Silverhill Primary School

Silverhill Primary School Draycott Drive, Mickleover, Derby, DE3 0QE

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  The headteacher and leadership team have been successful in driving improvements in teaching and pupils’ achievement.  All teaching is good and some is outstanding. Teachers usually have high expectations of what the pupils can achieve, and the pupils eagerly rise to the challenge.  Standards rose rapidly in 2013 and current data show this trend of improvement is continuing in every key stage, despite the high proportion of pupils who join the school part way through the year.  The achievement of those pupils supported by additional government funding is good.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs also make good progress. They work with confidence and independence.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make an excellent start to their learning and are extremely well prepared for Year 1.  The school provides a very nurturing and inclusive environment and supports pupils’

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

spiritual, moral, social and cultural development particularly well.  Pupils’ behaviour and their attitudes to learning are exemplary.  The governing body provides good support and appropriate challenge to school leaders.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Not enough teaching is outstanding to raise pupils’ achievement to well above nationally expected levels.  Pupils are not being given sufficient opportunities to practise real-life problem- solving skills in mathematics.  Not all marking gives pupils clear advice on how to improve the quality of their work in writing and mathematics.  Pupils are not routinely given time to reflect and respond to the comments teachers write when they mark their work.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors visited 17 lessons. These included six that were observed jointly with the headteacher or deputy headteacher. Inspectors also observed play and lunchtimes.  Discussions were held with pupils, governors, staff, and a representative of the local authority.  Account was taken of the 84 returns to the online questionnaire Parent View and of the views expressed by parents in informal discussions at the end of the school day.  A wide range of documents was scrutinised, including information about pupils’ progress and attendance, the school improvement plan, the school’s self-evaluation document, staff performance management documents and records and policies about safeguarding.  The inspectors also examined the work in pupils’ books, sampled sessions where pupils were learning phonics (sounds and the letters that make them), and listened to pupils read.  An inspector also visited the school’s breakfast club.

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Inspection team

David Edwards, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Linda Brown Additional Inspector Timothy McGuire Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a larger than the average-sized primary school.  About one third of the pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds. This is above the national average. The largest groups are Indian and Pakistani pupils, with smaller percentages of pupils from a variety of ethnic origins.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is significantly below the national average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average.  The proportion of pupils who join the school part way through the academic year or key stage is well above average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress  A number of teaching staff have left and joined the school in the past two years.

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Information about this school

 The school has a breakfast club and after-school club which is run by the governing body.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise achievement in writing and mathematics through consistently outstanding teaching by:  giving pupils more opportunities to develop their real-life mathematical problem-solving skills  giving pupils precise steps to success in lessons that will help them to improve their own work  making sure that teachers’ marking consistently tells pupils what they do well and what they need to do to improve their work  making sure that pupils have sufficient time to reflect on and respond to teachers’ marking.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In most years, children start school in the Reception Year with skills and abilities expected for their age. Children settle quickly into the Early Years Foundation Stage and develop positive attitudes to learning. They make rapid progress because of the extremely well structured and supportive learning environment. Their attainment is above average when they join Year 1.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils continue to make good progress across Key Stages 1 and 2. Attainment dipped at the end of Key Stage 2 in 2012, and was only average. However, taking account of the impact of pupils joining the school partway through Key Stage 2, this still represented good progress. Attainment rose sharply in 2013 in both English and mathematics to well above the previous year’s average. Standards have also risen throughout school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils in Years 1 and 2 read well, have good comprehension skills, and use a mixture of phonics and clues from pictures and the text to help them read unfamiliar words. The proportion of Year 1 pupils reaching the required standard in the phonic screening checks of 2012 and 2013 were above average. This reflects the high priority the school places on reading, and particularly the teaching of phonics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good and sometimes outstanding progress. This is because teaching and support staff understand their needs and give them timely and effective support to help them to work independently.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ writing is engaging and has improved significantly. Spelling, grammar and punctuation are usually accurate, and handwriting is neat and legible, showing the pride that pupils take in their work. Pupils use their writing skills well in different subjects, mindful of their writing targets.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Leaders’ actions to improve the mathematics curriculum have paid dividends. In national tests and assessments in 2013, most of the pupils attained the expected level and over half attained a level that was higher than this. However, pupils do not have enough opportunities to practise their problem-solving skills in real-life applications.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In most year groups, additional learning and pastoral support have helped pupils eligible for support through the pupil premium to draw close to other pupils in the school in their attainment in English and mathematics. In Year 6 in 2012, for example, pupils known to be eligible for free school meals did as well as their classmates in English and were a little ahead of them in mathematics. There is some variation between year groups, however. In 2013, pupils eligible for the pupil premium in Year 6 were behind their classmates in writing.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils who speak English as an additional language, those who are new to learning English and pupils who join part way through the year or key stage, settle quickly into school and they say they are made to feel very welcome. The school carefully checks what each pupil knows, understands and can do and many of these pupils make rapid progress because of the support they receive.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 More-able pupils are strongly encouraged to aim for the highest levels of attainment and they throw themselves into doing so. For example, more pupils are now aspiring to reach Level 6 in the national tests than did so last year and they are being supported well by the school in doing this.

