The Pines School

School report The Pines Primary School Hanworth Road, Hanworth, Bracknell, RG12 7WX

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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 Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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

 Pupils’ attainment by the end of Year 6 is broadly average. Achievement requires improvement because progress is not consistently strong across the school.  In Key Stages 1 and 2, teaching does not always meet the needs of all pupils well enough. Pupils are not always clear about what they are learning or what they have to do.  Pupils are sometimes inattentive in lessons and occasionally play too roughly at break times. Most pupils feel safe, but they say that bullying or falling out is not always tackled well enough.  The school’s strategies to ensure that more teaching is good have not been sufficient to ensure that it improves quickly enough. Responsibility for securing more rapid improvement is not shared widely enough.  Senior leaders have not ensured that all staff apply policies consistently and understand what they are trying to achieve.  The school’s partnership with parents is not strong enough. While many parents are very

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

happy with the school, a minority are not and they lack confidence in how well concerns are handled.

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The school has the following strengths

 Children make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are taught well and learn new skills quickly.  Good teaching in Year 6 enables pupils to learn at a fast rate and helps to compensate for less rapid progress elsewhere.  Pupils enjoy school. They are sociable and articulate and have good manners.  A good number of clubs and visits enrich learning and help to bring subjects alive.  Despite staff absence which has slowed the pace of change in the current year, the school is improving steadily and attainment is rising.  Senior leaders and governors have identified the most important priorities for the next stage of the school’s development and are doing the right things to improve provision more quickly.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 15 lessons, of which more than half were joint observations with the headteacher. In addition, the inspectors made a number of short visits to lessons.  Meetings were held with pupils, members of the governing body, members of staff and a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors took account of the views of 54 parents who responded to the online questionnaire (Parent View). The inspectors also read letters from parents and talked to some at the start of the school day.  The inspectors observed the school’s work, heard some pupils read, and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own information about pupils’ learning and progress, planning and monitoring documents, the school development plan, records relating to behaviour and attendance, and safeguarding information.  The inspectors analysed 37 questionnaires from staff.

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Inspection team

Mike Capper, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Jennifer Cutler Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an average-sized primary school.  Most pupils come from the local community. The vast majority are from White British backgrounds.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are taught in the Nursery and a Reception class which operate in the same very large classroom.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs who are supported at school action is broadly average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also broadly average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium (additional government funding given to the school for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, children who are looked after by the local authority and the children of service families) is broadly average. There are currently no children of service families at the school.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations

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Information about this school

for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The breakfast club is managed by the governing body.  The headteacher took up post shortly after the previous inspection in June 2011.  At the time of the inspection, four out of eight classes were being taken by temporary teachers who were covering for long-term absences that were beyond the school’s control.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of good or better teaching in Key Stages 1 and 2 by:  setting teachers sharp targets for improvement and following them up rigorously to check that they are having the desired effect on pupils’ learning  ensuring that teachers always plan work that is not too hard or too easy for some pupils  providing pupils with clear guidance in lessons about what they are learning and how to complete their work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ behaviour and how safe they feel by:  applying the school’s behaviour and anti-bullying policies consistently and ensuring that they are well understood by pupils and parents  ensuring that teachers have consistently high expectations of how well pupils should behave  increasing levels of supervision at playtime and lunchtime.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen leadership and management and further build the school’s capacity to improve by:  delegating responsibility more widely so that more staff are involved in driving improvement, especially in the quality of teaching and learning  communicating more clearly with staff so that there is a clear understanding of current priorities  working more closely with parents to improve the partnership between home and school.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 When children start school in the Early Years Foundation Stage, few are working at the levels expected for their age. Pupils get a good start in the Nursery and Reception classes, but progress is not consistently good in Key Stages 1 and 2. Although attainment by the end of Year 6 has been rising and is now broadly average, the school relies too much on pupils making good progress in Year 6 to compensate for less rapid progress elsewhere.  The school does not promote equality well enough because although pupils’ progress is good in some parts of the school, it is not consistently strong for all groups. In Key Stages 1 and 2, not all pupils learn quickly all of the time.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make the same uneven progress as others in lessons because work is sometimes too hard for them. These pupils make the best progress when being taught in small groups outside lessons.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The gap between the attainment of pupils who benefit from extra funding through the pupil premium and others is closing more quickly in the current year than in the past. In national tests at the end of Year 6 in 2012, eligible pupils were about a year behind their peers in English and mathematics. The school has responded well to this by adjusting the use of additional funds so that support is more closely targeted on the needs of these pupils. Consequently, the gap in attainment in both subjects in the current year is already smaller than in 2012.  Pupils make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Children quickly improve skills in the Nursery and Reception class where they benefit from good quality teaching and an interesting curriculum. They develop good levels of confidence and self-esteem.  In Year 6, pupils also learn quickly. Pupils read widely and become more skilled at applying their

