High Green Primary School

High Green Primary School Wortley Road, High Green, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S35 4LU

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 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

 Pupils do not achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics throughout all three key stages. Not enough pupils make good progress throughout the school because teaching is not consistently good.  In lessons that are not good, pupils, especially the less able and those of average ability, are not regularly given work that matches accurately their level of ability and which speeds-up their progress.  Teachers sometimes talk for too long so that pupils do not have enough time to practice what they have learnt by working on their own.  Marking is inconsistent in telling pupils how well they are doing and what they need to do next. Teachers do not often check that the advice they have given has been acted on.  Teaching assistants do not always support pupils through the whole of the lesson, or concentrate on helping pupils practice specific skills, identified by the teacher.  Good and outstanding teaching practices are

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

not as a matter of course shared with other staff in order to quickly strengthen teaching to that of the best.  Leaders and managers at all levels do not all have clearly defined and evenly distributed roles and responsibilities which match the school’s most pressing needs in relation to teaching and raising achievement. Leaders and class teachers do not have full accountability for fulfilling their roles and the work that they do.  The governing body does have enough independent knowledge of the school’s work in order to be able to support and challenge it, and help to steer the school forward.

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The school has the following strengths

 Pupils achieve well in Reception and Years 5 and 6, where teaching is consistently good or outstanding.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, and the more-able pupils make good progress throughout the school.  Pupils’ behaviour is good in lessons and around the school. They feel safe and support each other at work and play.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors watched 14 lessons of which four were observed jointly with the headteacher. The inspectors also listened to pupils read, observed pupils at break and lunchtimes, carried out a learning walk and attended an assembly.  The inspectors held meetings with senior and subject leaders, a group of pupils, members of the governing body, and a representative of the local authority.  The inspectors analysed the 19 responses to the online questionnaire for parents (Parent View). No staff questionnaires were received. The inspectors looked at the school’s work, including its information about the achievement of groups of pupils and the quality of work in their books. They checked the records of the quality of teaching and read policies relating to the safeguarding of pupils, including behaviour and attendance records.

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Inspection team

Lynne Blakelock, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Mujahid Ali Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are from White British backgrounds. A few pupils speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils entitled to support through the pupil premium (additional government funding for looked after pupils, pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those from service families) is well below the national average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported by school action is below the national average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  Since September 2012, there has been a new staffing structure and two assistant headteachers have been appointed.  The school is part of the Ecclesfield Family of Schools’ Partnership, which works together to share

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Accelerate pupils’ progress so that it is at least good in reading, writing and mathematics, through teaching that is consistently good or better, by making sure that:  teaching and the work that pupils are given, are accurately matched to pupils' level of ability, especially for the less able and those of average ability  teachers talk less in lessons so that pupils have plenty of time to practice what they have learnt by working by themselves  teaching assistants focus on helping pupils improve specific skills identified by the teacher throughout the lesson  marking tells pupils what they have achieved and what to do next and that teachers check that their advice has been acted on.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the impact of leadership and management at all levels by ensuring that:  senior and subject leaders have clearly defined roles and responsibilities that are evenly distributed, for which they have full accountability, and which accurately reflect the school’s needs in driving improvement  class teachers have full accountability for the progress of pupils in their lessons  the governing body finds out more about the school's work for itself to be able to support and challenge its work and help to steer it forward.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Although pupils achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics in Reception and Years 5 and 6, they do not make good progress throughout the school. This is because the quality of teaching is too variable. Consequently, in some year groups and subjects, pupils make only the progress expected of them, from their individual starting points, rather than better than expected.  The more-able pupils generally make good progress because the work they are given, in a lot of lessons, encourages them to think critically and use their knowledge in a range of challenging situations.  Children start Reception with levels of knowledge and skills that are overall typical for their age and with some with far higher levels of knowledge and skills. They make good progress in all aspects of learning and development.  The school provides lots of opportunities for pupils to develop their reading and writing skills.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

Pupils are making good progress in phonics (the sounds that letters and groups of letters make) in both Reception and Year 1 and, as a result, confidently and accurately pronounce sounds through breaking them down into small parts. While Year 1 standards in phonics last year were below average, they are set to improve this year.  Pupils in Key Stage 1 make the expected progress. In lower Key Stage 2, the school knows that some of the less-able pupils and those of average ability struggle to understand numbers, their value and how to make calculations.  Standards at the end of Year 6 dipped considerably last year, and led to pupils’ inadequate progress due to standards attained in mathematics. The good and outstanding teaching in Years 5 and 6, work over time in pupils’ books, and the carefully planned intervention work, leads to rapidly accelerated progress and supports the school’s predictions that standards will return to

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

well above average in 2013.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress throughout the school in reading and mathematics. They make expected progress in writing, which continues to be a priority for the school. Other groups of pupils achieve similarly to other groups of pupils throughout the school, including those who speak English as an additional language. When teaching is good, progress speeds-up.  Pupil-premium funding supports those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those whose circumstances mean they are more vulnerable. In particular, it is used to strengthen specific literacy and numeracy skills through one-to-one teaching, and to broaden opportunities by providing music lessons and residential trips. Last year, the gap in average scores for pupils given the funding and those who were not was four terms behind in English and six terms in mathematics.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching is variable in quality between subjects and year groups and teaching observed ranged from outstanding to inadequate.  The major barrier to good progress throughout the school is that teaching and the work provided for pupils do not consistently and accurately match pupils' levels of ability, particularly, but not exclusively, for those working at lower and average levels. This slows progress down.  Pupils in all year groups show a real desire to learn and their progress is quick when teaching is good or better. This was the case in a numeracy lesson in Reception, where the children were engrossed in using groups of objects to find one-more or one-less number. In Year 6, pupils made outstanding progress in securing their understanding of the mean, mode and median, through interesting, challenging, problem-solving tasks, with careful questioning supporting further learning. Sometimes, teachers talk for too long at the start of the lesson so they have too

