Sandal Primary School

Sandal Primary School West Lane, Baildon, Shipley, West Yorkshire, BD17 5DH

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Inadequate 4 Achievement of pupils Inadequate 4 Quality of teaching Inadequate 4 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that has serious weaknesses.  Given their starting points, pupils do not achieve as well as they should in mathematics where progress is too slow.  Teachers are not sufficiently knowledgeable or skilled in the teaching of mathematics. The work they give pupils does not enable them all to make good progress; often it is too easy but for some it is too hard.  The leadership of mathematics is not effective in securing teaching of a good enough quality to ensure that pupils learn fast enough. Teachers have received minimal training to enable them to teach this subject effectively.  Until recently, the pace of improvement in mathematics has been too slow. This is because the school’s senior leaders, managers and governors have held too positive a view of pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching.  Checks on the quality of teaching have not been rigorous enough in identifying the weaknesses in mathematics that have limited

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

pupils’ progress.  The school’s improvement plan does not focus sharply enough on the main things that are needed to improve teaching and pupils’ learning in mathematics.

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The school has the following strengths

 Most pupils achieve well in English. Standards of attainment have improved since the last inspection and by the end of Year 6, attainment is now well above average.  Consistently good teaching for children in the Nursery and Reception classes results in them making good progress in all areas of learning.  Pupils behave well and enjoy school. They try hard in lessons, even when the work they are given does not enable them to achieve as well as they could. Levels of attendance are high.  The school takes good care of pupils. Pupils say that they feel safe.  There are good opportunities for pupils to learn about the arts and develop skills in sport and information and communication technology (ICT).  Governance has improved recently. Governors, working closely with senior leaders, are now holding the school to account effectively by asking challenging questions about pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 18 lessons; three were observed jointly with members of the school’s senior leadership team.  Inspectors analysed pupils’ work and the school’s data about their progress. They held three formal discussions with pupils and spoke to others informally in lessons and at breaks and lunchtime.  Meetings were held with senior and middle leaders and with six governors, including the Chair of the Governing Body.  Discussions were held with a representative from the local authority and an external consultant who is providing support for the school.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and analysed a range of documents. This included: safeguarding records and those relating to pupils’ behaviour and attendance; records of the monitoring of teaching and pupils’ learning; the school’s self-evaluation summary and improvement plans; teachers’ planning; and evidence of governors’ meetings.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors took account of 50 responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) and a small number of written comments from parents.

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Inspection team

Margot D'Arcy, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Mark Randall Additional Inspector Stephen Rigby Additional Inspector

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Full report

In accordance with the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances reasonably be expected to perform.

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs supported through school action is average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is slightly below average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, in local authority care or whose parents are in the armed forces, is below average.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is below average. None are at an early stage of learning to speak English.  The school meets the government’s current floor standard which sets the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  Recently, new teachers have been appointed to lead Key Stage 1 and the Early Years Foundation

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Information about this school

Stage.  The school provides a breakfast club and has gained a number of awards, including Healthy School status, Arts Mark Silver, Active Mark and Sing-Up Gold.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching in mathematics in Years 1 to 6, so that it is at least good by ensuring that:  work is closely matched to pupils’ needs so that all are able to make consistently good progress  more effective use is made of lesson time to enable pupils to learn quickly  pupils are given precise information about how they can improve  help from support staff is always of good quality.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise achievement in mathematics by ensuring that:  teachers receive training to enable them to have a good understanding of how to teach mathematics and develop pupils’ numeracy skills in other subjects  pupils are given significantly more opportunities to use and apply their mathematical skills to solve problems and to understand the relevance of mathematics to everyday life  teachers’ assessments of pupils’ attainment in mathematics are accurate so that pupils who are falling behind in their learning can be quickly identified and supported  pupils who find learning more difficult and those whose circumstances make them more vulnerable are given additional, good quality help to ensure that they make good progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of leadership, management and governance by ensuring that:  checks on the quality of teaching in mathematics are more rigorous and accurate  there is strong and effective leadership of mathematics  the school’s evaluation of its performance is more accurate and improvement plans are more sharply focused on raising pupils’ achievement and improving the quality of teaching in mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Most children start school with skills that are typical for their age. They make good progress in the Nursery and Reception classes so that when they begin Year 1, their attainment is generally above average. Their attainment in mathematics is well above average.  During Key Stage 1, most pupils make good progress in reading and writing. By the end of Year 2, they generally attain standards that are above average in reading and well above average in writing. However, their good start in mathematics is not sustained and they underachieve in this subject. Although pupils’ attainment in mathematics by the end of Year 2 is generally average, it has declined each year for the past three years.  A similar picture is evident at Key Stage 2. Most pupils continue to make good progress in reading and writing and attain well-above-average standards by the end of Year 6. However, they continue to underachieve in mathematics. By the end of Year 6, attainment in this subject

