Springdale Primary School

Springdale Junior School Warstones Drive, Penn, Wolverhampton, WV4 4NJ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Standards reached by pupils by the end of Year 6 have improved steadily since the previous inspection. Pupils currently in the school are achieving well.  Pupils make good progress through the school and the proportions making and exceeding the expected progress compare favourably with national figures.  The progress and attainment of pupils supported by pupil premium funding has improved. Gaps in their achievement have now closed.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, including those supported with the school’s resource base, make good progress.  Teachers’ marking is a particular strength of the school. Teachers give pupils high-quality feedback on their work and additional challenges which make a positive contribution to their good progress.  Pupils feel safe in the school and have positive attitudes to learning. This is reflected in their above-average attendance and in the way they

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

ask questions and display their curiosity.  The headteacher, governors and other senior leaders have high expectations of staff and pupils. They have made improvements to the quality of teaching and raised pupils’ achievement.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teachers do not always use all the information they have about pupils’ previous learning to plan activities that challenge them.  Assessments of pupils’ attainment in mathematics are not as accurate as those made in reading and writing.  Leaders do not give teachers precise feedback about how to improve their teaching to ensure that pupils make rapid and sustained progress.  Plans to improve aspects of the school do not provide enough information about when improvements should be completed or the full impact they should have.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed pupils learning in 19 lessons, seven of which were jointly observed with senior leaders. In addition, inspectors made other short visits to lessons and to learning areas in the course of their observations of pupils’ behaviour and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. They also listened to pupils read.  Inspectors took account of the 16 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, and spoke informally with parents as they brought their children to school.  Meetings were held with two groups of pupils, a representative from the local authority, governors, senior and subject leaders and teaching staff.  The information from 11 staff questionnaires was taken into consideration.  Inspectors observed the work of the school, and looked at pupils’ books and a number of documents, including the school’s own data on pupils’ performance, its self-evaluation and

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Information about this inspection

monitoring of how well pupils are doing. They also checked planning documents, records of checks on the quality of teaching, and records of behaviour, attendance and punctuality, as well as documents relating to safeguarding.  During this inspection, inspectors asked additional questions designed to ascertain the school’s view of the impact and effectiveness of local authority services to support school improvement. This information will contribute to work being carried out by Ofsted to assess the use, quality and impact of those services.

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Inspection team

Simon Blackburn, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Joseph Skivington Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is an average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils supported through the pupil premium is above the national average. This additional government funding is to help pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, looked after by the local authority or from service families.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is below average, but the proportion supported through school action plus or through a statement of special educational needs is above average.  The school runs specially resourced provision for pupils with special educational needs. It has a resource base for 22 pupils who have speech, language and communication difficulties. It currently supports 14 pupils.  About one in five of the pupils come from minority ethnic backgrounds. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below the national average.

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Information about this school

