Ormskirk West End School

Ormskirk West End Primary School Grimshaw Lane, Ormskirk, Lancashire, L39 1PA

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Overall effectiveness

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

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Achievement is good. Pupils make good progress taking into account their starting points.  Teaching is good and has improved considerably since the last inspection, particularly in reading and writing.  Nearly all pupils make the progress expected of them by the end of Key Stage 2.  Pupils with special educational needs and pupils eligible for the pupil premium funding make good progress.  Behaviour and safety are good as there are good systems in place. The pupils say the school is a safe place. They behave well. They are respectful to each other and to the adults working with them.  The school cares very well for all its pupils and makes sure that every individual is fully included and has equality of opportunity regardless of background or ability. Everybody is made to feel welcome.  Leadership provides the school with a clear view of how successful it can be.  The headteacher has stepped up the rigour

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

with which the school checks on the quality of teaching and uses information about pupils’ progress to hold staff much closer to account for their achievement.  The governance is a strength of the school as it provides strong support and good levels of challenge, ensuring it continues to improve.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Although most teaching is good, a small amount requires improvement and not enough is outstanding yet to take achievement to the next level.  Attainment in mathematics could be better. Targets, especially for more-able pupils, are not always challenging enough.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed teaching and learning in 15 lessons. They carried out one joint observation with the headteacher. They observed the teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds that they make) and listened to groups of pupils read in Years 1, 2, 4 and 6. Inspectors also observed support for pupils who have special educational needs. Inspectors looked carefully at the work in pupils’ books.  Inspectors held meetings with senior and middle leaders, teachers and support staff, and two groups of pupils including the School Council. They interviewed members of the governing body and spoke to a representative from the local authority. They held a phone call with the person in charge of the school’s use of alternative provision.  Inspectors looked at a wide range of documentation including: the school’s self-evaluation summary and development plan; policies and procedures for safeguarding; information about

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Information about this inspection

attendance and behaviour; records of monitoring teaching and learning; information about pupils’ achievement; and minutes of meetings of the governing body.  Inspectors looked at recent summaries of school questionnaires sent out to parents and pupils. They took into account 24 responses to Parent View, the online site for parents. There were 16 responses from teaching and support staff.

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Inspection team

Jean Tarry, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Dave Blackburne Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Ormskirk West End is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is in line with the national average.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is higher than the national average.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action plus is in line with the national average.  The on-site nursery and the before and after school club are privately managed and were not part of the inspection.  The school uses specially resourced provision for pupils with special educational needs and behavioural difficulties. The alternative provision is at Golden Hill Short Stay School, Leyland, Lancashire.  The school meets the current government’s floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise attainment and improve the rate of progress in mathematics by ensuring teachers’ expectations are high and that they are consistently setting challenging targets in lessons for all pupils, particularly the more able.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and learning so that all lessons are good or better by: - ensuring marking consistently shows pupils how to improve their work, clearly shows them the next steps to make their work better and gives them time to do this - providing more opportunities for pupils to apply and develop their basic skills across the curriculum.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Most children start with skills that are slightly below those expected for their age, especially in their literacy and mathematical development. They make good progress overall in the Early Years Foundation Stage and achieve well.  Attainment is in line with the national average at the end of Key Stage 1. Attainment has improved significantly and is above the national average at the end of Key Stage 2. Reading and writing are stronger than mathematics. Reading is well above the national average. It has improved because the teaching of phonics (letters and sounds that they make) is good and has made a significant impact on the pupils’ reading skills. School data, confirmed by inspection evidence, show that the improving trend in attainment is set to continue.  Although the proportion of pupils attaining the higher levels is increasing, the more able pupils could achieve even better, especially in mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Those pupils that have been identified as having a special educational needs make good progress and achieve well because of the highly effective support that they receive from teaching assistants and specialist support teachers.  The achievement of pupils eligible for the pupil premium, including those known to be eligible for free school meals, has improved because their progress is tracked carefully and support is closely tailored to their needs. This group make good progress as they travel through the school. Their attainment is in line with that of similar pupils nationally and with their peers in school.  The school has a strong commitment to equality of opportunity. All other groups of pupils achieve well, including the small proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds.  The extremely small numbers of pupils who are educated at another place for part of their time achieve well and make clear strides in improving their behaviour.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage is generally good. There is a varied range of activities, both indoors and outside, that captures children’s interests and enables them to make good progress. They enjoy themselves and achieve well, for example, as they learn about growing plants in the garden centre. A small amount of teaching requires improvement as the more able pupils are not always challenged to achieve their targets.  In Key Stage 1 teaching ranges in quality from good to a small amount that requires improvement. In the best lessons pupils are motivated and engaged and work is well matched to individual needs. Year 1 pupils said they ‘couldn’t wait to get going’ in their writing and reading because they were so excited by the range of fiction and non-fiction books.  In Key Stage 2 the quality of teaching is good. The teaching is generally well planned and the use of assessment information is good. Year 6 pupils love their learning when, for example, they

