Walesby CofE Primary School

Walesby CofE Primary School New Hill, Walesby, Newark, NG22 9PB

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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 and, as a result, pupils’ progress is uneven in Years 1 to 5.  Pupils’ attainment in reading at the end of Year 2 is not high enough.  Teachers do not make enough use of information about what pupils know and can do to plan suitable work for pupils across the range of ability.  In some lessons, all pupils sit and listen to the same introduction when higher ability pupils could be getting on with more challenging work.  The quality of questioning does not always probe and extend pupils’ thinking enough.  Teachers do not always make the best use of the support for learning available from teaching assistants.  Not all middle leaders fully understand their responsibilities for driving improvement in their areas of work.  Members of the governing body do not gather enough first-hand evidence of the school’s performance so they can take action to improve it.

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The school has the following strengths

 The headteacher provides determined leadership and has identified and begun to tackle weaknesses in teaching and learning.  Good leadership of the Early Years Foundation Stage ensures that children progress well in the Reception class.  Pupils good attitudes and behaviour contribute to the strong sense of community in the school.  Pupils are given a good range of additional activities outside lessons.  Safeguarding arrangements are secure and parents report that their children are kept safe in school.  The school is good at helping pupils to develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed teaching and learning in nine lessons, four of which were joint observations with the headteacher. The inspector also observed the breakfast club, two school assemblies and made a number of other short visits to classrooms.  Discussions were held with the headteacher, other staff and pupils, the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Governing Body, and some parents and carers at the start of the school day.  Telephone conversations were held with a representative of the local authority and an independent education consultant who has advised on the performance management of the headteacher.  The inspector heard groups of pupils of different ages reading.  Account was taken of seven responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View).  The inspector looked at the school’s policies, teachers' planning of learning, school improvement planning and records on behaviour and safety, together with samples of pupils’ work. Tracking

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Information about this inspection

documentation of individual pupils’ progress, documentation on how leaders manage teachers’ performance and minutes from meetings held by the governing body were also examined.

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Inspection team

Kenneth Thomas, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Walesby is a smaller than average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium (which provides additional funding for particular pupils who need it) is below average.  Almost all pupils are of White British heritage. Few pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds or have English as an additional language.  About ten percent of pupils are from Traveller families.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is above average. The proportions supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs are below average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school provides a breakfast club that is managed by the governing body.  A privately funded playgroup and an after-school club are located on the school site and are

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Information about this school

inspected separately.  The headteacher was appointed as the substantive headteacher in September 2011.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that it is consistently good or better by:  making sure that teachers make full use of assessment information in the planning of lessons so that work is suitably challenging for all ability levels  providing more opportunities for higher ability pupils to engage in more challenging independent work at an earlier stage in lessons  making sure that teachers constantly check, through questioning, pupils’ understanding and learning as lessons proceed  ensuring that teachers’ introductions and explanations of learning activities are not too long so that full advantage is taken of the support available from teaching assistants.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise attainment in reading at the end of Key Stage 1 by making sure that there is a consistently effective approach to the teaching of letters and sounds (phonics) in Years 1 and 2.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further strengthen the capacity of leaders to implement change by making sure that:  all staff with leadership roles fully understand their responsibilities and have the skills necessary to identify and tackle weaknesses in provision in their areas of work  members of the governing body have the skills necessary to find out how well the school is doing and rigorously hold its leaders to account for its performance.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Although action taken to tackle weaknesses has led to a recent rise in attainment at the end of both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, pupils’ progress and achievement are variable in different classes and subjects in both key stages. Consequently, overall achievement requires improvement.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Children enter the Reception class with a range of skills and abilities that are generally typical for children of their age. Because teaching is consistently good, they make good progress across all areas of learning. They choose activities for themselves and play together confidently. They express themselves clearly, especially when they want to show adults examples of their learning.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Because of inconsistencies in teaching and learning, the good progress made in Reception is not built upon in Years 1 to 5. Pupils make good progress in some lessons but slower progress in others. Progress accelerates in Year 6 because of consistently good teaching. While this compensates to a certain extent for the slower progress made in earlier years, it is no substitute for consistently good teaching.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Action taken to improve teaching has had a positive impact on attainment. There was a rise in the Year 6 English and mathematics test results in 2011 and this continued in 2012. However, analyses of the test results and scrutiny of pupils’ work show that the progress most pupils made through Key Stage 2 was only what was expected from their attainment at the end of Year 2: not enough pupils made above the expected progress.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 In Reception, children are particularly successful in learning letters and sounds (phonics). However, reading and phonics skills are less secure in Years 1 and 2. This is partly because pupils do not have enough opportunities to practise saying the letters and sounds themselves, and not enough pupils reached the expected standard in the 2012 Year 1 phonics screening test.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, and Traveller pupils, make the expected progress.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The additional funding the school receives for a few pupils through the pupil premium is used to enhance provision through, for example, additional support staff and small group activities. This enables pupils to have support in taking small steps in learning, which strengths their understanding and raises their confidence and self-esteem. Both the attainment and progress of these pupils is comparable to that of their peers.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 While there have been improvements in teaching, too many inconsistencies remain, particularly in terms of the level of challenge in the work given to higher ability pupils.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 There are a number of strengths in teaching but its quality in Key Stages 1 and 2 is too variable.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Where teaching requires improvement, the same work tends to be given to all pupils without regard for different ability levels. This is because teachers do not make enough use of their knowledge of pupils’ attainment levels in lesson planning. Too often, pupils of all abilities are required to sit and listen to the same lengthy explanations of learning when higher ability pupils, in particular, are capable of moving on more quickly

