Wybers Wood Academy

Wybers Wood Academy Timberley Drive, Grimsby, Lincolnshire, DN37 9QZ

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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 Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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

 Significant changes in staffing have led to too much variation in the quality of teaching and in pupils’ progress in subjects and in year groups, particularly Years 3, 4 and 5. Both require improvement.  A few teachers do not have high enough expectations of what their pupils can do. Some do not explain well enough what pupils are expected to learn in class nor mark books in a way that enables pupils to understand what they need to do to improve their work.  Some older pupils have not benefitted from the good skills younger pupils have gained in using the sounds that letters make (phonics), to improve their literacy skills.  Behaviour requires improvement because pupils’ attitudes to learning in lessons are not consistently good. Some pupils lose interest when teachers do not tackle pupils’ inattention or chatting, quickly enough.  Leadership and management require improvement. Changes to the team of middle

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

leaders has meant some are not skilled yet in monitoring and evaluating their areas of responsibility or in supporting the principal in driving whole-academy improvements forward.  Despite regular newsletters, a few parents reported concerns about communication with, and aspects of, the academy’s work.

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The school has the following strengths

 Good leadership and provision in the Reception classes, ensure children achieve well. Pupils’ progress is hastening in Year 1 in English and mathematics; progress in Year 2 is rapid.  Pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics in Year 6 is also improving well. Pupils’ books and teachers’ assessments show pupils are on-track to attain above average standards. The previous gap between pupils known to be eligible to free school meals and their classmates has been eradicated.  Pupils are kept safe and say they value the adult ‘hearing partners’ whom they choose and go to readily in times of need. They also value the support of the learning mentor. The majority of respondents to the Parent View survey report their children are safe.  Despite the setbacks in staffing, the Principal’s quiet and determined leadership is driving improvement in the quality of teaching and in pupils’ achievements in English and

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 21 part-lessons, one of which was observed jointly with the Principal. Inspectors also visited a range of lessons for short periods including support groups that support the development of pupils’ reading and phonic skills (the sounds letters make).  Meetings were held with the Principal, senior and middle leaders. Other meetings included discussions the Education Adviser and the Regional Director from the Academy Trust. The lead inspector also spoke with two managers from North-East Lincolnshire’s children’s services.  Inspectors spoke with pupils in lessons and at various times during each day. They also spoke formally with two groups of pupils on the second day of the inspection.  The inspection team looked at a range of pupils’ workbooks, information about pupils’ current progress in lessons and documentation, including the academy’s improvement plans, behaviour incident and racist logs and minutes of the governing body meetings.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors took account of the small proportion of parents (24), who responded to the Ofsted Survey ‘Parent View’ and 14 responses, to the staff survey. Inspectors also took account of the views of two parents who spoke on the telephone and two written responses.  During this inspection, inspectors asked additional questions designed to ascertain the academy’s view of the impact and effectiveness of Academy Trust’s work. This information will contribute to work being carried out by Ofsted to assess the use, quality and impact of the trust’s work as a whole.

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Inspection team

Margaret Farrow, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Rosemary Eaton Additional Inspector Karen Foster Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Wybers Wood is a larger-than-average primary academy. It converted to become an academy in December 2012 and is sponsored by School Partnership Trust Academies (SPTA).  When its predecessor school Wybers Wood primary school was last inspected by Ofsted in February 2012, it was judged to require special measures.  The majority of pupils are White British.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below average.  The proportion of pupils who are disabled or who have special educational needs supported at school action is below average, as is the proportion who are supported at school action plus or who have a statement of special educational needs.  The current Principal has been in post since January 2013. There has been a significant change in staffing prior to and since the academy opened; this includes a number of teachers taking maternity leave and recently returning. Changes in staff are ongoing and the academy will have

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Information about this school

a full complement of staff in place by September 2014.  Her Majesty’s Inspector’s first monitoring visit to the academy in May 2013 reported that the academy was making reasonable progress in raising standards for all pupils.  The academy meets the government’s floor standards which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improving teaching so that all teaching is good or better; thereby raising achievement across the academy and in all subjects by ensuring:  all teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve and of their attitudes in class  the information about pupils’ current abilities available to teachers is always used to plan and deliver lessons that help all pupils to achieve the best they can in every subject  teachers always make it clear what pupils are expected to learn in the lesson, so pupils can be clear about what they need to do to be successful in the lesson  teachers’ marking and feedback on pupils’ work is always helpful in giving pupils a clear understanding of what they are doing well and what needs to be better and then giving them time to tackle their mistakes or misunderstanding  older pupils who have gaps in their understanding of the sounds that letters make are given similar opportunities to securely learn these which are clearly evident in Key Stage 1 and

