Byker Primary School

Byker Primary School Commercial Road, Byker, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne and Wear,NE6 2AT

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Good 2

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This is a good school

 The majority of pupils make good and sometimes outstanding progress from a starting point that is well below what is typical for their age.  Children make good progress overall in the Early Years Foundation Stage and outstanding progress in their personal development.  Pupils generally make good progress in Key Stage 1 to reach standards that are broadly average in reading and mathematics.  Progress accelerates at a brisk pace in Key Stage 2. Attainment is currently just above average and improving rapidly.  Pupils who are eligible for the pupil premium make good progress, as do those who are disabled or have a special educational need. This is due to excellent one-to-one tuition,as well as good-quality intervention and support.  Teaching is good overall with some teaching that is outstanding, particularly at Key Stage 2 where there is a higher proportion of outstanding lessons.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural

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This is a good school

development is promoted exceptionally well and, as a result, pupils’ behaviour is exemplary. They also have a very secure understanding of how to keep safe and really enjoy coming to school.  The headteacher’s high expectations, strong leadership and unwavering commitment to pupils’ personal and academic development ensure that pupils make at least good progress.  The deputy headteacher, working in partnership with the headteacher, a strong senior leadership and a highly commited team of staff, promotes continued improvement. The school has made good progress since the last inspection and is well supported and challenged by a strong team of governors.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 In the Early Years Foundation Stage and in Key Stage 1, particularly for boys, attainment in writing is below the expected level.  Teaching is not consistently outstanding throughout the school.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 25 lessons or parts of lessons of which two were joint observations with the headteacher. In addition, inspectors observed various groups of pupils working with teaching assistants.  Inspectors talked to a range of pupils, including the school council, regarding the school.  They met with governors as well as teaching staff, including senior and middle leaders.  Inspectors took account of 10 responses from the online questionaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection. They also took account of the school’s pupil and parent questionaires and had informal discussions with parents.  They observed the overall work of the school and looked at a number of documents including the school’s data about pupils’ current progress.They also looked at documents relating to safeguarding, behaviour and atttendance.  They looked at a range of evidence about the school’s wider achievments including the school’s

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Information about this inspection

newsletters, their golden books and displays.

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Inspection team

David Shearsmith Lead inspector Additional inspector Derek Sleightholme Additional inspector Nora Waugh Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is an average sized primary school.  A well-above-average number of pupils are eligible for the pupil premium.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is above average. A well-above-average number of pupils are supported at school action. An above- average number are supported at school action plus.  The school has an above-average number of pupils whose first language is believed not to be English.  The school has the Special Needs Award for Inclusion and the Investors in Children award, as well as an Eco award.  The school meets government floor standards which set the minimum standards for schools.  The school has a playgroup that is managed by the governing body and is subject to a separate inspection by Ofsted. The report will be available on the Ofsted website.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve standards in writing in the Early Years Foundation Stage and at Key Stage1, particularly for boys, by:  ensuring children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are better prepared for Year 1 by providing more opportunities for them to use their knowledge of letters and sounds in early writing  ensuring Key Stage 1 pupils have enough opportunities to improve their writing skills when working idependently  developing more learning opportunities to engage boys in writing  giving pupils time to respond to teachers’ points for improvement, after their work has been marked.  Improve teaching so that it is consistently outstanding by:  providing more focused feedback during lessons to ensure all pupils know how to improve and make better progress  using data more effectively to check all pupils are set the correct work and make the best progress  sharing the outstanding practice with all teachers to improve consistency across the school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children get a good start to their time in school. They enter with skills that are well below what is typical for their age, with particular weaknesses in their literacy skills. They make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage, particularly in their personal skills. They are generally well prepared for the next stage of learning although there are insufficient opportunities for them to fully develop their writing skills.  Progress in Key Stage 1 is good overall. Standards are broadly average in reading and mathematics. Standards in writing have remained stubbornly below what is expected for their age, particularly for boys. Pupils lack accuracy in applying their literacy skills when writing independently. There are, however, signs of improvement as the teaching of writing improves.  By the time pupils leave the school, standards are just above average in English and mathematics and improving rapidly. This is due to the growing number of lessons in Key

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The achievement of pupils is good

Stage 2 where the teaching is outstanding. These teachers are particularly effective in meeting pupils’ needs.  Standards in reading are broadly average at the end of Key Stage 1 as the school has a very systematic approach to teaching reading. Pupils enjoy reading and displayed good skills when called upon to read during lessons. They continue to make good progress and reach just- above-average standards by the end of Key Stage 2.  Well-organised support ensures that disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress. Teaching assistants provide good-quality support and make a strong contribution to raising standards.  Pupils who are entitled to the pupil premium make good progress. The school uses its resources very effectively to support them, particularly through individual tuition.  Pupils whose first language is known not to be English make good and sometimes outstanding

