Bay Primary School

School report Bay Primary School St Alban Road, Bridlington, YO16 7SZ

p.1

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

p.1

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

 Despite the school’s best efforts, pupils’ achievement, the quality of teaching and the school’s leadership all require further improvement to be good.  Pupils’ achievement varies greatly. For some it is high, while for the majority it is only broadly average.  The impact of teaching on pupils’ learning is inconsistent and does not always ensure that pupils make good or better progress in gaining knowledge, skills and understanding in the subjects they study. Some outstanding teaching was seen during the inspection but there was also evidence of much less effective teaching.  Leaders and governors have not been sufficiently influential to ensure that key aspects of the school’s work, such as pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching, are good or better. These areas are improving but are not yet good.

p.1

The school has the following strengths

 Children in the Reception classes make good progress because of: effective teaching; an exciting and broad curriculum; and the good support and guidance they receive.  Behaviour and safety are good. Pupils conduct themselves well and there are sound procedures in place to keep them safe.  Staff have created a happy and harmonious school.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted effectively.

p.1

Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 13 lessons taught by 12 different members of staff. Inspectors also carried out two joint observations with the headteacher. In addition, the lead inspector and headteacher visited 11 of the 12 classes during the afternoon of the second day of the inspection to observe the range of curriculum activities taking place.  Inspectors watched an assembly, listened to pupils read, evaluated the quality of the work in a range of pupils’ books, and visited different areas of the school site, including the Endeavour Room, during lessons and at break and lunchtimes. The Endeavour Room provides specialist speech, language, social and emotional support for some of the school’s more vulnerable pupils.  Meetings or discussions were held with seven members of the governing body, the headteacher and the deputy headteacher, and other school leaders such as the coordinators of mathematics, the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1, and special educational needs. Inspectors

p.2

Information about this inspection

also spoke to two different groups of pupils and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the 27 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View), along with an analysis of the school’s own parent questionnaire.  The inspection team examined a range of school documentation including: safeguarding and child protection arrangements; improvement strategies; records of lesson monitoring and checks on pupils’ work; and the minutes of meetings, including those of the governing body. Inspectors also looked at records relating to behaviour and attendance.  Inspectors also evaluated the school’s arrangements for making best use of the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for children in the care of the local authority, those whose parents are in the armed forces and for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals.  During this inspection, inspectors asked additional questions designed to ascertain the school’s

p.2

Information about this inspection

views of the impact and effectiveness of local authority services to support school improvement. This information will contribute to work being carried out by Ofsted to assess the use, quality and impact of those services.

p.2

Inspection team

John Young, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Jennifer Firth Additional Inspector Jan Lomas Additional Inspector

p.2

Information about this school

 At this larger than average-sized primary the very large majority of pupils are White British. The remaining small numbers of pupils originate from a wide range of minority ethnic heritages.  The proportion of pupils who are believed to speak English as an additional language is low.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is higher than average.  The proportions of pupils supported at school action, school action plus or who have a statement of special educational needs are higher than national averages. Their needs range from speech, language and communication needs to behaviour, emotional and social difficulties.  The school runs breakfast and after-school clubs and offers a range of parent support services.  All of the pupils are educated at the school and none receive alternative provision.  The school meets the current government floor standards, which are the minimum levels

p.3

Information about this school

expected for pupils’ attainment and progress in primary schools by the end of Year 6.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that the quality of teaching is good or better throughout the school by:  making certain lessons are always sufficiently well-planned and executed to enable all pupils to make fast progress and learn quickly  eliminating the less effective aspects of teaching and learning that remain in the school.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that all pupils’ achievement is good or better by:  further raising pupils’ attainment in all of the subjects they study, but particularly in reading, writing and mathematics at Key Stages 1 and 2, so that all pupils’ achievement when set against their starting point is at least good  building on the success of the positive start children make in the Reception classes and making more effective use of the school’s assessment, support and guidance strategies to eradicate the inconsistent performance of pupils within year groups and across subjects.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that the school’s overall effectiveness is at least good at the time of the next inspection by leaders, managers and governors making certain that they have a more effective influence on those aspects of the school’s performance that are not yet good or better, including further raising levels of attendance.

