Shrubland Street Community Primary School

P R O T E C T – I N S P E C T I O N School report

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Shrubland Street Community School Shrubland Street, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV31 2AR

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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

 Leaders’ checks on the quality of teaching have not ensured that there is enough good or better teaching to enable pupils to make good progress, especially in Years 1 and 2.  Some teachers do not set work that is at the right level or sufficiently demanding.  Some teachers do not allow enough time for pupils’ practical work because they talk for too long.  Teachers do not always make time for pupils to correct and improve their work.  Pupils have too few opportunities to use mathematical skills in real-life situations.  There are not enough checks on the progress of those pupils who join the school part way through their primary education.

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The school has the following strengths

 The governing body is well informed and shares the headteacher’s vision of how to improve the school.  Attendance is high.  Pupils behave well and feel safe and secure. They respect each other, know right from wrong and relate well to others.  Children get off to a good start in the Nursery and Reception classes.  Pupils take great pride in their work, especially sport, art and design technology.  High standards of display provide a rich learning environment.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed teaching and learning in 17 lessons, taught by nine teachers.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, senior leaders, members of the governing body, the local authority, staff and groups of pupils.  Joint observations of teaching and learning were conducted with the headteacher.  The inspectors listened to pupils read.  The inspectors spoke to parents and took account of the 21 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View).  The inspectors observed the school’s work, scrutinised pupils’ workbooks, and looked at school policies, including those relating to safeguarding and equality, minutes of governing body meetings and planning documents.  The inspectors took account of the 15 questionnaires returned by staff.

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Inspection team

Barbara Atcheson, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Richard Boswell Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Shrubland Street Community School is a smaller-than-average primary school.  Most pupils are from a White British background.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for extra funding (known as the pupil premium) is above the national average.  The proportion of pupils with special educational needs supported through school action is above average. The proportion supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is average.  An above-average number of pupils are admitted to school at times other than the usual time of entry.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  Two assistant headteachers have been appointed since the last inspection.  The school has a breakfast club for all pupils and ‘wraparound’ care for Nursery children, both of which are managed by the governing body.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching, particularly in Years 1 and 2 by making sure that all teachers:  set work for pupils that is neither too hard nor too easy  do not talk for too long in lessons and give pupils more practical work  plan time for pupils to correct and improve their work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve achievement in mathematics by giving pupils opportunities to use their mathematical skills in real-life situations.  Check what pupils who join the school partway through their primary education know and can do when they start at the school, so that teachers and school leaders have a clear and accurate picture of the progress these pupils make.  Improve leadership and management by rigorously checking and evaluating the impact of actions to improve teaching.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Achievement requires improvement because too few pupils make fast enough progress during their time at school.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The level at which Reception children start school varies. However, in 2012 most children started school with skills typical for their age.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Reception and Nursery children make good and sometimes outstanding progress because learning is exciting and children can relate it to their everyday lives.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Parents are encouraged to become partners in their children’s learning through events such as ‘Bedtime Story’. Children were invited back to school at 6 o’clock in their pyjamas, with their parents, to listen to a story whilst drinking hot chocolate and eating the cakes they had made during the day.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Although all pupils in Years 1 and 2 make steady progress in reading, writing and mathematics, too few make good or better progress. In 2010 and 2011, pupils reached average standards in reading, writing and mathematics, but standards dipped to two terms behind pupils nationally in 2012.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils make better progress in Years 3 to 6. Progress accelerates as they reach the end of their time in school. Over the past three years, pupils at the end of Year 6 have reached standards which are broadly in line with all pupils nationally in reading, writing and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 There are weaknesses in mathematics because teachers do not plan enough opportunities for pupils to use their mathematical skills in real-life situations. However, following the last inspection, successful changes in the way writing is taught resulted in pupils reaching above- average standards in writing in 2012.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 A lot of pupils join the school partway through their primary education. As the school does not check what they know and can do when they join Shrubland Street, it cannot measure the progress they make.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Accurate identification and an appropriate range of extra support enable disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs to make the same rate of progress as their peers. A similar level of support ensures that pupils learning English as an additional language make the same progress as others.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils known to be eligible for extra funding benefit from a wide range of extra support, such as financial help for trips and one-to-one tuition in reading, writing and mathematics. This helps to narrow the attainment gap between this group of pupils and the rest.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils are rightly proud of their achievements in the sporting field. They also delighted in showing their stunning large masks of important people such as Gandhi and Martin Luther-King.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Parents appreciate the way in which the wraparound care gives very effective continuity for Nursery-aged children in the afternoons.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Although some teaching is good and some is outstanding, teaching requires improvement because it does not always promote good achievement.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 In some lessons, the pace of learning slows because teachers’ lesson introductions go on for too long. Sitting for a long time listening to the teacher did not help pupils in Year 1 learn how to measure width, for example. Similarly, a lack of practical experience meant that, until they saw the real objects, pupils in Year 2 struggled in their task of writing a leaflet about electrical circuits.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Pupils in Year 5 enjoyed making rapid progress through the demanding tasks to compare and order fractions because the work was set at the right level for each group. However, this is not always the case in the school. Work is often too hard for some or too easy for others, particularly when the whole class has to sit through lengthy explanations.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching in reading, writing and mathematics varies. Children in Nursery and Reception are taught well because teachers have a good understanding of what and how children learn best. Teachers in Years 3 to 6 help pupils to build on their learning. Pupils in Year 6 who were working on how to improve a piece of discussion writing made rapid progress because the teacher consistently drew their attention to certain points and asked them to reconsider and reflect on their learning. This is not always the case in Years 1 and 2.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Good and sometimes outstanding teaching in Nursery and Reception classes ensures that children make strides in their learning. Nursery children took pride in completing a pattern because adults were skilled at asking the sort of questions which helped them to make the right choices.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers plan interesting ways for pupils to use their reading and writing skills in other subjects, but they plan fewer opportunities for pupils to use their mathematical skills in a similar way.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Although teachers mark pupils’ work conscientiously, they do not always allow time for pupils to correct their work. As a result, mistakes are repeated.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils have positive attitudes to learning and want to do well. When asked what has been good about their day, Year 6 pupils say, ‘Learning, because we want to be well educated and get a good job!’

