Buntingsdale Primary School and Nursery

Buntingsdale Primary School and Nursery Buntingsdale Park, Tern Hill, Market Drayton, TF9 2HB

p.1

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

p.1

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

 Pupils are not doing as well as they are capable of in reading, writing and mathematics.  Teaching requires improvement. Not enough is good, and teachers do not always set work at the right level of difficulty.  Pupils do not always know what they should achieve by the end of a lesson, or if they have been successful.  Pupils do not know how to assess their own work because they are not given enough guidance.  Although progress is improving, pupils are not systematically taught how to understand the meaning of text when they read, or to practise their writing and mathematical skills in different subjects.  Leadership and management require improvement. Leaders do not have a full understanding about the performance of different groups of learners, or set themselves measurable targets for improvement.  Governors rely too much on the information the headteacher gives them when checking the school’s performance.

p.1

The school has the following strengths

 The headteacher provides good leadership, and is supported well by the new deputy headteacher. Together they have taken decisive action and introduced a range of strategies to improve pupils’ progress and behaviour.  Leaders have strengthened the school’s effectiveness by making good teaching and leadership appointments.  The school provides good care, support and welfare for pupils and parents whose circumstances mean they need extra help.  Pupils behave well. They feel safe and enjoy all that the school offers.  The extra funding provided by the pupil premium is used well to make sure eligible pupils keep up with their classmates.

p.1

Information about this inspection

 The inspector visited eight part lessons taught by three teachers and two teaching assistants. She listened to Year 2 pupils read and looked at pupils’ work in their books.  The inspector held discussions with pupils, teachers, the headteacher, the Chair of the Governing Body, and a local authority officer.  The inspector looked carefully at a range of documents, including policies about keeping pupils safe.  The views of four parents were analysed through the Parent View website.  The inspector also considered the views expressed in 12 questionnaires returned by school staff.

p.2

Inspection team

Mary Hinds, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

p.2

Information about this school

 The school is much smaller than most primary schools. It is situated on a housing estate which is occupied by army personnel. At any given time, up to 80% of the pupils are from services families.  Most pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for children from families who are known to be eligible for free school meals, looked after children and those from families with a parent serving overseas in the armed forces, is slightly higher than average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported at ‘school action plus’ or a statement of special educational needs is above average. The proportion supported at ‘school action’ is average. Most of these pupils have speech and language difficulties.  The school is undergoing major building work as it changed from an infant school to a primary

p.3

Information about this school

school in September 2012. Currently there are only 12 pupils in Key Stage 2, all in Year 3.  Two new teachers were appointed in September 2012, including a deputy headteacher.  No pupils are taught in alternative provision away from the school site.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that the quality of teaching is at least good by:  always setting work at the right level so that pupils learn at a faster rate, especially the more- able pupils  displaying key words, mathematical methods and examples of good writing in the classroom to support pupils’ learning and to encourage pupils to work on their own  identifying clearly what pupils are to learn by the end of a lesson, including what activities or steps they need to take to achieve this so that they are able to assess their own progress  asking pupils well-chosen questions to check their understanding of what they are learning, make them think hard, and express their ideas regularly with each other and to the class.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ progress in English, mathematics and science by:  giving them regular opportunities to apply their reading and writing skills, develop their understanding and practise their grammar, punctuation and spelling in subjects such as science, history and geography  developing their investigative, problem solving and recording skills in mathematics and science.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Sharpen school improvement and development planning to increase the impact of leadership on teaching and pupils’ achievement by:  keeping a close check on the progress different groups of pupils make  being specific about the measures against which governors can evaluate success  agreeing precise and measurable targets with staff to improve their teaching skills, and providing any necessary training and coaching to help them to achieve these targets  ensuring that governors collect more first-hand information in order to question leaders further about the school’s performance.

p.3

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Progress for all groups of pupils requires improvement, particularly in reading. Most pupils make steady progress, and they reach broadly average attainment levels in writing and mathematics by the end of Year 2. This is an improving trend but attainment in reading remains below average. Too few pupils learn at a faster rate, particularly more-able pupils.