p.3

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Despite an improving picture, pupils’ overall achievement is broadly average rather than good when set against their starting points. It therefore requires further improvement.  Pupils are making faster progress than they were previously and standards are rising as a result of the school’s actions to better support their academic development. This is reflected in the year-on-year increases in the standards they attain in mathematics and English in the Year 2 and Year 6 national tests. This has narrowed the wide gap that has existed between the school’s performance and national averages over time for all groups of pupils including those attracting pupil premium funding, disabled pupils and those with special educational needs.  One of the issues has been the variations in pupils’ progress in different year groups and within different subjects, which leaders recognise need their continued attention. Another area the

p.4

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

school accepts could be sharper is in the early identification, support and monitoring of any pupils at risk of, or already, underachieving. While there are already regular pupil progress meetings, the school assesses pupils’ progress termly rather than more frequently and is, therefore, less likely to pick up any issues emerging between these points.  Pupils read widely, confidently and often. They enjoy reading and have benefited from the whole-school focus on guided reading and home reading. The school has purchased a wide variety of texts designed to appeal to the pupils’ different needs and interests.  Pupil premium funding is being used effectively to raise the achievement of the targeted groups through a series of on-going initiatives designed to boost pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics and to improve their attendance, behaviour and attitudes to learning.  The speech and language therapy and the social and emotional counselling some of the school’s

p.4

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

more vulnerable pupils receive are helping to remove barriers to their learning and well-being.  Children’s achievement in the Reception classes is good when set against their starting points, which are usually below expectations for their age. They make quick progress and by the time they move up to Year 1, their overall development is in line with the expectations for their age.

p.4

The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The impact of teaching is improving but is not yet consistently good. This is illustrated by pupils’ faster, but still broadly average, progress.  The proportion of good teaching is rising as staff take on board the key messages from the training, coaching and mentoring they have received in order to improve the effectiveness of their work.  There are examples of outstanding practice in the school which promotes rapid pupil progress. In the most effective lessons pupils are motivated by highly enthusiastic and expert staff, who capture and sustain their interest with stimulating and appropriately demanding activities which pupils attempt with confidence because staff prepare them well. Pupils particularly like to work in teams, problem-solve and demonstrate and apply their new knowledge and skills.  The least effective teaching is not structured or delivered effectively enough to enable pupils to

p.4

The quality of teaching requires improvement

quickly or securely develop the intended knowledge, skills or understanding. As a result, they misunderstand key concepts, become disinterested, find the work too hard or too easy, or they do not receive the right support and guidance. Similarly, pupil assessment information is not always used to match lessons closely to the particular needs, abilities and interests of pupils.  The support for pupils at the early stages of learning English, those funded by the pupil premium and pupils with special educational needs is proving effective in helping them to boost their literacy and communication and skills and better access the whole-school curriculum.  Marking and feedback are generally sound. Mostly, pupils know how well they are doing and what they must do to improve their work further or achieve a higher level.  The deployment and use of teaching assistants vary, with examples of highly effective and less

p.4

The quality of teaching requires improvement

effective intervention to support groups and individual pupils’ learning.  In the Reception classrooms there is an animated atmosphere. Children clearly enjoy their learning and are thriving as a result of good teaching, care and a rich curriculum. Reception is an exciting place to be with an array of experiences available to children indoors and outdoors. Some of these are formally structured but others are designed to promote curiosity and creativity, and allow children to explore their environment and develop thinking skills in a range of subjects.  As part of the theme of pirates, children explored the concepts of floating and sinking, designed and made pirate swords and dug for buried treasure.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school presents itself as a caring and happy place with a calm atmosphere and an inclusive ethos. Pupils get along very well with each other and the staff. Pupils have positive attitudes to learning and behave well in lessons and at break and lunchtimes. There are few cases of inappropriate behaviour and where these occur they are usually well managed by staff.  Pupils say that bullying or teasing, including the use of racist or homophobic language, are uncommon and that they feel safe in school. Pupils have a good awareness of how to keep themselves and others safe and they recognise how harmful cyber-bullying can be. They adhere well to the school’s clear health guidance and as a result the number of accidents is low.  Some excellent support exists for the school’s more vulnerable pupils such as those with social, emotional and behavioural needs and those with speech, language or communication difficulties.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

The Endeavour Room is a ‘safe haven’ for these pupils and the skilled staff help to re-build pupils’ self-esteem using a range of therapies. These help to: enhance pupils’ attitudes to learning; quicken academic progress; and moderate some entrenched anti-social behaviours.  Most of the parents who responded to Parent View and the school’s questionnaire agree that behaviour is good, well managed, and that their children are safe at the school.  The school’s effective management of behaviour over time is reflected in the significant fall in permanent and fixed-term exclusions and the rarity of major incidents of disorder.  The school has successfully reduced the very high rate of persistent absence, and overall attendance is rising because of the strategies the staff are employing. However, attendance remains stubbornly below the national average.  Behaviour and safety are not yet outstanding because pupils’ attitudes and behaviours are not

