Holywell Primary and Nursery School

Holywell Primary and Nursery School School Road, Rubery, Birmingham, B45 9EY

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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.  Children make good progress in the stimulating Early Years Foundation Stage learning environment and are well prepared to join Key Stage 1.  Across the school, pupils make good progress and acquire skills in reading, writing and mathematics.  Pupils reach above-average levels of attainment in reading, writing and mathematics in national assessments and tests at the end of Year 2 and Year 6.  The headteacher and senior leaders have worked successfully to improve the quality of teaching by carefully matching checks on teaching to the quality of work pupils produce and the progress that they make.  Teaching is now good and some is outstanding. In lessons, pupils concentrate well, work hard and understand that only their best will do.  Pupils’ behaviour is good around the school, and they feel safe and well cared for.  Pupils are happy to come to school and their rate of attendance has improved to average

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

levels.  School leaders, governors and staff work well together as a team to improve pupils’ progress and achievement and promote high-quality teaching.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teaching of the sounds that letters make (phonics) is poorly organised.  Marking does not always show pupils what they need to do to improve their work.  In the most recent national tests in Year 6, a gap remains between the attainment of pupils who are eligible for pupil premium funding and other pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 19 lessons or parts of lessons. Inspectors also undertook short visits to 13 lessons jointly with the headteacher.  Inspectors listened to pupils reading and looked at the work in pupils’ books to assess achievement currently and over time, and the quality of teachers’ marking.  Inspectors met with pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body and school staff. Inspectors also spoke with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors met parents informally and took account of 71 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, the school’s own parental and pupils’ questionnaires and 25 staff questionnaires. Inspectors also talked to parents at the start of the school day and those attending events at the school.  Inspectors looked at a number of documents, including: the school’s information about the progress of pupils, planning and monitoring documents, minutes of various meetings, reports

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Information about this inspection