p.4

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Typically children enter the Nursery with knowledge, skills and understanding that are below expectations for their age. The current children are doing well and are making good gains in their learning. In the past children’s attainment in all areas of learning has been below average at the end of the Reception Year.

p.4

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The school has addressed the weaknesses in reading by introducing a more thorough approach to developing pupils’ knowledge of how to link letters to the sounds they make. Several new projects are ensuring that pupils now read more regularly. Nevertheless, pupils are not taught enough to think about the meaning of the text, so that they are not able to read fluently and on their own.

p.4

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The school is successfully focusing on developing pupils’ writing. Pupils practise key features of writing, including punctuation and spelling and aspects of grammar. However, they do not have enough opportunities to apply these skills in different subjects or to write complete pieces of work.

p.4

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils have appropriate calculation skills. They count and subtract accurately. However, they do not solve problems on their own confidently on a regular basis, or organise and check their work and discuss their thinking in class or with their friends. Furthermore, they have comparatively few opportunities to investigate and record their work in different subjects, especially in science.

p.4

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils who are supported by the pupil premium do better than similar groups nationally in reading, writing and mathematics. Their attainment in 2012 was higher than for all other groups of learners in the school. The school’s well-developed strategies to support these pupils help to overcome the barriers they face in their learning. Support staff provide one-to-one speech and language support. Pupils have regular counselling sessions and the school often provides funding for educational visits.

p.4

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Most disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make the same progress as other pupils. They also benefit from small group teaching, where adults identify small next steps in their learning to make sure they make continual progress.

p.4

The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching requires improvement because too many of the pupils currently in the school have not done well over time. Teaching has improved recently and some is good, but there are still too many inconsistencies.

p.4

The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Where teaching is weaker, work is not matched closely enough to pupils’ different abilities. Activities are sometimes the same for all pupils. As a result some pupils find work too easy or too hard. Teachers do not always ask probing questions to check on pupils’ understanding. They do not always encourage pupils to think hard and to explain their ideas so that work can be adjusted within lessons to maintain pupils’ motivation and speed up their progress.

p.4

The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Activities sometimes do not have specific steps identified for pupils to use in order to help them check how well they are doing, and identify for themselves their next steps in learning.

p.5

The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Some classrooms displays do not provide enough support for pupils’ learning, or help them to work on their own without adult support. They lack clear learning prompts, such as key words or visual examples of what a good piece of writing looks like or the most efficient methods for working out mathematical problems.

p.5

The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Stronger aspects of teaching include some effective marking in literacy, where pupils are provided with clear feedback on what they have done well and what they need to do next. Relationships are positive and pupils get on well with each other and respond suitably to adult instructions.

p.5

The quality of teaching requires improvement

 In a typical good lesson seen, the teacher identified what different groups of children were going to learn. She shared with the children a good example of what they were going to achieve by the end of the lesson, encouraging them to check their answers and asking probing questions such as, ‘Why should this middle sized shape go between the biggest and smallest shape?’ The children worked well on their own but also cooperated well together. Adults worked with focused groups, modelling and extending the children’s language and learning.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Teachers have worked hard to make considerable improvements in pupils’ behaviour. They have introduced clear expectations and procedures. Pupils say they enjoy the recognition they get for working hard and behaving well. They talked enthusiastically about achieving a star and being rewarded with ‘Golden time’.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils feel safe in school and behaviour is typically good in lessons and around school. Staff have a consistent approach to managing pupils’ behaviour, and deal with the most challenging behaviour well. The resulting atmosphere makes a positive contribution to pupils’ learning. Occasionally some pupils become restless when work is too easy or too hard.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Although very few parents and carers responded to the online questionnaire, none raised any concerns about behaviour and all said that their children are kept safe.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 In the Early Years Foundation Stage children behave exceptionally well. Good relationships between adults and children help them to settle and feel happy and safe in school. They follow instructions carefully and already understand the importance of taking turns and sharing resources.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils enjoy taking on extra responsibilities and making decisions about the school. Together with parents, they designed the new library and the school’s new logo.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well. Pupils have a good awareness of cultural diversity. The school has forged strong links through their global learning activities, including with a school in Kenya. There is a strong focus on developing pupils’ social responsibilities. For example, the school was the driving force in establishing a local charity.  Instances of bullying are rare. Pupils have an appropriate understanding of different forms of bullying and say that their teachers sort out problems and help them to stay safe.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils enjoy coming to school. Attendance has improved and is now average.

