Crown Wood Primary School

Crown Wood Primary School Opladen Way, Bracknell, RG12 OPE

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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

 Over time, the quality of teaching has not been good enough to help pupils make the progress of which they are capable.  Pupils in Years 3 to 6 have too few opportunities to work by themselves because teachers sometimes give too much guidance and direction.  In Years 3 to 6, pupils are not actively involved enough in lessons because teachers spend too long introducing tasks.  There are insufficient planned opportunities for pupils to use and develop their literacy and mathematical skills in a range of subjects.  There is not a clear enough understanding in Years 3 to 6 of the key features of teaching that lead to good or better progress.  Some recently appointed leaders are still developing the skills to enable them to rigorously evaluate the impact of teaching on pupils’ progress.  The governing body is improving its understanding of the impact of teaching on pupils’ progress, but still does not evaluate this

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The school has the following strengths

 Children make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage because the quality of teaching is good, with some that is outstanding.  More pupils than previously are beginning to make good progress because the quality of teaching is improving in the school.  Almost all pupils behave well throughout the school. They are courteous, caring and want to learn.  Senior leaders have developed clear systems across the school which help staff work well together and to have higher expectations than previously for their pupils.  Senior leaders have put in place an effective programme of professional development for teachers. This is helping improve the quality of teaching throughout the school.  Behaviour is good and pupils report that they feel safe in the school. Attendance is also above average.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 21 lessons. This included a joint observation with the headteacher and observations of pupils receiving additional support. In addition, the inspection team examined pupils’ work in their books and listened to pupils read.  Meetings were held with a group of pupils, four governors, including the Chair of the Governing Body, senior and middle leaders, and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the 32 parent and carer responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View), and the school’s own survey of parents’ and carers’ views about the school.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at documentation, including policies and improvement plans, and documentation relating to staff development, pupil achievement, teaching, the curriculum, behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Mehar Brar, Lead inspector Additional inspector Kate Robertson Additional inspector Peter Thrussell Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 Crown Wood Primary School is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium is average. In this school, this is for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals.  Almost one fifth of the pupils, a lower proportion than than found nationally, are from a range of minority ethnic groups. The remaining, and largest group of pupils, are from a White British background.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below the national average.  The proportion of pupils supported by school action is average, and the proportion of pupils at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average.  The school does not send any pupils to be educated off-site in other institutions.  The school meets the current government floor standards, which set the minimum expectations

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching to accelerate pupils’ progress, especially in Years 3 to 6, by:  using more open-ended learning activities that allow all pupils, particularly pupils who can learn faster, to deepen and widen their learning  reducing the time that teachers take to introduce activities in lessons, so that pupils have more time to be actively involved in their learning  helping older pupils to learn the skills of working by themselves in the way that many children already do so in the Early Years Foundation Stage  giving pupils clear and challenging opportunities to use and apply the skills they have learnt in English and mathematics lessons in other parts of the curriculum.  Improve the impact of leadership and management on pupils’ progress by:  securing rigorous monitoring and evaluation by recently appointed leaders on the impact of teaching on pupils’ progress  developing a clearer and more accurate understanding of learning that is good or better

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 consolidating the understanding by governors of the impact of teaching and learning on pupils’ progress so that they can evaluate more rigorously how well the school is performing.  An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and governance may be improved.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Achievement requires improvement because, although rates of pupils’ progress are improving, they are not yet good throughout the school. Pupils’ progress has also not been good enough over time. Children enter the school in the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills that are below those expected for their age. By the end of Reception, they are working at average levels and have made good progress. Their good progress is due to teaching that provides a wide variety of opportunities for them to explore and learn, both independently and with teacher support.  The school’s information on pupils’ achievement, lesson observations and an examination of pupils’ books confirms that pupils make good progress in reading, mathematics and writing in Years 1 and 2. Progress slows in Years 3 to 6. For the last two years, attainment has been average at the end of Year 2 and Year 6.  The teaching of reading is effective. A strong emphasis on joining sounds together to read, and

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

a clear link with moving on to writing skills, enables most pupils to communicate well by the end of Year 2. A few weaker readers struggle to read words with more than three or four syllables,  Pupils acquire good reading skills by the end of Year 6 but their writing and mathematical skills are not so well developed. In topic work seen, pupils were not using and developing these skills as much as they should have. In mathematics, pupils show good calculation skills. Their ability to solve problems is not as good. Opportunities are missed for pupils to apply their skills in meaningful contexts, including real-life situations.  Pupils requiring extra support are identified early and accurately. Teachers and support staff work well together to meet these pupils’ needs through extra support in lessons and small group teaching. As a result, pupils who are eligible for pupil premium funding, pupils from minority

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

ethnic groups and those who speak English as an additional language often make good progress. The attainment in English and mathematics of pupils receiving extra funding, as measured in average points scores, is similar to those of other pupils in the school.  There is no difference between the progress made by boys and girls in English and mathematics. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress. Those joining the school later than at the usual times make at least expected progress. This is because the school regularly evaluates the progress made by pupils and provides effective support for those who are at risk of underachieving.  The school provides all pupils with an equal opportunity to succeed by ensuring that expectations are consistent for all pupils, and that support is provided for them if they need it. As a result, the gaps between the progress different groups of pupils make are closing. More-

