Lawley Primary School and Nursery

Lawley Primary School Off Arleston Lane, Lawley, Telford, TF4 2PR

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Inadequate 4 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.  Teaching is good. Effective training and support for teachers have led to better teaching throughout the school.  Teachers have high expectations of pupils. Most lessons interest the pupils and help them to learn well. Teachers are particularly skilful at teaching reading.  The quality of feedback in lessons and marking in books has improved considerably since the previous inspection.  Test results in English and mathematics are above that found nationally.  Pupils make outstanding progress in reading. Pupils’ progress in mathematics and writing has improved and is increasingly good because of better teaching.  Senior leaders and governors have had a positive impact on improving teaching and raising achievement.  The governing body is very knowledgeable about all aspects of the school. Governors are clear about what is needed to continue to improve the school.  Pupils show good attitudes to learning and

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

want to succeed. Their behaviour is good both in lessons and around school. They feel very safe at school.  Attendance is high.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The systems used to check pupils’ achievement are too complicated. Senior leaders do not check closely enough the impact of different actions taken to improve pupils’ achievement.  Teachers sometimes spend too long introducing lessons so that pupils do not have enough time to practise their skills.  Pupils who need extra help in writing do not always make good progress.  Information given to parents and carers does not always give a clear picture of how well the school is performing.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection took place with one day’s notice.  Inspectors observed teaching and learning in 24 lessons, of which ten were joint observations with the senior leaders. They also listened to pupils read.  Inspectors also observed the headteacher and the deputy headteacher reporting back to teachers on the quality of their teaching.  Meetings were held with the school’s senior and middle leaders, groups of pupils, three members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a range of evidence including the school’s documents for self-evaluation and safeguarding. They also studied standards in pupils’ workbooks and the school’s own assessment data.  Inspectors took account of the 58 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View). Inspectors also analysed the responses made by parents and carers to a recent survey undertaken by the school. Staff questionnaire responses were checked.

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Inspection team

Marilyn Mottram, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Rachel Howie Her Majesty’s Inspector Nin Matharu Additional Inspector

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Full report

In accordance with section 13 (5) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires significant improvement.

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is below the national average. (This is additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, those in local authority care and pupils with parents in the armed forces.)  The large majority of pupils are White British.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is below average.  The proportion of pupils who are supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  There are a pre-school and out-of-school-hours club on the school site which are not managed by the governing body and so were not inspected.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the effectiveness of leadership and management by making sure that: – information about pupils’ achievement is presented clearly so that senior leaders can quickly identify any weaknesses and take action to address these – senior leaders check closely the impact of different actions taken to improve pupils’ achievement.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching so that more is outstanding by: – securing a better balance in all lessons between the time pupils spend listening to teachers and the time they spend practising and applying their skills – increasing the progress of pupils who find writing difficult by checking their understanding more closely in lessons and adapting activities to meet their needs.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the arrangements to communicate with parents and carers so that they have a clear picture of the school’s performance.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils enter the school with skills broadly in line with those found nationally. They now make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage. By the time pupils leave the school in Year 6, standards in English and mathematics are above that found nationally.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make outstanding progress in reading. Teachers are highly skilled at helping weaker readers and challenging more confident readers. Teachers frequently read aloud to pupils using books written by high quality children’s authors. Teachers offer pupils lots of opportunities to talk about their reading. These activities foster a love of books.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ progress in mathematics has improved sharply and is now good. This is because of improved teaching. There are many opportunities for pupils to discuss their learning and solve problems independently. During the inspection, older pupils were using a range of mental calculation strategies to solve a challenging number problem. They were all eager to meet the challenge and complete the task. As a result, they were making outstanding progress in their learning.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ progress in writing is improving as a result of better teaching. Most pupils are now making at least the expected levels of progress in writing and an increasing number of pupils are making good progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils who find writing difficult do not make progress as rapidly as others. This is because teachers do not always check their progress frequently enough during lessons. As a result, some pupils are left for too long without clear guidance about how to improve their writing.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress towards challenging individual targets. The special educational needs co-ordinator checks their progress frequently to make sure that different support programmes are making a difference to their learning.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils who are eligible for pupil-premium funding across the school typically achieve standards in English and mathematics that are two terms behind others in the school. To tackle this, the school has used the additional funding to purchase new resources and additional support to help with reading and writing skills. The gaps between how well these pupils and their classmates achieve are beginning to close.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils achieve well in a wide range of subjects. Teachers make good links between subjects and use art and drama well to engage pupils’ interests and natural curiosity for learning.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching has improved across the school and is now good and sometimes outstanding. As a result of the right level of training and support, teachers’ subject knowledge has improved, particularly in the teaching of writing. Teachers are able to assess writing more accurately. This has resulted in most pupils having a better understanding of how to improve their writing.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers use the spaces in classrooms and corridors creatively to support pupils’ learning. Pupils know where to find prompts, reminders and resources to support them as they are working. This helps pupils to develop a pride in their work and be independent.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In the best lessons teachers have high expectations of all the pupils. They use questioning well so that pupils have to think more deeply and explain their thoughts clearly to others. This particularly happens in mathematics lessons where pupils frequently explain their reasoning and methods. This has resulted in some outstanding social skills and contributes to pupils’ good speaking and listening skills.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers make good links between subjects. For example, in a Year 5 literacy lesson, pupils were writing letters about Tudor houses. They were keen to use all their knowledge of Tudor buildings but were also practising a range of important writing skills. They were enthusiastic and engaged. This contributes to their good attitudes towards learning.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In the best lessons teachers check how well pupils are doing and give clear advice about how they can improve. For example, in a lesson investigating number problems, pupils were encouraged to think for themselves, misunderstandings were quickly dealt with and pupils were all kept on track. As a result, all groups made outstanding progress,

