Lyndhurst Community Primary School

Lyndhurst Community Primary School Hill Street, Dukinfield, Cheshire, SK16 4JS

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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

 Achievement is not good enough. Attainment fell significantly in 2012 to below average. This related to a legacy of inconsistencies in teaching and learning over time.  Teaching requires improvement because it is not yet good enough to accelerate progress further. In some lessons, pupils are not sufficiently challenged and can spend too long listening to the teacher before getting on with their independent tasks.  Adults’ explanations are not always clear and so pupils who are not working directly with an adult are sometimes unclear about what they have to do.  Teachers do not have enough opportunities to share effective ways of challenging pupils to reach their full potential.  There are some missed opportunities for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage to link skills together to enhance their learning.  Leadership and management require improvement because middle managers are not yet sufficiently involved in checking the

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

quality of teaching and learning to raise attainment.

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The school has the following strengths

 Pupils currently in school are now working close to the level expected for their age.  Pupils’ behaviour is consistently good and this enhances their learning.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make good progress in the development of their personal and social skills.  The school has taken strong action to improve attendance and this is rising at a good rate.  The headteacher has taken robust action to address the fall in attainment.  The governing body supports leaders and managers in the more rigorous monitoring of teaching to improve achievement.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed eight teachers in 18 lessons or part lessons, one of which was a joint observation with the headteacher. In addition, inspectors made a number of short visits to lessons and to sessions where pupils were receiving additional support in groups or individually.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils, staff, four members of the governing body, a representative from the local authority and the School’s Improvement Partner. Inspectors also talked to parents informally at the start of the school day.  Inspectors listened to pupils read and scrutinised the work in their books.  They looked at the school development plan and school documentation about pupils’ progress, on procedures for safeguarding pupils and staff, and the monitoring of staff performance. They also looked at the analysis of the use of funding received through the pupil premium.  Inspectors took account of the 21 responses by parents to the on-line questionnaire (Parent

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Information about this inspection

View). They also scrutinised 17 staff questionnaires.

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Inspection team

Shirley Herring, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Marilyn Massey Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is slightly smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are from a White British background.  Almost half of the pupils are known to be eligible for the pupil premium.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is above average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also above average.  The breakfast club is managed by the governing body.  There have been considerable staff changes since the last inspection. Three class teachers are new to the school this year and a further three teachers are teaching a different age group from the previous year.  The school did not meet the government’s current floor standards in 2012.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of teaching that is good or better from Nursery to Year 6 in English and mathematics and so raise attainment by: – ensuring pupils do not spend too long listening to an adult before getting on with their own tasks – giving clear instructions to those pupils who are not working directly with an adult so that they know what to do and can get on quickly – sharing good practice evident in some classes to ensure pupils are consistently challenged to reach their full potential – giving children in the Early Years Foundation Stage regular opportunities to link the development of related skills to accelerate learning.  Improve the quality of leadership and management by developing the role of middle managers to supplement the work of senior leaders in identifying any underperformance in teaching and achievement at a very early stage.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Children enter the Nursery with a range of skills that overall are lower than typically expected for their age, particularly their language, social and physical skills. They make good progress in developing their social skills because of the high priority placed on this aspect by the staff. Children make slower but steady progress in all other areas of learning. Many are working below the national average by the time they enter Year 1.  Attainment at the end of Year 2 was broadly average in reading and mathematics but slightly below average in writing. Writing is now improving because of improvements in marking and increased opportunities to write in other subjects.  After two years of improvement at the end of Year 6, where attainment was broadly average, attainment dipped in 2012 and was significantly below average. This reflected a legacy of inconsistencies in teaching and disruptions in learning over time for this particular cohort.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

However, there is convincing evidence through assessments of pupils’ understanding and from the work in their books that pupils currently in school are making better progress and are working close to the level expected for their age.  Literacy skills are improving with regular opportunities to write. Pupils know letter sounds but some pupils lack the confidence to use this skill when coming across a new word.  This is an inclusive school that is committed to providing equal opportunities for all. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are making similar progress to others because their needs are identified at an early stage and they receive a good level of care and well- targeted support. The achievement of the pupils supported through school action requires improvement because their learning over time has been inconsistent. This also reflects the picture for pupils at school action plus and with a statement of special educational needs.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils known to be eligible for free school meals are making slightly better progress in English than other pupils, although they are doing less well than others in mathematics. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 are now being taught in smaller groups in mathematics, according to their ability, to help to close the gaps in achievement.  Pupils’ reading skills are broadly average in Years 2 and 6 this year.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Results in the recent past have indicated a weakness in teaching over time. However, there have been considerable changes in staffing this year and observations during the inspection and scrutiny of pupils’ books and the school’s own checks show that the quality of teaching is improving.  Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage is lively and activities are suitably practical so children enjoy their learning. Letter sounds and counting skills are taught systematically but there are missed opportunities for children to link skills together, for example linking sounds to the written word, to maximise their learning.  Lessons are generally well planned throughout the school. There is a clear emphasis on developing pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills in specific lessons and across other subjects in the curriculum. This was seen when pupils enjoyed the visit from ‘Birds of Prey’ as part of their topic

