Burnley Ightenhill Primary School

Burnley Ightenhill Primary School Alder Street, Burnley, Lancashire, BB12 6ED

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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.  Pupils make good progress and achieve well, especially in reading and writing.  Children get off to a good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, including those in the SERF resource base, receive good support and achieve well.  Teaching is good with examples of outstanding practice.  Pupils enjoy school, feel safe and behave well.  Decisive leadership and management by the headteacher have greatly improved teaching and pupils’ progress since the last inspection. The school is well place to make further improvements.  The governing body provides a good level of support and challenge to the school.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Not enough teaching is outstanding to make achievement outstanding.  Marking is inconsistent. For example, it does not always pick up on basic spelling mistakes and on improving the way work is presented.  At times the work set is not well matched to pupils’ needs.  Achievement in mathematics is not as good as in reading and writing.  Middle leaders are not sufficiently involved in monitoring their subject areas.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 19 lessons or parts of lessons. Additional short visits to lessons were carried out to look at issues such as how well pupils get on with their classmates and their overall behaviour.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils chosen at random, members of the governing body and with senior staff. A meeting was also held with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors heard pupils read and talked to them about the types of books they enjoy.  Pupils’ current work and assessments were scrutinised.  Inspectors reviewed 17 responses from parents to the online questionnaire (Parent View). Inspectors also talked to parents in the playground.  They reviewed the inspection questionnaires completed and returned by staff.

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Inspection team

Geoffrey Yates, Lead inspector Additional Inspector John Shutt Additional Inspector Alastair Younger Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an above average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is above average.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average.  The proportion of pupils known to be supported by pupil-premium funding is well-above 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.  In 2013, the school met the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  The school has a small resource base for pupils with speech, language and communication needs (SERF) attended by three children currently.  The school has achieved many external awards, including the Eco Silver award.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching so that more pupils make excellent progress by:  ensuring that in all lessons work is well matched to pupils’ needs so that pupils have time to make the best possible progress  ensuring that teachers’ marking is highly effective in helping pupils make better progress, especially with regard to accuracy in spelling and work being presented well  improving middle leaders’ involvement in monitoring teaching and learning in their subject areas to help them pin-point what needs to be done to improve teaching and learning further.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure pupils, especially the most able, are given plenty of challenging opportunities to use their numeracy skills well in solving mathematical problems.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 As a result of improvements in the quality of teaching since the last inspection, pupils now achieve well during their time in school, including the most-able pupils.  In 2013 the proportion of pupils making and exceeding expected progress was above national figures in reading and writing and above expected progress in mathematics. Current school data show that this continues to be the case. However, progress in mathematics is not as strong.  While attainment in the 2013 national tests was below average in English and mathematics over time, it is improving at a faster rate than that found nationally. The schools’ own tracking information and inspection evidence point to current attainment in English and mathematics in Year 6 to be broadly average.  Reading is given a high priority in all classes and early reading skills including phonics (letter sounds) are taught extremely well, resulting in accelerated progress in reading.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills, knowledge and understanding well below that typical for this age. Over time, children make good progress because of good teaching. Children make especially good progress in their personal development. For example, they play well together in Santa’s grotto with no ‘falling-out’ between elves and reindeer!  Pupils’ progress across the rest of the school is good especially in reading and writing. There are some examples of writing being used well in other subjects.  Opportunities are missed in mathematics for pupils, especially the most able, to use their numeracy skills well in being challenged to solve mathematical problems.  There is a high level of participation in physical education for pupils. These include out-of-school sporting activities. Pupils are developing healthy lifestyles: they understand, and can clearly explain, the importance of taking part in sport to help to improve their physical well-being.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, including those in the SERF resource base, are well supported and make good progress in developing their basic literacy and numeracy skills.  The number of pupils supported by pupil-premium funding is very high. These pupils’ achievements compare favourably with this group nationally. The attainment of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals in 2013 was above that of other pupils in the school in reading and writing and below in mathematics by about a year. The school’s records and inspection evidence show that the gap is narrowing in mathematics and pupils continue to do well in English. This indicates the successful promotion of equal opportunities for all pupils.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching has improved and most teaching across the school is now good with some that is outstanding.  Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage is of good quality and children benefit greatly from a wide range of well-planned activities both inside and outside.  The school has rightly focused on improving pupils’ attainment in English and mathematics. In most cases, well-planned lessons, closely matched to pupils’ needs, have been successful in ensuring pupils make good progress.  Where teaching is outstanding, pupils are stimulated to produce their very best work .For example, a pupil’s self-esteem is boosted by the teacher sharing with the class writing from the day before, ‘ Wearily, the lighthouse keeper went to bed.’ as an example of very good practice. This gives the pupil’s writing relevance and standing.  The best teaching engages pupils in good quality dialogue and gives them good opportunities to

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The quality of teaching is good

offer suggestions and explain their ideas. For example, pupils in Year 2 can explain how they can work out the answers to sharing calculations in mathematics with remainders. Older pupils are able to talk competently about what are the attributes of complex sentences.  The small amount of weaker teaching suffers from work being too hard or too easy. As a result pupils do not progress quickly enough and the pace of learning slows. For example, during the inspection, pupils who had clearly understood the work set for them to do in mathematics had to plough their way through 15 examples of the same type of calculation.  Reading is taught well across the school. This is because teachers are skilled in helping pupils develop their reading skills. Pupils say they enjoy reading and like both fiction and non-fiction texts but would like more time to read for pleasure during the school day.  Teachers ensure that pupils are given opportunities to extend their writing skills in the work they

