Beeston Rylands Junior School

Beeston Rylands Junior School Trent Road, Beeston, Nottingham, NG9 1LJ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 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.  Leaders have taken swift and successful action to tackle weaknesses identified during the previous inspection. This has led to improvements in teaching and pupils’ achievement.  Pupils make good progress and achieve well. Their progress in reading is particularly good. Standards in reading, writing and mathematics have risen over recent years.  Teachers make sure that the work they set is at the right level of difficulty for different groups of pupils. The most able pupils are given challenging work that supports their progress and helps them to achieve well.  Staff use questioning well to help develop pupils’ thinking skills and to check their understanding.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs achieve well, with some making very rapid progress. Skilled staff use a wide range of resources to help these pupils to develop their skills in English and mathematics.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Pupils are keen to learn and behave well. They say that they feel safe in school and are confident that staff are there to help and support them at all times.  Governance is good. Members of the governing body have attended training sessions and developed their skills. They challenge senior leaders by asking searching questions about the school’s work.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 There is not enough outstanding teaching to result in all pupils making rapid progress. Pupils’ presentation of work is sometimes untidy and staff do not always correct pupils’ mistakes in spelling, punctuation and grammar.  At times, governors do not make enough use of external information on pupils’ progress to deepen their understanding of achievement across the school.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning for substantial sessions in five lessons. One of these was observed jointly with the headteacher. In addition, inspectors made a series of shorter visits to lessons.  Meetings were held with staff, pupils, two members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the 16 responses to the Ofsted online Parent View questionnaire. Seventeen responses to the staff questionnaire were also considered. An inspector spoke informally to parents who were bringing their children to school.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation including national published assessment data and the school’s own data, the school’s self-evaluation, improvement plans, safeguarding policies, behaviour policies and records, and documents relating to the management of teachers’ performance.

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Inspection team

Julie Price-Grimshaw, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Jean Whalley Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than average for a primary school.  The majority of pupils are of White British heritage. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is below average.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium is average. This is additional support for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, and those in local authority care.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported at school action is above average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching, so that all pupils make more rapid progress, by making sure that:  teachers insist that pupils’ work is presented neatly and clearly  pupils’ errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar are corrected in work across different subjects as well as in English  all pupils are aware of teachers’ expectations of the quantity and quality of work to be completed in a lesson.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further develop governors’ expertise in the use of external information on pupils’ progress so that they are able to explore, in even greater detail, issues related to pupils’ achievement.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Achievement has improved since the previous inspection. All groups of pupils are now making at least good progress across the different year groups.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ attainment when they join the school in Year 3 is broadly average. Attainment at the end of Year 6 rose in 2013 compared to the previous year, particularly in writing. The school’s current data show that standards are on track to rise again this year, with many pupils working at above-average levels.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils practise writing skills frequently but their skills in spelling, punctuation and grammar are not consistently good across different subjects. In 2013, standards in spelling, punctuation and grammar by the end of Year 6 were average and the school has rightly identified this aspect as a priority for improvement.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils from different ethnic groups achieve equally well. Those who speak English as an additional language are given very good support in developing their language skills and make good progress across the school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make at least good progress from their starting points, with some making excellent progress. This is because teachers and support staff use a wide variety of resources very effectively to help these pupils achieve well.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The most able pupils make good progress because they are given work that challenges them and develops their skills. The proportions of pupils exceeding expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics have risen over the last few years. This year, there has been an increase in the number of pupils working at the higher National Curriculum levels.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Year 6 pupils who were eligible for support from the pupil premium funding were approximately one year behind their classmates in reading, writing and mathematics in 2013. In the current Year 6 group, the gap in attainment is similar to this, but there is evidence that, in other year groups, the gap is closing due to the school’s good use of the funding. Eligible pupils make similar progress to their peers in all subjects.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ progress in reading is particularly strong. Pupils speak with great enthusiasm about their favourite authors and the types of books they enjoy the most, saying that they like ‘classic stories such as Alice in Wonderland’, as well as books written by contemporary authors. One pupil, talking about how much he enjoyed one of the books he was reading, said ‘I just lose myself in the story.’