 The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the achievement of all pupils, particularly in mathematics, by ensuring that teachers:  use all the information they have about pupils’ starting points and their previous learning to plan activities that challenge them  make accurate and confident assessments of pupils’ attainment in mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by:  providing teachers with clear and precise development points when checking the quality of teaching, that will help them to design learning activities that ensure pupils make rapid progress  revising the format of the school’s improvement plan so that leaders and governors can more easily tell how successful the school has been in raising achievement.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The standards reached by pupils at the end of Year 6 have improved steadily since the previous inspection and in 2013 were broadly average in mathematics, reading and writing. Results in the English grammar, punctuation and spelling test were well below average in 2013.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils enter the school with attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 that is broadly average and occasionally well below average. They make good progress through Key Stage 2 as a result of challenging targets, teaching that generally interests and enthuses them, and their good attitudes to learning. At the end of Key Stage 2 in 2013, the proportions of pupils making and exceeding the expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics compared favourably with the proportions found nationally.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The progress being made by all groups of pupils currently in the school, including those from minority ethnic backgrounds, is good. Standards are improving. The data collected about their achievements is analysed very thoroughly and extra help is put in place for those who need it so that pupils can catch up if they are falling behind.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Progress in mathematics, while good, is not quite as fast as that in reading and writing. This is because pupils join the school with some gaps in their skills and knowledge and because teachers are less confident in assessing mathematics than other subjects.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school has worked hard to ensure that pupils have the opportunity to practise their writing in subjects other than English and, as a result, the standard of pupils’ writing continues to improve. Teachers also correct their writing very diligently in lessons and in their marking of pupils’ work. Inspectors saw very good examples of writing in mathematics books that had been marked well, with clear ideas for improvement given and acted on by the pupil. Grammar, punctuation and spelling have been a clear priority and pupils’ skills have improved rapidly over the last year.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils read often and enjoy their reading. Careful analysis of their abilities when they join the school is followed up by programmes to accelerate their progress. Pupils in Year 3 use their phonics skills to sound out unfamiliar words and most read fluently, even the least-able pupils.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are provided with work that is at the right level to challenge them to achieve and good support from other adults. Pupils with speech and language difficulties, who are helped in the resource base, make good progress. The adults who support these pupils work well with teachers in planning lessons and questioning pupils as they learn.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils who benefit from pupil premium funding are now making faster progress. This is as a consequence of a thorough review of the effectiveness of the interventions put in place to support them and because the additional funds allow extra adult help for eligible pupils. Gaps of eight months in reading and writing and nine months in mathematics between these pupils and other pupils at the end of Year 6 in 2013, have all been closed. Pupils supported by the pupil premium are now achieving at least as well as, and in some cases better than, other pupils.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers work effectively together to plan topics and sequences of lessons that interest and motivate pupils. This is proving very successful in developing pupils’ curiosity and enhancing their attitudes to learning. Teachers waste no time in harnessing pupils’ willingness to learn and have established excellent classroom routines which mean that learning almost always moves at a fast pace.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In a mathematics lesson, for example, pupils in Year 6 made outstanding progress in activities centred on the football World Cup. The teacher provided a high level of challenge to every pupil which was met by real intellectual effort and interest from the pupils, so that complex work on number patterns was quickly understood.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ work and behaviour. They set challenging targets which pupils understand and want to achieve. Pupils are very clear about how far their learning has come and what they need to do to achieve the next level.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Consistently high-quality marking is a powerful tool in driving up pupils’ rates of progress. Teachers mark pupils work frequently, always give valuable comments and challenge pupils further with additional questions or corrections. Pupils are then given the time to respond. They know that this is important and appreciate the help it gives them to improve their work.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils who receive extra help within the resource base make good progress because teachers know them very well and plan learning activities which are closely matched to their individual needs.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The school collects and analyses a great deal of information about pupils’ progress in a range of subjects. Teachers are generally adept at using this information to plan effective strategies to help pupils learn quickly. Sometimes, however, teachers do not use this information and observations from their teaching to plan activities that challenge pupils from their different starting points.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers are confident and accurate when making assessments of pupils’ attainment in reading and writing. They are less confident in assessing pupils’ work in mathematics and, as a result, do not always give full credit to pupils for the progress they are making.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Parents are very positive. The vast majority of responses to Parent View, and the views of parents who inspectors spoke with as they dropped their children off at school, indicate that families believe their children are safe at school and enjoy school life. They are confident in the willingness of all adults to listen to pupils’ concerns, and to provide help and advice when needed.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils take seriously their roles as lunchtime buddies, sports councillors and school councillors. They have a good understanding of the different types of bullying in most year groups although some pupils in Year 3 were less certain about what constituted cyber-bullying. Pupils are confident in the ability of the school to deal with any issues of bullying. Pupils, parents and carers said that bullying is rare.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are well equipped for lessons and settle very quickly to their work. Pupils are proud of the books which are extremely neat and well-kept in all year groups and for pupils of all abilities. The school is a bright and welcoming place which the pupils take great pride in. There is no litter and pupils move around the school with courtesy and politeness.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school keeps detailed records of all behavioural incidents. There have been no racist incidents over the last two years. In the playground and the dining hall, pupils look after one another and behave maturely.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils have positive attitudes to learning, which are seen in their strong levels of participation and involvement in activities. In class, they are attentive and hardworking. They welcome challenge and are enthusiastic about the work they are given to do. Their curiosity is a key feature of their successful learning and teachers welcome their questions.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance has been broadly in line with national averages over recent years but has shown an improvement in the current academic year. It is now above average as a result of the excellent work of the parent support worker who works with families to sort out problems that keep pupils away from school. The number of pupils who are absent from school for longer periods has also fallen recently.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, deputy headteacher and other senior leaders are single-minded in their pursuit of excellence for the pupils at the school. The headteacher’s vision for the school's progress is fully shared by staff and governors. All work with determination to fulfil the ambition they share for every pupil.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher is reflective about her own leadership and has successfully developed her style to ensure that she delegates responsibility and tasks very effectively to other leaders, ensuring that they develop strongly under her guidance. Subject and other leaders use the school’s data systems well to check on pupils’ progress and hold teachers to account through robust checking of the school’s work.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leadership of the provision for pupils who are supported within the resource base and for other disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is also strong. This ensures that well-tailored support is in place and that pupils’ progress is carefully checked across the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The leadership of teaching and learning has been central to the school’s work and has brought about improvements in pupils’ progress and attainment. Teachers are successfully rising to the challenge of higher expectations underpinned by the Teachers Standards and are fully aware of how their performance is linked to increases in salary.

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The leadership and management are good

 The range of subjects offered provides opportunities for pupils to use and extend their literacy and numeracy skills, and it promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. The primary school sport funding is used effectively to provide specialist training for teachers and to extend the range of sporting activities available to pupils. The increase in the range of sports is involving more pupils and making a positive contribution to their healthy lifestyles.

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The leadership and management are good

 Links with other schools and support from a teaching school have provided opportunities for staff to participate in high-quality training and gain access to support. These have made a significant contribution to improvements in teaching and the accuracy of assessment.  The local authority provides effective support and challenge to senior leaders, although support for governance has not been as strong. A direct impact of this support has been an improvement in the challenge given to pupils in teachers’ marking and feedback.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders and managers monitor the quality of teaching rigorously and make accurate judgements about the strengths and weaknesses of the teaching and learning in the classroom. However, the feedback they give to teachers does not provide enough guidance about how they can adapt their teaching to provide learning activities that will ensure more pupils make outstanding progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 Plans for school improvement are based on an accurate evaluation of its strengths and weaknesses. They provide well-judged priorities and actions. The format of the plans, however, does not allow leaders or governors to easily judge how effectively the actions are being carried out, the timescales for achieving success or what the impact of the action should be.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors have a good awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the school because they visit often, have a clear understanding of the school’s performance data and question leaders about the effectiveness of the actions taken to improve the school. Governors receive good quality information from the headteacher about the performance of staff and have supported leaders in taking decisive action to address weaker teaching. They know that only good or better teaching is rewarded by pay increases. The governing body keeps a tight grip on finances to ensure that money, including the pupil premium funding, is spent wisely. It ensures that all safeguarding requirements 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 104303 Local authority Wolverhampton Inspection number 431168

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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 237 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Craig Felton Headteacher Janice Hopkins Date of previous school inspection 6 December 2012 Telephone number 01902 558810 Fax number 01902 558812 Email address springdalejuniorschool@wolverhampton.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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