Wellgate Primary School

Wellgate Primary School George Street, Mapplewell, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S75 6HR

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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

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires improvement.  Overall achievement requires improvement. Standards reached by pupils at the end of Year 6 last year were lower than they should have been, given pupils’ starting points.  Attainment in writing is lower than in mathematics and reading. This is because pupils have too few opportunities to write longer pieces of work or to write in a range of subjects.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage do not always make good progress because assessments of children’s attainment are not sufficiently accurate. As a result, planned activities are not always at the right level for them and their progress slows.  Teaching requires improvement. The marking of pupils’ work does always not give enough guidance on how to improve and pupils are not given sufficient time to carry out improvements to their work.  Pupils’ behaviour requires improvement because in lessons, where work is not

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

sufficiently interesting or engaging, pupils’ behaviour dips.  Middle leaders do not yet play a fully active part in the leadership and management of the school. They do not support senior leaders sufficiently well through, for example, checking the quality of teaching in their subjects and improving outcomes for pupils. As a result, teaching and achievement have not improved at a good enough rate overtime.

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The school has the following strengths

 Pupils’ progress in mathematics and reading is accelerating particularly in Key Stage 2 because of an improvement in the quality of teaching in these subjects.  Pupils enjoy coming to school and feel safe and secure.  The headteacher and governing body are beginning to move the school forward as seen in the recent improvement in pupils’ achievement recorded in school data and observed in pupils’ books.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection team observed 20 lessons or parts of lessons taught by teachers and support staff. Joint lesson observations were undertaken with the headteacher and deputy headteacher.  The inspection team listened to pupils from Years 1, 2 and 6 read and examined the quality of work in the books of pupils from across the school.  Meetings were held with pupils, senior leaders, members of the school staff and two members of the governing body. Inspectors also met a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors took into account the views of 36 parents through the on-line questionnaire (Parent View). Eight members of staff also made their views known to the inspectors through the staff questionnaires.  The inspection team considered health and safety documentation, teachers’ curriculum planning, documents relating to the procedures to the check the performance of staff as well as the

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Information about this inspection

school’s systems for checking pupils’ progress across the school.

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Inspection team

Marian Thomas, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Steve Rigby Additional Inspector Tony Price Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is a larger than average sized primary school.  The vast majority of pupils who attend are of White British heritage. There is a below average proportion of pupils from minority ethnic heritages. Few pupils speak English as an additional language.  An average proportion of pupils are eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, those in the care of the local authority and those from service families.  The proportion of pupils 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 just below average.  In 2013, the school met the government’s current floor standard which is the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  Since the last inspection the school has appointed a new headteacher who took up her post in

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Information about this school

September 2013. Currently, the school has an acting deputy headteacher and assistant headteacher. The Early Years Foundation Stage leader is also new to her post.  Following a recent local authority review, the governing body has appointed a new Chair of Governors.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress by: – increasing the consistency and effectiveness of marking so that pupils have a clearer understanding of what they need to do to improve and have sufficient time to carry out improvements identified – ensuring assessments made by staff in the Early Years Foundation Stage more accurately reflect children’s ability and that activities are set at the right level for them – ensuring that activities are always sufficiently challenging and sustain pupils’ interest and behaviour so that their learning improves.  Accelerate pupils’ achievement in writing across the school by: – ensuring pupils have enough opportunities to write extended pieces of work in different subjects.  Improve leadership and management by increasing the responsibilities of middle leaders so that they play a more active role in improving teaching and the achievement of pupils in their