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

little time to practice what they have learnt by working by themselves and some pupils lose interest.  Some teaching assistants provide helpful guidance for pupils who find some aspects of learning hard but it is not always specific to their needs or provided from the start of the lesson. One-to- one support for pupils with special educational needs is effective.  In some lessons, marking is of high quality and tells pupils clearly what they have achieved and the next steps to take. However, again, there is inconsistency in practise and some marking is too brief and general. There was little evidence in many books seen that the teachers’ advice had been taken and acted on.  The school gives pupils daily opportunities to read and many develop a real enjoyment of reading. The school is increasingly providing opportunities for pupils to practice their literacy skills in other lessons. Numeracy links to other subjects are at an early stage of development.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding is promoted well, mainly because it threads across all aspects of the school day, especially in supporting their moral and social development. There are also built-in opportunities for pupils to develop their spiritual and cultural understanding through assemblies and especially in some lessons.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are friendly and supportive towards each other, behaving well and with consideration for others. They are proud of their school, which supports their good personal development.  In lessons where teaching is good or outstanding, the behaviour of many is exemplary. In a few lessons, some pupils become rather distracted when learning is not interesting or work is too hard or too easy. Pupils behave sensibly around the school and in the playground.  Pupils’ attendance is average overall but, for a lot of pupils, it is above average because they are keen to achieve as well as they can and know the link between attendance and good progress.  Pupils, from Reception onwards, feel safe in school. Their parents agree. During the inspection, pupils demonstrated a secure knowledge of a range of dangers and how to avoid them, including what to do if they are bullied, which is unusual, and how to stay safe when using the

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

internet.  Pupils develop a good range of personal and social skills as they carry out roles carrying responsibilities, such as class monitors. The school council makes a difference, through, for example, collecting money to make make basketball nets for the school.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leaders and managers are not having the necessary impact on strengthening teaching so that it is consistently good and leads to good or better progress. Making checks on the school’s work is not regular enough to ensure the school always has a thorough, accurate picture of the quality of teaching and the rate of pupils' progress.  The headteacher, who shows dedication to her role, is supported by a committed staff, who strive to further develop their skills.  The headteacher has led the major and continuing focus on writing, which has narrowed the gap between pupils' writing and reading skills considerably. The appointment of two senior leaders has given her the opportunity to distribute her workload more equitably and to ensure that the roles and responsibilities of senior and subject leaders always reflect the most pressing needs of the school.  The assistant headteachers in particular, who are getting to grips with their roles, have some

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The leadership and management requires improvement

time for checking their areas but this is not on a regular basis. It makes it more difficult for them to make the necessary checks on their areas of responsibility and so ensure that any issues are promptly addressed. Leaders and managers at all levels and class teachers do not have full accountability for their roles.  Lesson observations are carried out formally once or twice a year and, together with information about pupils’ progress, are the basis for the school’s improvement planning. Although during the inspection the school’s judgements of teaching matched those of the inspectors, the school’s earlier checks had not picked-up that the work set is not consistently enabling all pupils to make the most progress of which they are capable.  Senior staff meet termly to discuss the staff’s progress towards their performance targets. Targets are all measureable and teachers' pay rises are determined by whether they meet their

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The leadership and management requires improvement

targets over two years. Training for staff is relevant to their needs. Led by senior and subject leaders, it is an emerging strength in ensuring teachers build the skills they need.  Pupils like the choice of subjects and activities because they provide them with many chances to be creative, reflect and investigate. Pupils’ progress and the learning opportunities, both academic and personal, demonstrate the school’s satisfactory provision for equality of opportunity and freedom from discrimination. There is a small range of after-school activities, which pupils enjoy.  Parents support the school’s work. They appreciate the workshops that help them to support their children’s learning and attendance at parents’ evenings is good. The school works with a range of organisations to help support pupils’ learning and their social and emotional needs.  The local authority works supportively with the school and continues to assist in strengthening

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The leadership and management requires improvement

the quality of teaching and leadership.  The school’s safeguarding procedures meet the statutory requirements.  The governance of the school:  Many of the governors are new to their roles. Although they have some understanding of what national performance data is telling them, they do not have a comprehensive knowledge of the school’s work and impact. The headteacher keeps them very well-informed but the governors do not find out enough for themselves about how well the school is performing. This includes the quality of teaching and rewards for good teaching, the impact of pupil- premium funding and the performance-management process. The governors are very committed to the school and are keen to extend what they know, in order to better support and challenge the school, contribute to the evaluation of its work, and help to steer it forward.

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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 107052 Local authority Sheffield Inspection number 412434

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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 212 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Glenn Pashley Headteacher Diane Smales Date of previous school inspection 30 January 2008 Telephone number 0114 2848264 Fax number 0114 2848901 Email address enquiries@highgreen.sheffield.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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