Byfleet Primary School

Byfleet Primary School King’s Head Lane, West Byfleet, Surrey, KT14 7AT

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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

 Given their starting points, pupils’ progress is not yet consistently good across key stages and subjects.  The trend over recent years has been one of uneven progress with dips in attainment in both English and mathematics.  Teaching is not yet consistently good. Teachers do not always provide enough feedback to pupils about their work, or have high enough expectations of pupils, particularly the more able.  Leaders and managers do not make best use of assessment data to track precisely the performance of pupils.  Middle leaders do not have a clear enough understanding of pupils’ progress data or their areas of responsibilty to be able to monitor them effectively.  Governors do not have a full enough understanding of the school’s performance to offer better challenge to school leaders.

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The school has the following strengths

 Pupils enjoy school, feel safe and behave well in lessons.  Pupils have good opportunities to reflect, contribute well to the community and develop moral awareness.  Pupils are taught to read well and develop good letter and sound recognition at Key Stage 1.  Last year the school improved writing, particularly in Key Stage 2, so that attainment in English moved from below average to broadly average.  Attainment in mathematics in Key Stage 2, particularly for more-able pupils, also improved.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection included observations of 20 lessons or part lessons across a range of subjects and years, meetings with senior and middle leaders, the Chair of the Governing Body, a local authority representative and pupils.  Pupils were observed in class and around the school, and all teachers present during the two days were observed teaching. Some of the lesson observations were conducted jointly with senior leaders.  Inspectors looked at pupils’ work in lessons and with the headteacher. They heard two pupils reading, and considered a wide range of school documentation, including the school website, current progress data, the school improvement plan, its self-evaluation, and local authority and safeguarding information.  There were 28 responses from Parent View and 13 staff questionnaires which were also analysed.

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Inspection team

Najoud Ensaff, Lead inspector Additional inspector Jameel Hassan Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller-than-average, one form entry primary school.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is below average.  The number of pupils with English as an additional language is below average, and although the proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backrounds is growing it is currently lower than the national average.  The proportion of pupils who are supported through school action, school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average.  There have been significant staffing changes since the last inspection with several new teachers starting recently at the school.  The school currently meets the government’s floor standard which sets the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the quality of teaching to good and better in order to increase rates of progress and levels of attainment by: - ensuring that lessons provide sufficient challenge and move at a brisk pace - making sure that teachers have consistently high expectations of all pupils in their class, especially the more able - consistently providing pupils with guidance about how to improve and ensuring that this more often relates to pupils’ individual targets - providing more opportunities for pupils to respond to feedback and to evaluate their own work and that of their classmates.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen leadership and management by: - improving middle leaders’ understanding of their areas of responsibility and of pupils’ progress data so that they are better able to monitor achievement in the subjects they are responsible for - increasing the precision of tracking information so that leaders at all levels can more effectively measure individual pupils’ progress at each key stage - ensuring that governors have a clearer understanding of how well the school is performing and what constitutes good progress.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 When children enter Reception they generally have skills that are in line with those expected for their age. Current Reception children demonstrate higher-than-expected levels of skills.  The trend over recent years is one of uneven progress across Key Stage 2 in particular, with dips in 2011 in attainment in English and mathematics at Key Stage 2 and in English at Key Stage 1. Historically, progress has been more even in Key Stage 1, with particular strengths in reading. Progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage is similar to that in the rest of the school. Pupils’ reading skills are generally above the levels expected for their age, particularly in Key Stage 1.  Attainment in mathematics and English in both key stages has risen so that both are now broadly average by the time pupils leave at the end of Year 6. This is demonstrated through test and assessment data, a scrutiny of pupils’ work and lesson observations. Although

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

improving, pupils’ overall progress by the end of Key Stage 2 still requires further improvement.  This is because progress in lessons remains variable. It is not yet good for all pupils because, given their starting points, they make only the expected progress. Progress is inconsistent and varies between subjects and years.  Some pupils with special educational needs or who are known to be eligible for the pupil premium make good progress in English and mathematics where teaching is strong and focused on their needs, but others make expected or less than expected progress. Overall, pupils with special educational needs and those known to be eligible for pupil premium make progress in line with their peers. A similar picture emerges with regard to the small number of pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds.  Although there was an increase in the number of pupils who attained the higher levels in English and mathematics last year, particularly at Key Stage 2, more-able pupils generally