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school is a happy community where pupils work successfully as a team. They respect one another, know wrong from right and appreciate the different traditions and beliefs.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Although they know about different forms of bullying, pupils are adamant that it does not happen in school. They are confident that, if anything did happen, there would always be someone to listen to them and matters would be quickly and fairly resolved.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils not only feel safe and secure but they know how to keep themselves safe.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school’s successful focus on improving attendance following the last inspection has resulted in rates of attendance that are well above average.  The well-attended breakfast club has helped those who go to improve their punctuality and give them a good start to the day.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Parents are appreciative of what the school strives to achieve. All of those who responded to ‘Parent View’ said that the school dealt effectively with bullying, their children were happy, felt safe and behaved well.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership and management require improvement because neither teaching nor achievement is typically good. There have not been enough checks on the quality of teaching and the impact it has on pupils’ progress.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Although the new assistant headteachers share the headteacher’s drive for improvement and have begun to develop their teams of teachers, there has not been enough time for their support, in terms of coaching and mentoring, to be reflected in consistently good and better teaching throughout the school.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school has benefited from an appropriate level of support from the local authority. In its bid to improve further, the school has made its own link with an outstanding school so that staff can see a model of good practice. However, it is too early for the full impact to be reflected in a greater increase in the proportion of good and better teaching.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Attendance has improved dramatically since the last inspection. A greater emphasis on reading has brought about improvements. Achievement in writing has also improved. Changes to the way subjects are planned have meant that pupils in Years 3 to 6 benefit from specialist teachers; for example, in art, French and science.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Teachers’ performance is managed appropriately. School and personal targets are set and the level of support needed to reach those targets is then discussed. Reviews of performance tackle weaknesses and recognise and reward improvements in teaching.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 All teachers are now held to account and pupils’ progress is checked at regular meetings. If any pupil is seen to underperform, extra help is arranged. The school has not put in place adequate systems for checking what the pupils who join them partway through their primary education know and can do.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governance of the school:  Members of the governing body play an active part in the strategic direction of the school. They have an accurate view of the school’s performance, including the quality of teaching and how pupils’ test results compare to those of other similar schools. Good-quality local authority training and their own fact-finding missions in school are helping them to understand where weaknesses in teaching lie. They realise that more work has to be done to increase the proportion of good and better teaching. They understand about the management of teachers’ performance and how it must be used to improve the quality of teaching. Governors are fully involved with setting targets for the school and hold it to account. They ensure that statutory duties such as safeguarding are met and that financial resources are managed well. They know that pupils known to be eligible for extra funding are beginning to close any gaps they

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The leadership and management requires improvement

may have in attainment because money allocated for this purpose is used appropriately.

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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 130951 Local authority Warwickshire Inspection number 406397

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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 185 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Ruth Skidmore Headteacher David Farrar Date of previous school inspection 18–19 January 2011 Telephone number 01926 426976 Fax number 01926 338756 Email address head2637@we-learn.com 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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