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

sound literacy and numeracy skills to work in other subjects.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching requires improvement because there are occasions in Key Stages 1 and 2 when pupils do not learn quickly enough. This happens most frequently when teachers do not ensure that work is pitched at the right level for all pupils. At times, work is too hard for some, especially disabled pupils or those who have special educational needs, or too easy for others, particularly the most able.  There are occasions in lessons when pupils are unclear about what they are learning or what they are expected to do. This is because teachers do not always explain work clearly enough or demonstrate an activity before setting pupils off to work independently. Teachers get on well with their pupils but they sometimes accept behaviour which is not good enough.  Across the school, teachers make good use of resources, including the interactive whiteboards to bring subjects alive and to engage pupils. This was seen to good effect in a Year 5 lesson, where

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

a discussion on China moved learning along quickly because the pupils had photographs and other prompts to aid their thinking.  Teaching is consistently good in the Early Years Foundation Stage. In both the Nursery and the Reception class, there is a good balance between activities taken by the teachers and those where children choose for themselves what they are going to do. Adults work together well to assess learning and they provide sensitive support to move learning on quickly.  In Year 6, teaching consistently provides good challenge. Work is well matched to need and is made very purposeful because different subjects are linked together. For example, a topic on Greece led well into work in literacy and numeracy, with pupils using mathematical skills to design Greek buildings and writing stories based on ancient myths.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 A minority of parents who responded to Parent View (the on-line survey) raised concerns about bullying and behaviour in school. Inspectors agree that the behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement because in some lessons in Key Stages 1 and 2, pupils do not concentrate or pay enough attention to the teacher, especially when work does not engage them fully. At playtimes, levels of supervision are insufficient to ensure that play does not, just occasionally, become too boisterous.  Pupils agree with parents that there is some bullying. They feel that it is usually tackled well by staff but say that this is not always the case and it sometimes reoccurs. Inspectors found that the school has suitable strategies for responding to bullying but these are not always followed closely enough by all staff. Despite this, the vast majority of pupils feel safe at school and report that most adults listen very well to their concerns. They know how to avoid dangers when using

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

the internet and explain how to stay safe outside school.  During the inspection, pupils’ behaviour in lessons was best when they moved classes to work with their new teachers (the permanent member of staff they will have in the next academic year) as at these times adults made very clear that they would not accept misbehaviour. At other times, teachers currently taking the classes did not apply the school’s behaviour policies consistently for all pupils to be clear about what was expected.  The school provides good support for pupils with identified behavioural difficulties. Additional support helps to improve their social skills and to ensure that they do not disrupt learning.  Discrimination is tackled firmly. Pupils enjoy school and they attend regularly. Pupils from different year groups play together happily and relationships are strong. Pupils happily take responsibility. The school council is seen as a ‘good thing’ by other pupils as it has helped to

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

improve resources.  In the Early Years Foundation Stage, children respond particularly enthusiastically to teaching, showing good concentration and behaving well. High levels of concentration are also a common feature of lessons in Year 6, where pupils work hard and are keen to improve.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leaders have ensured steady improvement since the previous inspection. A focus on tackling weaknesses in the Early Years Foundation Stage has been successful in significantly improving provision, but the pace of change in Key Stages 1 and 2 has been much slower, due to a high level of staff absence in the current year which has made it difficult to sustain initiatives that had previously proved beneficial.  Some members of staff say that they are unclear about what senior leaders are trying to achieve or what the main priorities are because this is not communicated well enough to them.  The headteacher and other leaders are identifying the right priorities and are vigorously tackling the main weaknesses. Senior leaders check teaching regularly and use the process for reviewing teachers’ performance to hold them to account for their work. However, in the absence of key staff, they take on too much responsibility for improving teaching. Their monitoring this year has

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The leadership and management requires improvement

not always been thorough enough to ensure that guidance is being followed consistently and is having the desired effect.  Leaders carefully check that the pupil premium is being used appropriately. The funding has been used to increasingly good effect in the current year to provide additional small group or individual support to accelerate progress. Good use is also made of the premium to ensure that eligible pupils have equal opportunity to participate in all school activities.  The school does not work closely enough with all parents. Many are very happy but a minority do not feel fully involved in their children’s education or understand how the school tackles their concerns.  The curriculum (subjects and topics taught) ensures that pupils steadily improve basic skills in literacy and numeracy. It soundly supports pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. In lessons, there is a good focus on teaching values such as manners and respect.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The local authority has supported the school effectively and appropriately since the previous inspection. This has ensured good improvement in areas such as the Early Years Foundation Stage.  The governance of the school:  Governance has improved since the previous inspection. Governors have made good use of training to improve their skills and a review of their work is not required. They are now providing a good degree of challenge to the school. They have an accurate picture of how well the school is doing in comparison with others, making good use of information provided by the school as well as their own observations to identify priorities. Governors ensure that the pupil premium is being spent judiciously. They know where teaching is stronger or weaker and ensure that increases in pay are only awarded when merited by good performance. Safeguarding arrangements meet statutory requirements although, given the size of the

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The leadership and management requires improvement

school site, levels of supervision are not always high enough outside lessons.

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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 134740 Local authority Bracknell Forest Inspection number 400155

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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 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 202 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Doug Jennings Headteacher Emma-Kate Gower Date of previous school inspection 9–10 March 2011 Telephone number 01344 426413 Fax number 01344 306685 Email address headteacher@office.pines.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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