Worsthorne Primary School

Worsthorne Primary School Brownside Road, Worsthorne, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 3LR

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Worsthorne Primary is a happy and harmonious school. It provides a caring environment in which pupils feel safe.  Teaching is consistently good across the school and sometimes outstanding. Teachers plan interesting work that relates to the ‘real world’. As a result pupils are highly motivated to learn.  From their starting points, all groups of pupils, including those eligible for the pupil premium, make good progress. By the end of Key Stage 2 attainment is well above average.  Pupils’ behaviour is excellent. They are polite and treat others with respect. They have excellent attitudes and enjoy their lessons a great deal. This makes a strong contribution to their successful learning.  The curriculum provides a wide range of exciting experiences including after-school clubs. It is a significant contributory factor to pupils’ good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  The headteacher provides strong leadership.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

All staff support the headteacher and together they have developed a strong staff team committed to further improvement.  Leaders and managers have a secure knowledge of the school. Actions are focused on improving the quality of teaching to outstanding and further increasing the rate at which pupils make progress.  The governing body plays an important and successful role in supporting and challenging the school. All leaders and governors are driving up improvements.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The proportion of outstanding teaching is not high enough.  The work set for the more-able pupils in a small number of classes is not consistently challenging them.  Pupils are not always given opportunities to take responsibility for their learning.  The skills of the better teachers are not regularly shared to help improve the overall quality of the teaching across the school.  Subject leaders are not consistently active in monitoring what is happening in their subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed nine lessons of which one was a joint observation carried out with the headteacher. In addition, the inspectors made a number of short visits to lessons and listened to pupils read.  Meetings were held with pupils from Year 1 to Year 5, members of the governing body, senior leaders and a representative from the local authority. Short discussions were held with pupils at break times and lunchtime.  The inspectors took account of 42 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection and had discussions with parents at the start of the school day to ascertain their views of the school.  The inspectors observed the school’s work and took into account the work in pupils’ books, the school’s own data on pupils’ current progress, the school’s improvement plans, planning and monitoring information and minutes of governing body meetings. Records relating to behaviour

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Information about this inspection

and attendance, and documents relating to safeguarding were also considered.

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Inspection team

Andrew Morley, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Sheila Iwaskow Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Worsthorne Primary is a smaller than average-sized primary school. The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage. The proportion of pupils from a minority ethnic background is very small, and there are no pupils who speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs 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 also below average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is below average. (The pupil premium is additional funding for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals, children from service families and those children that are looked after).  The school met the government’s current floor standards in 2012, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress at the end of Year 6.

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Information about this school

 The number of pupils joining and leaving the school partway through their education is lower than the national average.  The school provides a before- and after-school care club for children who attend the school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further raise pupils’ achievement by increasing the proportion of outstanding teaching and learning by:  sharing the outstanding practice evident in teaching across the school  consistently providing more opportunities for pupils to take responsibility for their own learning and that of their peers  ensuring that the more-able pupils are challenged consistently with tasks set by their teachers being precisely matched to their needs.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further strengthen the role of subject leaders by increasing their monitoring role and holding them more to account for the subject for which they are responsible.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 When children enter the school they have skills which are typical of those expected but by the time they leave at the end of Year 6, their attainment in English and mathematics is usually above the national average. This represents good progress from pupils’ individual starting points.  Children get off to a very good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage. At the end of the Reception Year, children’s level of skills and understanding in all areas are often above those expected for their age.  In Reception classes, there is an extremely orderly atmosphere, and a wonderful range of exciting resources engage children particularly well in playing and learning. They make particularly strong progress in their personal development and, therefore, confidently settle into Year 1.  Between Years 1 and 6 pupils make good progress and achieve well. Standards at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 have risen year on year. At the end of Year 2 attainment is above average in

