Burbage Primary School

Burbage Primary School Cavendish Avenue, Burbage, Buxton, SK17 9AE

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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

 Teaching requires improvement mainly because some teachers are not clear about what they want pupils to learn in each lesson and the work set for pupils does not build upon what they can already do.  Pupils’ progress in mathematics requires improvement. Pupils are not given enough opportunities to apply their calculation skills to solve mathematical problems.  Not enough pupils reach the higher levels in writing by the end of Year 2. This is because teaching does not challenge them enough and they are not given sufficient opportunities to write at length.  The school’s leaders do not use information about pupils’ achievement well-enough to check on the quality of teaching and the progress of classes and other groups of pupils.  The governing body does not receive sufficient detail from the school’s leaders about pupils’ achievement. Therefore, it cannot ask challenging questions about the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress.

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

 The school’s plans for improvement do not include how leaders are going to measure the effectiveness of actions to improve pupils’ progress.  Senior leaders set all teachers targets for improvement. However, senior leaders do not keep a regular check to see if improvements are happening.

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The school has the following strengths

 In the Reception class, teaching is consistently good and children make good progress.  Pupils make good progress in Key stage 2 in reading and writing.  By the end of Year 6, most pupils usually reach the levels expected for their age in English and mathematics and about half exceed them.  Pupils behave well in lessons and around school. They have a good understanding of how to keep safe. Pupils feel cared for well.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed a guided reading session, heard pupils reading and observed 18 lessons. Many of the lessons were observed jointly with the headteacher.  The inspectors held meetings with the staff, groups of pupils, a representative of the local authority, the Chair of the Governing Body and two other governors.  The inspectors looked at plans for improvement, information on pupils’ progress, lesson plans, the school’s monitoring information and school policies.  There were 81 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire Parent View at the time of the inspection and inspectors held informal discussions with some parents and carers. All these views were taken into account by inspectors.