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The quality of teaching is good

 In a few lessons, teachers spend too long introducing the lesson or interrupting the lesson with new activities before pupils have had the opportunity to complete work. This reduces the time that pupils have to practise their skills and slows down their learning.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Work set for lower-attaining pupils in writing is not always suitable. Occasionally, the tasks are either too easy or too difficult and are not suitably adjusted. Teachers do not check their progress enough in lessons. This hampers pupils’ progress.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils take responsibility for their own behaviour. They are polite and friendly in lessons and get along well together. Pupils value the weekly achievement assemblies and are particularly proud of the ‘Chance to Shine’ writing awards when they say they can use their imagination and write about exciting things.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils feel safe in school and they know what to do in potentially unsafe situations. They talk confidently about using the internet safely and about what is safe and what is not safe to do. They are clear who to go to if they feel worried or upset. The majority of parents and carers who responded to Parent View, and those who spoke with inspectors, agree that their children feel safe in school. They know that discrimination is not tolerated.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ attitudes to learning in lessons are generally good. They are clear about their learning targets and talk about how the ‘working walls’ help them to learn and improve. Pupils say that they like the ‘special days’ when they spend time talking to the teacher about how well they are doing.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance is high. There is a calm and purposeful atmosphere at the start of the day. Relationships between pupils are outstanding. They arrive promptly and willingly work together and help each other to settle into the day. There is a strong sense of team work amongst the staff.  Pupils have a strong sense of right and wrong. They know about different types of bullying but report that this is exceptionally rare. Good systems are in place, such as the friendship bench, to encourage pupils to care for each other and keep a watchful eye for anyone who might feel left out.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school prepares pupils well for their spiritual, social, moral and cultural development through the subjects taught, assemblies, residential trips and visits. The school has links with a school in Kenya and pupils talked eagerly about how much they learnt about things that happen in real life in the world outside school.

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The leadership and management are good

 Actions in addressing issues from the previous inspection have been swift and highly effective. The headteacher, with effective support from the governing body, has now established strong leadership and management in the school. All the staff share leaders’ and governors’ drive for continuously improving the school. Consequently, pupils’ achievement is rising securely.

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The leadership and management are good

 Working with the governing body, the headteacher has been successful in improving the quality of teaching. Arrangements for managing teachers’ performance have improved significantly. Teachers have performance targets linked to the progress of the pupils they teach and to the school’s priorities. Teachers value the support and training they have been given and this has raised the quality of teaching in the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupils who are eligible for additional funding are beginning to benefit from the systems now in place to help them with reading, writing and mathematics. Small-group work and one-to-one sessions are carefully planned to improve pupils’ progress in areas of need. These actions are helping pupils who were behind in their learning to catch up. This shows the school’s commitment to providing opportunities for all pupils to achieve as well as each other.

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The leadership and management are good

 The systems in place to check pupils’ progress are over complicated and information is not presented clearly enough. Senior leaders cannot easily and effectively check the impact of the different actions taken to improve pupils’ achievement.

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The leadership and management are good

 Information provided for parents and carers does not always give a clear picture of how well the school is performing.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority has played a key role in the school’s recent improvements. The support and training offered by the local authority has helped improve the teaching of English and mathematics. The local authority has also provided effective support for school leadership at all levels.  The governance of the school:  The governing body is extremely knowledgeable about all aspects of the school. Governors have benefited from effective training by the local authority and have a good level of professional expertise. They have a sharp awareness of the school’s performance data and know how it compares to that of other schools. This enables them to discuss areas of relative weakness with the headteacher and set her challenging targets for further improvement. Governors visit classrooms regularly. They know about the quality of teaching and are fully aware of their responsibilities regarding teachers’ pay and systems for setting targets for

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The leadership and management are good

teachers. They know what is being done to reward good teaching and to tackle any underperformance. They ensure the procedures for keeping pupils safe meet requirements.

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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 123377 Local authority Telford and Wrekin Inspection number 408849

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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 5–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 395 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sandra Price Headteacher Carol McQuiggin Date of previous school inspection 17 May 2012 Telephone number 01952 388410 Fax number 01952 388429 Email address Carol.mcquiggin@taw.org.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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