p.6

The leadership and management requires improvement

 This is an improving school, but the rate of improvement has not been fast enough to raise its effectiveness to good. This is largely due to considerable staffing changes over the last few years, which have led to inconsistencies in the quality of teaching that have in turn held back pupils’ progress.

p.6

The leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher provides strong leadership and has successfully ensured that staffing is now stable. Staff morale is high. Governors and staff share her drive to rapidly improve the school and ensure that all pupils achieve what they are capable of.

p.6

The leadership and management requires improvement

 Self-evaluation is accurate. Leaders know what needs to be done and they are implementing the right things to boost pupils’ achievement and improve behaviour. Nevertheless, improvement planning is not fully effective because it does not always identify specific targets for judging success.

p.6

The leadership and management requires improvement

 The deputy headteacher has successfully led the introduction of the new behaviour management policy and has changed the way the school tracks pupils’ progress. However, the tracking system does not provide enough information on how well different groups of pupils perform.

p.6

The leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher, together with the governors, has eradicated inadequate teaching. Each teacher’s classroom performance and contribution to whole-school improvement are checked carefully and rewarded when warranted. Governors have a good understanding of teachers’ performance and how this links to pay progression. However, target setting to improve teachers’ performance does not always identify specific individual areas of weakness in teaching and subject knowledge, so that tailored support can be provided.

p.6

The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school’s leaders and governing body have benefited from the effective support and guidance provided by the local authority, the school improvement advisor and a National Leader in Education. This is beginning to establish improvements to teaching and assessment practices, and is contributing to the improvements in pupils’ achievement.

p.6

The leadership and management requires improvement

 Partnerships are a strength of the school. Staff have a good understanding of the social needs of its pupils and their parents. Close links with a range of organisations provide timely support when needed through the local army welfare services, the service children’s support network and various other professional agencies. Many parents attend the family learning programmes so that they are better able to support their children’s learning.

p.6

The leadership and management requires improvement

 Better teaching of subjects by linking them together through topics is helping to motivate pupils, although they still have too few opportunities to write or to solve problems in different subjects.

p.6

The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governance of the school:  Governors hold the school to account. They compare the school’s performance with that of other schools, and are aware that there is more to be done. They are improving their ability to challenge leaders. They are increasingly asking searching questions as some have attended data analysis training by the local authority. Some governors have begun to visit the school so that they know more about some aspects of its day-to-day teaching and performance, particularly in relation to literacy and global learning. However, they rely too much on the information provided by the headteacher. They have not ensured that the school’s plans for improvement are presented in a way that helps them to track the impact on pupils’ learning and progress. The headteacher’s performance targets are set appropriately by the governing body. Governors are informed about the use of additional funds from the pupil premium to

p.6

The leadership and management requires improvement

provide more one-to-one teaching for eligible pupils, and its impact. They take the necessary steps to keep the pupils safe.

p.7

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

p.8

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.

p.8

School details

Unique reference number 123397 Local authority Shropshire Inspection number 402155

p.9

School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

p.9

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 63 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Hywel Snook Headteacher Hilary Alcock Date of previous school inspection 28 April 2010 Telephone number 01630 638370 Fax number 01630 638971 Email address admin.buntingsdale@shropshirelg.net 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 .

p.9

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.

p.10

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

p.10

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

p.10

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’.

p.10

School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.10