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Where the learning of disabled pupils, those who have special educational needs, Traveller pupils and those entitled to the pupil premium is most successful, teachers use teaching assistants well to support individuals and small groups. In less effective situations, teaching assistants are only passively engaged because too much teacher-talk limits the time for independent work.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 In the best lessons, teachers use questioning very effectively to assess pupils’ understanding. Consequently, mistakes in their learning are picked up quickly. However, in many lessons, questions are too closely directed towards drawing out an expected answer and the lesson is moved on without checking that all pupils are keeping up.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers generally make good use of new technology and other resources to help learning, especially in the good teaching seen in the Reception class. Adults make good use of the indoor and outdoor areas to develop children’s language, numeracy skills and social skills, and to promote their physical development.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Where teachers set work that actively involves the pupils and makes clear exactly what they are expected to learn, good progress is made. For example, in a good mathematics lesson with pupils from Year 5 and Year 6, rapid progress was made. This was because the teacher made excellent use of his strong subject knowledge to consistently challenge and probe pupils’ understanding of the properties of triangles and quadrilaterals.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers mark pupils’ work regularly and give guidance on what to do to improve. However, they do not always give pupils enough time to follow these through so that they can learn from their mistakes.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school places a strong emphasis on the development of good behaviour from children’s entry to Reception and onwards. As a result, the vast majority of children quickly learn and accept the school’s expectations of behaviour in lessons and around the school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Parents, carers, staff and pupils confirm that behaviour is typically good. This is reflected in good relationships and a calm and purposeful atmosphere in lessons. In this harmonious school, pupils are friendly and care for each other well. Pupils from all backgrounds get on well with each other.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils report that they feel safe, secure and happy in school. Parents and carers agree. Good links with the on-site pre-school playgroup help children to settle quickly into the Reception class. Pupils are well cared for in the breakfast club and say, 'We have lots to do and enjoy coming here.’

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils display a good sense of how to stay safe, and are knowledgeable about risk and danger for their age. They display a good grasp of what constitutes bullying and display high levels of confidence that staff will quickly resolve any concerns.  Pupils’ enthusiastic attitudes make a positive contribution to their learning. Classroom routines such as sharing, listening to each other and taking turns are firmly embedded. In the corridors and playground, pupils are usually considerate, safety conscious and sensible.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Arrangements to support children whose circumstances make them potentially vulnerable are very effective. These include the good use of specialist external agencies. Parents and carers appreciate the good quality of care that school provides.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance is affected by pupil mobility and family holidays taken in term time. Although still below average, there has been a recent improvement because of the hard work of staff in encouraging regular attendance.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher, with the strong support of the assistant headteacher, provides a drive for improvement that is based on an accurate evaluation of the school’s performance. The priorities identified in the school improvement plan match inspection findings and indicate the school’s capacity for further improvement.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The quality of teaching is checked through lesson observations and scrutiny of pupils’ work. The outcomes are linked to action to improve further both teaching and learning. There is a clear understanding that all decisions on pay and promotion must be fully justified by teachers’ skills in ensuring that pupils make good progress.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Good leadership of the Early Years Foundation Stage has a positive impact on the development of children’s academic and social skills. However, not all staff with middle leadership roles fully understand their responsibilities. They do not have the skills necessary to check the quality of teaching in their areas with enough rigour to identify and tackle weaknesses securely.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The teaching and learning programmes are enhanced by art, drama, a good range of sports activities, after-school clubs, visits out of school and residential experiences. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is nurtured well through, for example, music and the arts, and the acceptance of clearly defined boundaries of what is right or wrong.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Pupils eligible for the pupil premium receive individual support and steps are taken to ensure that any gaps in attainment are identified and tackled quickly. Staff are suitably deployed to provide support for pupils in their work and in their personal development. The school ensures that pupils are able to take part in all that the school has to offer.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Because the school has a partly mobile population, advice is taken from the Traveller Education Service and the progress of these pupils is tracked carefully to minimise any underachievement.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Parents and carers commented favourably that help for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs makes sure they are able to experience all the learning opportunities available. This reflects the school’s commitment to equality of opportunity and the successful elimination of discrimination.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The local authority involvement with the school has been limited to annual statistical reviews of performance.  The governance of the school: - The governing body is very supportive and fully committed to ensuring the school’s future success. However, they have not been rigorous enough in exploring the reasons for variation in the rates of progress of different year groups and how these link to strengths and weaknesses in teaching. With the guidance of the headteacher, the governing body is gaining an increased understanding of assessment data and the link between progress and achievement; this is helping governors to become better informed about how to recognise good teaching and challenge underperformance. The governing body manages funding conscientiously and seeks assurances that the income received through the pupil premium is spent for the purposes intended. However, it less secure in its understanding of how

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The leadership and management requires improvement

effective the extra funding is in enabling these pupils to make progress. The governing body ensure that training is up-to-date and that all statutory duties are met, including those relating to safeguarding of pupils. All the necessary checks are carried out to ensure pupils’ safety.

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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 122771 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 395570

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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 Controlled Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 146 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Margaret Staples Headteacher Paul Rust Date of previous school inspection 23 October 2008 Telephone number 01623 860575 Fax number 01623 836806 Email address office@walesby.notts.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

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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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