Cliffe Hill Community Primary School

Cliffe Hill Community Primary School Stoney Lane, Lightcliffe, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX3 8TW

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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

 Some of the pupils in mainstream classes who have special educational needs do not make enough progress because they are not consistently given the support or resources they need to help them learn.  The most able pupils do not make good progress in some classes because teaching does not challenge them effectively.  Not all teachers are following the school’s plans for the teaching of mathematics and writing. This limits the levels pupils are achieving in some classes.  Leaders and governors are not holding all teachers to account effectively, and subsequently they cannot be sure whether all staff follow agreed procedures and if staff training is having a good impact on pupils’ progress.  Not all middle leaders are held accountable for monitoring their areas of responsibility, and some do not have sufficient information on pupils’ progress to be effective in their roles.

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The school has the following strengths

 The school cares for all pupils’ well-being, and this inclusive approach ensures that all, regardless of their needs, are supported with good quality care and guidance.  The headteacher and governors are committed to improving the school and have ensured that improvements in pupils’ reading and mathematics’ levels have been secured.  Children get off to a good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage.  Pupils behave well, they are respectful and kind, say they enjoy school and have made good friends. They appreciate the particular needs of some of their classmates and are learning good social skills from sharing time and activities with a wide range of pupils.  Pupils with autistic spectrum disorders who attend the on-site unit are well cared for and make good progress.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors saw 13 parts of lessons, two of which were jointly observed with the senior leaders of the school. Inspectors also looked at a wide range of pupils’ books, from all year groups and all available subjects. Two of these analyses of pupils’ work were undertaken jointly with the senior leaders.  The school’s resourced provision for autistic spectrum disorders, known as the ‘ASD unit’, was also visited, and teaching and pupils’ work within the unit seen. A meeting was held with the teacher in charge of the unit and the school’s inclusion leader, and supporting documents were scrutinised.  Meetings were held with the senior leaders and leaders responsible for literacy, numeracy and the Early Years Foundation Stage, and documents relating to the school’s own tracking and monitoring were seen.  The 43 parent responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) were considered, alongside a number of letters from parents. Some parents came into school to speak with inspectors directly.

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Information about this inspection

 Staff responses to an internal questionnaire were also included.

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Inspection team

Rebecca Lawton, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Rosemary Batty Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is a smaller than average-sized primary school.  There is an on-site specially resourced provision for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs who have diagnoses of autistic spectrum disorders. This provision is known by staff, parents and pupils as the ‘ASD unit’. Currently, it caters for six pupils with diagnoses of autism spectrum disorders.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is slightly lower than the national average.  The proportion of pupils supported by school action plus and those with a statement of special educational needs is much higher than the national average.  The proportion of pupils who are supported by pupil premium funding is very high, more than half the school. The pupil premium is additional funding for pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and for children who are looked after by the local authority.

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Information about this school

 The school meets the government’s current floor standard, which is the minimum expectation for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and raise achievement, particularly for pupils who have special educational needs in mainstream classes, for the most able pupils and for all pupils in writing, by:  ensuring that pupils who struggle to learn in lessons and those with special educational needs receive the additional support that they need  increasing the challenge for the most able pupils by providing opportunities for them to actively apply their knowledge through solving mathematical problems and writing at length  reviewing and improving the monitoring and teaching of early reading and of spelling, grammar and punctuation in all key stages to ensure consistently effective teaching and feedback to pupils for these aspects.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by:  ensuring all staff, but particularly middle leaders, are fully held to account for their performance  ensuring middle leaders have the information they need on pupils’ progress to fulfil their responsibilities and identify whenever the progress of individual pupils slows or stalls  ensuring the school’s website complies fully with government requirements.

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The achievement of pupils Requires improvement

 Achievement requires improvement because, in some mainstream classes, those pupils who have special educational needs do not always receive enough support to enable them to make good progress. Not all teachers provide regular opportunities for the most able pupils to apply their mathematical skills, or write at length which means few pupils reaching the highest levels of which they are capable.  Children arrive in the Nursery class with skills and abilities below those typical for their age. They make good progress, particularly in gaining skills in their speech and language, due to well- targeted support and the use of a wide range of agencies to meet their needs.  This year, children coming to the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage have skills and abilities in line with those expected for their age, which indicates good progress. This is an improvement on previous years.  In Key Stage 1, pupils have gained scores in the national phonics screening check above the

