Winterton Junior School

Winterton Junior School West Street, Winterton, Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, DN15 9QG

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 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’ achievement is inconsistent. Most pupils make expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics, but too few make good progress. Inadequate teaching in the past has resulted in not all pupils achieving as well as they should.  Standards in mathematics are below average at the end of Year 6. Too many pupils lack confidence in their basic number skills to solve problems quickly and accurately when working by themselves.  Pupils supported through the pupil premium have not achieved as well as they should because over time they have not had the support they needed to catch up quickly with their classmates.  Teaching is not yet consistently good enough to ensure pupils make good progress. Not all teachers have high enough expectations of what pupils should achieve, especially the most able.  Pupils’ progress is not checked closely enough to make sure they have work that challenges them appropriately. Adjustments to tasks are

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

not made promptly to ensure pupils make as much progress as possible.  Checks made on teaching are not always thorough enough to ensure that learning is effective for all groups of pupils.  The role of subject leaders is not yet fully developed, especially in mathematics.

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The school has the following strengths

 The headteacher, senior leaders and governors are ambitious for pupils. New staff have quickly become part of a strong team and all share the aim to improve the school.  Pupils enjoy school, have good attitudes to learning and behave well in lessons and around the school. Attendance is above average. Pupils are safe and secure in school because care and support arrangements are effective.  Teachers are now held to account for how well pupils achieve and staff have good opportunities to improve their skills. Pupils’ progress is speeding up in many classes as teaching improves.  Leaders have successfully brought about changes since the previous inspection, particularly in teaching and pupils’ behaviour. These improvements are now enabling pupils to learn more effectively and this is starting to raise achievement.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 15 lessons, four of which were observed jointly with the headteacher and the acting deputy headteacher. In addition, inspectors made other visits to classes, looked at pupils’ work books and listened to a number of pupils read.  Inspectors held meetings with pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body and three other governors, the headteacher, senior leaders, other managers and subject leaders, as well as a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s evaluation of its own performance, the school’s own data on pupils’ progress, planning and monitoring documentation, and the records of how the school uses its funding, especially the pupil premium and primary school sports funding. Records relating to behaviour and attendance and documents relating to safeguarding were also taken into consideration.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors also looked at the local authority’s reports of the school’s progress and performance since the previous inspection report.  There were 13 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View). Inspectors took account of the views of a number of parents spoken with during the inspection, results of the school’s survey of parents’ views and 28 responses from staff who completed Ofsted’s staff questionnaires.

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Inspection team

Rajinder Harrison, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Susan Twaits Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an average-sized primary school.  Almost all pupils are of White British background.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is above average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is slightly above average.  The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium is average. The pupil premium is additional funding for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those children who are looked after by the local authority.  The school has had a high number of staff changes, including among senior leaders, in the last year.  The school meets the government’s current floor standard, which is the minimum expectation for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching so that all of it is at least good and all pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics by ensuring that:  assessment information is used more effectively to pitch work that is at the right level for pupils’ needs and sustains their interest  pupils read regularly and have more opportunities to write at length in literacy and other subjects  pupils’ skills in mathematics, particularly their calculation and investigations skills, improve and that they apply these when solving problems  expectations of all pupils, but especially the most able, are high and pupils produce more work, particularly when they work on their own  pupils supported by the pupil premium receive the help they need to catch up more quickly with their classmates, particularly in reading and writing  pupils understand what they need to do to improve and respond accordingly in subsequent work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen leadership and management by ensuring that:  leaders check the quality of teaching and learning more rigorously so that it is consistently good in all subjects enabling pupils to make good progress  subject leaders develop their roles and their actions become more effective in raising pupils’ attainment.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ achievement requires improvement. Not enough of the pupils make better than expected progress because teaching is not yet consistently good in all year groups. Too many pupils have had many changes of teacher in their time in the school and this has left gaps in their skills and knowledge and slowed down their overall achievement, especially in mathematics.  Despite these considerable changes, pupils’ achievement since the previous inspection shows a steady improvement in the proportion of pupils now making at least expected progress or better progress from their individual starting points in reading, writing and mathematics. At the end of Year 6, standards in reading and writing are broadly average and in mathematics standards are below average.  Standards in mathematics at the end of Year 6 remain below average. This is because, due to weaknesses in teaching in the past, the significant gaps in pupils’ learning, particularly in

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

calculation and number skills, have left pupils in Years 5 and 6 behind where they should be. Teaching is now giving more attention to improving pupils’ calculation skills and these are increasing at a good rate, but pupils lack the skills and confidence to apply them to solve problems.  The achievement of the most able pupils requires improvement. Overtime, these pupils have not been challenged sufficiently because teachers’ expectations of all pupils generally have not been high enough. Not all teachers routinely set the most able pupils work to make them think hard and extend their learning further and sometimes these pupils do not work at a fast enough pace to achieve more.  The achievement of pupils eligible for pupil premium funding, including those known to be eligible for free school meals, has improved at the same rate as that of other pupils but not rapidly enough to close the gap significantly between their attainment and that of their

