Burlington CofE School

Burlington CofE School School Road, Kirkby-in-Furness, Cumbria, LA17 7UH

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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

 Achievement is too variable between years and subjects. Teaching has not been good enough in recent years to ensure pupils make consistently good progress between Years 1 and 6  At times, teachers do not have sufficiently high expectations of all pupils in their class.  Some teachers do not use all of the assessment information available to them to precisely plan lessons. As a result, they do not always provide activities that are at the right level of challenge for all pupils.  Pupils do not always have enough time to find out things for themselves. This occasionally happens when too much time is spent on whole-class teaching.  Some subject leaders have not checked closely enough that actions put in place have improved the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement in their areas of responsibility.  The governing body does not effectively challenge school leaders regarding pupils’ progress.

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The school has the following strengths

 Children get off to a good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage.  By the time pupils leave school in Year 6, they are competent readers.  Behaviour is good. Pupils feel safe and have a positive attitude to learning. Above average attendance reflects their enjoyment of school.  The school contributes well to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Pupils’ engagement in sport is a strength of the school which contributes to their well-being.  The headteacher has taken positive actions to bring about whole-school improvement. There are examples of good teaching across the school. She has the support of all staff and governors.  A new tracking system has been introduced to precisely and regularly measure how well pupils are progressing.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed five teachers and visited seven lessons, one of which was observed jointly with the headteacher. In addition, the inspector made a number of short visits to lessons and listened to pupils read.  Discussions were held with: school staff; groups of pupils; senior staff and leaders with responsibility for a specific subject; governors; parents and a representative from the local authority.  The inspector observed the school’s work and looked at a wide range of documentation including safeguarding documents, the school’s procedures for gaining an accurate view of its own performance, its development plans, records of pupils’ standards and progress, documents relating to attendance and behaviour, and pupils’ work in their books.  The inspector took account of the 24 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and letters from parents. The 13 responses to the inspection questionnaire for staff were also taken

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Inspection team

Naomi Taylor, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Burlington is a smaller than average-sized primary school.  The number of pupils on roll has increased this year both in the Early Years Foundation Stage and across the school.  Pupils are mainly taught in mixed-age classes.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is well below that found nationally. 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 who are looked after by the local authority.  The number of pupils from minority ethnic groups is well below the national average. No pupils speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is above average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is average.  The school has a breakfast and after-school club.

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Information about this school

 On a Wednesday afternoon, there is a ‘T Club’ where parents bring nursery-aged children to play and become familiar with the school environment before joining Reception.  Since the previous inspection, new staff have been appointed. The headteacher took up her post in September 2012.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that all is good or better in order to accelerate progress and raise standards between Year 1 and Year 6, by making sure that:  teachers always have high expectations of what pupils can achieve and provide more opportunities for pupils to share their ideas and work things out for themselves  all assessment information available is used to accurately plan challenging activities that are well matched to the needs of all pupils and groups of pupils  the pace of lessons ensures that pupils make as much progress as possible  pupils have enough opportunity to use their literacy and numeracy skills to research and solve problems across the curriculum.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management, including governance, by:  building on the skills of subject leaders so that they check more closely that actions put in place are helping to improve the quality of teaching, accelerate pupils’ achievement and raise attainment  making sure governors and the headteacher have a secure grasp of the school’s overall effectiveness and rigorously monitor the progress of all groups of pupils.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

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

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Results of the 2013 national tests for Year 6 pupils, nationally published data and the school’s own pupil assessment information confirm that progress made by pupils from their individual starting points is not always good enough from year to year and across the school. Lesson observations and scrutiny of work show this is the case for current pupils too.  Standards are too variable, both from year to year and for different aspects within a particular year. In 2011 and 2012, test results in English and mathematics were above the national average at the end of Year 2 but 2013 shows a dip to below average in reading and writing. Year 6 test results across the last two years have declined. In 2013, standards at the end of Year 6 were above average in reading, broadly average in mathematics and well-below average in writing.  Most pupils make expected progress in mathematics but too few make good progress. There are

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

not enough opportunities across the curriculum to apply their skills to solve mathematical problems. Consequently, these skills are underdeveloped.  The most-able pupils have not been making as much progress as might be expected but leaders and managers are addressing this with, for example, some pupils now being taught in a higher year group for some subjects. It is too soon to judge the impact of this strategy.  Although the results achieved by pupils in the Year 1 phonics screening check remained below average this year, there is an improving picture. The school has improved the teaching of letters and sounds and more training is planned for those staff who have not yet been trained. By the time they leave school, all pupils make at least expected progress in reading and the proportion making good progress is much higher than the national average.  In the spring term of 2013, the headteacher introduced a whole-school systematic approach to

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

the teaching of writing. This has helped pupils improve their ability to write at length and is ensuring progress across all year groups is accelerating. Work in books shows that current pupils are now making at least expected progress.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress in reading. As with their peers, their mathematics and writing are not as strong. There are too few pupils known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium grant to make comparisons of progress with other pupils. The school is fully committed to ensuring every pupil has an equal opportunity and recognises that any gaps in pupils’ achievement must be eradicated.  Most children start Reception class with the skills and knowledge typically expected for their age and are well prepared for Year 1.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching of reading, writing and mathematics is uneven between Year 1 and Year 6. It requires improvements because it has not resulted in sustained good progress for pupils.  Assessment information is not always used successfully by some teachers; work in class is not always well matched to the needs of the learners. When work is not at the correct level and the pace of learning is too slow for pupils, they do not make the progress that they should.  Sometimes, teachers do not have high enough expectations of what the pupils can achieve. This results in limited opportunities for pupils to deepen their understanding of what they are doing, challenge ideas and use their imaginations to further develop their learning.  In a Key Stage 2 English lesson, the teacher had high expectations of all pupils. The lesson was well planned and pupils actively engaged in independently writing instructions on how to stay