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The quality of teaching is good

do in other subjects. However, pupils are given insufficient opportunities to apply their numeracy skills in solving mathematical problems, especially the most-able pupils.  Teachers mark pupils’ work regularly but do not always give pupils clear guidance on how to improve their work. For example, incorrect spelling, grammar and punctuation sometimes go unchecked and, as a result, the same mistakes are repeated. At times work is not presented well.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness is promoted well through the strong relationships in class, well-planned assemblies and the respect for the opinions of others, as well as the range of subjects taught.  Teaching assistants are used well to support individuals or small groups. This ensures that disabled pupils, those who have special educational needs, including pupils in the SERF resource base, and those eligible for pupil-premium funding are not left behind.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ attitudes to learning are positive and keen, especially when teaching is at its strongest.  Pupils are polite and friendly and are willing to share their experiences about school. For example, they say they enjoy being a member of the choir and are keen to explain to inspectors what they are doing in lessons.  The school employs a good range of strategies to support pupils whose social and interpersonal skills present challenging behaviour. As a result, behaviour in lessons and across the school is good, including that of pupils in the SERF facility.  Pupil’s behaviour on the way to and during assemblies is outstanding. This illustrates that pupils know what is expected of them very well in a building with long corridors and long walks to the school hall from some classrooms.  Incidents of unacceptable behaviour are dealt with effectively. Low-level disruption in lessons is dealt with well when it arises.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Parents who completed the school’s own questionnaire and those who completed the online questionnaire were mostly confident that the school provides a safe environment and that pupils enjoy school. A scrutiny of records and observations during the inspection confirms their views are correct and demonstrates that behaviour over time is good overall.  Pupils want to achieve well. Older pupils respond well to the opportunities provided for them to take on school responsibilities. These include being a member of the school council and representing the school at a conference away from school.  Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep safe and are confident that any issues they raise will be dealt with promptly by the school. They recognise dangers when using the internet and know how to avoid these problems.  Pupils have a good understanding of different types of bullying. Pupils are confident that should

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

any ever occur, adults would deal with it firmly.  Attendance has improved and is now average overall. This term’s attendance is above average.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has an accurate view of itself. The headteacher has the confidence of the school’s governing body, the local authority, a large majority of parents and of staff.  Leadership and management since the last inspection have driven improvement with considerable success. Notable strengths include increasing the amount of good teaching, working with governors to improve their effectiveness and ensuring pupils make better progress. These features together with pupils’ good achievement highlight the school’s good capacity for sustained improvement.  The increasingly effective leadership team are well focussed on ensuring that pupils’ achievements are at least good. However, middle leaders are not sufficiently involved in ensuring pupils’ progress and the quality of teaching in their subjects areas are the best that they can be.  Arrangements to manage the performance of teachers are rigorous. Close checking on teaching

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The leadership and management are good

performance has raised the quality of teaching with only a few variations between classes. Teachers are set targets to improve their work and meetings are held to check on pupils’ progress in their classes. As a result both teaching and progress are good.  The school has a clear and effective system to track pupils’ progress. It is able to identify quickly where progress is less than good and put in place systems to accelerate learning.  Child protection and safeguarding have a high priority. Leaders ensure that all requirements are met and that the building is a safe environment.  The curriculum has had a strong focus on developing basic skills but not to the detriment of subjects such as music and physical education. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted effectively across the curriculum.  School leaders promote equal opportunities and cooperation strongly. This results in no

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The leadership and management are good

discrimination. For example, the small number of pupils in the SERF resource base is integrated fully into the life of the school.  Safeguarding arrangements meet requirements.  Sports premium funding is used to enhance pupils’ experiences and staff expertise in gymnastics through the input of an outside specialist. It is also used to provide a good range of after-school sporting activities.  Pupil-premium funding is spent on providing extra staffing to support pupils and pastoral support. This has led to improvements in the engagement and behaviour of particular pupils and contributed well to the progress made by eligible pupils, especially in reading.  The local authority has supported the school well since the last inspection. It now sees the school as a good school that requires only ‘light-touch’ support.  The governance of the school:  Members of the governing body bring a wide range of experience and expertise to their role.

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The leadership and management are good

The governing body is led well by an enthusiastic chairperson. All legal requirements are met. Governors not only support the school but ask challenging questions of it. Governors ensure that the systems to check the performance of teachers are thorough and they receive information about the quality of teaching, seeking assurance that salary levels are linked to performance. They are well aware of any areas for development in the school and closely examine the data on pupils’ progress. The governing body uses pupil-premium funding effectively in making sure it has a good impact on the progress and social well-being of eligible pupils.

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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 119264 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 426139

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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 5–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 284 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jean Stuttard Headteacher Kathryn Marney Date of previous school inspection 7 February 2012 Telephone number 01282 428246 Fax number Not applicable Email address office@ightenhill.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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