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

able pupils are making better progress than in recent times, but their progress slows when work set is not hard enough. This was the case in a lesson where all the pupils were given the same task which more-able pupils had already grasped but continued to work on.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Inspectors disagreed with teachers, parents and carers, and pupils that the quality of teaching is regularly good. Although the quality of teaching is improving, it has not been good enough over time to establish good pupils’ progress throughout the school. There are positive relationships between teachers and pupils, classroom routines are well established, and most teachers have high expectations and give clear guidance to pupils about what they are expected to learn.  Teaching is improving throughout the school but is still too variable in quality. It is better in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 than in Key Stage 2. This is reflected in the quality of work seen in pupils’ books and in lessons.  Progress is good when teachers adjust what they are teaching depending upon what they find out pupils already know and can do. Lessons that challenge and extend pupils in this way are

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

not typical across the school, however. Progress is sometimes slowed because teachers either talk for too long when introducing tasks, or do not give pupils enough opportunity to develop ideas by themselves by giving too many instructions.  Pupils who can learn faster sometimes make slower progress than they should when lessons are not challenging enough. In a mathematics lesson in Year 3, for example, although some pupils already knew about different units of measurement, where they see them at home and what they stand for, the teaching was not adjusted to increase pace or challenge for these pupils.  In lessons other than English or mathematics, teaching does not sometimes make clear what pupils are expected to learn. Pupils therefore are uncertain about how to use the skills they have learnt in English and mathematics lessons so that these skills can be developed further.  In the Early Years Foundation Stage, children were able to make good and better progress

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

because teachers provided a variety of resources to interest them. There were many opportunities to explore their interests, move freely between indoor and outdoor play, and use teachers to take their learning further.  Reading and mathematics are mostly taught well. The teaching of writing is improving. Pupils feel well supported and enjoy the activities that teachers provide to help them learn these skills. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, and in Year 1 and Year 2, pupils make good progress with reading because it is linked to developing writing skills. Mathematical and writing skills are not as developed as they should be because there are too few occasions to solve problems or write for different audiences in a range of subjects.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour is good in the school. Pupils learn and play together happily in a school that they feel proud to attend. They show concern for other pupils and value the way that teachers work hard to make school a place where they want to learn and develop. The vast majority of parents and carers recognise the good work of the school.  Staff model courtesy and respect around the school and follow clear policies to manage behaviour. As a result, there are very few incidents of disruptive behaviour.  Bullying or name-calling, including prejudice-driven bullying of any type, is rare. Staff deal with any pupil concerns promptly and effectively, and this keeps disruption in lessons or in other parts of the school at very low levels.  Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe by learning about aspects such as road safety, internet safety and being careful when meeting strangers. The school carries out risk

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

assessments as necessary when pupils visit places outside school.  Almost all pupils want to learn well. They enjoy the interesting activities that teachers provide for them in lessons, and work energetically to complete the work they are asked to do. Sometimes, when pupils are distracted or, in a few cases, frustrated in lessons, it is because they are not asked to learn as much as they are able to, or because they are not given enough opportunity to work by themselves.  Attendance of pupils is above average and reflects the improving partnership the school is developing with parents and carers. The family support adviser works effectively with families to help pupils settle in school and learn well.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher recognises that weaknesses remain in the quality of teaching and its impact on pupils’ achievement. Recently appointed enthusiastic school leaders are working to improve rates of progress within their year groups. Although the school is improving, these new leaders have not been in post long enough to evaluate and to significantly improve teaching across the school. Inspectors found that the school’s judgement of teaching was too generous. The reason is that the school’s monitoring does not focus on pupils’ progress strongly enough. As a result, the impact of such monitoring has been too limited across the school.  The curriculum in the school is broad and balanced, although its impact on achievement is less strong outside English and mathematics lessons. Teachers use ideas that interest pupils to help them enjoy learning and want to find out more. The moral and social aspects of learning are

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The leadership and management requires improvement

taught well through opportunities to join clubs that run in the school, work together in lessons, visit places of interest and invite visitors into the school. The school recognises that the curriculum does not provide enough opportunities to help pupils understand about lifestyles and cultures across the world and the beauty and difficulties of life across our planet.  An extensive programme of professional development is helping to improve the quality of teaching, and is developing leaders’ skills across the school, so that they can more quickly promote higher achievement. Meetings about pupils’ progress highlight any underachieving pupils and agree how to adjust teaching or provide extra support for weaker pupils. Teachers’ targets for improving their teaching are linked to improvements in pupils’ progress.  Parents and carers have more confidence in the leadership of the school than at the time of the

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The leadership and management requires improvement

previous inspection. They recognise that the efforts of school leaders and staff are improving the school. The local authority has supported the school with the use of progress data to raise expectations and is helping senior leaders evaluate the quality of teaching.  The governance of the school: – Members of the governing body are a committed and active team. They undertake regular training to support the school through their links with subject areas, and to increasingly challenge school leaders about the impact of their work. They do not challenge the school sufficiently to check initiatives are leading to pupils making good progress. Recent training on the use of school data to analyse the work of the school has raised their ability to challenge the school more rigorously. Their knowledge of strengths and weaknesses in the quality of teaching is improving but is not yet detailed enough. The progress of pupils receiving extra

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The leadership and management requires improvement

support through the pupil premium is as good as other pupils in the school, although governors have not scrutinised achievement data, as measured in average points scores, related to this. Governors are aware of performance management and ensure that staff progression is linked to their impact on pupils’ progress. The professional development of the governing body is enhanced not only by courses but also regular meetings with governors from other schools to share up-to-date information about their roles.

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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 109928 Local authority Bracknell Forest Inspection number 405264

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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 All-through School category Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 412 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair John Throssell Headteacher Antoinette Butler-Willis Date of previous school inspection 14 January 2010 Telephone number 01344 485448 Fax number 01344 360399 Email address secretary@office.crownwood.bracknell-forest.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

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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