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Inspection team

Roy Bowers, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector David Carter Her Majesty’s Inspector Anne Bark Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is below average. (Pupil premium is additional funding given to schools for pupils who are known to be eligible for free- school meals, who are looked-after and who are from families in the Armed Forces).  Most pupils are from White British backgrounds.  The proportion of pupils who need extra help (school action and school action plus) is well-below average.  The proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational needs is below average.  The school meets the current floor standard, which sets the government’s minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the teaching in Key Stages 1 and 2 by ensuring that teachers are clear about what they want pupils to learn in each lesson and the work set for pupils builds upon what they can already do.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ progress in mathematics by giving them more opportunities to apply their calculation skills to solve problems relevant to their lives.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that many more pupils reach the higher levels in writing by the end of Year 2 by ensuring that teachers: - give pupils work which stretches their abilities and improves their skills - provide more opportunities for pupils to write at length.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by ensuring that: - leaders use the information on pupils’ achievement to check on the progress made by classes and other groups of pupils - the governing body is provided with detailed information on pupils’ progress so that it knows about the progress made by different classes and other groups of pupils and can, therefore, ask the school’s leaders challenging questions - plans for improvement have measurable targets based upon improving pupils’ progress - leaders regularly check on whether teachers are meeting their targets for improvement.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ achievement requires improvement because progress is slower in Key Stages 1 and 2 than in the Early Years Foundation Stage and older pupils do not do as well as they should in mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Children in the Reception classes make good progress. They rapidly develop early literacy skills because they are taught very effectively how to match letters to sounds and how to use this knowledge to improve their reading and writing skills. By the time children enter Year 1 their skills in all areas are above those typical for their age. This good start in all aspects of children’s academic and personal development prepares them very well for their work in Key Stages 1 and 2.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ above-average attainment in English and mathematics is maintained in Years 1 and 2, but their progress is slower than in the Reception classes and requires improvement. By the end of Year 2 an above-average proportion of pupils reach the higher levels in reading and mathematics. However, not enough pupils reach the higher levels in writing, mainly because they are not given work which is sufficiently demanding and they are not provided with enough opportunities to write at length.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 In Key Stage 2, pupils’ eagerness to learn and the extra help given to some pupils means that pupils make good progress in reading and writing. However, pupils’ progress in mathematics is slower and requires improvement.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Disabled pupils, those with special educational needs, and those pupils for whom the school receives additional funding such as pupil premium, make similar progress to other pupils. The additional money that the school gets for these pupils is used mainly to provide additional support from skilled class assistants in lessons, small groups and, occasionally, on an individual basis.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching requires improvement because it varies from class to class in Key Stages 1 and 2. There is some good teaching in both key stages and the headteacher carefully ensures that teachers with good teaching skills plan some of the lessons with others whose teaching requires improvement.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 In all classes, teachers spend a lot of time planning the activities they give to pupils. During the lessons, teachers work hard with the pupils, helping and supporting where necessary. However, despite this, teaching requires improvement mainly because teachers are not always clear about what pupils of all abilities are going to learn in the lesson. As a result, the work they give to the pupils is too easy or too hard and does not build upon what they can already do.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Revised mathematics policies and staff training have resulted in teachers placing a greater emphasis on teaching pupils how to calculate, especially through pupils learning simple addition and subtraction facts and being able to recall them quickly. This is improving mathematics teaching and accelerating pupils’ progress. However, there are not enough opportunities for pupils to apply their mathematical skills through solving problems in areas which are relevant to their lives.  Teaching in the Reception classes is consistently good and is a key strength of the school. Children are eager to learn and respond with great enthusiasm to the wide range of activities they are given. Adults regularly check to see if the children are making good strides forward in their learning and use this information well to plan future activities.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Relationships between adults and pupils are warm and caring. During the inspection, teachers used humour well to stimulate pupils’ interest and help to make learning enjoyable. Pupils respond very well to this and, in all classes, pupils’ eagerness to learn and please their teacher is evident. Pupils’ strong attitudes to their learning, together with good-quality support from skilled adult class assistants, accounts for the good progress made by pupils in some lessons even though some aspects of the teaching require improvement.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Reading is taught well. The skills learned in the Reception class are built upon effectively and pupils quickly gain confidence to read new books and other reading material. They have access in school to a wide range of fiction and non-fiction books which broaden their reading experiences and help them enjoy their reading. Teachers often use good questioning skills to probe and extend pupils’ understanding of what they are reading.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The caring ethos of the school is a strong feature and is promoted well through the respectful relationships between staff and pupils. Pupils are polite, courteous and well mannered. During the inspection, one of the lunchtime buddies was seen to deal exceptionally well with a younger pupil who had had a minor accident and was upset.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils arrive at school on time, attend regularly and are exceptionally eager to learn. The breakfast club plays a valuable part in supporting some families and adds significantly to pupils’ social development.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Nearly all pupils behave very well and most parents and carers who spoke to the inspectors or who responded to Parent View agree. The school has a clear reward and sanctions policy which is understood by pupils and gives them clear behaviour guidelines and boundaries.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils say that they feel safe at school and bullying is rare. Pupils spoken to during the inspection had a good understanding of the different types of bullying, including cyber-bullying and prejudice-based bullying. They said that the school had taught them strategies of how to deal with potential bullying and they would not be afraid to tell staff if any occurred.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Work in lessons and assemblies about cultural similarities and differences, fundraising for charities and links with schools abroad help ensure that pupils have a sound understanding of other cultures and learn how important it is not to discriminate.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Despite the hard work and commitment of the headteacher and other leaders to improve the school, the rate of improvement has not been fast enough to ensure that the quality of teaching is consistently good or better and pupils’ progress in mathematics in Key Stage 2 is good.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school has a good system to enable leaders to track the termly progress of pupils. This is used well to identify individual pupils who are not making enough progress so that support can be provided. However, the information on pupils’ progress is not used well enough to check on the progress of different groups of pupils, such as different classes, boys and girls, and pupils of different abilities. As a result, weaknesses in teaching are not identified, and tailored support to improve certain aspects of teaching is not given.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school’s plans for improvement show a wide range of activities that the school intends to undertake, such as introducing new support groups, changing the organisation of classes and making general improvements to teaching. However, the plans do not show how the impact of the plans on improving pupils’ progress is going to be measured. Consequently, leaders have no means of knowing if the actions set out in the plans have improved pupils’ skills and knowledge.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 As part of their performance management, all teachers have targets for improvement. However, leaders do not regularly check to see if the teachers are on course to reach their targets so that additional support can be provided if required. The headteacher and governing body ensure that increases in teachers’ pay are linked with improving teaching and raising pupils’ achievement.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The local authority has provided some support for the school, including joint observations with the headteacher. However, because of the school’s consistently above-average attainment at the end of Years 2 and 6, and the good progress made in the Reception classes and in reading and writing in Key Stage 2, the school’s leaders have not received sufficient support from the local authority to improve their leadership skills.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governance of the school:  The governing body is highly committed and is diligent in its management of finances and resources. Individual governors are allocated areas of responsibility, such as special educational needs and mathematics. Working with senior leaders, governors have played a major role in developing policies such as safeguarding.  The governing body has a good general understanding of pupils’ attainment by the end of Reception, Year 2 and Year 6 and pupils’ progress in Key Stage 2. However, because the school leaders do not analyse the information on pupils’ progress well enough, the governing body does have any knowledge of any variation in progress between classes and other groups of pupils. Consequently, this area of governance requires 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 is

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Grade Judgement Description

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 112520 Local authority Derbyshire Inspection number 403184

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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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 328 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Claire Duncan Headteacher Julie Ward Date of previous school inspection 6 November 2007 Telephone number 01298 22278 Fax number 01298 22278 Email address enquiries@burbage.derbyshire.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, please

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School details

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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