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Achievement requires improvement overall. Standards reached by pupils at the end of Year 6 are broadly in line with the national average in English and mathematics. Although progress is stronger than last year in Key Stage 2 particularly in reading and mathematics it is not yet consistently good especially in writing.  Children often join the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills in reading, writing and numeracy which are below those typically expected for their age. While they quickly settle in to the routines in Nursery and Reception, their progress in developing early writing and numeracy skills is not yet good. This is because activities for children to practise these skills are not always at the right level for their ability. Children are not always absorbed in their tasks or encouraged to learn by themselves, for example, through their own exploration. As a result, overall progress requires improvement and children do not reach the level expected as they start in Year 1.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Assessment at the end of Year 2 in 2013 showed attainment by the end of Key Stage 1 was below average. Pupils supported by pupil premium funding and most able pupils made less progress than others, particularly in writing. Inspection evidence shows that Key Stage 1 pupils now make better progress in their studies and standards are getting much closer to average this year.  Standards at the end of Year 6 are average in reading, writing and mathematics. Although the standard in writing is average it is lower than the other subjects because pupils do not always have the skills and confidence to write successfully at length. Particularly in Key Stage 2 pupils do not have sufficient opportunities to reinforce their writing skills across a range of curriculum subjects.  Standards in mathematics are rising in Year 6 because the most able pupils make faster progress than in the past. A contributory factor to this rise is extra support and tuition that is providing

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

pupils with the skills needed to reach Level 5 and 6 in this year’s national tests.  Progress in reading requires improvement overall. Younger pupils particularly enjoy reading and use their phonic skills (letters and the sounds they make) well. ‘I like reading because you learn new things’, commented one. Whilst older boys who read to inspectors agreed reading can be enjoyable, they are not always encouraged to read more challenging books. They were less keen to read harder books, preferring to stick to less demanding texts with more illustrations. This is slowing the progress especially of the most able pupils.  The progress of pupils known to be eligible for pupil premium, including those known to be eligible for free school meals, requires improvement in line with other groups. Last year attainment for this group was behind peers in school by approximately five terms. The newly appointed headteacher in conjunction with the local authority sought external help to review the

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

provision for these pupils. The school’s current data shows that gaps are beginning to close at a much faster pace. These pupils benefit from a more effective system which is boosting achievement through one-to-one and small group sessions led by well trained staff.  The progress of the most able pupils varies between year groups. Although overall many make the progress expected of them, too few make better than expected progress. Activities sometimes lack challenge or, in writing, there are insufficient opportunities for them to apply their skills to longer pieces of work. Their needs are being more fully met in mathematics and this is raising attainment.  The support given to disabled pupils, those with special educational needs and the few who speak English as an additional language, ensures these pupils make similar progress to others in English and mathematics.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Overall teaching requires improvement. Activities do not always sustain pupils’ interest and some start to get restless and this affects their overall learning.  The vast majority of teachers diligently mark pupils’ books. However, not all consistently adhere to the school’s marking policy and it is not always clear to pupils how they can improve their work. Also, time is not consistently set aside for pupils to correct and improve their work. As a result, pupils do not learn from their mistakes.  Parents feel that the work done by staff in the Early Years Foundation Stage ensures their children make a good start in school. However, evidence shows that the assessments carried out by staff in order to ascertain the levels of skills and knowledge of children are not always sufficiently accurate. As a result, activities planned are not always at the right levels and progress slows.  Pupils make good progress, enjoy learning and are engrossed in activities when they are well

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

prepared and interest them. This well planned approach could clearly be seen in mathematics when pupils were set the task of interpreting a range of different scales. Pupils benefited from work at their level of ability and were able to get to work promptly and received further instructions when needed. All groups clearly enjoyed the challenge and as a result achieved success.  However, on occasions pupils are less absorbed in their tasks. Activities are not always hard enough or sufficiently interesting and so behaviour and attitudes to learning dip. Occasionally, this low level disruption goes unchecked and progress slows as a result.  Close partnerships between support staff and teachers are evident in the majority of classrooms. Extra sessions planned for less able pupils, disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are clearly focussed and the impact of these sessions has contributed to the recent

