South Elmsall Carlton Junior and Infant School

South Elmsall Carlton Junior and Infant School Carlton Road, South Elmsall, Pontefract, WF9 2QQ

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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

 Reading is not always taught widely and often enough. Pupils in Key Stage 2 read a limited range of literature.  Progress is not consistently good overall and particularly in mathematics in Key Stages 1 and 2.  Teachers do not always give pupils the opportunity to undertake real-life mathematical investigations.  The quality of teaching varies in different parts of the school and this affects the rate of pupil achievement adversely.  Middle leadership roles are in the early stages of development. Middle leaders therefore have very little involvement in evaluating and planning the next steps needed to improve the school.  The governing body does not have a good understanding about the performance of the teachers. The challenge to foster improved teaching therefore lacks rigour.

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The school has the following strengths

 Senior leaders have a clear overview of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and have made improvements very quickly.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make good progress because of the warm, stimulating and safe environment.  This is a school which includes all pupils in everything it has to offer. It works effectively with other agencies to improve pupils’ social and emotional well-being.  Pupils feel extremely safe and have a good, positive attitude to learning. They take responsibility for their own behaviour.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 17 lessons taught by 13 teachers.  Meetings were held with staff, groups of pupils, parents, a representative of the local authority and a member of the governing body.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a range of documentation including safeguarding policies, internal data on pupils’ attainment and progress, governing body meeting minutes, performance monitoring files, school development planning and pupils’ work.  Inspectors took account of the 10 responses to the online Parent View survey in planning the inspection. They also considered 19 staff questionnaires.

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Inspection team

Sharona Semlali, Lead inspector Additional inspector Paul Plumridge Additional inspector Julie Harrison Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a larger than average-sized primary school.  An above-average proportion of pupils is known to be eligible for the pupil premium.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is average.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action is slightly below average.  Most pupils are from White British heritages.  The school meets the current floor standards, which set the government’s minimum expectations of attainment and progress.  Since the previous inspection there have been changes in the leadership team and a number of significant staff changes and unavoidable absences.  The school runs its own breakfast club that is managed by the governing body.  The school’s recent awards include Sing Up Bronze, Silver and Gold and Open Futures Level 3.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that all teaching is consistently good or better by:  reducing the amount of teacher talk in lessons to enable pupils to become more active in their learning  making sure there is sufficient challenge for all pupils  giving pupils written and oral feedback that helps them to have a clear understanding of their next steps in learning.  Accelerate progress in reading, writing and mathematics in order to raise standards by:  ensuring that pupils are given opportunities to read as often as possible with enjoyment  giving pupils enough time to reflect upon and improve their work  developing pupils’ mathematical calculation skills  planning opportunities for pupils to undertake mathematical investigations linked to real life situations.  Improve the impact of leadership and management by:  strengthening the roles of the governing body and middle leaders so that they are fully accountable and are more actively involved in the school improvement process

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 ensuring that performance management is up to date, is in line with current policies and procedures and is implemented with the requisite rigour.

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Inspection judgements

The achievement of pupils requires improvement  Children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills well below that expected for their age, particularly in communication, language and literacy. From these starting points children make good progress in all areas of development because of good reinforcement of learning and challenge during adult-led activities. This was seen during a phonics lesson in a Reception class where previous learning of the ‘oo’ sound was emphasised throughout the session.  Pupils make expected and improving progress in Key Stage 1, attaining below-average levels in all subjects by the end of Year 2. However, the current cohort of Year 2 pupils is working just below average levels of attainment in reading and writing but are now broadly average in mathematics. The attainment gap is therefore beginning to close.  Progress varies throughout Key Stage 2 in the different year groups and classes. Pupils

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Inspection judgements

make expected progress in all subjects but some pupils in Years 2, 4 and 6 make more than expected progress in reading and writing. Pupils do not make the same amount of progress in mathematics, particularly in their mental mathematical calculations. Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 is below average. From below-average levels in Year 2 pupils in the current Year 6 are working at broadly average levels and are expected to close the attainment gap.  Some pupils who read to inspectors did not have the appropriate books for their abilities: some were too easy and some too difficult. Most were confident in breaking the words into sounds to tackle unfamiliar words. Inspectors found that some pupils do not always read regularly at home or at school. Some pupils read a limited range of different literature without obvious pleasure.  Intervention support by skilled teaching assistants is effectively supporting disabled pupils

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Inspection judgements

and those with special educational needs to make expected and sometimes more than expected progress, particularly in reading. This was seen during the inspection where pupils with special educational needs were given smaller group support to develop their skills to tackle the reading of unfamiliar words.  Pupils eligible for the pupil premium make expected progress overall but make more than expected progress in writing.