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

classmates. These pupils are up to two years behind their classmates in all subjects. The many staff changes and weaknesses in teaching over time have not helped these pupils make up lost ground quickly enough. Leaders and governors are very aware of this and have invested in extra support this year, which is starting to have a positive impact on their progress and attainment.  The progress of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs still requires further improvement. From their wide-ranging starting points, they make expected progress but few make better than expected progress, especially in writing and mathematics. In their personal and social development they make good progress because the care and guidance arrangements for all pupils throughout are good. Increased support for individual pupils and small groups this year, for example in reading and writing, is resulting in their achievement

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

improving steadily.  Standards in reading, while broadly average, are improving, with more pupils now making good progress. Pupils who need support in phonics, (linking sounds and letters), enjoy the daily opportunity to practise spelling and reading; hence achievement in reading is improving. Most pupils are eager to read although not all pupils read enough, especially in their own time.  Standards in writing are average and many now structure their work well and are improving their basic skills. Teaching is encouraging an enjoyment in learning new vocabulary and pupils try confidently to use interesting features when writing by themselves. However, they do not have enough opportunities to write at length to extend their skills enough to reach higher levels.  The school’s effectiveness in promoting equality of opportunity has improved. Pupils’ progress is now checked each half term so that those needing help are identified and supported more

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

promptly, although this is not always effective especially for the most able pupils.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching requires improvement because it is still too variable across the school. While there is good practice in many classes and more pupils are now making good progress, this is not yet consistent and is not strong enough, for example, to enable pupils in Years 5 and 6 to make up lost ground from previous years.  Expectations of what pupils can achieve are not always high enough and pupils do not always sustain their level of interest to produce their best work. The most able pupils particularly are not always challenged sufficiently and do not move on quickly enough to work that will extend their learning further.  Checks on pupils’ progress are not always used effectively to plan work that challenges all pupils appropriately: for some it is too easy and for others too hard. This is particularly so where pupils have significant gaps in their skills and knowledge from previous years, for example in

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

mathematics. Occasionally, pupils need more time to understand new work and consolidate their skills before moving on to newer and harder work. On the other hand, those who are more confident often work at the same level as others and so do not make good progress.  While the quality of marking is often good, especially in literacy, there are occasions, particularly in mathematics, where it is not sufficiently detailed to help pupils improve subsequent work and so pupils take little notice of it. The work in pupils’ books shows examples where pupils have made the effort to respond to teachers’ feedback but it also reflects where pupils have not produced enough work, have not checked for errors or taken sufficient care in their presentation. Over time, this results in not enough pupils making good progress.  Effective actions from leaders and many new teaching appointments have raised expectations

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

so, although the challenge for pupils is not yet consistent, it is improving. Pupils often have time to discuss new work so that they understand what they have to do to achieve well. Many pupils enjoy their work and find learning interesting. For example, pupils enjoyed exploring the characters in ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ and lively questioning encouraged pupils to think about what the characters thought of each other, how the text illustrated this and what bearing this had on what happened to these characters in the story.  Pupils have trusting relationships with teachers and teaching assistants and so feel well supported, even when they are not sure about their learning and struggle to keep up. The atmosphere of mutual trust and respect in classrooms supports pupils’ personal and social development well and pupils are confident to have a go at new work.  Teaching for the pupils supported through pupil premium funding or who have special

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

educational needs has improved with more support provided. For example, pupils work in small groups or individually with teachers or teaching assistants who help them practise their spelling and reading or their mathematical tables and calculation skills. As a consequence, these pupils are more confident and so making faster progress. However, because of previous shortcomings in provision, older pupils particularly have yet to make up the significant gaps in their learning that still prevail.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Senior leaders ensure staff adopt a consistent approach to managing behaviour and school records show that behaviour has improved markedly since the previous inspection. In lessons and around school pupils show high regard for all staff and conduct themselves sensibly at all times.  Pupils have positive attitudes to school and learning and work well with others. Even when tasks do not enthuse them they persevere and continue to behave well. A few occasionally find the work difficult or lacking in challenge and so sometimes achieve too little, but lapses in behaviour are minimal.  Pupils’ attendance is above average and this shows that they like school. Pupils are polite, kind and caring and form good relationships with others. They take responsibilities such as fruit monitors, school councillors and other roles seriously, keen to help staff in the day-to-day routines in school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils say bullying in school is rare and they are confident that staff would deal with any such incidents immediately. They understand the various ways bullying can occur such as name calling, physical threats and cyber bullying and know to whom they would report such incidents.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Parents are happy with the care and safety arrangements in school. Pupils say that they feel safe and are looked after kindly at school. Staff know the pupils well and are quick to respond if they have any concerns.  Pupils have a good understanding of how to stay safe and keep healthy. They enjoy physical education and swimming and are very aware of the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. Pupils say that the sporting activities they take part in through the local secondary school are ‘really good’ and recognise that keeping fit is important.  Visits to the secondary school and to museums and theatres, activities such as sporting