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

safe on bonfire night. Highly stimulated by a visit the previous week from police officers and members of the fire service, they recalled key facts to include in their writing and were able to check, edit and improve their work themselves. Good progress was made.  However, this high quality teaching is too infrequently seen. In some lessons, teachers do not always get the best from pupils because too long is spent with the whole class working on the same activity and not enough time is given for pupils to work things out for themselves.  As more information on pupils’ progress is now emerging and with a whole-school approach to the teaching of reading, writing and mathematics, pupils’ progress is improving. Letters and sounds are taught more successfully and are aiding skills in reading and writing. More attention is given to quickly providing support for any pupils who are underachieving in literacy and

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

numeracy. However, not all teachers provide sufficient opportunities for pupils to use and develop their literacy and numeracy skills in meaningful real-life situations across the curriculum.  There has been a significant improvement in teachers’ marking and pupils are now regularly given time to edit and improve their work.  Teachers and teaching assistants successfully establish good working relationships with their pupils. As a result, pupils’ behaviour is managed well.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ attitudes to learning are good. They are respectful to each other and to staff, volunteers and visitors to the school. One pupil described Burlington School as being ‘like a family’. Almost all parents who spoke to the inspector and/or who responded to Parent View were very positive about the school.  The ‘T Club’ provides a really good opportunity for nursery-aged children to come to school one afternoon per week. This, together with good links with parents and other nurseries, ensures that, from an early age, pupils are happy to come to school. As a result, attendance is higher than the national average.  The breakfast and after-school clubs are clearly enjoyed by pupils; parents told the inspector how much this facility is appreciated by the whole family.  Pupils who spoke to inspectors said that they feel safe in school and almost all parents agree that their children are looked after well. The curriculum ensures that pupils learn how to stay

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

safe beyond the school environment. The whole school worship seen on November the fifth clearly demonstrated that pupils knew how to avoid dangerous situations on bonfire night.  Pupils clearly understand different forms of bullying and are confident that rare incidents are dealt with effectively by adults in the school.  A very small minority of pupils exhibit challenging behaviour but strong links with professional agencies beyond school contribute to supporting them and their families. Support is in place to develop pupils’ understanding of how to choose appropriate behaviour.  Pupils are encouraged to take part in sports to help them stay healthy and promote their well- being. The primary school sport funding is to be allocated towards working with external coaches. This is to improve the skills of staff so that they can teach a wider range of sporting activities to a higher standard.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership and management, including governance, require improvement because the school has not been able to fully address and rectify the decline since the previous inspection when the school was judged to be outstanding. The new headteacher has introduced more rigorous procedures. Although these have yet to have full impact in external tests, the school is now improving and demonstrates that it can improve further.  The good headteacher has developed a thorough understanding of school priorities; actions to address these have been quickly put into place. Many new policies and procedures have been drawn up and a new system that clearly identifies the progress that pupils are making has been introduced. The information is shared with staff, and class teachers are giving more regular attention to the progress of individual pupils. This information is not yet used by all teachers to set work at the right level for all pupils.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher monitors the quality of teaching which directly links with the training and support needs of staff. More needs to be done to ensure teaching is consistently good.  The curriculum in Years 1 to 6 is being developed but still requires improvement to meet the needs of all pupils. Literacy and numeracy are not consistently promoted across the curriculum, for example, and research and problem-solving activities are under-represented. The curriculum in the Early Years Foundation Stage provides a good balance of teacher-led activities and those children choose for themselves.  The school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. Pupils take part in many after-school activities and the range of trips enriches their experiences.  The role of some subject leaders is not yet fully developed in checking on the progress of groups of pupils and taking action to accelerate achievement in their areas of responsibility.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher’s leadership was described by a member of staff as being ‘strong, effective and motivational’ and another referred to staff now sharing a ‘united vision’. The inspector supports these views.  The local authority has provided a ‘light touch’ level of support for this school but has recently planned to increase this support due to the recent and rapid increase in pupil numbers both in Reception and across the school.  Safeguarding arrangements meet statutory requirements.  The governance of the school:  Governors are highly committed to the school. They manage the budget well and have successfully appointed several new staff, including the headteacher. Governors agree on how the pupil premium grant is used. They are kept informed about the quality of teaching, although have only recently started to link teachers’ salary progression to pupils’ progress. Governors review information about standards at the end of each key stage but are less well

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The leadership and management requires improvement

informed regarding progress that pupils make year on year throughout the school. As a result, they have not held school leaders sufficiently to account for the academic performance of the school. The governors and the headteacher have not worked together on evaluating the overall effectiveness of the school compared to others nationally. However, governors are keen to attend training that will help them carry out their duties.

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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 112281 Local authority Cumbria Inspection number 426284

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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 Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 76 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jackie Fallows Headteacher Sarah Powell Date of previous school inspection 26 May 2010 Telephone number 01229 889210 Fax number 01229 889210 Email address head@burlington.cumbia.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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