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Inspection judgements

The quality of teaching requires improvement  Good teaching was observed in the Nursery. Adult-led activities ensure children make good progress. All adults in the Early Years Foundation Stage use questioning well. They model good speaking and listening well which develop children’s language skills and extend their imaginative ideas.  Teaching is improving but instability in staffing often slows pupils’ progress. The quality of teaching varies throughout the school, ranging from inadequate to good. Where teachers use their good subject knowledge to stimulate pupils’ imagination this helps them to make good progress. This was seen in a Year 5/6 class where pupils used powerful verbs, adverbs and adjectives to describe pictures of a calm and stormy sea. A typical comment by pupils was, ‘The disturbed sea threw itself on the side of the sinking vessel.’  Most lessons start with a learning question and all classrooms have displays that support

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Inspection judgements

learning. Some are used more effectively than others to support pupils’ learning. During the inspection it was observed that pupils are often given sufficient time to talk and reflect on their learning. This was seen in a Year 3/4 lesson where pupils were given time at the end of the mental mathematics test to talk about their learning.  Work scrutiny shows that pupils are not given sufficient time to follow up any written feedback comments on their work. On occasions marking and also oral feedback do not show pupils how they can improve their learning.  Teaching sometimes lacks challenge for some of the more able pupils, which causes some of them to become disengaged. Pace is sometimes too slow, with teachers spending too much time talking whilst pupils passively listen for long periods of time. All of this slows pupils’ progress and productivity.  Teachers do have targets but these have not been reviewed for this academic year.

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Inspection judgements

 Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are well supported by other pupils and adults in order for them to participate in the lessons and work is carefully matched to their needs. All classes have a climate where pupils enjoy supporting and encouraging each other to learn.  Parents feel that their children are taught well but a few are not happy with the amount of homework their children receive.

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Inspection judgements

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good  Pupils are very polite, thoughtful and respectful to each other in all areas of the school. Responses from parents demonstrate their strong belief that behaviour is managed well. Pupils say that they feel behaviour is good.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are happy, safe and settled and some of the younger ones are only in their third week of school. Children take turns, share and tidy up sensibly when they independently play together without adult direction.  At breaktime pupils are actively encouraged to take on responsibilities for their behaviour by taking turns being door monitors. Others help with ‘Buddy Benches’, helping children to find a friend during playtime if they need to. If there are any disputes they are encouraged to take responsibility for their own actions.  A typical comment from pupils is, ‘…It’s like being at home…’, showing that pupils feel safe

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Inspection judgements

at school. Parents’ responses are highly positive about how the school keeps their children safe.  Pupils do not feel that there is any bullying and are confident that, if it occurs, it will be quickly dealt with. The school teaches pupils how to keep themselves safe at all times. They know about ‘stranger danger’ and speak confidently about the ‘Bikeability Scheme’.  Attendance has improved markedly and is now average. The school has exceeded targets set for them by the local authority. Pupils enjoy coming to school and the different incentives given to them to come to school regularly are proving to be effective.

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Inspection judgements

The leadership and management requires improvement  The new leadership of the acting headteacher and acting deputy headteacher has been key in helping to move the school forward quickly and in such a short space of time. They are very passionate and care deeply about all aspects of pupils’ development. Parents eagerly spoke to inspectors expressing how pleased they are with the improvements made.  Senior leaders have an accurate understanding of school performance and are sufficiently focused on improving achievement. However, the governing body and some of the middle leaders have limited involvement in this process, as some middle leaders are fairly new to their role.  The school regularly analyses the progress and achievement of all its different pupil groups from very detailed data provided by the local authority. This helps to plan where interventions are needed to address any form of underachievement.

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Inspection judgements

 Strong partnerships with other local schools are well established. Close work with external agencies such as the ‘Child Family Inclusion Team’ and the education psychologists help to support those pupils whose circumstances make them potentially vulnerable.  Safeguarding arrangements meet statutory requirements. All training for staff is up to date and new computerised systems at the front of school ensure that pupils are extremely safe.  Improvements since the previous inspection include the introduction of a range of successful initiatives to encourage pupils to attend school more regularly. The monitoring and evaluation of teaching and learning are more rigorous and are leading to improvements in teaching quality. Major staff changes to different year groups have helped to improve pupils’ progress. Timetables are much tighter so that pupils have more quality learning time. Staff have the opportunity to observe good practice in other schools and this is also

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Inspection judgements

leading to improvements in the quality of teaching. All classes now use the displays in their classrooms l to support learning.  The curriculum is broad and balanced and provides a range of enrichment activities for pupils. It helps them develop a good understanding of right and wrong, of the importance of good relationships and of the dangers of discrimination. Opportunities are given to pupils to be reflective and build upon their knowledge of different cultures. However, there are many missed opportunities for pupils to take part in real-life mathematical problem solving across the curriculum.  The governance of the school:  members of the governing body do not have full involvement in planning and evaluating the school’s performance, especially in relation to teaching; members do not therefore challenge members of the senior leadership team with sufficient rigour  the governing body has taken appropriate steps to strengthen and stabilise the senior

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Inspection judgements

leadership team  members are involved in the performance management of the headteacher but are not fully aware of how decisions about teachers’ salary and progression are taken.

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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 pupil’s 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 pupil’s 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 130866 Local authority Wakefield Inspection number 406382

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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 Community Age range of pupils 3-11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 308 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair John Owen Headteacher Maxine Smart Date of previous school inspection 13 January 2011 Telephone number 01977 723805 Fax number 01977 723805 Email address headteacher@carlton.wakefield.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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