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

competitions, residential trips and links with communities abroad all provide purposeful opportunities that support pupils’ good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher, governors and senior leaders are determined to make the improvements necessary to raise pupils’ achievement. Despite the many staff changes since the previous inspection, the leadership has become stronger and newcomers have quickly added their skills to form an effective team. Improvements in teaching and behaviour are creating a more positive climate for learning. An increasing number of pupils are beginning to make good progress and the school is well placed to move forward quickly.  However, leadership and management still require improvement because some leaders and many teachers are still relatively new to their posts and have not developed their roles sufficiently to bring about more rapid improvement, particularly in mathematics. Actions that leaders have taken to bring about improvement have not been in place long enough to have had sufficient and sustained impact on securing consistently good teaching and raising achievement.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leaders now check the quality of teaching and learning more closely and have eradicated inadequate teaching effectively. Although aspects to improve teaching are identified these are not yet fully resolved and so teaching is still too variable. Inconsistencies still remain in providing work that meets pupils’ needs, and marking to help pupils achieve all that they should. The school’s view that teaching is good is too optimistic at present but a higher proportion of teaching than at the time of the previous inspection is now good.  Good use is made of the information from checking on the quality of teaching to provide support and training for teachers. This is especially the case in reading, where pupils practise their letters and sounds daily and standards are rising.  The checking on pupils’ progress has improved. Leaders and governors have responded well to the information about the progress of pupils who have special educational needs or who are

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The leadership and management requires improvement

supported by the pupil premium. In the past these pupils have not always had the support they needed to achieve well. Additional spending has improved provision for these pupils so that most are now making at least expected progress.  Pupils’ progress is now analysed each half term and staff are deployed to help all pupils achieve well. The headteacher and governors use data about pupils’ progress to set teachers demanding targets. Regular meetings with staff discuss individual progress and teachers are held more to account for the progress of pupils in their class. Decisions influence where further action needs to be taken to increase the pace of learning. Teachers are clear that unless pupils make acceptable rates of progress, there will not be any increases in salary.  Subject leaders for literacy and numeracy have regular opportunities to develop provision in their subjects but these roles are not fully developed. Improvements are relatively recent and actions

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The leadership and management requires improvement

to raise attainment are not yet being fully effective especially in mathematics. Actions by leaders in other subjects, such as science and geography, have yet to take effect in ensuring good teaching leads to higher achievement in every subject.  The curriculum keeps a balance of activities to sustain pupils’ enthusiasm for learning. The focus is clearly on basic literacy and numeracy skills. Pupils’ literacy skills are being extended through other subjects but developments are at an early stage to have had sufficient impact on raising standards. Visits and activities, such as music, enrich pupils’ experiences in school and in the wider world.  The primary school sports funding is used well to extend opportunities for pupils to use the local secondary school for a wide range of sports activities and participate in competitive events in the area. By working with specialist physical education teachers from the secondary school, teachers

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The leadership and management requires improvement

are improving their skills to lead activities such as athletics and various sports clubs and so support pupils’ health and well-being even more effectively in the long term.  The local authority provides effective support and training to senior leaders, staff and governors, and reviews the school’s performance through challenging dialogue, regularly.  The governance of the school:  The governing body is highly ambitious for the pupils and ensures that school improvement is a high priority. Governors review the school’s performance scrupulously. They have undertaken rigorous training so that they are well placed to question pupils’ progress data and identify areas for urgent action. They have asked challenging questions about the actions needed to improve mathematics.  Governors know the school’s strengths and are aware that weaker teaching has been eradicated. However, they appreciate there is still a way to go. For example, they know that

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The leadership and management requires improvement

teaching in mathematics is not yet good enough to raise standards quickly and endorse the action that senior leaders are taking to challenge teachers to improve teaching. They check that the training staff undertake increases pupils’ achievement quickly. With their improved understanding of performance data, they hold the headteacher and senior leaders to account and link decisions on teachers’ pay to pupils’ progress.  Finances are managed well. Governors know that the primary school sports funding has increased opportunities for pupils to be involved in sport and thus adopt healthier lifestyles. They have increased staffing: for example they have appointed a learning mentor, so that the provision for pupils supported through the pupil premium funding is more effective in helping these pupils catch up with their classmates urgently. They check closely that this group of pupils is making better progress in response to the additional support.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governing body ensures that the school meets the current requirements for safeguarding and child protection.

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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 117787 Local authority North Lincolnshire Inspection number 442255

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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 7–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 196 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Catherine Kemp Headteacher Catherine Logan Date of previous school inspection 7 November 2012 Telephone number 01724 732223 Fax number 01724 735397 Email address head.wintertonjuniors@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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