Bradway Primary School

Bradway Primary School Inspection report

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Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 27–28 June 2012 Inspection number 377516 Unique Reference Number 107033 Local authority Sheffield Inspection number 377516 Inspection dates 27–28 June 2012 Lead inspector Anthony Kingston

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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 374 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Lisa Hibbert Headteacher Paul Stockley Date of previous school inspection 19 November 2008 School address Bradway Drive Sheffield S17 4PD Telephone number 0114 2363723 Fax number 0114 2352576 Email address headteacher@bradway.sheffield.sch.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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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 after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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

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Introduction

Anthony Kingston Peter Jones Additional Inspector Additional Inspector Peter Allen Additional Inspector

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. The team observed 18 lessons taught by 14 teachers and held meetings with groups of pupils, governors and staff. They listened to pupils read and observed intervention groups and assemblies. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line (Parent View) survey in planning the inspection, observed the school's work, and looked at documentation including school improvement plans, school and national data, school policies, monitoring records and procedures for the care and protection of pupils (safeguarding). They also analysed responses in the 179 questionnaires from parents and carers as well as those from pupils and staff.

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Information about the school

This is a larger than average size primary school. The very large majority of pupils are of White British heritage. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is well below the national average. The proportion of pupils supported by School Action Plus or with a statement of special educational needs is well below average. The school met the government floor standard in 2011, which sets the minimum expectations for attainment and progress in English and mathematics. There has been a period of disruption to staffing since the previous inspection, but staffing is now stable.

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Information about the school

The school has achieved the Healthy School status, Eco-School (silver), Sports Mark, Arts Mark (bronze) and International School Award.

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Information about the school

An after-school club on site is managed privately and was not part of the school’s inspection. It is subject to a separate inspection by Ofsted. 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 good school. The school is not outstanding because although teaching is good or better, it is not of a consistently high quality to bring about outstanding achievement. Under the headteacher’s strong leadership the school has a sense of pride, determination and drive which have raised teachers’ aspirations and improved pupils’ academic attainment.

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Key Findings

 Attainment by the end of Key Stage 2 is above average and the rate at which all groups of pupils make progress is good and has accelerated significantly to enable pupils to catch up in areas where there had been underachievement. Consequently, achievement is now good.

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Key Findings

 Teaching is good overall. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs receive well-targeted and effective support in order to ensure that they make progress similar to that of their peers. However, on occasions introductions to lessons are too long and the work set for the more-able pupils lacks appropriate challenge.

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Key Findings

 Pupils’ behaviour is good. They are friendly, courteous, get on well together and have good attitudes to learning. This helps to create a happy and calm school environment in which everyone feels safe. Attendance is above average.

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Key Findings

 The headteacher has successfully steered the school through a difficult time. His leadership of teaching and management of performance are rigorous. The role of middle leaders in the monitoring of teaching and learning is not yet fully developed. There are well-established systems to track progress, but some inconsistencies in the assessment of work, especially writing. The curriculum is outstanding. This makes a very positive contribution to improved achievement and pupils’ excellent spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching by:  ensuring that more-able pupils are appropriately challenged in all lessons and in all classes  ensuring that all teachers avoid lengthy introductions and allow pupils appropriate time to acquire and develop new skills  extending the role of middle leaders in the monitoring of teaching and learning and sharing the outstanding practice seen in some lessons  improving the moderation of attainment in pupils’ writing so that assessments are accurate and consistent with national standards.

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Achievement of pupils

Children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills and knowledge expected for their age. They make good progress in all areas of learning. A clear emphasis on the teaching of basic skills of literacy and mathematics in the Reception Year lays solid foundations for pupils as they move into Key Stage 1.

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Achievement of pupils

Reading is a priority throughout the school. The systematic approach to the teaching of linking letters and sounds is extremely effective in developing early reading skills. Pupils tackle unfamiliar words well and read with fluency and expression. Attainment in reading is above average at the end of Year 2 and Year 6. As pupils move through the school they develop a love of reading, tackling demanding books such as Wuthering Heights and The Hunger Games and show a mature understanding of the moral and ethical issues within them.

