Shawlands Primary School

Shawlands Primary School Shaw Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 6JL

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 This inspection: Inadequate 4 Achievement of pupils Inadequate 4 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that has serious weaknesses.  Standards in reading, writing and mathematics, across Years 1 to 6, have fallen substantially since the last inspection.  Pupils’ learning and progress indicate that many are underachieving, particularly in Years 1 and 2.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, those for whom the pupil premium provides support, and the more-able pupils, make inadequate progress over time.  Teaching across Years 1 to 6 requires improvement. Not all teachers have high enough expectations of pupils. Teaching strategies are not matched sufficiently to the needs of all pupils.  Some pupils are restless when teachers give overly complicated instructions at the start of lessons. As many are not used to working collaboratively and finding things out for themselves, some pupils are reluctant to share ideas and think independently.  Leaders and managers have not maintained

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

the school’s outstanding performance since the last inspection. They have not checked rigorously the quality of teachers’ work or pupils’ outcomes.  Governors have not held senior leaders to account for falling standards and achievement. They have accepted too readily the information that they have been given about the school’s effectiveness.

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The school has the following strengths

 Children who are behind with their reading, writing and numeracy skills when they start school, catch up quickly in the Early Years Foundation Stage. They make increasingly good progress because of effective teaching and stimulating experiences.  The school’s atmosphere is welcoming. Pupils behave well around school, are courteous to each other and polite to visitors.  The many out-of-school experiences provided contribute positively to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Substantial and recent changes to the leadership, management and governance of the school have resulted in some improvements in teaching, learning and pupils’ achievements in the past two terms.  Leaders and managers know what needs to be done to improve the school.  Governors are now asking the right questions about the quality of teaching and the progress that pupils are making.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed parts of 17 lessons, of which three were joint observations with senior leaders, and conducted a general learning walk through all classes.  Inspectors looked at a sample of pupils’ work and heard pupils from Years 2 and 6 read.  Inspectors observed pupils at play, moving around the school and at lunchtime, and met with representative groups of pupils from Years 3 to 6.  Inspectors met with staff, members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  A number of documents were analysed, including the school’s own data on current pupils’ progress, planning and monitoring documentation, minutes of governing body meetings, records relating to behaviour and attendance, and documents pertaining to safeguarding.  Inspectors took into account 20 staff questionnaires and 34 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View.

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Inspection team

Andrew Swallow, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Juliet Demster Additional Inspector Janet Lomas Additional Inspector

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Full report

In accordance with the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances reasonably be expected to perform.

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Information about this school

 The school is an average-sized primary school.  The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage. There are very few from minority ethnic groups or who speak English is an additional language.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is below average.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average.  The proportion of pupils known to be entitled to support through the pupil premium is below the national average. (The pupil premium is additional government funding to provide support for those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, children from service families and those children that are looked after.)  The school meets the government’s current floor standard which is the minimum expectation for pupils’ attainment and progress.  Since the last inspection, there have been many changes in staffing, including substantial and

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Information about this school

recent changes in senior leaders, managers and governors including a new Chair and vice-chair of the Governing Body.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching across Years 1 to 6 so that it is always at least good, by:  raising the expectations of all teachers about what pupils can find out from each other, and for themselves  reducing the amount of time teachers spend giving instructions at the beginning of lessons and ensure that the instructions are easy to follow  providing more time for pupils to talk about their learning and to collaborate with each other  ensuring all teachers systematically check all pupils’ understanding in all lessons  ensuring all teachers are flexible enough in their planning to adapt the activities and experiences to meet learners’ emerging needs, so that all are constantly challenged and learn well  ensuring all teachers check regularly the impact of support provided by teaching assistants.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise standards and pupils’ achievements in reading, writing and mathematics, especially in Years 1 and 2, so that pupils attain above the national averages when they leave school, by:  using information about all pupils’ progress more assiduously to pinpoint underperformance earlier and to address shortfalls in teaching more urgently  checking more rigorously the impact of provision made for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, those for whom pupil premium funding is provided, and for the more able, in all year groups  improving pupils’ sounding-out and recognition of common and unfamiliar words through regular opportunities to read individually, in pairs and in small groups  enhancing pupils’ confidence to talk about numbers, use problem-solving skills and apply mathematics in real-life scenarios  ensuring all pupils write neatly, use basic punctuation accurately, spell familiar words