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

is average. Given their starting points, this is far below what pupils are capable of achieving.  The most recent Year 6 mathematics test results reflected pupils’ underachievement. Although the proportion of pupils making more than the expected progress was generally better than average, too many pupils did not make the progress expected of them. Observations of mathematics lessons and the examination of pupils’ work over time make clear that pupils are not given tasks that get the best out of them.  In Key Stages 1 and 2, pupils make good progress in reading and writing, including using phonics (the sounds that letters make) to help them read unfamiliar words and to write independently. Pupils are knowledgeable about books and authors and express clear preferences about what they enjoy most. They make effective use of reading skills to research information to support their learning in other subjects. By the end of Year 6, pupils are also competent writers

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

of, for example, stories, reports, poems, instructions and film scripts.  Pupils with special educational needs made much more progress in English than mathematics, but they did not progress at as good a rate as other pupils in the school or across the country in either English or mathematics. There is no significant difference between the attainment and progress of pupils in receipt of the pupil premium in English and others in the school or in relation to pupils in this group nationally. In English, the school has been successful in narrowing the achievement gap between these pupils and others. In mathematics the gap is wider but not significantly so.  Pupils produce good quality artwork, enjoy music and sport and are competent users of ICT.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 The teaching of mathematics is inadequate because too much requires improvement and too little is of good quality to ensure that pupils make at least the progress expected of them.  At the beginning of the autumn term the school reorganised the teaching of mathematics so that pupils are taught in groups of similar ability. However, too many teachers are still not matching work successfully to pupils’ different needs to ensure that they all make good progress. Frequently, pupils’ work is insufficiently challenging but sometimes it is too difficult. In lessons and discussions, some pupils said that they found mathematics work too easy.  The pace of learning in too many mathematics lessons is slow. Sometimes this is because teachers talk for too long. At other times, they spend too long going over work in which pupils’ understanding is already secure before introducing new ideas. Workbooks show that, too often,

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

pupils complete far too many calculations in which they are clearly competent.  Teachers set pupils mathematical number puzzles and word problems. However, there is little work that requires pupils to use and apply mathematical skills in increasingly complex and extended investigations, which enable them understand the relevance of mathematics to everyday life. There is little purposeful development of numeracy skills in other subjects.  In the best lessons, including those in mathematics, teachers’ subject knowledge is good. Teachers move learning on at a good pace, constantly checking pupils’ understanding and introducing new ideas and challenges to keep them interested and attentive. They involve many pupils in answering questions and expect them to explain their answers and strategies for working out problems. These features were evident in a Year 5 lesson on converting fractions to decimals and a Year 6 lesson for lower-attaining pupils on number problems.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Lessons and pupils’ books reflect that literacy is generally taught well. During the inspection, Year 6 pupils made good progress in enriching their writing by using adverbs. Lower- attaining Year 2 pupils also made good progress in learning how to turn simple sentences into more complex ones by adding time connectives. In Year 1, some pupils made good progress in developing scientific skills of prediction and testing. Overall, teachers are more successful in promoting pupils’ literacy skills in other subjects than their numeracy skills.  Teaching for children in the Nursery and Reception classes is good. Early reading and mathematical skills are taught well in a range of activities, including through play.  Throughout the school, and in a range of subjects, teachers are increasingly involving pupils in assessing how well they are learning. Teachers’ own assessments of pupils’ attainment are improving, but are not always sufficiently accurate in mathematics.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 The quality of verbal and written feedback that pupils receive about their work and in relation to how well they are meeting their improvement targets is variable. In too many cases teachers’ marking is cursory and does not inform pupils how to improve.  The impact of teaching assistants in supporting teaching and learning is also uneven. Some make a particularly good contribution in lessons across a range of subjects but others are not sufficiently involved when pupils are being taught as a whole class and do not promote good learning through questioning when leading small group activities. Support staff in the Early Years Foundation Stage make a very effective contribution to teaching and learning.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are extremely well behaved. Their understanding of moral and social issues is highly developed and they articulate these well.  Pupils say that they feel safe in school and have a good awareness of how to keep safe. They give informed explanations about different types of bullying and know what to do if they experience this or see it happening to others. They say that racist behaviour is rare and have confidence in the way the school deals with inappropriate behaviour.  Most pupils believe that behaviour is good. They say that learning is occasionally disrupted by a few pupils’ inappropriate behaviour, but recognise that some pupils experience difficulties in controlling their behaviour.  In lessons, pupils show respect for teachers, pay good attention and get on with their work. Even when they find the work easy and not particularly stimulating, they still apply themselves well and diligently complete the tasks set. They work well together, for instance when discussing