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Achievement of pupils

Until 2011 attainment in Key Stage 2 had been average since the previous inspection. This underperformance has been tackled successfully and attainment by the end of Year 6 is now above average. School assessment data and work in books indicate that the rate of progress is rapidly increasing, reflecting rigorous systems for holding teachers to account for the progress of their pupils. These systems also ensure that disabled pupils and those with special educational needs benefit from timely and often highly-personalised support and make the same rates of progress as that of their peers. However, more-able pupils do not always attain the standards of which they are capable because the level of work is not consistently sufficiently challenging.

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Achievement of pupils

The overwhelming majority of parents and carers who responded to the questionnaire considers that their children are making good progress and inspectors agree. A parent commented, ‘Children thrive at Bradway. It is a lovely, positive, and friendly school where each and every child is recognised as being good at something and is made to feel a special individual.’

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Quality of teaching

The quality of teaching is good and an increasing proportion is outstanding. The key features of the outstanding teaching are: the excellent relationships pupils have with adults; the highly-effective use of teaching assistants both in class and in leading small groups; and the consistently high quality and thoughtful questioning used to challenge and extend the learning of pupils of all abilities. Classrooms are welcoming, interesting and attractive environments which support pupils’ learning well. Teachers’ use of paired talking tasks promotes pupils’ speaking and listening skills and social development effectively through their sharing and negotiating of ideas.

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Quality of teaching

Pupils play an active role in lessons, working with teachers to decide the next steps in learning. They are fully involved in agreeing success criteria, which enables them to plan their work to meet a clear set of expectations. For example, in a mathematics lesson, pupils were highly motivated and worked, independently, exceptionally well as they solved numerical problems. Both the teacher and the pupils worked together to work out what was an acceptable answer and what was not. There was effective use of the sharing and valuing of pupils’ views. Literacy and mathematics books show that pupils in every year group fully understand learning objectives and are engaged in a wide range of activities, including applying their skills in real-life situations. Teachers generally plan activities that are appropriately challenging for different groups of learners by age and ability. However, sometimes, the work set for more-able pupils lacks sufficient challenge and pupils are kept

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Quality of teaching

for too long by the teacher’s lengthy introductions before being allowed to work independently.

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Quality of teaching

Marking is of good quality and provides helpful guidance. It is linked to a well-established system of self-assessment which encourages pupils to compare their own appraisal of their performance with that of their teacher. This encourages pupils to reflect on teachers’ comments and provides an effective platform on which pupils and teachers can discuss the next steps in learning and set future targets. Teachers are secure in their day-to-day assessments of pupils’ progress and plan lessons systematically based on an accurate appraisal of previous learning. However, not all teachers are sufficiently skilled at evaluating and moderating the level of a piece of completed work, especially in writing. Consequently, the process of moderation lacks consistency and sometimes underestimates a pupil’s performance when matched against national standards.

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Quality of teaching

Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are well-taught. Teaching assistants make a significant contribution to this highly-effective support when working with teachers in class and in extra support sessions. Staff, including the caretaker who is acknowledged by a number of parents and carers as being inspirational and committed to the work of the school, take every opportunity to thread spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development into their teaching and interactions with pupils. Virtually all parents and carers and pupils rightly agree that teaching is good. One pupil said, ‘The school’s motto is ‘Learning Through Enjoyment’ and that’s in everything we do. That’s why everyone enjoys coming to this school.’

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils’ behaviour and safety are good. The school’s high expectations, desire to develop independent learners, strong caring ethos and the fun pupils gain from lessons are key factors in pupils’ above average attendance and good behaviour. This is a view shared by almost all parents and carers. One parent whose comment was typical said, ‘I can only praise Bradway Primary School for its commitment, effort and enthusiasm towards my child’s development. It reflects his happiness and willingness to take part in everyday school life.’ Pupils typically make a very positive contribution to an atmosphere of mutual respect and consideration for others in this calm and orderly learning environment. They are thoughtful, polite and respectful towards their peers and all adults. They are cared for well and the excellent relationships across the school add to the positive ethos which permeates through all aspects of the school’s work. Pupils enjoy being a part of this community where effort,

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

success and tolerance are celebrated through the curriculum and the inclusive culture of the school.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Opportunities to take responsibility in class, in the playground and around the school provide purposeful ways to extend pupils’ moral and social development.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils feel safe in the school, a view overwhelmingly endorsed by parents and carers. Incidents of bullying of all types are rare. Pupils were keen to tell inspectors that they hardly ever happened and if they did the school dealt with them well.

