 20 39 34 7 Special schools 33 45 20 3 Pupil referral units 9 55 28 8 All schools 16 47 31 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 to 31 December 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

Floor standards: the national minimum expectation of attainment and progression measures.

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

Inspection of Lawley Primary School , Telford , TF4 2PR

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

Thank you for being so polite and friendly and contributing to the inspection of your school. We talked to a number of you in lessons and in the playground, looked at your questionnaires and met with some of you for more detailed discussions to find out what you thought about your school. We heard about how you take part in a wide range of interesting activities such as the skip-a-thon and the world record dance attempt that were happening during the inspection.

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

You make satisfactory progress to reach standards similar to pupils in schools nationally by the time you leave. However, the progress made by pupils has declined in recent years and we think that your school can do better. We have therefore given it a notice to improve. We have asked your headteacher, teachers and governors to strengthen the way that the school is led and managed. Inspectors will return to check on the school’s progress. The inspectors will expect to see that:

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

 work in lessons challenges all of you to make at least good progress in learning

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

 lessons progress at a lively pace and you have opportunities to develop your own learning

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

 teachers’ marking is clear about what you need to do to improve your work

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

 school leaders set challenging targets for you all and check regularly to see how well you are doing and how well you are being taught.

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

You can help your teachers by working hard and focusing on how to improve your work in school.

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

Susan Williams 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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