from external school advisers, behaviour and attendance records and documents relating to safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Nicola Davies, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Liz Kissane Additional Inspector Peter Lawley Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  Nearly all of the pupils are White British and almost all speak English as their first language.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs who are supported at school action is below average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is average.  The proportion of pupils who are eligible for the pupil premium is below average. This is additional funding for pupils in the care of the local authority, those known to be eligible for free school meals and other groups.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ progress and attainment in English and mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the quality of teaching from good to outstanding by:  organising the teaching of phonics more efficiently  ensuring marking consistently shows pupils what they need to do to improve their work  sharing the excellent practice in teaching within the school and beyond to improve the skills of all teachers.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Close completely the narrowing gap between the attainment and progress of pupils who are eligible for the pupil premium so that they achieve at least as well as others in the school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children join the Nursery and Reception classes with knowledge and skills that are generally close to those expected for their age. They make good progress in all areas of learning, and particularly in their language, communication and literacy development.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils of all abilities, including the more-able, make good progress across the school and achieve well. The pupils currently in Year 2 and Year 6 are on course to replicate the above-average standards in reading, writing and mathematics of the previous year.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils across the school read avidly and with understanding. They confidently read the attractive books available in the refurbished library as well as relishing the articles and stories written by pupils which are displayed all around the school. As a result, in 2013, more than two-thirds of pupils exceeded the nationally expected levels in reading at the end of Key Stage 2.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils generally use their knowledge of phonics confidently to read and spell words that are new to them. However in 2013, too few pupils met the expected standard in the phonics screening check at the end of Year 1. This is because phonics teaching is not organised well enough.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils write well and with great enthusiasm. At the time of the previous inspection, standards in writing were below those of reading and mathematics. A focus on high-quality writing across the school has successfully raised standards and pupils take care to ensure their written work is accurate, legible and well presented.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress. Their progress and well-being are very carefully monitored and the school makes good use of outside specialists where appropriate. Pupils who find aspects of reading, writing or mathematics more difficult are well supported by both class teachers and teaching assistants.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In 2013, the school used its pupil premium funding effectively to accelerate the progress of eligible pupils in Key Stage 1 so that they reached the same standards as their peers. However, the impact of the extra funding was weaker in Key Stage 2 and a gap of around a year remained between eligible pupils in Year 6 and others in reading, writing and mathematics. This year, the support for older pupils has been improved and, as a result, around two thirds of eligible pupils in Key Stage 2 have made better progress than that expected nationally. However, the gap in attainment between eligible pupils and others has not yet closed completely.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching across the school has improved since the previous inspection. Teaching is now routinely good and an increasing proportion is outstanding.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils are keen to learn and work hard. They listen carefully to both their teachers and to their classmates. This means that they concentrate equally well whether they are being instructed by the teacher, working on their own or carrying out activities with others.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers make learning challenging for pupils of different abilities. This helps to ensure that all abilities, including more-able pupils, make good progress. Where teachers have the support of classroom assistants, they provide clear guidance to that adult supporter on what is expected of pupils in each session. Teaching assistants effectively provide the support required.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers question pupils to ensure that all understand what they are intended to learn and to clarify any misunderstandings. At other times, they prompt pupils to explain their thinking in more detail. These exchanges help pupils to take their learning, knowledge and understanding forward.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Classrooms are bright, tidy and well organised. Displays in classrooms and around the school provide pupils with a mix of interesting information, prompts to help them in their learning and the sight of other pupils’ work to inspire them to achieve well. The excellently equipped and organised Early Years Foundation Stage classrooms make a particularly good contribution to the rapid progress of children in the Nursery and Reception classes.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers mark pupils’ work regularly and use a common marking system across the school. This means that pupils can quickly tell what they need to correct or improve. The marking of pupils’ writing is of consistently high quality as it always identifies what pupils need to do next. Marking in other subjects does not routinely identify what pupils should aim to do next to reach higher standards.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The high profile given to writing across the school is evident in pupils’ work across different subjects. Pupils use their reading and writing skills well in other subjects and written work shows good standards of presentation, handwriting and spelling. In 2013, Year 6 pupils attained particularly highly in the national test of grammar, punctuation and spelling.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers set regular homework, which pupils enjoy completing. In addition to homework designed to reinforce learning in lessons, teachers also set pupils creative challenges. The high- quality models of Tudor buildings which line the school corridors and pupils’ interesting personal histories are just two examples of how homework enhances pupils’ enthusiasm for learning.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers make sure that learning in lessons starts promptly and generally make the best use of the resources they have available. The exception is the teaching of phonics. Time is sometimes wasted waiting for pupils to arrive at their teaching groups, which are not organised well enough to ensure that all pupils are able to recognise the particular sounds they are working on.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils enjoy school and arrive at their lessons punctually. They work with concentration and perseverance. Pupils take their school motto that ‘only the best will do’ to heart and displays in classrooms and around the school reinforce the school’s expectations of good behaviour and effort.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Outside of lessons, pupils generally play happily together in the well-equipped playground and outdoor areas. Older pupils take responsibility for promoting good behaviour, reminding younger pupils to tuck in their shirts and move around the school quietly. They also act as play leaders and efficient equipment monitors during playtimes.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Leaders make sure that access to the building is secure. They apply effective systems to make sure that all safeguarding requirements are met, including rigorous checks on all adults who work with children. Pupils say they feel safe at school and understand the hurtful impact of different types of name-calling and bullying, including cyber-bullying. The school tracks any incidents carefully to ensure they are quickly resolved.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school values the support of parents and has introduced a range of initiatives to encourage parents’ involvement in school life. ‘Family Fridays’ have been popular and a particularly successful initiative has been the introduction of ‘pupil of the week’. Pupils and parents take great pride in this award which recognises pupils’ efforts and achievements.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Responses to the school’s regular parent surveys indicate that the overwhelming majority of parents are highly positive about the school. This was reinforced by comments made by parents during the inspection. However, a few parents were less positive in their responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View. The school has rightly identified that communication with parents should be improved and the first of a series of ‘parent forums’ is already scheduled for this term.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are keen to come to school and arrive on time. However, attendance last year slipped below the national average, having been above average in the previous two years. The school has taken a much stricter line on following up any absences and has also introduced a system for rewarding good attendance. The impact of this initiative was seen in a Year 1 class during the inspection where pupils counted their classmates’ heads and delightedly announced that it was yet another ‘full house’ for their class. Attendance has improved markedly this year and is now at the national average.