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

improvement in pupils’ progress, particularly in reading and mathematics.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Whilst the majority of pupils are keen and eager to learn and show positive attitudes to their work, sometimes, when teaching does not capture pupils’ full attention, behaviour dips and in the words of one pupil: ‘You don’t get what you are doing so you go off task’. On the other hand, pupils often demonstrate good attitudes to learning and good behaviour outside the classroom is evidenced by their caring and friendly attitudes to each other, staff and visitors.  The majority of parents who completed the on-line questionnaire, Parent View, believe that behaviour in school is good and that their children are safe and happy overall.  Records kept by school show that incidents of difficult behaviour are infrequent and that the behaviour policy is applied consistently across the school. Records also show that no pupil has been excluded in the last three years. This further demonstrates that overall this is an ordered

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

and happy community.  Attendance is currently broadly average and has steadily improved over the last three years. This continued improvement is due, in part, to the effective work with families undertaken by the parent support advisor.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. School staff work diligently to keep pupils safe. Pupils spoken to were very clear about the different forms bullying can take. They feel incidents happen infrequently, but also feel they have been taught well what action to take should an incident happen inside or outside school. Pupils understand how to care for themselves.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership and management of the school require improvement overall because actions have not been effective in raising the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement. However, the newly appointed headteacher and senior leaders, supported by the local authority, has begun to take decisive action and changes have started to see standards rise at a faster pace as the quality of teaching improves.  The role of middle leaders is not yet sufficiently clearly defined and as a result they do not yet offer senior leaders a good level of support in improving the quality of teaching and outcomes for pupils. For example, subject leaders’ do not yet effectively check on teaching and pupils’ achievement within their subject area so priorities are not always identified promptly. As a result, actions are not always put in place quickly enough. However, improvements are emerging as, for example, the boost given to the most able in mathematics which is raising attainment.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Despite being new to the post the headteacher already has a very clear idea of how successful the school can be. Teaching has been checked and teachers set performance targets linked directly to pupils’ achievement and targets in the school’s development plan. Checks on progress to meet these targets are being undertaken regularly and information gathered will be used by the headteacher to make decisions on teachers’ pay.  Links between subjects in the school’s curriculum are clear. Plans are in place to meet the expectations of next year’s national changes. Writing is not being fully promoted across a range of subjects. Experiences outside the classroom enhance pupils’ learning and develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding well. For example, a recent residential visit undertaken by Year 6 pupils to an outdoor pursuits centre was described by one pupil as: ‘The bravest I have ever had to be!’

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school has yet to use their allocation of sports partnership monies fully. However, plans are in place to improve facilities and recent training for staff has increased their confidence in delivering a wider range of sports. Lunch time dance and football clubs have increased participation in sport and the health and well being of pupils.  The local authority works closely with the headteacher and offers the school a good and increasing range of support, including advisory support for school improvement and an audit of the governing body.  The governance of the school: – The recent audit of the governing body has brought about much change including the appointment of a new Chair of Governors. School governors now bring a range of skills and experience to the governing body which they have continued to update by attending training. As a result, they have sufficient understanding of pupils’ achievement data and the quality of

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The leadership and management requires improvement

teaching to offer senior leaders support and challenge in improving standards of achievement across the school. – They show a good level of commitment to their duties as governors. This is demonstrated by the good attendance recorded at governing body meetings. In partnership with senior leaders, they have developed an effective system for checking the performance of all staff which rewards good teaching and addresses underperformance. Governors now ensure pupil premium funding is more effectively targeted towards supporting pupils. Gaps between the attainment of more vulnerable pupils and their peers are beginning to close. Governors ensure that safeguarding procedures and policies meet current requirements. They also ensure that the school promotes equality well and rejects all forms of discrimination.

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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 131661 Local authority Barnsley Inspection number 443861

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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 377 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair S James Headteacher C Egginton Date of previous school inspection 17 November 2009 Telephone number 01226 383739 Fax number 01226 381228 Email address c.eggington@wellgateprimary.org 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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