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

Reception classes  the most effective teachers model best practice across the school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by:  developing the skills of middle leaders so they can take a greater role in monitoring and evaluating the actions being taken to drive improvement across the academy, and then take action when things are not good enough  ensuring middle leaders’ plans contain clear improvement targets against which the Principal and governing body can hold them to account fully for the impact of their work  developing strategies further to ensure parents have timely, regular communication with and information about, the academy’s work and about how well their children are doing.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ achievement requires improvement because it varies too widely across year groups and in different subjects.  Children achieve well in the Reception classes. They thrive in their play and learning because of the well-planned activities, rich array of resources and the skilled support from adults. As a result, they are well-prepared educationally, socially, emotionally, physically and for their next steps.  The strong focus on improving pupils’ skills in English and mathematics is reaping its rewards. Pupils in Year 6 have made good progress this year particularly, and the academy is on track to exceed national averages in the proportion achieving Level 4 in reading, writing and mathematics.  There is also good improvement in these subjects in Key Stage 1 and the rate of improvement in writing in Year 2 has been impressive. However, assessment information on pupils’ current achievements, lesson observations and pupils’ books, show a mixed picture in Year’s 3, 4, and

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

5, and in other subjects, resulting in steady rather than good progress overall.  Better-focused teaching of the sounds that letters make in Key Stage 1 and the Reception classes has led to much improved reading and writing skills and in the expected levels Year 1 pupils have achieved in their phonics assessments. Older pupils have not benefitted from these strategies and this is evident when hearing some lower ability pupils read. The lack of such skills is also impacting on their ability to spell words correctly.  The small group of pupils receiving additional support because of their special educational needs are making similarly steady progress to their classmates. The restructuring and better deployment of teaching assistants has helped to narrow the gap between their achievements and other pupils in class. The very small number of pupils who have a statement of special educational needs make good progress because of the additional care and support provided.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The previous gap between boys’ and girls’ reading and writing skills has narrowed well in Year 6 because of teachers’ sharper focus on developing activities that interest and involve them. There is still more to do in some classes across the school. Teachers’ better focus on the most able pupils in class is helping to hasten their progress in lessons. Books show a much higher proportion of Year 2 and Year 6 pupils are reaching higher levels in their work.  Pupils read widely and often. Changes to the teaching of reading, for example, increased opportunities to read in class and at home, are making a positive difference in virtually all year groups.  Pupils’ achievements in sport are improving well, in part due to the creative use of additional primary school sports funding and strategies to improve physical education lessons. Pupils in Wybers Wood now come back proudly from gymnastics competitions often having won first or

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

second place. Pupils report that more lunchtime activities, such as ball games and parachute games, have high participation rates, are enjoyable and help them to be fit and healthy.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Leaders’ drive to improve teaching quickly has been hindered by the significant turbulence in staffing, with pupils facing too many changes of teacher in some year groups. Leaders and inspectors agree that although improving, the impact of teaching is not yet securing good enough progress for all, particularly in lower Key Stage 2.  Teaching in the Reception classes is good. Adults are well deployed and closely check how well children are doing and what they enjoy. Adults quickly amend activities to stimulate interest or make sure they are able to take part in activities that will enable them to make good progress in all aspects of their learning and development and secure equality of opportunity.  Changes to the roles and responsibilities of teaching assistants have made a positive difference. Teachers were seen to deploy them effectively to support individual groups in class or in small- group interventions in English or mathematics. Such work is helping pupils to make better

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

progress in their literacy and numeracy skills, including pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals or those who have a statement of special educational needs.  Lessons where pupils make good or better progress are typified by high quality relationships between teachers and pupils. Well-planned activities and teachers’ high expectations, engender pupils’ positive attitudes to learning and inspire them to try to achieve their best. Teachers’ good subject knowledge means they quickly tackle misconceptions or stretch pupils’ thinking by well-timed probing questions.  In such lessons, informative marking and feedback leaves pupils in no doubt what they are doing well and where there are errors in their understanding or skills. Pupils are then given time to respond to the teacher’s comments and get to grip with things they misunderstood before moving briskly onto the next steps in their learning.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Marking is inconsistent across some subjects and is particularly limited in topic books where occasionally there is little evidence of good progress over time. Occasionally, where pupils do correct their work, so much time is taken doing this, that there is not enough time left to complete fully the new activities set.  A few teachers do not make sure pupils understand what they are expected to learn at the start of the lesson, so pupils are unclear of what is expected of them by the end of the lesson.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Pupils’ attitudes to learning in class are not consistently good. This is linked to the quality of teaching. Occasionally, in lacklustre lessons, teachers do not tackle pupils’ inattention or talking quickly. This slows down the pace of learning until corrective action is finally taken; not always in line with the school’s positive behaviour policy.  Pupils are polite and friendly and speak confidently and articulately to visitors. Pupils’ behave well as they move around the school, in the dining hall and in the open spaces outside at lunchtime. They were seen playing harmoniously during breaks. Pupils who find breaktimes difficult are glad they can stay indoors to do fun things, under the watchful eye of adults.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. The few behaviour or racist incidents are logged carefully and checked by leaders. Actions are taken quickly if there are emerging