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is good across the school. Staff take care to plan work at the right level of difficulty for different groups of pupils. They check pupils’ understanding frequently throughout lessons, giving helpful guidance and advice.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Since the previous inspection, teachers have improved their use of questioning to check pupils’ understanding and extend their learning. This also helps to make sure that all pupils are fully involved in lessons and they are encouraged to explain their answers, at length, to the rest of the class.  Staff create a bright and stimulating learning environment in all classrooms. Wall displays are full of information that reminds pupils of the key points in their learning and helps them to find out things for themselves. Pupils are encouraged to use these ‘working walls’ and other resources and this supports their learning well. For example, in one lesson, pupils did not hesitate to use a mathematics dictionary to check their understanding of prime numbers.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Support staff work very well with pupils, offering just the right amount of help to make sure that pupils complete work on their own and make at least good progress. Support staff ask questions and modify explanations as necessary to make sure that pupils, especially disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, understand the work set for them and achieve well.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of marking has improved over the last year. Both teachers and support staff make helpful comments in pupils’ books and the pupils respond to this guidance. Pupils enjoy marking each other’s work at times and there are some excellent examples of pupils encouraging their classmates through positive and constructive comments. All this contributes to good progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers do not always insist that pupils’ work is neatly presented and, as a result, some is untidy. Although teachers correct pupils’ spelling, punctuation and grammar mistakes in written English work, they pay too little attention to correcting such errors in other subjects.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Sometimes teachers do not make clear their expectations of the quantity and quality of work to be completed during a lesson. Consequently, a very small minority of pupils occasionally work too slowly and this limits their progress.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are keen to come to school and enjoy learning. They are enthusiastic about their work and are proud of the progress they are making, especially in reading. Pupils show respect for each other and adults; they are polite, well-mannered and considerate.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 In class, pupils work extremely well together. They are keen to help and support each other, and enjoy discussing their work.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour is managed well across the school. Pupils are fully aware of adults’ high expectations for behaviour and respond very well to the school’s rewards systems, being keen to gain ‘class points’.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 There are many opportunities for pupils to take on responsibilities. Older pupils are encouraged to develop leadership skills through their work as play leaders, offering excellent support to younger pupils in the playground. Pupils also contribute to the school community through their work as librarians, prefects, school council members and peer mediators.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils say that they feel safe in school. They have a good understanding of how to stay safe, including when using the internet.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils have a good awareness of the different forms of bullying but say that bullying is not a problem. They are very confident that adults will deal with any problems that may arise.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance is above average as a result of the school’s effective systems. Pupils understand the importance of attending school regularly.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher has led a strong drive to improve the school over the past fourteen months, taking swift action to tackle the areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection. All leaders and staff have worked successfully to address weaknesses in teaching and pupils’ achievement and, as a result, both of these aspects are now good.

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The leadership and management are good

 Teaching and learning are managed well. There has been a strong and successful emphasis on training to develop teachers’ skills, especially in questioning and marking. Teachers are set targets linked to pupils’ achievement and this enables leaders and governors to make pay awards as appropriate.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders, managers and governors have a secure understanding of the school’s strengths and areas of weakness. Improvement plans now have clear ‘milestones’ that help leaders and governors to track the school’s progress in tackling areas for development.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school is now using information on pupils’ progress effectively to identify pupils who may be falling behind. As a result, timely support is being given to these pupils and their progress is improving.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupil premium funding is used well to help eligible pupils make at least good progress. The school recognises that some pupils benefit greatly from pastoral as well as academic support and nurture groups are helping such pupils to overcome barriers to their learning. Funding is also used to make sure that eligible pupils can attend trips and visits, so they are fully involved in school life.

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The leadership and management are good

 The primary sports funding is being used to provide training to develop the expertise of school staff. It is also used to fund a number of extra-curricular sports activities and a sports week has been planned for later in the summer term. There is a clear focus on the importance of healthy lifestyles and the sports funding is already having a positive impact on pupils’ participation in sporting activities and events.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupils benefit from learning about a wide range of subjects. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well and pupils enjoy learning about different faith communities. There is a very wide range of extra-curricular activities including judo, cheerleading and dance clubs.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority has provided good support to the school since the previous inspection, including setting up a partnership with another local school to allow teachers to share best practice. The school improvement adviser has made regular visits, reviewing the school’s data and offering challenge to school leaders.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The quality of governance has improved since the previous inspection and is now good. Governors have attended training to develop their skills and are holding leaders to account. Members of the governing body ask probing questions, including those relating to pupils’ achievement. However, they do not always make the best use of external data on pupils’ progress to inform their discussions and deepen their understanding of how the school’s performance compares to others.  Governors make frequent visits to the school in order to gain first-hand evidence of the school’s progress in tackling areas for improvement. They have a good awareness of the quality of teaching across the school and properly oversee the management of teachers’ performance, including pay awards. Governors know how the pupil premium is being spent and consider the impact of this spending on the achievement of eligible pupils. Overall, the

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The leadership and management are good

budget is well-managed. Governors make sure that all statutory requirements for safeguarding are met.

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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 122540 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 441967

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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 Junior School category Community Age range of pupils 7-11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 161 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Steve Playford Headteacher Kevin Briffett Date of previous school inspection 6 February 2013 Telephone number 0115 9178355 Fax number 0115 917 8170 Email address office@rylands.notts.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 and 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

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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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