Westwoodside Church of England Academy

Westwoodside Church of England Academy Nethergate, Westwoodside, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN9 2DR

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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

 Pupils' progress in reading, writing and mathematics is not consistently good across most year groups, especially in Key Stage 1 and lower Key Stage 2.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are not achieving the standards they are capable of because their needs have not been closely met over time.  The most able pupils are not always given work that is sufficiently hard enough to enable them to achieve the highest levels.  Teaching is not leading to all pupils achieving well over time because not enough is good or better.  Some pupils do not make enough progress in mathematics because they are not given enough opportunities to use their mental calculation skills.  The leadership of the school, over time, has not held teachers rigorously to account, so some groups of pupils have not made the progress of which they are capable.  The governing body has not challenged the school’s leaders sufficiently on pupils'

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

achievement and teaching across the school.

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The school has the following strengths

 The newly appointed headteacher has accurately identified where the performance of the school needs to improve and has quickly introduced procedures that are beginning to have an impact.  Children in the Nursery and Reception classes make good progress because of effective teaching and an exciting and broad curriculum.  Pupils make good progress in Year 6.  Pupils are well behaved, polite and courteous to each other and to adults. They are very keen to take on responsibilities in the school.  Pupils feel safe and secure in the school and trust the staff to help them when they have concerns.  Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 14 lessons, of which two were observed jointly with the headteacher, looked at work in pupils' books and listened to pupils read.  Meetings were held with pupils, the headteacher, other staff, representatives of the governing body and a school improvement partner.  Inspectors analysed the 31 responses that had been submitted to the online questionnaire for parents (Parent View).  Inspectors scrutinised a number of documents, including the school's self-evaluation summary, school improvement plans, minutes of the governing body meetings, records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Alan Chaffey, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Robert Jones Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller than average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are from White British backgrounds.  A below-average proportion of pupils are eligible for the pupil premium. The pupil premium provides additional funding for pupils in local authority care and those known to be eligible for free school meals.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs who are supported through school action are below average. The proportion of pupils supported at the school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is broadly average.  The school meets the government's current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress.  Westwoodside Church of England Academy converted to become an academy school on 1 st September 2012. When its predecessor school, Westwoodside CofE primary school, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good.

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Information about this school

 The recently appointed headteacher took up her post at the school in January 2014.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that it is good or better in order to improve achievement to at least good, by ensuring that:  the high expectations of what pupils can achieve, that are clearly evident in the Early Years Foundation Stage, are consistent across the rest of the school  the most able pupils are given work that is sufficiently demanding  pupils who are clear about what they have to learn are allowed to start the work they have been given, rather than waiting for others in the class to be clear about how to tackle their work  pupils are given more opportunities to apply mental calculation skills in mathematics  pupils, especially those with special educational needs, are given more opportunities to read  marking and feedback are consistently explicit in helping pupils understand how to improve their work, and providing opportunities for pupils to respond to comments.  Improve the quality of leadership and management by ensuring that:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 targets set for pupils are always challenging  recently introduced procedures for holding teachers to account for the progress pupils are making are implemented fully  senior leaders and middle leaders continue to develop the more rigorous procedures that are starting to give them a more accurate picture of the quality of teaching in all classes  further develop the role of governors so that they are able to challenge school leaders more robustly.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Achievement requires improvement because good progress is not consistent across the school.  From good starting points, pupils do not make enough progress in Key Stage 1. This leads to broadly average standards by the end of Year 2.  Progress in Key Stage 2 is inconsistent until pupils reach Year 6 when it speeds up. This has resulted in standards that have not been as high as they could have been by the time pupils leave the school in Year 6, especially in reading and mathematics.  Not enough progress is made in reading in Key Stage 1 because pupils do not have sufficient opportunities to read, especially those pupils who have a reading ability that is below that typical for their age or have special educational needs.  In some classes, progress in mathematics is limited because pupils are not encouraged to use their mental mathematics skills often enough.  Some of the most able pupils do not always achieve as well as they should because the work

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

they are given is not consistently or sufficiently demanding. During some activities, especially mathematics, the most able pupils in the class had to complete similar activities to other pupils before they were given more challenging work. During other activities, the most able pupils had to wait while all pupils fully understood what they had to do before they could start their work.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs achieve standards that are not as high as similar pupils across the country. This is because the support they receive does not always meet their needs.  Very few pupils are in receipt of the pupil premium funding, including those who are known to be eligible for free school meals, so any comparisons of their achievement and others in the school have limited significance.  Children start the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills that are typical for their age. They

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

make good progress and start Year 1 with skills that are better than those expected for their age. This is because activities are well planned and based on what teachers know about the children. There is a sharp focus on improving children’s speaking and listening skills.  Pupils make good and better progress in Year 6.  The standards that pupils reach in writing by the time they leave the school are higher than similar pupils across the country.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching requires improvement because it is too uneven; not enough teaching has been good or better over time. Expectations have not been, and are still not, high in some classes, which means that progress has not been consistently good as pupils move through the school.  Occasionally, especially in Key Stage 1 and lower Key Stage 2, the opportunity to start working is delayed explaining to pupils what they are going to do, when it is clear that they already understand. As a result, pupils do not make the progress of which they are capable and lose interest in what they are learning.  Expectations of what pupils can achieve are too low in some classes, especially for the most able pupils. Consequently, the work that pupils are given does not challenge them sufficiently because they often find it too easy.  On some occasions, the teaching of mathematics does not always allow pupils to develop their