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

concerns. Careful risk assessments minimise risks of incidents recurring. For example, a personal, social and emotional development 10-week programme was set-up to help tackle concerns in one year group. Improvements made to the toilets and pupils say they really like the new toilets that are bright and safe. They speak proudly about how they had a say in how to improve them.  A few pupils have minor niggles about name calling and report although it does happen, bullying is rare and well-tackled as soon as a teacher or the learning mentor is informed. They feel well taught about risks to their safety, such as the internet bullying, including the no- tolerance approach of the use of discriminatory language.  Staff know pupils’ and families’ needs well and work closely with other agencies to support them in times of need. This approach, together with the academy’s inclusion policy and commitment to use exclusion as a last resort, has resulted in only one pupil being temporarily excluded this

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

year. Improvements to the way the academy works to tackle previously high absence rates have resulted in good improvement in attendance. Rates are currently above average.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Changes in middle leadership have been a barrier to embedding systems developed to drive improvement quickly. A full team of middle leaders is now in place but it is clearly too early to show its impact. Nevertheless, with the Principal’s determined leadership and good support from the vice-Principal, assistant Principal and governors, all are now working together to hasten improvements and ensure all pupils achieve well.  The Principal, Academy Trust and governors, have a very good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the academy. They have used their knowledge to develop succinct, clear and ambitious action plans, with measurable targets that are checked robustly and regularly. Some actions have taken hold and already made a difference despite the turbulence. This can be seen, for example, in pupils’ better progress in English and mathematics this year.  Action plans developed by middle leaders detail carefully the work they will do to improve their

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The leadership and management requires improvement

areas of responsibility. However, plans contain few targets against which the principal or governors can measure the impact of the work undertaken.  Older pupils speak highly of the Principal and feel she is ‘someone they can talk to’. The Principal makes sure their views are considered before judging teachers’ effectiveness over time. Not enough has been done to win the full commitment of all staff and confidence of all parents. A significant minority of the small number of parents who replied to the Ofsted survey would not recommend the academy to other parents.  Improved performance management arrangements have recently been put in place to ensure teachers’ pay is linked to their success in ensuring all their pupils make good progress, and in delivering the best lessons possible. Although it is too early to see the full impact of these arrangements, evidence from performance reviews of staff show staff are set aspirational

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The leadership and management requires improvement

targets for pupils and are challenged robustly if pupils are not meeting them.  Leaders are aware the curriculum requires improvement and have developed a varied and creative curriculum for September 2014. The current curriculum has been adapted to better meet the needs of all pupils, for example, by initiating topics to interest boys and girls. This has helped to narrow the gap in reading attainment between boys and girls.  The curriculum is enriched well by a range of lunch-time, and out-of and after-school activities. However, the science curriculum is not taught consistently well enough across the school.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well through assemblies, visits and the personal, social and health education curriculum. Staff take swift action to enable pupils to benefit from all the academy has to offer, but because pupils’ progress in some classes

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The leadership and management requires improvement

is not as good as in others, leaders have yet to ensure equality of opportunity for all.  The Academy Trust provides good support and challenge to leaders. Wider support from the family of academies in the Trust and from training and development activities for staff is supporting improvement in the quality of teaching, the effectiveness of middle managers and in pupils’ progress in lessons.  The governance of the school:  The Education Advisory Board (governing body) has developed effectively over the past year and now has its full complement of governors. Governors are starting to make good use of their wide range of expertise. They are fully involved in monitoring and reviewing the work of the academy. They are well informed through a half-termly review of detailed information about all aspects of the academy’s work, including pupils’ progress; individually, by group and by class, and information on the quality of teaching across the academy. Evidence from

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The leadership and management requires improvement

recent minutes of governing body meetings, show a very keen eye for detail and strong challenge when things do not look good enough. Governors have a similarly detailed understanding of the impact of the use of the sports funding and the extent to which pupil premium funding is being used to narrow the gap between pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and other pupils. They know that the previous gap in achievement between Year 6 pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and other pupils has been eliminated and progress across the year has been broadly similar for both groups in other year groups. Governors and the Academy Trust ensure all statutory requirements are met, including all those related to safeguarding, that all policies are up to date, complaints procedures are followed thoroughly and financial management arrangements secure. They have recently implemented improved performance management arrangements for staff that

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The leadership and management requires improvement

are linked to improvements in pupils’ achievements and the quality of teaching. Work to measure the impact of these arrangements is recent.

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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 138975 Local authority North East Lincolnshire Inspection number 440036

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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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 370 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Margaret Peacock Headteacher Carol Walker Date of previous school inspection 9 May 2013 Telephone number 01472 235331 Email address info@wyberswood.org.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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