Callands Community Primary School

Callands Primary School Callands Road, Callands, Warrington, Cheshire, WA5 9RJ

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Overall effectiveness

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

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

 Not enough pupils make better than expected progress and, particularly the most-able, in reading, writing and mathematics.  Teaching requires improvement because lessons do not consistently challenge all pupils and, particularly the most-able, to make at least good progress.  Marking of pupils’ work does not consistently show them how to improve and teachers do not provide them with enough time to act upon the advice given.  Pupils do not have enough opportunities to develop and extend their literacy and mathematical skills in all the subjects of the curriculum.  Middle leaders are not fully involved in checking the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement in all the subjects of the curriculum.  Governors have not robustly challenged leaders and, fully checked that targets set and that the spending of the primary sports fund are sufficiently focussed on improving pupils’ achievement.

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The school has the following strengths

 Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make good progress in all areas of learning.  Pupils eligible for the pupil premium funding, disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress from their individual starting points.  There is some good and, occasionally, outstanding teaching. This has led to pupils’ attainment improving well in Key Stage 1.  Behaviour is good. Pupils say and, their parents agree, that they feel safe in school.  The curriculum has engaging topics that promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well.  The interim headteacher and the deputy headteacher provide good leadership during the absence of the headteacher.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 20 lessons or parts of lessons, two of which were joint observations with the interim headteacher.  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.  Meetings were held with senior leaders, staff, members of the governing body, two representatives from the local authority, parents and groups of pupils.  The inspectors spoke informally to pupils during playtimes and lunchtimes.  The inspectors examined the school’s own documentation relating to pupils’ progress, school self-evaluation and policies relating to safeguarding.  The inspectors took account of 37 responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View).  The inspectors scrutinised the 27 responses to the staff questionnaire provided by Ofsted.

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Inspection team

Clare Henderson, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Bimla Kumari Additional Inspector Patricia Cope Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an above average-sized primary school.  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 who are looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported through school action is above average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus is above average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  A high proportion of teaching staff have left or joined the school in the past three years.  There is an interim headteacher in post as the headteacher is absent.  The deputy headteacher joined the staff in September 2013.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that all is good and more is outstanding in order to raise pupils’ attainment and accelerate progress in reading, writing and mathematics by ensuring that:  teachers consistently set lessons which challenge all pupils and, particularly the most-able, to achieve the best they can  marking of pupils’ work consistently shows them how to improve and that teachers provide pupils with enough time to act upon the advice given  pupils have more opportunities to develop and extend their literacy and mathematical skills in all the subjects of the curriculum.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of leadership and management, including governance, by:  providing more opportunities and time for middle leaders to develop their skills in monitoring the quality of teaching and pupils’ learning  ensuring that governors robustly challenge leaders and fully check that the targets set and the spending of the primary sports fund are sufficiently focussed on improving pupils’ achievement.

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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 these aspects of leadership and governance may be improved.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Achievement requires improvement because pupils’ progress is not consistently good throughout the school in reading, writing and mathematics. This is because of weaknesses in the quality of teaching and the previous and, some continuing instability in staffing.  Furthermore, learning in lessons does not consistently challenge all pupils and, particularly the most-able, to achieve the best they can. Because of this, the school is not fully promoting equality of opportunity and tackling discrimination for all groups of pupils.  In most years, children start school with skills that are broadly expected for their age. They make good progress in their learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage because of improved provision, teaching and a good range of stimulating activities on offer, which foster children’s enthusiasm for learning well. Consequently, they are well prepared for their work in Year 1.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Over the last three years, pupils’ attainment at Key Stage 1 has risen and was above average in 2013 in reading, writing and mathematics. This is because of the greater focus given to providing pupils with more opportunities to practise their letters and sounds, reading more regularly and learning their basic mathematical skills more systematically.  Pupils’ attainment in national tests at the end of Year 6 in 2012 and 2013 was broadly average in reading, writing and mathematics. This shows an improvement on pupils’ attainment in 2011. Given the starting points of these pupils, not enough made better than expected progress in reading, writing or mathematics and particularly for the most-able.  Although pupils at Key Stage 1 made better progress than previously in reading, writing and mathematics in 2013, groups of learners throughout the school and, particularly the most-able make variable progress. A contributory factor is that the quality of teaching is inconsistent.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Furthermore, the marking of pupils’ work does not always show them how to improve and teachers do not provide pupils with enough time to act upon the advice given.  Pupils in different year groups and particularly the most-able, make inconsistent progress because there are not enough opportunities for them to develop and extend their reading, writing and mathematical skills in all the subjects of the curriculum.  Because work is generally matched to their individual interests and needs, disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make consistently good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  Pupils supported through the pupil premium funding attained higher than other pupils in the school and better than similar pupils in this group nationally by one term, in reading and mathematics in 2013. However, although these pupils achieved as well as other pupils nationally in writing, they were behind the other pupils in the school by half a term. These good levels of

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

progress continue to be a feature of learning for most pupils in this group currently in all the classes in the school. This is because their individual needs are identified and support is given to help them in class and in small groups.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching requires improvement because teaching is not consistently good. Too many lessons move at too slow a pace and are not sufficiently challenging to allow the most- able to achieve the best they can.  Although there is some teaching which is good and occasionally outstanding, it is not consistently good over time or in all classes in reading, writing and mathematics.  In the Early Years Foundation Stage, children are well cared for and they quickly learn to follow instructions and happily get along with one another. Activities such as Forest School help them to develop their investigation and problem solving skills well.  The quality of teaching at Key Stage 1 has improved because teachers and support staff ask challenging questions through, for instance, enquiry based learning. In such lessons, as evident in the work produced by the Year 1 pupils, they researched and wrote about exciting and