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The quality of teaching is good

are challenged to link properties of mathematical shapes to sounds that they hear and are asked to record their findings.  In a few lessons the more able pupils are not challenged to achieve as much as they could. Teachers do not always have high enough expectations or set consistently challenging targets for more-able pupils, particularly in mathematics.  The teachers’ marking does not always show pupils how to improve their work or explain the next steps to make their work better. Neither does it give them time to do this. Pupils are often not given enough opportunities to improve and use their basic skills of literacy and numeracy across all subjects.  In good lessons teachers use information about pupils’ progress and abilities to match activities to their needs. There is generally a wide variety of activities in lessons to keep pupils interested.  The teaching assistants’ work is strong and enhances the good provision across the school. This

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The quality of teaching is good

work supports vulnerable groups very well indeed and makes a positive difference to the quality of their learning.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils behave well. Their behaviour is good and parents, pupils and staff confirm this. The pupils enjoy coming to school and try to achieve their very best in all their lessons.  Occasionally, their involvement wanes when teaching does not fully engage their interests or teachers talk too much.  Attendance is improving and is now broadly in line with the national average. The school has good systems and processes in place to support attendance. Pupils are punctual to school.  Pupils’ attitudes to learning are positive. They are proud that they have helped to develop the outdoor learning areas and that they help to raise money for different charitable events.  Pupils say that bullying of any kind is rare and that it is dealt with quickly when it happens.  Pupils feel safe in school. They know what situations might be risky and how to handle or avoid them. They are fully aware of the potential dangers posed when using the internet.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The pupils’ good behaviour, their deep respect for other cultures and religions and their equally deep respect for those who may be different show how well the school caters for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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The leadership and management are good

 Since the last inspection leaders and managers, including governors, have tackled weaknesses in teaching and are now holding teachers closely to account for pupils’ progress and achievement. This is resulting in better teaching and better achievement. It is giving the school the strong capacity to improve even further.  The headteacher knows how well the school is doing and where it could improve. The plans for future development are based on specific priorities and have a sharp focus on measuring progress at regular intervals.  Meetings to review the progress of each pupil take place every term. This gives staff a clear picture of how well each pupil is doing and helps identify those who need further support.  The school offers a stimulating curriculum that generally meets the needs and interests of its pupils. This is driving up standards steadily over time. There are many after-school activities and

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The leadership and management are good

visits that are arranged to fit in with curricular themes, and the pupils really enjoy these.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness is a strength of the school. The curriculum reinforces positive attitudes towards learning and the development of skills to support them, including resilience and reflectiveness, especially with reading tasks.  Equality of opportunity is promoted across the school. Leaders and managers are committed to tackling discrimination of any kind.  Procedures and policies for safeguarding are fully in place and implemented effectively.  The local authority has been effective and has provided support to rigorously challenge any underperformance. It has provided strong support for the headteacher and senior leaders in the Early Years Foundation Stage and intensive support for mathematics and literacy. Following the improvements that have taken place, and being satisfied that they will be sustained, the local

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The leadership and management are good

authority is now providing light-touch support for this school.  The governance of the school:  The governing body knows the school very well and uses information astutely to compare the school’s effectiveness with that of other schools locally and nationally. It provides support and challenge in a relentless quest for further improvement for all pupils. It knows how good the teaching is and knows what needs to be done to improve it further. Governors know the importance of performance management and its link to pay progression. The governors ensure that the pupil premium is used successfully, with all relevant pupils making good progress and reaching the same standards as others. They check on the impact that finance has on the education provided and have overseen a real difference to standards with reading initiatives across 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 119282 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 401828

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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 153 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair David Crowley Headteacher Nigel Baxter Date of previous school inspection 23 June 2010 Telephone number 01695 574375 Fax number 01695 571220 Email address head@ormskirkwestend.lancs.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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