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

yet universally exemplary. Attendance requires further improvement and while the impact of behaviour management is good overall, there are some repeat offenders, and the climate for learning is not exceptional throughout the school. There are some challenging pupils who continue to tax the full resources of the school.

p.5

The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school is improving, with clear signs that the actions taken are having some effect in all areas of the school’s work. Nevertheless, given the time that has elapsed since the previous inspection, leaders’ impact has not been sufficiently effective to ensure that the quality of education pupils receive is good or better.  School self-evaluation is variable. It is accurate in relation to the Early Years Foundation Stage and behaviour and safety, but is overly optimistic with regard to the quality of teaching, the effectiveness of leadership and the extent of pupils’ achievement.  Leaders and managers have embedded a clear agenda for improvement in the school. There are suitable arrangements to promote improved teaching and learning, to manage staff performance and to develop the quality of the curriculum, all of which are showing signs of impact. The school’s leaders are not complacent and they rigorously examine and evaluate: the quality of

p.5

The leadership and management requires improvement

pupils’ work and progress; teachers’ planning, lessons and the marking and feedback they provide. They also talk to pupils about their experiences. They are using this information to refine their approaches to school improvement.  Ninety six per cent of those that completed the Parent View survey would recommend the school and most parents are happy with the school’s work. A small minority disagreed that pupils behaved well and some felt that the school did not always respond positively to concerns they raised.  The school’s emphasis on connecting learning through a series of themes helps to make learning enjoyable and interesting for pupils. This runs alongside the teaching of some subjects more discretely, such as mathematics and English. This core provision is supplemented by a range of assemblies, visits and visitors and additional activities such as extra-curricular sport, music, cookery, craft and drama activities. Pupils fund-raise for charity, write a newspaper and adopt

p.6

The leadership and management requires improvement

leadership roles such as junior road safety officers and school council members. Activities like these help to effectively promote their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Leaders use the pupil premium appropriately and it is making a real difference to the targeted pupils concerned in a number of ways previously explained.  Safeguarding procedures meet requirements and the methods for the safer recruitment of staff, child protection, risk assessment and site security are suitable. All staff receive relevant training.  Leadership and management are good in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff training needs are addressed well and a logical action plan identifies appropriate areas for further developing the quality of provision.  The local authority has developed an understanding of the context in which the school works and pupils’ performance, through the school improvement officer that it has attached to the

p.6

The leadership and management requires improvement

school. It undertakes an annual review of the standards pupils attain and an audit of provision which it uses to evaluate and categorise the effectiveness of the school. Bay Primary is judged to be satisfactory and on the cusp of being good. As a result, the level of support and challenge the local authority exerts has reduced as it feels the school is performing well. Formerly, it was less favourably ranked. The local authority has provided training, support and professional challenge over time to leaders and teachers to boost the school’s overall effectiveness. To date this input has not ensured the school provides a good quality of education, although improvements are evident.  The governance of the school:  The governing body discharges satisfactorily its duty to monitor, support and challenge, and strategically influence the school’s development. A number of committees exist that are linked to major areas of the school’s work such as curriculum, teaching and pupil progress, which

p.6

The leadership and management requires improvement

provide governors with suitable opportunities to critically evaluate the school’s performance. Scrutiny of the minutes of governor meetings indicates that governors do so robustly by asking probing questions and calling the school’s leaders to account for the quality of their work. Collectively, governors have a range of relevant skills which they bring to bear.  Governors visit the school often and are aware of the initiatives taking place. Training has increased their ability to analyse pupils’ academic performance information and to fulfil their various statutory duties. Governors are able to discuss the impact of pupil premium funding and the links between performance management and staff salary progression.

p.6

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

p.7

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.

p.7

School details

Unique reference number 133480 Local authority East Riding of Yorkshire Inspection number 406552

p.8

School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

p.8

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 354 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mrs Eileen Johnson Headteacher Mrs Emma Hobbs Date of previous school inspection 16 February 2011 Telephone number 01262 603312 Fax number 01262 403499 Email address bay_head.primary@eastriding.gov.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 .

p.8

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.

p.9

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

p.9

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

p.9

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’.

p.9

School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.9