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

precisely, and consistently organise their ideas in simple, then more complex, sentences.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure all pupils are motivated, eager to collaborate and work independently, in all lessons, by:  setting learning experiences in relevant and interesting contexts and scenarios  incorporating stimulating materials into lessons  developing pupils’ skills and personal qualities so that they are confident to share views and ask questions of each other.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership, management and governance, building on recent improvements, so that all staff are ambitious for all pupils and set the highest expectations, by:  reviewing regularly and rigorously all information on pupils’ achievements, especially those of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs  checking regularly and rigorously the quality of teaching and its impact on pupils’ learning introducing robust performance management arrangements for all staff  determining the effectiveness of pupil-premium spending, with particular emphasis on the progress made by pupils known to be eligible for free school meals  reviewing the curriculum to ensure that it provides relevant and stimulating experiences for all pupils, and that it takes advantage of the many visits and out-of-school experiences to enhance pupils’ communication and mathematical skills.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Standards across Years 1 to 6 have declined significantly since the last inspection. They are broadly average in writing by the end of Year 6, although below average in reading and mathematics. This shows that too many pupils are consistently making less-than-expected progress from their starting points.  Similarly, standards at the end of Year 2 have fallen since the last inspection and are broadly average in reading and writing. They are below average in mathematics and are still declining. These outcomes again represent inadequate progress over time for many pupils. This is because teaching is insufficiently challenging, and activities are not precisely matched to learners’ needs.  Many pupils are not fluent in reading by the time they leave school, and have not developed strategies for working out common or unfamiliar words and phrases.  Many pupils lack confidence in talking about numbers and in applying their developing

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

mathematical awareness to ‘real-life’ problem-solving scenarios. Not all pupils present their written work neatly, write legibly and punctuate accurately when they write simple sentences. Many have difficulties in spelling familiar words with precision, and in organising their ideas in increasingly complex sentences.  Until recently, pupils’ underperformance went unnoticed. This is no longer the case. The reliable information now available means that pupils’ performance cannot dip without staff noting and acting on this.  Pupils known to be eligible for free school meals underachieve. By the end of Key Stage 2, many are up to two terms behind their peers in reading, writing and mathematics. This is because key leaders and managers have not regularly checked to see whether pupil-premium funding has been used wisely to make sure individual pupils receive well-targeted support as a result of this funding. To this end, the school is not effective in its promotion of equality of opportunity.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 There are wide gaps in attainment and progress of other groups of pupils. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, the few pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds, and many more-able learners, do not achieve as well as they could. This is because activities and experiences are insufficiently shaped to meet their individual learning needs.  Most children start the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills that are below those expected for their age. Some have low mathematical competencies. Rates of progress have improved substantially over the past two terms, and are now good. This is due to new staffing and consistently good, with some outstanding, teaching. For example, during the inspection, reception-aged children revelled in developing their understanding of three-dimensional shapes, readily sharing resources and enthusiastically asking each other questions. Most children are

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

now ready to join Year 1 working at national expectations.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Although teaching has improved over the past two terms as a result of recent actions by school leaders and managers, too much still requires improvement and is not typically good.  In too many lessons teachers give overly complicated instructions at the beginning of lessons. This means that many learners are not involved soon enough in finding things out and thinking for themselves. Activities are often cut short. This results in too little time for pupils to discuss and exchange ideas, or question each other’s views, to deepen their understanding independently of the teacher.  Not enough care is taken to check all pupils’ understanding in lessons. This results in activities that are not always adapted to meet pupils’ changing needs. As a consequence, some pupils are provided with the same work, regardless of ability, or are left too long working on the same task. Both instances lead to insufficient challenge and progress. This is especially the case in

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

some Key Stage 1 lessons.  There is variability in the effectiveness of the support that teaching assistants provide for less- able pupils, disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, and sometimes more- able learners. Some teachers do not communicate sufficiently with teaching assistants. They do not ensure that teaching assistants provide sufficient opportunities for individual pupils to gain confidence in working things out for themselves.  Teaching has particularly improved in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Here it is increasingly stimulating, activities are progressively matched to children’s needs, and adults carefully use their checking of children’s progress to plan for subsequent experiences, indoors and outdoors.  Where teaching is good across Years 1 to 6, teachers plan interesting and relevant activities that motivate most learners and use stimulating resources and equipment. In these lessons, teachers

