Setting

Mrs Maxine Crawford Headteacher Brinsworth Howarth Primary School Whitehill Lane Brinsworth Rotherham South Yorkshire S60 5JR

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Primary School, Rotherham

Following my visit to your school on 26 June 2014, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. Thank you for the help you gave me and for the time you made available to discuss the actions you are taking to improve the school since the most recent section 5 inspection.

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Primary School, Rotherham

The visit was the first monitoring inspection since the school was judged to require improvement following the section 5 inspection in April 2014. It was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Primary School, Rotherham

Senior leaders and governors are taking effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement identified at the recent section 5 inspection. The school should take further action to:

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Primary School, Rotherham

 clarify who will be responsible for checking on the quality of teachers’ and pupils’ work. Establish when those checks will take place and who will evaluate how well the school is doing  make sure the whole school community know what is expected of them and what success will look like at different points in time  ensure teachers, leaders and governors have an accurate view of how well different groups of pupils are doing across the whole school  make sure teachers move pupils on quickly as soon as they have grasped a new piece of learning  review how guided reading sessions are structured to give pupils more responsibility and opportunities to help each other. CfBT Inspection Services Suite 22 West Lancs Investment Centre Maple View Skelmersdale WN8 9TG T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 01695 566932 Direct F 01695 729320 Direct email: hcarnall@cfbt.com

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Evidence

During the inspection, I met with you and the assistant headteacher, two governors and a representative of the local authority to discuss the action taken since the last inspection. I evaluated the school’s action plan. You accompanied me on two brief tours of the school during which we made brief visits to lessons and looked at a small sample of pupils’ work. I spoke briefly with a few midday supervisors and observed part of lunchtime. I also looked at the school’s internal data.

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Main findings

Following the last inspection you have taken firm action to improve teaching. Teachers have focussed particularly on making sure they ask the most able pupils the hardest questions. Where teaching is less than good, senior leaders, supported by the local authority, have made effective use of external support. For example specialist leaders in education are visiting the school regularly to improve the teaching of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs and to improve the way pupils’ behaviour is managed in Years 3 and 4.

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Main findings

Senior leaders and governors know how well different groups of pupils are doing in different classes. However, they do not use data well enough to know how these groups are doing across the whole school so it is difficult for them to see the big picture. This is especially important when they are looking at the performance of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs and those for whom the pupil premium provides additional funding.

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Main findings

Pupils’ written work in books is neat and tidy. Teachers have been working hard to make sure all pupils, but boys especially, have interesting things to write about. This is beginning to take shape. For example, children in the Early Years Foundation Stages are writing speech bubbles for cartoons of themselves as superheroes. In Year 6 boys were very interested in writing fiction about the World Cup. There are still occasions when teaching is not moving pupils on quickly enough because the teacher has given the same task to all pupils regardless of their starting points or when pupils complete too many similar questions in mathematics.

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Main findings

Pupils are making strides in ensuring their behaviour is always appropriate but there remains some boisterousness on the playground. Midday supervisors report that a few pupils give, ‘backchat’ and do not treat them with the same respect as they do their teachers. The teachers, sports co-ordinator and pupils are working well together to help pupils play football sensibly at break and lunchtime, including training older pupils to be sports leaders so that they can work things out for themselves.

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Main findings

Pupils work sensibly in guided reading sessions and understand what they are reading as well as developing good strategies for tackling unfamiliar words. However, they do not always get enough practice reading aloud and tackling challenging work about the text they are reading.

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Main findings

The school’s action plan provides a sound blueprint for further improvement because it is focussed firmly on the areas identified as needing improvement at the last inspection. It links actions to the improvements expected for pupils. You are currently amending the plan so that it is clear who will check what and when they will do those checks. You have rightly identified that without this there is the potential for planned actions to slip through the net. The plan lacks clarity about who or which group will take responsibility for evaluating the success of different parts of the plan. There is more work to be done in explaining to pupils and parents what success will look like at different points on the school’s journey towards being good.

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Main findings

Governors and leaders have met with parents to discuss their views of the school and how it can improve. Governors have already written to all parents about the actions they intend to take. The new appraisal system to link teachers’ performance more tightly to their pay is ready to be implemented in September.

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Main findings

Ofsted may carry out further visits and, where necessary, provide further support and challenge to the school until its next section 5 inspection.

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External support

The school is using the support from the local authority and its partner schools well to support subject leaders and the special educational needs co-ordinator in developing their work. For example, a specialist teacher from the local authority has worked closely with the assistant headteacher to make sure disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are getting the right level of support from class teachers. Consequently the school is gaining confidence in this area and teachers are having more success in adjusting pupils’ work. The school have also used partners from the Oakwood Learning Community to provide sharp challenge and evaluation of the progress pupils are making.

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External support

I am copying this letter to the Chair of the Governing Body and the Director of Children's Services for Rotherham.

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