Highley Community Primary School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 2–3 July 2012 Inspection number 380645 Highley Community Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 123371 Local authority Shropshire Inspection number 380645 Inspection dates 2–3 July 2012 Lead inspector Simon Blackburn

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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 212 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Simon Frost Headteacher Marion Jones Date of previous school inspection 23 June 2010 School address Grasmere Drive Highley Bridgnorth WV16 6EH Telephone number 01746 861541 Fax number 01746 862288 Email address admin.highley@shropshirelg.net 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 teaching and learning in 18 lessons. A total of 10 teachers were observed teaching. Inspectors held meetings with parents and carers, members of the governing body, groups of pupils, staff and a local authority representative. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line Parent View survey in planning the inspection. They observed the school’s work and looked at records of pupils’ progress, safeguarding documentation, behaviour records and planning files. Inspectors analysed the responses of 23 parents and carers to the inspection questionnaire.

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Information about the school

The school is of similar size to most other primary schools. The vast majority of pupils come from a White British background. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals has increased since the last inspection and is now above average. The proportion of disabled pupils or who have special educational needs or are supported by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average. The school did not meet the government’s current floor standards in 2011, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

 This is a satisfactory school. Although now improving quickly, it is not yet good because teaching is not consistently good enough to secure good enough behaviour and progress for all pupils across the school. 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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Key findings

 Children make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage and satisfactory progress in other year groups. Attainment on leaving Year 6 is improving and is now average.

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Key findings

 Teaching is satisfactory. The main learning activity in most lessons is planned well to meet the needs of pupils of different abilities. However, pupils often spend too long on whole-class activities at the start of lessons before moving on. Pupils enjoy their learning, particularly when engaged by open-ended, problem-solving tasks that develop their independence, but these are not used consistently across all classes.

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Key findings

 Pupils’ behaviour is satisfactory and they say they feel safe in school. The management of behaviour has improved as a result of the introduction of a new school policy, but this is in its early stages. Pupils’ attitudes to learning are satisfactory. They concentrate well when given challenging work and problem- solving activities. However, their attention wanders when tasks are not adapted sufficiently to meet their needs.

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Key findings

 Leadership and management are satisfactory. The school gathers comprehensive data on pupils’ progress that provides a clear picture of the effectiveness of provision across the school. Leaders have an accurate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. The management of teachers’ performance is satisfactory. Leaders have taken effective actions to tackle inadequate teaching. The results of monitoring are not yet being used consistently to ensure that satisfactory teaching is improved 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

to a good or better quality because the steps to success identified in the school development plan do not focus sufficiently on pupil outcomes.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 By July 2013, ensure more consistently good teaching improves pupils’ achievement from satisfactory to good by:  increasing pupils’ independence and resilience through the consistent use of open-ended problem-solving tasks that inspire and motivate  ensuring short, sharp, focused introductions to lessons  ensuring that the steps to success identified in the school development plan are always focused on pupils’ outcomes.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure pupils are always fully focused on their learning by improving the consistency with which the new behaviour policy is applied.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils join Reception with knowledge, skills and understanding that are below the level expected for their age. They make good progress during the year so that their attainment is close to average by the time they start Year 1. For example, a strong focus on the way pupils put sounds together to read words coupled with skilful questioning ensured good progress in a Reception class literacy lesson. While pupils make good progress in some other year groups this is not consistent, leading to a picture of satisfactory progress overall. Attainment was low and progress was significantly below the national average for pupils leaving Year 6 in 2011, but leaders have worked hard to improve teaching. Current attainment in Year 6 is average, including in reading, and pupils are making good progress.

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Achievement of pupils

While parents and carers say that their children achieve well, the learning observed by inspectors in most lessons was satisfactory. Good and better learning was observed when pupils were given the freedom to explore problems independently or in groups. In a Year 2 mathematics lesson, for example, the teacher engendered high levels of engagement and enjoyment by ensuring that explanations were very brief so that pupils could spend most of their time attempting well-focused tasks to find fractions of numbers. In some other lessons, it took too long for pupils to move on to such activities so their progress was more limited.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils generally read with confidence and enjoyment. Attainment in reading in Year 2 is average. Pupils talk enthusiastically about the stories they are reading. One pupil, having learnt the sounds for a new word, then repeated the word several times under his breath to memorise it. Older pupils make satisfactory progress in reading 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

to reach average levels of attainment by the time they leave the school in Year 6. They have a good grasp of the sounds that individual letters make but, in some cases, struggle to combine these when sounding out unfamiliar words.

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Achievement of pupils

All groups of pupils are now making satisfactory progress. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make better progress in English than mathematics because there is more additional support provided for them in reading and writing. Those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals make similar progress to other pupils in all year groups and the gaps in performance between them and pupils nationally are closing.