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

exude high expectations and promote regular opportunities for pupils to think for themselves. Teachers routinely check pupils’ understanding, adapting activities accordingly to have a positive impact on the quality of learning. As a result, pupils achieve well. For example, Year 5 pupils were enthused by the challenge to launch a new chocolate bar in celebration of a new theatre show of ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,’ and were eager to consider key features of the wrapping and sales promotion.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ behaviour and safety require improvement because pupils say that some lessons are uninteresting. This is particularly so when they cannot see the relevance of what they do and when materials are unstimulating. In these lessons, pupils do not show an eagerness to participate. Some pupils have not yet developed the necessary attitudes and qualities to engage in collaborative work, in pairs or small groups.  Pupils’ general behaviour is good around the school. They are polite and courteous to each other, adults and visitors. Scrutiny of behavioural records shows this behaviour is typical over time.  Parents are generally positive about their children’s attitudes towards school and say that they largely enjoy their learning. Attendance is average overall, although some pupils known to be eligible for free school meals do not attend as regularly as they might. Pupils say they enjoy coming to school because they appreciate the large number of clubs and visits and because

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

everyone is friendly all the time.  Most pupils have a good awareness of potentially unsafe situations and are confident in dealing with them. They are assured in talking about cyber and homophobic bullying. They say that everyone gets on well together in school and that racism and bullying are rare.  Teachers and assistants secure effectively the well-being of pupils whose circumstances may make them vulnerable. Pupils say they feel very safe in school and that adults are always there for them.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Substantial changes have been made over the past two terms to leadership, management and governance. New teachers have also joined the school. There is already clear and positive impact in improvements to teaching and pupils’ achievement. For example, children now make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage and join Year 1 working at national expectations. In some classes in Years 1 to 6, pupils’ recent rates of progress are at least in line with national expectations.  Self-evaluation is now accurate and the school improvement plan identifies the right priorities to improve teaching and raise achievement and standards.  Arrangements to check pupils’ progress have been reviewed recently and systems put in place to ensure reliable and precise assessments of pupils’ work.  However, key leaders and managers at all levels are still at an early stage in addressing historical underperformance by many pupils as a result of teaching that has not been good

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The leadership and management requires improvement

enough since the last inspection.  Over time, the school’s procedures for checking the quality of its work have been insufficiently rigorous. There has been much complacency in setting challenging targets for pupils, reviewing their progress towards these, checking the quality of teaching and communicating outcomes to governors.  Robust performance management procedures have not been implemented and teachers have not been held sufficiently to account. There are no substantial records to show if the right decisions have been made historically about teachers’ movements up the salary scale on the basis of accurate information about the quality of their teaching. Present leaders have begun to address urgently these shortfalls.  Senior leaders recognise that, while the curriculum is adequate, it is not always built carefully around pupils’ imagination and needs. Visits to places of interest, and the many visitors to

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The leadership and management requires improvement

school, have the potential to enhance further pupils’ literacy and mathematical skills, but these experiences are not always linked closely enough to teachers’ planning.  Provision to meet fully the needs of some disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs requires improvement. Individual targets and plans to boost the achievement of these pupils are not reviewed, or adjusted, regularly. Safeguarding arrangements meet requirements.  The local authority has brokered strong partnerships with nearby outstanding schools, local leaders in education, expert practitioners and consultants. These partnerships have already helped to improve teaching, learning and pupils’ achievement in the Early Years Foundation Stage and in some classes across Years 1 to 6.  Links with other primary schools, the local church and community, and visits to the Lowry Art Gallery and Imperial War Museum North, contribute to pupils’ understanding of different cultures

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The leadership and management requires improvement

and faiths. Regular sporting activities, after-school concerts, and extracurricular events such as ice skating, dance and choir, make appropriate contributions to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Teachers also ensure that they tackle immediately any discrimination that may arise.  Parents are generally supportive of the school’s work, although they indicate that they would appreciate more information about the progress that their children make. They express some concerns about how well their views have been received by the school in the past and the effectiveness of leadership and management over time. Present senior leaders and managers recognise these issues. They are working actively to overcome them.  The governance of the school:  An external audit of the governing body’s effectiveness has been carried out by the local authority. This found governance now to be fit for purpose. Minutes of meetings and

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The leadership and management requires improvement

information provided by the school show that governors have begun to ask searching questions about the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievements, and are now robustly holding to account the present leaders and managers. A governing body action plan indicates exactly where further improvements are required. For example, it plans for more robust discussions about decisions on how to spend pupil-premium funding, to maximise the progress made by pupils known to be eligible for free school meals.  In the past, governors have not managed the headteacher’s performance rigorously or ensured that similar procedures were in place for other staff and were linked to pay progression. The present governing body has already put plans in place to introduce suitably rigorous procedures in the new academic year. Governors are keen to support senior leaders and managers to drive forward urgent improvements to tackle underperformance.

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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 106564 Local authority Barnsley Inspection number 411867

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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 255 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mrs K Kelly Headteacher Mrs J Brookling Date of previous school inspection 16 January 2007 Telephone number 01226 287177 Fax number 01226 296365 Email address l.barradell@barnsley.org 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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