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

work and this enlivened their writing.  In some lessons, teachers spend too long talking to the class and pupils have to spend too long listening before getting on with their independent work.  Teachers sometimes do not give clear enough instructions to pupils about how to approach specific tasks when they are working without adult support.  Some teacher are skilled in judging whether a task is too easy for pupils and when to move pupils on to a more challenging task, for example working in hundreds rather than tens in a mathematics’ lesson. However, too few teachers do this.  Teachers manage pupils’ behaviour well and apply the school’s behaviour code consistently.  In the best lessons, teachers make good use of practical resources to enhance learning. This was seen in a mathematics lesson in Year 2, when pupils moved along a giant number line to help them to round numbers to the nearest ten.  There is a consistent approach to marking and this is helping pupils to improve their work.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

Teachers place a good emphasis on developing literacy and numeracy skills. This was seen in a mathematics skills lesson in Year 6 when the teacher challenged pupils to find ever more complex questions to give an answer of 36.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils is good

 Pupils are polite, friendly and well behaved in lessons, around school and in the playground. Behaviour is well managed. Pupils know what is expected and say that occasional disruptions in class are dealt with quickly and with minimal impact on learning.  They cooperate well in class, for example when discussing ideas with talking partners, and this enhances their learning.  They say they feel safe. They appreciate initiatives such as anti-bullying week and say that rare instances of bullying of any sort are dealt with swiftly.  They have a good understanding of personal safety, for example e-safety, and welcomed the visit from a ChildLine worker to discuss how to keep safe.  Parents agree that behaviour is good. One parent remarked how much happier her child was than in her previous school because the behaviour at Lyndhurst was so good.  Attendance has improved significantly and was above average last year.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils is good

The leadership and management requires improvement.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils is good

 Senior leaders have taken effective steps to analyse and address the reasons for the fall in standards in 2012, which was greater than anticipated. Systems for tracking pupils’ progress are developing and are now more rigorous, and the information from assessments of pupils’ work is being used to identify potential underachievement at a much earlier stage. Even so, middle managers are not yet sufficiently involved in checking the quality of teaching and learning.  Teachers are held more closely to account for the progress of pupils in their class through regular pupil progress meetings with senior leaders. This is fostering a more consistent pattern of learning. However, it is too soon to judge the impact on achievement over time.  Following thorough monitoring and evaluation of teaching, intensive coaching has been put in place to improve the quality of teaching. Teachers have benefited from involvement in an

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The behaviour and safety of pupils is good

improvement programme and from links with other schools. However, the school recognises that not enough teaching is yet good and teachers do not share good practice often enough.  Rapid improvements in teaching and pupils’ progress indicate that the school has the capacity to improve. Senior leaders have supported new staff well and school policies on behaviour and marking are being used consistently across the school to bring about improvements in achievement.  The pupil premium has been used successfully to improve attendance, narrowing the gap between those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and others. However, the gap between these pupils’ attainment and that of others still remains.  The curriculum is broad and balanced and promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development appropriately.  The local authority has given valuable recent support to the school to address weaknesses in

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The behaviour and safety of pupils is good

teaching and the dip in attainment.  The governance of the school:  The governing body is well aware of its responsibilities in safeguarding pupils and staff and all the required systems and checks are in place. Members have provided stability and encouragement during times of significant disruptions in staffing. They are well aware of the fall in standards in 2012 and questioned why this was greater than had been expected. They are fully supportive of the more rigorous systems to manage the performance of staff. They now provide well-informed challenge and support to the school.

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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 106192 Local authority Tameside Inspection number 400824

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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 221 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair John Reynolds Headteacher Jane Woolfenden Date of previous school inspection 16 June 2010 Telephone number 0161 3307220 Fax number 0161 3082498 Email address admin@lyndhurst.tameside.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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