Wylde Green Primary School

Wylde Green Primary School Green Lanes, Sutton Coldfield, B73 5JL

p.1

Overall effectiveness

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

p.1

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

 Pupils do not make consistently good progress throughout the school.  Teachers do not plan work at the right level for all pupils, including disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs.  Questioning by teachers is not demanding enough to make pupils think deeply about their learning. Pupils do not have enough opportunities to work on their own or in small groups to help them gain better attitudes to learning.  Pupils’ attention sometimes drifts in lessons, especially when the work is too hard or too easy.  Teachers do not usually give pupils clear feedback in marking about what they need to do to improve.  Leaders, managers and governors have not ensured that teaching and achievement have remained consistently good since the previous inspection.  Observations of teaching are not always focused on the progress different groups of pupils make and leaders have not monitored pupils’ work closely enough to make sure that

p.1

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

pupils are helped to make good progress.

p.1

The school has the following strengths

 Recent improvements introduced by leaders and governors to improve achievement and teaching are leading to pupils’ better progress and achievement.  Children achieve well in the Early Years Foundation Stage. They take part in a wide range of activities which support their good progress.  Pupils say they feel safe in the school. Pupils from a wide range of different backgrounds get on well with each other.

p.1

Information about this inspection

 The inspection team observed 22 lessons or part-lessons. Four of these were shared with senior leaders.  Meetings took place with the Chair of the Governing Body and six other governors, staff and a local authority representative.  Inspectors considered the 70 responses to the online, Parent View, survey, correspondence from parents, and spoke to parents before school.  The 21 responses to the staff questionnaire were reviewed.  The inspection team observed the school’s work and studied a range of documentation including: the school’s own information about pupils’ current attainment and progress, its review of its work and plans for the future, records relating to the management of the performance of staff, as well as behaviour, attendance and safeguarding documents.

p.2

Inspection team

Susan Williams, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Michael Appleby Additional Inspector Roisin Chambers Additional Inspector

p.2

Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The large majority of pupils are White British, with other pupils coming from a wide range of minority ethnic backgrounds with no other large group among them.  The proportion of pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium, additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and other groups, is slightly below the national average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported at 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 school meets the governments’ current floor standards, which set the national minimum expectations of pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  The deputy headteacher is due to retire at the end of this term; a new deputy headteacher has

p.3

Information about this school

been appointed and is scheduled to take up post in January 2014.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching so that it is consistently good or better by ensuring that:  teachers set work that is at the right level for pupils’ different abilities, including disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, so that all are interested and involved and make good progress  teachers use questioning that is demanding and makes pupils think deeply  teachers give pupils clearer feedback in lessons and in marking about what they need to do to improve.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that:  leaders’ observations of teaching focus on the progress of different groups of pupils and that teachers make sure that all make good progress  monitoring of pupils’ work is done thoroughly so that leaders can make more accurate judgements on the progress made by all groups of pupils and ensure additional support for pupils who are making less progress makes a bigger difference to how well they achieve.

p.3

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils do not make consistently good progress throughout the school. Although standards remained broadly average in 2012, pupils made less progress to reach those standards than they had in the past. Pupils are occasionally distracted in lessons, particularly if work is a little hard or a little easy and they make less progress than they could.

p.4

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs receive additional help in lessons but work is not always planned at the right level to help these pupils make good progress. Some of these pupils have made better progress recently, particularly in Year 3, but progress is not strong enough for these pupils, to help them catch up with others.

p.4

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The school uses its pupil premium funding on a wide range of support for eligible pupils, including additional teachers to reduce the class size, extra teaching assistants in classes, small- group and individual support, help to fund extra activities and the recent opportunities for these pupils to take part in outdoor learning experiences. However, there was a gap of around five terms between eligible pupils and other pupils in the school in both English and mathematics in the Year 6 national tests in 2012. Progress of the pupils eligible for the extra funding is improving, although it is not yet consistently good.

p.4

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Attainment at Key Stage 2 was broadly average in English and mathematics in 2012. Progress and attainment both improved markedly in 2013. Provisional data show Year 6 pupils attained above-average standards in both English and mathematics. Pupils did particularly well in the new spelling, punctuation and grammar test, where they were a year ahead of pupils nationally. Progress of more-able pupils also improved, with increased proportions reaching the higher levels.

p.4

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The school supports the development of reading well. Pupils read regularly and enjoy reading a wide range of books. The school has a clear focus on developing early reading and ensures a consistent approach in teaching phonics (letters and the sounds they make). In the Year 1 phonics screening check in 2012, a slightly higher proportion than nationally reached the required standard. Results were similar in 2013.

p.4

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Although there is a little variation from year to year, recently children have started in the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills and knowledge below those typically expected for their age. Staff plan a wide range of interesting activities that support children’s development in all areas of learning. At the end of Reception, standards in 2011 and 2012 were broadly average. The majority of children reached a good level of development in 2013 to prepare them for joining Key Stage 1. Progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage is good.

p.4

The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching is not consistently good throughout the school, including in literacy and mathematics. Over time, variability in the quality of teaching has led to mixed progress for pupils. Teachers do not always make sure that they set work at the right level for pupils of all abilities. Consequently, it is not sometimes too hard for less-able pupils, disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. By contrast, it is sometimes too easy for more-able pupils.