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

mental calculation skills because they are expected to use a specific method to solve a problem. For example, in a Key Stage 2 class, some of the most able pupils were using a number line for subtraction when they demonstrated that they could use their mental mathematics skills more effectively.  The marking of pupils' work over time has been inconsistent. This has meant that sometimes pupils are unsure of what they need to do to improve, or have few opportunities to respond to the comments teachers make. However, there are indications that this is improving due to recent changes in how teachers are expected to feedback to pupils about their work. There are examples of good quality marking that tell pupils how to improve their work.  Where good learning was observed, questioning by teachers was skilful and challenging. This enabled those teachers to get the best out of the pupils.  Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural is promoted well and is a key strength of the school’s

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

work. Staff establish good relationships with pupils, and pupils are confident to take part in activities.  Teaching and support are good in the Early Years Foundation Stage. It is in this part of the school where children learn well and develop good habits, attitudes and behaviour.  There are examples of pupils making good progress. For example, during a Year 6 mathematics activity, pupils were completing some very difficult investigations on trial and error that provided good challenge for all in the class. Because the activity was well planned, pupils showed a lot of interest in what they were learning and made good progress as a result.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils are polite and courteous to each other and adults. Their behaviour around the school and in lessons is good.  Pupils are keen to take on responsibilities, such as waiting on tables during lunchtimes, playground buddies and reading buddies.  From an early age, children are taught good manners and respect for others. This establishes good habits which serve them well as they progress through the school.  During activities where pupils’ learning is most effective, pupils work very hard and are enthusiastic. Although they continue to behave well when activities are less interesting or when activities do not challenge them sufficiently, they can lose interest in what they are learning.  Pupils feel that bullying is rare and are confident that when it arises it will be dealt with swiftly. Pupils spoken with were clear about the different forms bullying can take.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Most parents who responded to the online questionnaire and those parents with whom inspectors spoke, felt that the school keeps their children safe and pupils are well behaved. The school's records confirm this.  Attendance is above average and punctuality is good.  The school's work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.  Pupils say that they feel safe in the school and know what to do if they are ever in an unsafe situation.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 The leadership and management of the school require improvement. This is because over time, governors and senior leaders have not addressed the inconsistency in the quality of teaching across the school and have not made teachers rigorously accountable for the progress of the pupils whom they teach. As a result, pupils in some classes have not made the progress or reached the standards of which they are capable.  Senior and middle leaders have not had a consistent understanding of how to analyse achievement data nor to then use this information to address weaknesses in teaching. This is especially the case in Key Stage 1 and lower Key Stage 2. This has led to the inconsistencies in the progress pupils make in different year groups across the school. The headteacher has a good understanding of achievement data and is using this information to improve the performance of the school.  Following the appointment of the new headteacher, senior and middle leaders now undertake a

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The leadership and management require improvement

range of monitoring procedures that look at pupils' progress and standards and the quality of teaching. This is beginning to have an impact, which can be seen in the recent improvements in the quality and quantity of pupils' work in their books.  Robust performance management procedures have not been implemented. Performance management targets for teachers do not hold them sufficiently to account for the progress pupils make. As a result, increases in teachers' salaries have not always been linked to the progress of the pupils they teach. The headteacher has quickly identified this and has raised it with the governing body so that future performance management procedures are more rigorous.  The targets that have been previously set for the progress pupils are expected to make each year have not been demanding enough. This has led to expectations being too low and pupils making inconsistent progress over time. Targets have been reviewed and are now more

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The leadership and management require improvement

challenging.  The achievement of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs has not been as good as similar pupils across the country because what the school offers has not, in the past, met their needs closely enough. The headteacher has now taken over responsibility for this and there are early indications that this aspect of the school’s work is improving.  The newly appointed headteacher has an accurate view of the school's performance. During the inspection, the headteacher and inspectors were in full agreement about the inconsistency in pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching. She has a very clear view of how successful the school can be and has quickly put into place more rigorous procedures to make the necessary improvements.  The new primary school sport funding is used well to expand the range of sports in which pupils participate and to improve inter-school competitions. For example, during the inspection a group

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The leadership and management require improvement

of pupils competed in and won a local swimming gala.  The school provides a range of visits, trips out and visitors into school. Pupils also appreciate the range of clubs that are on offer. The curriculum is further enhanced by work on Tanzania, and links with a local school, that has a number of pupils from minority ethnic groups. This helps pupils develop a deeper understanding of cultures beyond their immediate experience.  Safeguarding procedures meet the statutory requirements.  The school has received recent good support from its school improvement partner.  The governance of the school:  Governors are ambitious for the school and keen to support and challenge. For example, governors carried out a rigorous process to appoint the current headteacher to ensure the right candidate was given the role. The newly appointed headteacher has worked successfully in a short time to develop the governors' roles by keeping them more informed. In the past,

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The leadership and management require improvement

governors were keen to have more detailed information about the school's performance, including the effectiveness of the pupil premium funding, and the quality of teaching, but felt that this was not always available. As a result, their awareness of the school's performance was limited to what one governor described as 'a number of headline results.' The governing body’s involvement in the performance management process for staff has been minimal and governors have little knowledge of performance targets for teachers. Governors are currently in the process of completing an external review of their own performance.

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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 138713 Local authority North Lincolnshire Inspection number 440157

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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 Academy converter Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 200 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair G Howitt Headteacher J Richardson Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 01427 752355 Fax number 01427 752355 Email address admin.westwoodside@northlincs.gov.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

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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