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

their learning with a talk partner. They say they enjoy school and particularly like the good range of clubs and trips.  Pupils show pride in their school and willingly take on a variety of responsibilities. These include older pupils acting as play leaders for the younger ones at lunchtimes, ‘Eco Warriors’ from Key Stage 2 who organise the recycling of waste paper, picking litter and saving energy by checking that lights are turned off in empty rooms. Pupils are punctual and their attendance is consistently high compared to the national average.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher and other leaders and managers have been slow to identify weaknesses in mathematics. Weaknesses in leaders’ checks on teaching have led to an inflated view of how well mathematics is taught. While leaders identified some weaknesses in pupils’ progress, teachers were still informed that their lessons were ‘good’.  The school’s improved tracking system has highlighted pupils who have fallen behind in their learning and enabled leaders to recognise which pupils need additional support in order to boost their progress. Initiatives are also underway to ensure greater accuracy in teachers’ assessments of pupils’ work.  Mathematics is now the school’s main priority, but the subject is not being led effectively enough to ensure improvement happens quickly. The action plan is not focused sharply enough on how to improve teaching and learning and does not reflect the need to address weaknesses in the

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The leadership and management requires improvement

curriculum to develop pupils’ skills in using and applying mathematics.  Although improvement since the last inspection has been slower than expected, initiatives in the last two terms are having an impact and reflect the school’s ability to improve. The headteacher and governors have enabled the deputy headteacher and assistant headteacher to be released from class responsibilities this year to take a more significant role in leading improvements. Leadership responsibilities are now better distributed and this is having an impact. Both the deputy headteacher and assistant headteacher provide good role models for teaching and are effectively leading developments to make teachers more accountable for pupils’ progress. Significantly sharper planning now ensures better progress for pupils with special educational needs and for pupils in receipt of the pupil premium.  The new leader of the Early Years Foundation Stage has a clear understanding of the strengths

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The leadership and management requires improvement

and areas for development in this phase, such as ensuring continuous good quality outdoor provision. Her leadership has inspired the staff and has contributed to the leaders’ ability to improve the school.  The school works hard and successfully to keep pupils safe and is committed to promoting equality of opportunity. However, pupils, including those whose circumstances have made them more vulnerable, do not have the same opportunities to progress as well in mathematics as they do in English. Parents are very supportive of the school and most of the responses to the questionnaire were extremely positive.  In response to the underachievement evident in the most recent test results, the local authority agreed to the school’s request to increase its level of support from light touch to moderate. The school has also received good quality advice and support from an external consultant funded by the school and brokered by the local authority.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governance of the school:  Governors have responded quickly to the feedback and training from an external consultant and are now making a much stronger contribution to the school’s drive for improvement. They are now holding school leaders to account well. The training that they have had about data is enabling them to better understand pupils’ performance. Governors’ understanding of the quality of teaching has been too positive in the past because it has been informed by senior leaders’ inaccurate views. However, governors have clearly recognised that teaching in mathematics is not good enough. They are using the school’s performance management processes rigorously to challenge school leaders to tackle underperformance in teaching in this subject. Statutory requirements for the safeguarding of pupils are met.

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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 107287 Local authority Bradford Inspection number 405096

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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 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 447 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Richard Moore Headteacher Paul Richardson Date of previous school inspection 22 March 2011 Telephone number 01274 598115 Fax number 01274 590445 Email address office@sandal.bradford.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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