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

interesting facts, such as how birds build their nests. Such learning extends pupils’ learning very effectively.  In some Key Stage 2 classes, such as in an outstanding Year 3 mathematics lesson, pupils made rapid progress because the work on fractions was challenging and very well-matched to the pupils’ interests and abilities. Furthermore, pupils showed determination and resilience as they worked both independently and in groups. ‘Shall we discuss it as a group’ was a common feature of their conversations during the lesson.  However, this rapid rate of progress is not consistent in all year groups. In some lessons, the pace of learning is too slow and, at these times, the most-able have to wait while the teacher explains the tasks when they could be getting on and extending their learning at a faster pace.  Learning support assistants provide good levels of care so that disabled pupils and those who

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

have special educational needs in the school engage well in learning and their work is generally well matched to their interests or learning needs.  The teaching of pupils eligible for pupil premium funding, who are currently in the school, is well managed with appropriate resources and support available. As a result, these pupils make good progress from their individual starting points in their learning.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils behave well in most lessons and around the school. This has a positive effect on their achievement. Inspectors’ observations and school records show that behaviour is typically good in classes, around the school and over time. Pupils say that poor behaviour never spoils lessons.  In Reception, behaviour is consistently good because there are good relationships and the activities and discussions engage and challenge the children. As a result, their communication skills are always developing and they become confident learners.  At break and lunchtimes, pupils play well together with lots of imaginative play. There is good supervision to ensure pupils are safe and secure. This is helped by the ‘bucket dipper’ pupils who look out for and attend the needs of any pupil who may feel upset or lonely.  Pupils enjoy coming to school and this is reflected in above average attendance. They say they

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

feel safe at school and that behaviour is generally good. There are good relationships between staff and pupils and there is a caring and inclusive atmosphere in the school.  Behaviour is judged as good rather than outstanding. This is because occasionally, when the pupils are expected to work independently of the teacher, they chatter to friends rather than concentrate fully on their learning.  Pupils are knowledgeable about internet and road safety. They are aware of the different forms of bullying and say that, if it does happen, it is dealt with effectively by the teachers and staff.  Pupils enjoy a range of responsibilities in their classrooms and around the school, such as being members of the school council or buddies for the children in the Reception class. Such roles teach them to act responsibly and support each other.  Most of the parents the inspectors spoke to and those who responded to Parent View say their

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

children are safe and well looked after by the school. The large majority of the parents agree that the school deals effectively with bullying if it occurs.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The interim headteacher and the deputy headteacher manage the school well during the absence of the headteacher. They have continued the good management, previously begun by the headteacher, and successfully eradicated inadequate teaching, begun to raise staff morale and improve pupils’ achievement. The local authority has provided significant levels of support in this work.  Targets set for teachers now concentrate on raising pupils’ achievement, and are linked to training and to teachers’ salary progression.  Leadership and management is not good overall because the targets set in the school development plan are not sufficiently sharply focussed on improving pupils’ achievement.  Furthermore, the skills of middle leaders in checking the quality of teaching and pupils’ learning in all subjects of the curriculum are not fully developed.  However, high quality staffing appointments, improvements to the quality of teaching, pupils’

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The leadership and management requires improvement

attainment at Key Stage 1 and the good progress made by pupils eligible for pupil premium funding, disabled pupils and those with special educational needs demonstrates the school can improve further.  The curriculum promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well because good opportunities for pupils to extend their artistic and musical skills are built into learning within the curriculum. It is strong in the provision for physical education. However, it does not provide pupils with enough opportunities to develop and extend their reading, writing and mathematical skills in all the subjects they study.  The new primary school sport funding has increased pupils’ participation in physical education and sport. However, the impact of the spending of the fund on pupils’ physical wellbeing has not been measured by school leaders and governors.  Parents say they are reasonably well-informed about their children’s progress. However, because

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The leadership and management requires improvement

of the high levels of staffing and leadership changes, including the absence of the current headteacher, a high proportion do not feel the school is well managed. The school have already begun to meet with parents to share and address the concerns raised.

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The governance of the school:

 Governance requires improvement because governors do not provide enough challenge to school leaders. They receive pupil progress information but do not effectively challenge leaders and hold them to account for the rate of pupils’ progress, particularly for the most-able pupils. They have relied on information from leaders and the local authority, without fully challenging leaders.  Governors are now more actively involved in the checking of the staff’s performance and setting clear targets for improvement. Safeguarding procedures meet statutory requirements and members of the governing body carry out regular checks to make sure that pupils are kept safe. Governors monitor the spending of the pupil premium funding and measure the impact of this on pupils’ achievement well. Although they regularly review the spending of the school budget they have not yet measured the impact of the primary school sport fund on

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The governance of the school:

pupils’ achievements in physical education.

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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 111214 Local authority Warrington Inspection number 426122

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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 332 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Dennis Pickering Headteacher Lyndsey Glass Date of previous school inspection 8 November 2011 Telephone number 01925 444795 Fax number 01925 633531 Email address callands_primary_head@warrington.gov.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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