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The quality of teaching is good

 All teaching observed during the inspection was of good quality and some was outstanding. A scrutiny of the work in pupils’ books and the school’s records of the checks made on teaching indicate that teaching is typically good and improving.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers use their good subject knowledge to question and probe pupils’ understanding of what they are learning to assess their progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers generally have high expectations and check that every task builds on what pupils already know and is pitched at the right level of ability. As a result, the work set helps pupils to learn well, whatever their ability. Pupils learn quickly because their interest is maintained through a variety of fast-paced activities.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In an outstanding Year 6 literacy lesson, a group of pupils were fully absorbed in planning a letter of complaint. The teacher skilfully developed children’s literacy skills as they were required to use high-quality grammar and punctuation, excellent descriptive language and convincing arguments to persuade the reader of the letter to take action. Consequently, pupils made rapid gains in learning.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The school has developed a more-structured approach to the teaching of mathematics. In an outstanding session in Reception, children were fully engaged from the outset because the teacher gave clear directions and her expectations about what the children would be learning were precise, so that they were able to work accurately and independently to complete the task successfully. No opportunity was missed to develop children’s mathematical language and understanding.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Relationships throughout the school are excellent. Learning is purposeful and challenging yet relaxed and, as pupils described it, fun. In most lessons, teaching strikes the right balance between instruction and allowing pupils to work independently. However, pupils are not always given clear steps to success in lessons that enable them to assess the quality of their own work.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching often inspires pupils to give of their best. Pupils’ learning is securely based on what teachers learn from marking. There are some very good examples of marking that are both supportive and tell pupils exactly how to improve in mathematics and writing, but this is not consistent in all classes. In addition, pupils are not always given sufficient time to reflect on their learning, and on teachers’ marking, and to respond to the advice they are given.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Highly skilled, well-briefed teaching assistants contribute well to pupils’ learning, particularly for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. For example, in a mathematics lesson on measuring accurately in centimetres, a pupil with learning difficulties was being well supported in making accurate estimates of the length of lines and objects and so, consequently, made good progress.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The school is calm, friendly and very orderly. Pupils are extremely well behaved at all times, particularly in lessons.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils listen very attentively to teachers and to each other. They have extremely positive attitudes to learning. They are keen to do their best at all times and their exemplary behaviour makes a strong contribution to their learning.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils have an excellent understanding of different types of bullying, including cyber-bullying, and feel that very little goes on. They follow school rules and are keen to act responsibly at all times.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils have a good understanding of different faiths and cultures. They appreciate the differences in ability and background that make each person unique. They respect and value each other’s differences and know that discrimination of any sort is wrong.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The pupils respond extremely well to the strong moral and social guidance they receive. They develop very positive attitudes to life and learning through the teaching of common values and expectations. They have a very good understanding of moral and ethical issues through their studies on conservation and other global topics, which they express extremely well in their art and written work. These activities make a strong contribution to pupils’ spiritual, social, moral and cultural development.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The school works very closely with parents of pupils who have social, emotional or behavioural concerns. These pupils make excellent progress in learning to manage their own behaviour. They are very well supported by the other pupils, who are keen to offer all the assistance they can. Consequently, poor behaviour is very rare and there have been no exclusions.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The well-attended breakfast club gives a good start to the day. It has contributed to an improvement in pupils’ punctuality. The after-school care club gives pupils a stimulating environment which helps them to develop their personal and social skills.

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The leadership and management are good

 The inspirational leadership of the headteacher and deputy headteacher has been the driving force behind the marked improvements made during a period of significant staffing changes. She is ably supported by other senior leaders, staff at all levels and governors.

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The leadership and management are good

 Senior leaders, including governors, show great determination in driving forward improvements. There is a clear sense of teamwork and all questionnaires returned by staff during the inspection were completely positive.

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The leadership and management are good

 The leadership of teaching is rigorous and robust. Teachers new to the school have been successfully introduced to the school’s procedures. Senior leaders have high expectations; procedures to improve the quality of teaching are effective because they focus clearly on how well teaching helps pupils learn.

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The leadership and management are good

 The effectiveness of leaders at all levels is improving because of the strong focus on providing training to help teachers develop their leadership and training skills.

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The leadership and management are good

 The provision for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is managed well. The staff responsible track each pupil’s progress meticulously. The school is vigilant in supporting all of its pupils, meeting their diverse needs and ensuring their safety and well-being. The same is true of the significant numbers of pupils who join the school part way through the year. Their attainment and needs are quickly assessed and appropriate support provided to help them to make good progress. In this way, all pupils have equal opportunities to succeed.

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The leadership and management are good

 Current safeguarding requirements are fully met.

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The leadership and management are good

 The curriculum promotes pupils’ personal and academic development equally well. It engages and motivates the pupils because they have a say in some of what they learn. It fosters good relationships with the local and wider communities and contributes to pupils’ understanding of global issues. This has led to the school receiving Ambassador Award status for its curriculum. Leaders support other schools with their curriculum development.

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The leadership and management are good

 Currently, the curriculum provides pupils with opportunities to develop their physical skills, and the wide range of after-school activities are enjoyed by pupils. Sensible decisions have been made about using primary school sport funding to give pupils greater access to a wide range of sporting activities and after-school clubs. The school has plans to check the impact of this work.

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The leadership and management are good

 The new curriculum for the Early Years Foundation Stage has been very effectively implemented. Well-planned activities enthuse and motivate children and have a clear focus on their learning and personal development. Outdoor learning complements what is done indoors. Children’s enjoyment of learning and their safety are given a high priority. The Early Years Foundation Stage is used as a model of good practice for other schools in the local authority.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors gain first-hand information about pupils’ progress through visits to the school, meetings with subject leaders and analysing data to make sure that all pupils are making good progress. They support the headteacher well in making decisions about staffing and staff salaries, based on the management of teachers’ performance and their pupils’ progress. They are also knowledgeable about the strengths and areas for improvement in teaching, and what would need to be done should there be any underperformance. They check the impact of the pupil premium funding, which is used wisely to support learning by extending one-to-one and small-group tuition for eligible pupils of all abilities.

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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 112765 Local authority Derby Inspection number 425074

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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 412 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Clare Hunter Headteacher Catherine Nash Date of previous school inspection 20 November 2008 Telephone number 01332 511138 Fax number 01332 511138 Email address admin@silverhill.derby.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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