p.4

The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers do not always use questioning to challenge pupils and make them think more deeply when answering questions about their work. Sometimes, teachers take too long to involve pupils directly in the learning planned for them. This limits the amount of time pupils have to work on their own or in small groups to develop their skills. When this happens, pupils lose focus and their attention wanders.

p.4

The quality of teaching requires improvement

 There are examples of teachers giving pupils clear feedback in marking about how they can improve their work, but this is not consistent across the school.

p.5

The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Where teaching is best, such as in a Year 6 literacy lesson where pupils were replying to letters, the teacher separated activities into manageable parts and questioned pupils, skilfully guiding their learning in the whole-class sessions and when pupils were working independently. She made pupils think about how to improve their work and questioned them so that they had to think deeply. She gave pupils regular feedback and involved pupils in giving feedback to each other, and this contributed to their good progress.

p.5

The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching is good in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Teachers plan a wide range of interesting activities which support children in developing all areas of learning and making good progress.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils do not always have positive attitudes to learning in lessons. Occasionally, they lose interest, particularly if they are given too long to complete a task or when introductions to lessons are unnecessarily long and the pupils have to wait a long time before they can get on with their work. In some lessons, pupils are a little passive and do not put up their hand to answer questions or show an enthusiasm for learning.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ conduct around the school is generally good. Pupils play well together. They have a wide range of responsibilities where they help others, including peer mediation where they help each other sort out problems, house captains, school council and eco club. Pupils in Year 6 also work alongside Reception children to help them with learning.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Incidents of poor behaviour and exclusions have reduced over time due to effective behaviour strategies being used in the school. The school strongly promotes a sense of right and wrong and pupils being tolerant of each other. It is effective in promoting equality of opportunity and good relationships, and in tackling discrimination.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils say they feel safe in the school. Most parents responding to the online survey and the parents inspectors spoke with agree with this view. Pupils know about different types of bullying including internet bullying, name-calling and physical bullying.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Attendance has improved over the last three years and is broadly average.

p.5

The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leaders, managers and governors have not ensured that good standards of achievement and teaching have been maintained since the previous inspection. Observations of teaching are not focused enough on the progress individual pupils and different groups of pupils make in lessons or on ensuring that all pupils make good progress.

p.5

The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leaders do not check on pupils’ work carefully enough. This means that they do not always make accurate judgements on the progress being made by all groups of pupils. They do not check to make sure that the extra help given to pupils makes a difference to help these pupils catch up with others.

p.5

The leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher has established more rigorous systems for managing staff performance and targets set for teachers are increasingly challenging. These are linked to pupils’ progress, the national standards for teaching and leadership responsibilities. The recent better progress and higher attainment in 2013 shows that teaching is improving.

p.6

The leadership and management requires improvement

 The leadership of the Early Years Foundation Stage is good. Staff ensure that children take part in a wide range of activities and reach average standards by the time they leave Reception. Other leaders below senior level are being supported to take more responsibility in their roles. The school has appointed a new assistant headteacher to lead on inclusion and there has been a handover period of a term for her to work with the current deputy headteacher to support her in her new role.

p.6

The leadership and management requires improvement

 The curriculum is varied and gives priority to developing reading, writing and mathematics. It is enriched with clubs and activities. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is well promoted through assemblies, cultural week, visits to different countries, trips to the theatre and charity giving. The school promotes the values of love and respect through the messages conveyed in assemblies. Pupils particularly enjoy their music lessons and sing regularly in assembly, as well as having the opportunity to take part in a ’singing playground’ where a visitor develops pupils’ singing outside.

p.6

The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school plans to spend its sports funding on providing training for staff with a specialist sports coach to develop their expertise. Pupils are also being provided with opportunities to take part in leisure activities to support the development of healthy lifestyles and competitive sporting opportunities in the local area. It is too soon to evaluate the impact of these initiatives.

p.6

The leadership and management requires improvement

 The local authority has provided only limited support to the school, even though the school’s performance has not been strong in recent years.

p.6

The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governance of the school:  Governors have attended a wide range of training so they can support the headteacher but also hold leaders to account for the school’s performance. They have worked on their skills so they can understand data on pupils’ attainment and progress to be able to question and challenge leaders more thoroughly because the published data have been mixed in recent years. Their greater expertise and understanding have supported the improved progress in the school. The governing body is strengthened with governors with professional expertise, for example, in finance on the finance committee. Governors regularly receive updates from the headteacher about pupils’ progress and are aware how pupil premium funding is being spent and that progress for these pupils is improving. They know what the quality of teaching is across the school, and oversee the management of the performance of staff. They require

p.6

The leadership and management requires improvement

regular updates from the headteacher on teachers’ performance. The governing body signs off pay awards for staff who meet the targets set, and uses anonymised information during the process to ensure that it is rigorous and fair. It endorses the support provided for teachers where performance is less strong. It ensures that arrangements for pupils’ safeguarding meet statutory requirements.

p.6

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

p.7

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.

p.7

School details

Unique reference number 103349 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 433183

p.8

School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

p.8

School details

Type of school Primary School category Maintained Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 423 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sharon Wells Headteacher Donna O’Toole Date of previous school inspection 19 October 2010 Telephone number 0121 373 2691 Fax number 0121 382 0950 Email address enquiry@wyldegrn.sch. 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 .

p.8

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.

p.9

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

p.9

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

p.9

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’.

p.9

School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.9