Accrington Spring Hill Community Primary School

Spring Hill Community Primary School Exchange Street, Accrington, Lancashire, BB5 OJD

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 There is too much variation in the quality of teaching, which ranges from good to inadequate, and as a result pupils’ progress and achievement are uneven across the school.  Pupils, especially the more able, are not given enough opportunities to use and apply their number skills in solving mathematical problems.  Pupils’ learning and progress across Years 1 and 2 does not build sufficiently on the good progress made by children in the Reception classes.  The school does not ensure that the arrangements for teachers to improve their teaching skills are applied rigorously enough.

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The school has the following strengths

 Teaching is consistently of good quality in the Reception and Year 6 classes.  The headteacher provides strong, very enthusiastic and determined leadership and has the full support of staff. Iinformation about pupils’ progress is being used increasingly well by senior leaders to help improve achievement but the full impact of this is yet to be seen.  Children in the Reception classes make good progress in all areas of learning.  While attainment remains below the national average by the time pupils leave, the gap between their attainment and what is expected nationally is narrowing.  Pupils enjoy school, they behave well and are kind and very considerate to others.  The school’s procedures to improve attendance have been highly effective, resulting in attendance now at least in line with the national average.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 22 lessons of which one was a joint observation with the headteacher. Additional short visits to lessons were carried out to look at important issues such as how well pupils get on with their classmates and how well they behave.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils (randomly chosen), members of the governing body, senior staff and with parents. A meeting was held with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors heard pupils read.  Pupils’ current work and available work and assessment from the previous academic year were scrutinised, including tracking information about the rate of pupils’ progress.  Insufficient responses were available from the on-line questionnaire (Parent View), but the school provided information from its own survey of parents’ views about the school and the team looked at letters from parents.

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Inspection team

Geoffrey Yates, Lead inspector Additional inspector Patricia Davis Additional inspector Chris Maloney Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is above average.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average.  A very large majority of pupils is from the Pakistani ethnic group.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium funding is above average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards,which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The deputy headteacher left the school in the summer to take up an appointment as a headteacher of another school. A temporary deputy headteacher is presently working at the school.  The school has achieved awards such as Healthy School status.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching to be consistently good or better and hence make pupils’ progress at least good throughout the school by:  using information gained from assessments to plan lessons that ensure that all pupils make good progress  ensuring questioning is used well with lessons that moves learning forward at a brisk pace  providing more opportunities for pupils in mathematics and other lessons, especially for the more-able pupils, to use and apply their numeracy skills in solving mathematical problems  making better use of marking and target setting so that pupils have a clearer understanding of how to improve their own work  sharing the good teaching practice that is in place.  Improve learning and progress in Years 1 and 2 by ensuring the work pupils are asked to do builds effectvely on their prior learning in the Reception classes and in all lessons staff pick up on any pupils’ lack of understanding and address it promptly.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensuring school leaders,including the governing body, make staff performance management arrangements rigorous so that they impact more effectively on the quality of teaching and learning.

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Inspection judgements

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

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Inspection judgements

 Pupils say they enjoy school and when asked to work together do so with great enthusiasm and are keen to help each other. The majority of pupils are keen to read and read widely. Inspection evidence shows that younger readers are developing confidence in using phonic skills (the understanding of the sounds letters make).  Throughout the school, there are examples of good learning where pupils are motivated by the enthusiastic and creative staff who encourage them to take an active role in their learning. However, in lessons where teachers are not clear what they want pupils to do and pupils have to listen for a substantial period of time, pupils lose interest and their progress slows.  Children start school in the Reception classes with skills well below those expected for their age, especially in speaking English. They make good progress but by the time they enter Year 1 they are still just below the levels expected. Children develop good social skills, happily

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Inspection judgements

working and learning together. For example, in one lesson very ably led by a teaching assistant, they demonstrated tremendous enjoyment in joining in with an action number song.  Pupils’ progress is uneven across Key Stage 1 because teachers’ planning fails to ensure that pupils’ skills are built on effectively and the quality of teaching pupils receive varies from inadequate to good. As a result, since the previous inspection, attainment at the end of Year 2 has declined. Current assessment information shows a slightly improving picture.  Pupils’ learning and progress across Years 3 to 6 is in line with expectations overall, but accelerates in Year 6 because of good teaching. Attainment in English and mathematics has been below average for a number of years but the gap between what is expected nationally and what pupils actually achieve has narrowed in the last two years. The school’s own data,

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Inspection judgements

confirmed by inspectors’ lesson observations and a scrutiny of work, shows that this trend continues this year with outcomes likely to be close to the national averages.  Pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium and those who are disabled or have special educational needs make good progress from their starting points because of the good support they receive.  Pupils, especially the more able, are not given enough opportunities to apply their numeracy skills in solving mathematical problems or to use them well in other subjects. In some classes not enough emphasis is placed on this aspect of their learning.