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Quality of teaching

Parents and carers feel that their children are taught well. Inspectors found that most teaching is satisfactory, with some good teaching promoting faster progress in some classes. Lessons are consistently well planned to provide a main activity that meets the needs of pupils of different abilities. Quite often, further changes are made to meet the needs of individuals who are making faster or slower progress than expected once the activity is underway. In a Year 5 lesson, a group of pupils struggling with a percentage discount question in mathematics were stopped and taken back two steps to a simpler question to build their confidence before moving on, successfully, to more complex questions. However, in other lessons, teachers talk for too long before allowing the pupils to get to grips with the work. Pupils’ independence and resilience are not developed consistently because they are not given enough opportunities to develop their own ideas and challenge themselves

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Quality of teaching

Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage is good. It provides pupils with stimulating activities that capture and hold their attention, leading to good progress. In all years, pupils receive good quality, accurate feedback on their work. Pupils appreciate the additional challenge of an extension question for homework and turn quickly to read the teacher’s comments on getting their books back. Teachers consistently follow up on corrections so that pupils have good reinforcement of what they have learnt and do not make the same mistakes again. Questioning is used effectively to deepen pupils’ understanding. The curriculum provides a suitable number of opportunities for pupils to develop their social skills through group work.

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Quality of teaching

The management of behaviour in the classroom is not consistent across classes. This leads to some low-level disruption and limits pupils’ moral development when teachers do not check frequently enough that they are concentrating. Well-trained teaching assistants provide effective support to disabled pupils and those with special educational needs. The support is more effectively targeted to the needs of individual pupils in English, where individual education plans are better focused, than it is in mathematics. Most pupils read books that are well matched to their ability and provide suitable challenge, but in some lessons, class reading books are too easy for a number of the pupils with the result that their skills are not sufficiently developed. 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

Behaviour over time is satisfactory. Pupils are polite and courteous but behaviour at play times can sometimes be boisterous. A large proportion of parents, carers and pupils feel that behaviour is good at the school. The school has a new behaviour policy, “Good to be Green”, that is proving effective in improving behaviour but it is in its early stages of implementation. There are good examples of some parents and carers successfully using the policy at home. Pupils’ ability to work independently and to demonstrate resilience has been a focus of staff training and remains a priority for the school because pupils remain too reliant on the teacher or other adults when facing problems with their learning.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils say they feel safe at school and parents and carers agree with them. Exclusions are used rarely and the school’s records show that there are very few serious incidents of misbehaviour. Pupils, and some parents and carers, raised isolated concerns about bullying involving name calling and exclusion from play. All agree that such incidents are dealt with quickly so they do not recur. The full-time family support worker and the partnership with Woodlands Special School Outreach provide good specialist and behavioural support to the school as well as helping to improve attendance and reduce lateness. Attendance is above average.

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Leadership and management

The headteacher, supported by the deputy headteacher and other senior leaders, provides a clear vision which is shared by all staff. Staff are responding well to raised expectations of their performance and welcome the professional dialogue which accompanies monitoring activities. The governing body provides good support and challenge to the school and is well aware of its strengths and the challenges it faces. The governing body ensures that safeguarding arrangements meet statutory requirements. Improved achievement in all year groups is evidence of the school’s capacity to improve.

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Leadership and management

Professional development has focused on planning tasks that closely match pupils’ needs and this has proved successful. The school development plan identifies the key priorities for improvement and is written in a style that can be used by any interested party but the steps for success are not always sufficiently focused on pupil outcomes. Middle leaders are effective in their roles and strongly support senior leaders in their shared vision for improvement. The leadership of the Early Years Foundation stage is good, having a clear focus on the key area for improvement of writing, which is developing strongly.

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Leadership and management

Leaders at all levels ensure that a broad and balanced curriculum offers satisfactory opportunity to enhance pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. It promotes equality and tackles discrimination satisfactorily. Pupils visit a school in Birmingham as part of a cultural link with a very different community and the school staged a mock Jewish wedding so that pupils could compare and contrast the experience with the Royal wedding.

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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 Highley Community Primary School , Bridgnorth , WV16 6EH

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

Thank you for the warm welcome and the help you gave us when we inspected your school. We thoroughly enjoyed our two days at the school and meeting all of you. You told us that the school is getting better all the time and we agree. Your school is providing you with a satisfactory education. You work hard and make steady progress, leaving school with knowledge, skills and understanding that are similar to pupils in most other schools. You make good progress when you are given challenging tasks to work on in small groups or on your own. We have asked your teachers to make sure this happens more often. Your teachers make every effort to give you work that is just hard enough for you and you told us that you like being made to think hard. We have asked your teachers to give you the chance to do this more quickly in lessons so that you spend more time learning new things.

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

Almost all of you who filled in the questionnaire told us that behaviour is usually good in the school and that you thought the new “Good to be Green” scheme was working well. We agree, but we have asked your teachers and other adults in the school to do their best to use it the same way in every class and around the school. We hope you will help with this by always doing your best to follow the very good school rules that you showed us.

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

Your headteacher is leading the rest of the staff well. Staff enjoy working at the school and are really keen to make it a better place for you to learn in. The headteacher and your teachers know how well you are doing in each of your subjects and they let you know through good marking that gives you a good idea about how to improve. The school governors work well with the school’s leaders to make sure the school continues to improve.

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

Simon Blackburn 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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