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The leadership and management are good

 Good leadership from the headteacher, senior staff and the governing body has led to continuing improvements at the school since the previous inspection.

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The leadership and management are good

 Raising the quality of teaching and learning to good was a key issue identified at the previous inspection and has been vigorously addressed. Senior staff make frequent checks on the quality of teaching. This action is coupled with regular assessments of how well pupils are performing and close scrutiny of pupils’ work. Consequently, pupils are currently making good progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 Regular assessment and the tracking of children’s progress begin early and are a strength of the school. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, teachers meticulously record each child’s rate of progress. Parents are informed well of the milestones their children have reached by receiving emailed pages every fortnight from staff records of what their child can do. For pupils in the school, ‘Family Fridays’ provide similar, regular opportunities for parents to understand the progress their children are making.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school takes appropriate action to tackle any form of discrimination and to make sure that all pupils are given equal opportunity to do well. Leaders and teachers meet regularly to check on pupils’ progress. Staff are given appropriate training on particular disabilities and special educational needs.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and senior staff check on the quality of teaching and learning very regularly and take thoughtful action to ensure teaching continues to improve. Teachers noted that their professional needs are highlighted well and they receive training well matched to their current practice. A few teachers have benefited from training provided by outstanding teachers within the school but this training is not yet extensive enough to raise teaching to an overall outstanding quality.

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The leadership and management are good

 The performance of staff has been managed well. All teachers have been set targets which relate to the progress made by pupils in their class, particularly those pupils who find it more difficult to attain highly. The headteacher has ensured that pay rises are linked to the progress which pupils are making.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupils enjoy the wide variety of subjects and topics they study in lessons. The school has made sure that pupils have good opportunities to use their communication, reading, writing and mathematical skills in many situations. Opportunities in science have been improved by the creation of a specialist science laboratory and a local charitable trust has sponsored some exciting activities to promote an interest in physical science across the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupils enjoy sport and take part with enthusiasm. This has been supported through the careful spending of extra funding for sport. This extra money has been used to increase the number of competitive sports events and widen the range of school sports clubs. As a result, the number of pupils taking part in sports activities has increased significantly.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority has provided good support to the school. The school benefited from advice and training from local authority specialists following the previous inspection. Recognising the progress that has been made, local authority staff now only visit annually to check the school’s performance.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors have a very good understanding of the progress that pupils make. Full governing body meetings begin with a review of information about progress since their last meeting. Governors have the skills to interpret the available data on pupils’ progress and attainment for themselves and hold leaders to account for the school’s performance. Governors visit the school regularly and link with particular year groups so that they can gain a clearer insight into how the school works on a day-to-day basis. They expect value for money. They have scrutinised the pupil premium spending and are aware that this did not have as much impact on older children last year as they intended and have endorsed the revised approach adopted. They manage the performance of the headteacher and have checked that the progress of pupils eligible for the pupil premium is now part of the system for rewarding staff. They

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The leadership and management are good

ensure that safeguarding arrangements meet requirements. The Chair of the Governing Body regularly takes part in planning for future improvement with senior staff. Governors share responsibility for setting up the new forum for parents.

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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 132060 Local authority Worcestershire Inspection number 431170

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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 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 450 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Katya Chaplin Headteacher John McMillan Date of previous school inspection 2 July 2012 Telephone number 0121 4537829 Fax number 0121 457 8510 Email address head@holywell.worcestershire.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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