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Inspection judgements

The quality of teaching requires improvement

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Inspection judgements

 While there are strengths in teaching, especially in the Reception classes and in Year 6, teaching is not as strong in other classes. However, there are some examples of good teaching in other year groups. For example, pupils in a Year 5 literacy lesson were inspired by the incisive questioning and encouragement by the teacher to help them to develop a good understanding of gathering information from news bulletins.  The teaching of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is of good quality. Teaching assistants provide good support throughout lessons.  Reading skills are taught well.  Where teaching is weaker, activities are not matched well to the different abilities of pupils, questioning is not used well and teachers talk too much. This leads to some lack of purposeful engagement and a lack of pace to the lessons. There are lost opportunities when teachers do not intervene quickly enough to address misconceptions.

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Inspection judgements

 In mathematics, the work pupils are asked to do at times lack challenge, sometimes because learning objectives lack clarity and because pupils, especially the more able, are not given frequent enough opportunities to use and apply their numeracy skills in problem-solving activities or in meaningful contexts in other subjects.  The importance of developing pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness is evident in most classrooms. Teachers and teaching assistants consistently model and promote good social skills and pupils respond well.  Marking in books and some of the targets set are not always helpful, especially in topic and science books. In some classes, marking in English books provide pupils with some good guidance but comments in mathematics books, while encouraging, contains little guidance about how pupils might progress.

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Inspection judgements

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

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Inspection judgements

 One pupil’s views sums up the view of many, `this school is kind, helpful and caring, we all feel part of the school’.  From a good start in the Reception class, pupils develop good social skills and very positive attitudes to learning as shown by their attendance, which is at least in line with the national average.  Pupils are well behaved because they understand what is required and respond well to the school’s ethos based on a respect for others and the importance of caring for others. Behaviour over time is good as shown by a scrutiny of the school’s records.  Pupils respond well to the many and varied opportunities the school provides for them to take responsibility. The pupils say they feel proud to carry out jobs, such as selling fresh fruit to their classmates at playtime or being a member of the school council.  Pupils say they feel very safe in school and understand the potential dangers of the internet.

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Inspection judgements

 Pupils have a good understanding of all forms of bullying, including bullying based on prejudice, and say it is not tolerated in school. They say if they have a worry there is someone to turn to who will help. In addition, pupils show a great concern for others less fortunate than themselves.  Parents say that pupils behave well overall.

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Inspection judgements

The leadership and management requires improvement

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Inspection judgements

 The headteacher leads by example and has an accurate view of pupils’ achievements and of what needs to be done to improve further. She is well supported by both staff and governors.  The curriculum is planned well and the environment for learning both inside the school and in the outside areas is of a very good quality. The development of pupils’ speaking skills and understanding of technical language is rightly high on their agenda.  Parents are very supportive of the school. They and their children confirm that equality of opportunity is promoted well, that the school provides a very safe environment and all forms of discrimination are not tolerated.  The headteacher and acting deputy headteacher analyse data effectively with regard to pupils’ progress and what needs to be done to improve it. The information gathered is increasingly being used well to bring about improvements in pupils’ performance, especially at the end of

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Inspection judgements

Year 6, but the full impact of this work has yet to be seen.  Teachers’ performance is reviewed by senior staff with agreed targets set for improvement but monitoring is not effective enough to accelerate improvements in teaching to make the quality of all teaching consistently good. The school takes robust steps to eradicate inadequate teaching.  The local authority has a record of support for the school and continues to do so. This can be seen in its key role in securing the deployment of a temporary deputy headteacher to the school.  The governance of the school:  meets statutory requirements, including those for safeguarding  supports the headteacher and staff while challenging and holding the school to account  demonstrates an understanding of the use of the pupil premium funding and increasingly holds the school to account as how the money is used  does not ensure performance management arrangements are rigorous enough.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school

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Grade Judgement Description

is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 119185 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 405840

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Maintained Age range of pupils 4-11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 379 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Tom Haworth Headteacher Stephanie Grimshaw Date of previous school inspection 11 January 2011 Telephone number 01254 399009 Fax number 01254 398962 Email address head@springhill.lancs.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', 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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School details

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 and as part of the inspection.

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School details

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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School details

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. 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,

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School details

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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School details

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

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