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The achievement of pupils is good

reading, writing and mathematics.  Test results 2012 for Year 6 were well above average with a much higher than average proportion of pupils reaching the higher Level 5. School data and inspection evidence show that in Year 6 in 2013, attainment has been sustained and is set to improve further this year.  While the more-able pupils make good progress overall there is some inconsistency from class to class. This means that their progress is not maximised in every class.  The results of the national reading assessment in Year 1 were average in 2013. Teachers effectively extend pupils’ skills in Year 2 with rigorous focus on linking letters to sounds in high quality support group sessions. As a result progress in reading is good and pupils apply their skills to tackle new words.  This strong rate of progress in reading continues in Key Stage 2, with pupils making consistently good or better progress. Teachers share their enthusiasm for reading and pupils show a love and

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The achievement of pupils is good

enjoyment of reading. They read confidently, accurately blending sounds and understanding what they have read.  In English, and particularly in mathematics, attainment is well above average because pupils confidently apply their knowledge based on a secure platform of accuracy in basic skills.  The small number of pupils who are eligible for the pupil premium, including those who are known to be eligible for free school meals, make similar good progress and achieve similar high standards in English and mathematics to those of other pupils in the school. This is because of the additional support they receive if they are at risk of falling behind in their learning.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good and sometimes better progress. This is because of the very skilled support they receive from teaching assistants and the careful tracking of their progress. This, together with the good progress made by those

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The achievement of pupils is good

pupils eligible for the pupil premium, reflects the school’s commitment to promoting equality of opportunity for all pupils.

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The quality of teaching is good

 As a result of a well thought-out programme of training and commitment from all staff, teaching is consistently good and an increasing proportion is now outstanding.  Teaching is of a high quality in the Reception class and children quickly find out that learning is fun. They take every opportunity to develop children's social, observational and communication skills. Activities, both indoors and out, are exciting, purposeful and varied.  Teachers throughout the school have good subject knowledge and set up appropriate activities to meet the needs and abilities of pupils. This is especially evident in mathematics. In an outstanding Year 4 lesson, pupils used the teacher’s excellent learning resources and chose the most appropriate mathematical method to solve problems. A Venn diagram was used well to solve classification and sorting problems. They were enthusiastic and progress was enhanced by some high quality questions posed by their teacher.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In other lessons, where teaching is outstanding, teachers use questioning skills effectively to extend pupils’ thinking, are very effective in creating opportunities for pupils to find things out for themselves and provide many opportunities for them to apply their skills to a range of problem-solving and purposeful activities.  Overall, teachers use assessment information well to take into account what pupils already know, understand and can do. This ensures that activities are suitably demanding for most pupils. However, at times, some pupils, especially the more able, are not always offered hard enough work and this limits the rate at which they make progress.  Teaching assistants are generally deployed effectively and teachers involve them in planning the curriculum, so they are well informed about the needs of particular pupils, especially those with special educational needs. Consequently, when working with such pupils they intervene well to

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The quality of teaching is good

support learning. They give clues to encourage pupils to think for themselves rather than simply telling them what the answers are.  In most lessons time is used well so the rate of pupils’ learning is frequently brisk as they move between activities or concentrate hard for a time on one particular thing. In a few lessons, however, teachers do not provide enough time for pupils to reflect on what they are learning and ensure they fully understand their responsibility to improve their own work.  Much of the marking and feedback in mathematics, and particularly English, is of a high quality.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour and safety are good and pupils attend school regularly. Their behaviour is good in lessons and around the school. In lessons where teaching is outstanding, exemplary behaviour is evident.  In most lessons, pupils are well behaved; the majority are engaged and want to learn. In a few lessons pupils were less engaged due to the pace of learning being slow. There is a calm atmosphere around the school and most pupils conduct themselves in a mature manner. They enjoy the school dinners and are polite and courteous.  Pupils are rightly proud and very positive about school. They enjoy coming to school and express confidence in feeling safe. They say that bullying is very rare and that when it does happen, teachers and leaders respond quickly and deal with it. Awareness of bullying is enhanced by anti-bullying weeks.   Pupils know how to keep themselves safe at school. Topics within the curriculum and first-hand