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The achievement of pupils is good

progress. They are well supported, particularly when they arrive in the school, and their understanding of English develops rapidly.  The school effectively promotes skills across the curriculum. This has had a positive impact on writing in Key Stage 2. Pupils’ personal development is a real strength of the school and has a very positive impact on raising standards.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching over time is good and a growing proportion is outstanding. Teachers are more confident in using a range of strategies and improving their approaches. Although the school has used some of their expertise to spread good practice, it has not yet been used widely to promote outstanding teaching.  The school holds pupils’ progress meetings termly and these have had a positive impact on improving teaching, particularly at Key Stage 2. This ensures the majority now make good progress but it is not yet used precisely enough to secure consistently outstanding progress. Occasionally, assessment in lessons is not fully matching the needs of all pupils.  Teachers mark pupils’ work well and give positive comments as well as clear points for improvement. Pupils are not always given time to respond to marking so that it improves their work and accelerates their progress.  Teachers’ effective questioning promotes pupils’ understanding and enables them to make

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The quality of teaching is good

better progress in their learning. This was extremely effective in a Year 6 writing lesson where the teacher’s extremely well-targeted questioning probed pupils’ understanding and, as a result, they made outstanding progress.  Pupils’ attitudes to learning are exemplary. Teachers are very effective at engaging pupils through video clips and the effective use of information and communication technology (ICT).They also use role play and partner and group work effectively to ensure pupils remain on task.  Teachers’ accurate planning and linked activities ensure that pupils achieve well in lessons. This was particularly evident in a lesson in Year 1 where the writing activities and support materials really matched pupils’ needs. However, boys are not always being fully motivated by what is on offer to extend their independent writing.  The teaching of the sounds that letters make (phonics) has had a very positive impact on

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The quality of teaching is good

developing pupils’ reading skills across the school. Pupils enjoy reading because they have regular sessions across the week.  Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage is good and children get a good balance of staff-led as well as child-led activities. Provision, particularly outdoors, does not promote their literacy skills as there are insufficient opportunities for early attempts at writing.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary as the school has a strong, unerring commitment to pupils’ personal development. Pupils behave extremely well in a range of contexts and they are often complimented on how well-mannered they are when out of school.  The school has a strong commitment to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. This underpins the school’s ethos and ensures that everyone feels valued within this school’s diverse population. Pupils take on responsibility well in and around the school, including taking the whole-school assembly on a Friday without any adult support.  The curriculum supports pupils’ personal development well and ensures that pupils relate well to each other and adults.  Very effective behaviour strategies and a strong, caring ethos ensure that pupils behave well in lessons so that incidents of poor behaviour are extremely rare.  In many lessons teachers provide exciting, stimulating and engaging activities. Most pupils are

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

highly engaged in learning, particularly in outstanding lessons and, as a result, they make at least good progress.  Pupils have an in-depth understanding of how to keep safe. They told inspectors that they feel very secure in school and that all the staff care for them and ensure they are kept safe.  Pupils told us that bullying was very rare but, if it did occur, staff dealt with it well. They also have a very good understanding of different types of bullying including how to stay safe on the internet.  Parents and staff report that behaviour is usually very good and say that, if problems arise, they are dealt with well.  The school has worked very hard and been successful in improving attendance. The majority now attend regularly although a small group do not. Despite the school’s best efforts attendance, although rising, remains slightly below average. The majority of pupils are punctual and love coming to school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, deputy headteacher, leaders and staff all support the drive to improve the school. Self-evaluation is accurate. Improvement since the previous inspection is good and, especially, the strengths in personal development sustained. Priorities and performance management are linked to carefully identified school targets. This has had a positive impact on raising standards and the school’s ability to further improve.  The school has developed good systems for tracking pupils’ progress and, overall, these are helping teachers to increase progress. Data are not always used sufficiently well to measure and adjust the focus of work to accelerate pupils’ progress even further. Nevertheless, when underachievement is noticed, support is readily available. As a result, pupils have a real equality of opportunity.  Teaching is improving and there is a growing proportion of outstanding lessons, particularly at

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The leadership and management are good

Key Stage 2. Monitoring of teaching is regular and shortcomings are being slowly resolved. Although feedback is good it does not always focus on the progress of different abilities in lessons in order to ensure teachers know how to improve this in the future.  The curriculum, both in and out of school, is extensive and well balanced in meeting pupils’ needs. Only in writing in Key Stage 1 is there an element of need to increase pupils’ desire to learn. Out-of-school activities are diverse and well supported and are instrumental in raising pupils’ aspirations. The headteacher regularly takes pupils out into the North East of England to widen their horizons.  The school works well with a range of partners to support pupils’ learning, including good support from the local authority. Parents are very positive about the school and they have a wide range of opportunities that enable them to fully engage with the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school’s arrangements for safeguarding meet requirements.  The governance of the school:  provides good support and challenge to the school and governors take an active part in school life, including checking on safeguarding  understands the school’s strengths and priorities for further improvement through rigorous, accurate self-evaluation  manages the school’s finances well, particularly the pupil premium which has made a strong contribution to the school’s overall improvement.

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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 108458 Local authority Newcastle Inspection number 400982

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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 323 Appropriate authority Governing Body Chair Mary Briggs Head teacher Linda Bradley Date of previous school inspection 27 – 28 January 2010 Telephone number 0191 265 6906 Fax number 0191 265 6909 Email address linda.bradley@byker.newcastle.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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