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

make only the expected progress because teachers’ expectations in lessons are not consistently high.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Inconsistencies remain in the quality of teaching. While there is some good teaching in the school, consistently good teaching resulting in sustained good progress is not yet evident in enough classes.  Not all teachers routinely challenge pupils, move learning on at a fast enough pace or have high enough expectations of them. As a result, pupils do not yet make good progress, overall.  Marking is regular and sometimes provides feedback to pupils on how to improve their work, but this is more evident in English than in mathematics. Pupils do not typically have opportunities to evaluate their own or one another’s learning or to respond to a teacher’s comments. Where they do, pupils show maturity in being able to reflect usefully on their learning.  In the better lessons, teachers ensure that work matches pupils’ needs well, pupils are fully engaged in the lesson and learning is fun.  Good teaching was seen in a Year 4 numeracy lesson where work was well matched to

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

pupils’ different needs and learning was pacy, active and fun. Pupils were given good opportunities to evaluate their own and others’ work, which allowed them to gain ownership over their learning. In a Year 6 numeracy lesson, the teacher made good use of targeted questions to challenge and motivate pupils. In a Year 3 lesson, pupils with special educational needs were well supported in their literacy learning by a teaching assistant and as a result of using laptops.  The school has improved the opportunities for pupils to use their literacy and numeracy skills across the curriculum. In a Year 4 lesson, for example, the teacher was dressed in role as a Roald Dahl character and gave pupils opportunities to develop their numeracy skills in a real-life context with pupils recording data relating to pupils’ outfits in a Carroll diagram.  Teachers promote pupils’ spiritual, moral and social skills well. Pupils often share their

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

learning in pairs or in groups and have good opportunities to consider how to be a good friend, as well as opportunities to express themselves artistically.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Almost all pupils behave well in lessons so that there is very little disruption to their learning. Pupils report that any instances of misbehaviour or bullying are handled well by the school. They say that they enjoy school and are happy and safe in school. Evidence from the school’s documentation and logs indicate that behaviour is typically good over time and this is confirmed by pupils, and by parents and carers.  Pupils are often attentive in lessons and show good levels of concentration even when the teaching is not inspiring.  They contribute well to the community through acts of charity; on the second day of the inspection, for example, money was being raised for two charities.  Pupils show a good awareness of how to keep safe in and around the school. They understand different forms of bullying such as verbal bullying and physical bullying. Older pupils understand about cyber bullying, but are less clear about what constitutes

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

homophobic bullying. Any rare instances of bullying are said to be dealt with well.  Over the past year, attendance has risen to above average.  Almost all parents and carers believe their children are happy and safe at the school and most parents and carers think behaviour at the school is good and that their children are well looked after by staff.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 With the support of the local authority, leaders and managers have identified some key strengths and areas for development. This has led to improvements in the teaching of writing, in particular, and in pupils’ mental arithmetic skills. Additionally, attendance has improved, and there are now more opportunities for pupils to use their literacy and numeracy skills across the curriculum.  Senior leaders monitor teaching and teachers’ planning on a regular basis and this has led to some improvements in teaching. They also conduct formal progress review meetings with teachers, linked to performance management. However, senior leaders’ analyses of assessment data lack sufficient precision to be able to track the progress of pupils rigorously enough, and to hold teachers to account sufficiently.  Although middle leaders monitor teaching, planning and the use of resources, these activities have not had a strong enough impact on raising the quality of teaching to good

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The leadership and management require improvement

because these leaders do not yet have a robust understanding of their areas of responsibility or of pupils’ progress data.  The curriculum is balanced and there have been improvements in how well opportunities are planned for pupils to put their literacy and numeracy skills to the test across different subjects. The school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral and social skills well overall, with plans in hand to provide more opportunities for pupils to learn about the diversity of cultures in modern Britain.  The school promotes equality of opportunity and is continuing to seek to close the gaps in performance of different groups of pupils. It has improved, for example, boys’ achievements in writing last year. The school recognises that this is still work in progress and targets, for example, pupil premium funding, to specific individualised support to help improve the achievement of these pupils, and in doing so help to close any gaps with other

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The leadership and management require improvement

pupils.  Safeguarding is secure and discrimination is not tolerated. Staff and parents and carers are generally positive about their experiences with the school.  The local authority has provided appropriate support to the school and has helped it to improve practices in assessment and moderation in the Early Years Foundation Stage and to raise attainment in writing.  The governance of the school: - is ambitious for the school but does not have a precise enough understanding of the quality of the school’s work to be able to offer well-informed challenge, particularly in relation to pupils’ achievement and the school’s self- evaluation - ensures that safeguarding is secure.

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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 124999 Local authority Surrey Inspection number 402303

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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 Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 235 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Martin Lock Headteacher Myra Stevens Date of previous school inspection 28−29 June 2010 Telephone number 01932 403116 Fax number 01932 410201 Email address admin@byfleet.surrey.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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