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

experiences by the local police and fire officers visiting school enhance learning in this area. Pupils know how to safely use the internet because there has been e-safety assembly and class discussions on internet safety.  Pupils are very polite and work well with each other during lessons. The school effectively encourages pupils to communicate with each other through the use of ‘learning partners’. However, while pupils demonstrated some good learning skills, they were not always given the opportunity in the classroom to take responsibility and lead learning for themselves. This was particularly the case for the older pupils.  The older pupils understand their responsibility to model good behaviour and safe practice. They show a very caring attitude as ‘buddies’ in looking after the younger children on the playground and around school. They have the skills to take on an even greater role in supporting behaviour.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 A very large majority of the parents interviewed, and those who responded to Parent View, say that their child is well looked after, feels safe at the school and that bullying is dealt with effectively. An overwhelming majority would recommend the school to another parent.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher is both highly experienced and passionate about the school. Driven by the skilful management of the headteacher, the leadership team is ambitious and determined to move the school’s overall effectiveness to outstanding. Changes are shared by all and the school is very well placed to improve.  Monitoring of progress is accurate and leads to precise priorities for the school. Support is placed where it is most needed to prevent pupils underachieving. This is effective for most pupils although in some classes the more-able do not always make enough progress. Nevertheless, actions are precise and are raising attainment.  Leadership of teaching and learning is good. However, currently, excellent practice is not shared widely enough across the school. Also, subject leaders are not rigorously driving improvement in their particular subject which means that there is some inconsistency of the teaching of subjects,

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The leadership and management are good

such as geography and history. Subject leaders are not sufficiently involved in monitoring and are not always held to account for the subject for which they are responsible.  All staff access regular performance management and have targets related to their responsibilities and experience. They access appropriate professional development to support this. The quality of teaching is checked by a variety of activities, including regular observations of teaching and looking at pupils’ work. For example, the dip in outcomes in the 2013 phonics check was thoroughly investigated and acted upon to ensure pupils are back on track to make the necessary progress.  The school provides an excellent range of visits and activities to excite pupils about learning. As one parent commented, ‘I am delighted with the creative and enriched education that my children are experiencing at Worsthorne Primary School.’ The curriculum is related very well to

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The leadership and management are good

pupils’ interests and experiences. Enrichment activities, such as African drumming workshops, theatre productions, whole-school thematic days and forest school are available for all pupils. Similarly the range of extra-curricular activities that involve a full range of sports, choir, ukulele and the ‘Chatter bug Young Readers Club’ are appreciated by the pupils.  Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development remains good. The school is committed to learning about all faiths and its link with Bradley Primary School in Nelson helps the pupils learn first-hand about cultural heritage different from their own.  Extended school services are well-established and families value the flexibility offered by the breakfast and out-of-school care.  The new primary school sports funding is being used well. Specialist sports coaches work alongside teachers to improve the teaching of physical education lessons. New skills are enabling

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The leadership and management are good

pupils to be involved in regular competition with other local schools involved in the ‘Burnley Sports Partnership’. Staff are benefiting from additional training from the partnership to secure their skills in order to sustain improvement  The school is involved and benefits from a range of partnerships and values the effective support given by the local authority.  The governance of the school:  Governors work in close partnership with the school. They show a clear determination to continue to raise achievement while retaining their strong commitment to support the emotional and pastoral needs of each individual pupil. Governors attend relevant training, visit the school regularly and understand data. This helps them to have an insightful working knowledge of the school’s strengths and what needs to improve. Governors keep a close eye on the allocation and impact of any spending and are rightly confident that the pupil premium

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The leadership and management are good

is accelerating the progress of those pupils eligible. Governors have a good understanding of the quality of teaching. They ensure that reviews of teachers’ work are linked closely to the progress and attainment of pupils and that the headteacher only rewards good performance. Safeguarding has a high priority and governors ensure that statutory requirements are met.

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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 119181 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 426134

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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 190 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Andrew Foster Headteacher Louise Young Date of previous school inspection 7 February 2012 Telephone number 01282 425690 Fax number 01282 471122 Email address head@worsthorne.lancs.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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