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Leadership and management

The enthusiasm, drive, determination and resilience of the headteacher have contributed significantly to recent school improvement. Following a period of considerable lack of continuity in staffing, he has successfully developed a whole-school team which effectively promotes a shared ambition and determination for pupils to gain maximum benefit from their education. Leadership and management are distributed effectively across the staff so that everyone takes a key role in improving outcomes for pupils. However, the role of middle leaders in the monitoring of teaching and learning and sharing its best practice is not yet fully developed.

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Leadership and management

School evaluation is focused and accurate. Leaders, managers, and the governing body have a clear grasp of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and this supports planning, performance management and professional development well. As a result, although the school is still striving to increase the proportion of outstanding teaching, teaching and achievement have improved rapidly. The governing body champions the school. It provides effective strategic direction and is committed to the school’s improvement. It provides a good level of challenge to school leaders, informed by regular monitoring. The improved stability in staffing, the high morale, sustained increases in pupils’ achievements and the rapidly-improving picture of teaching indicate the school’s good capacity for improvement.

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Leadership and management

The innovative and exciting curriculum with its impressive range of extra-curricular activities is outstanding. This was commented on by many parents and carers with one saying, ‘The teachers go to an extreme amount of effort to ensure the children do learn through enjoyment.’ It is successful in capturing pupils’ interests and imagination, building on their previous learning and preparing them well for their next stage of education. It provides purposeful opportunities for pupils to transfer and master their reading, writing, mathematical and information and communication technology (ICT) skills to meaningful, real-life contexts. The excellent contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development was exemplified by the breathtaking and emotive performance of a range of songs by children and a choral group from Cuba in preparation for their performance together at The Crucible.

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Leadership and management

Parents and carers feel strongly that school leaders and staff promote pupils’ personal development and well-being effectively. The school tackles discrimination and is committed to promoting equality. The school site is well-maintained and arrangements for safeguarding of pupils are effective and 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 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.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

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 ).

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

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.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

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 up 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. 29 June 2012

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Inspection of Bradway Primary School, Sheffield S17 4PD

Thank you for the friendly welcome you gave the team and for being so polite and kind when we inspected your school. We enjoyed meeting you and seeing you at work and play. We could see how much you enjoy coming to school and how well you are doing. Schools should always provide memorable experiences and I know that we will never forget the sensational quality of your singing to accompany the musicians from Cuba with whom the school has made long-lasting friends. Thank you for letting us share this occasion with you.

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Inspection of Bradway Primary School, Sheffield S17 4PD

We found that Bradway Primary School is good. Both you and your parents and carers are right to be proud of it. These are the things that particularly impressed us.

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Inspection of Bradway Primary School, Sheffield S17 4PD

 Progress and attainment are good and rapidly improving. Teaching is good.  Your behaviour is good. You enjoy your lessons, work very hard and have very positive views about the school. You are thoughtful, polite and helpful.  The curriculum and after-school clubs give you lots of exciting opportunities to learn new things and to develop other skills and talents.  You and your parents and carers told us that you feel very safe at school. We agree. All adults in the school look after you very well and keep you safe. 

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Inspection of Bradway Primary School, Sheffield S17 4PD

To help your school to improve further we have asked the school to:  improve teaching so that even more is outstanding and to make sure that lessons provide more-able pupils with lots of challenge  help teachers to be better at judging your work, especially writing, so they know if it matches that of other children in England.

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Inspection of Bradway Primary School, Sheffield S17 4PD

I feel sure that you will help your school to do these things by continuing to work hard and helping your teachers in every way.

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to share with their children. It describes Ofsted's main

findings from the inspection of their school. 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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