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The achievement of pupils Requires improvement

national average for the past two years. However, this good start is not built on successfully because the reading skills of pupils in Key Stage 2, which the school has worked hard to improve, are below those expected for their age.  Pupils’ basic skills in writing in Key Stage 1 are not securely developed which is leading to pupils in Key Stage 2 having ongoing issues with basic presentation, capital letters and punctuation. The school is currently reviewing its procedures for teaching writing, but achievement is currently inconsistent and not improving quickly enough.  Throughout Key Stage 2 pupils make inconsistent rates of progress. This is not confined to a particular class or subject, and these inconsistencies for individual pupils often go unnoticed because the data collected on pupils’ progress is not shared effectively.  There is a large proportion of pupils in mainstream classes who have special educational needs

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The achievement of pupils Requires improvement

and who are supported at school action and school action plus. For these pupils, their progress is sometimes inconsistent, and there are times when some do not make good progress. In some cases, the needs of these pupils are not sufficiently well met well. For example, pupils writing out the title and date for each lesson when their writing is so slow this takes up all the time they have to learn.  Some of this group of pupils have support from teaching assistants who provide useful explanations and support. For those classes without the assistants’ support, pupils with special educational needs make slower progress than that of which they are capable.  Mathematics results in both Key Stages 1 and 2 have improved, and now reflect pupils’ ability in almost all year groups and with national expectations at the end of each key stage. However, the process put in place to meet the needs of the most able pupils, in which active application of

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The achievement of pupils Requires improvement

skills is a weekly feature, has not been put into action by all staff. Owing to this, the most able pupils make better progress in some classes than in others.  Pupils in the on-site ‘ASD unit’ make good progress in line with their abilities. Needs are identified early and support is of good quality. The presentation of work and development of writing are better in the unit than in the mainstream classes in some cases. Progress in all subjects and areas of the curriculum are equally well supported in the unit.  By the end of Year 6, pupils reach levels of attainment that are roughly in line with national expectations for reading and mathematics, although writing remains below that expectation. This represents good progress for some pupils, but not for others. This year shows an improvement on last year, but still reflects progress which is not good enough for some groups of pupils.  There are minimal gaps between the attainment in English and mathematics of those pupils

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The achievement of pupils Requires improvement

supported by the pupil premium and other pupils in the school. In some cases, the attainment and progress of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is better than those not supported by the pupil premium funding. The school works diligently to ensure equality of opportunity for these pupils.

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The quality of teaching Requires improvement

 Checks on the quality of teaching have failed to ensure that all teachers are consistently supporting those pupils in mainstream classes who have special educational needs nor that they are consistently challenging the most able.  In some lessons, teachers are not always supporting pupils by removing barriers to their learning. For example, when pupils struggle to draw grids or shapes, they do not have access to pre-drawn templates so that they can concentrate on the mathematics learning within the lesson.  For those pupils who are capable of faster progress and of achieving higher levels in their work, the opportunity to demonstrate these higher skills is not consistently offered in all classes. For example, not all teachers give regular opportunities for pupils to apply their mathematical knowledge.  In pupils’ books, a large variety of different marking styles are used. This means that pupils do

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The quality of teaching Requires improvement

not have a consistent message as to how to improve their work and, each year, pupils have to learn a new method of responding to feedback. Some teachers’ feedback is of good quality and helps pupils, but this is not found in all subjects and classes.  Not all teachers are teaching spelling, punctuation and grammar in the way that has been agreed in recent whole-school training. This means that, in a large number of books, spelling and punctuation are left uncorrected. Pupils in Key Stage 2 struggle to spell, for example, key terms, such as the names of numbers and shapes, or core learning words such as ‘fraction’ or ‘script’.  Although, in class, teachers question pupils well and one-to-one conversations show good relationships, often pupils misunderstand the task; not all teachers check understanding regularly enough to ensure pupils do not spend time on the wrong task. Some pupils, for instance, are unable to use the given ‘checklist’ grids in their books to help them, because they

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The quality of teaching Requires improvement

are completing a different task from the one which the teacher is expecting.  Pupils in the ‘ASD unit’ are taught well. Their particular needs are met and they have good quality resources that ensure they make progress in all areas of the curriculum. There is a good breadth of opportunities to interact and work with pupils outside the unit, which helps with their wider social and cultural development, as well as academic progress.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are well mannered and confident and say they enjoy school. They make friends easily and often play with those from other years and classes, including those pupils from the ‘ASD unit’.  At lunchtimes and around the school, pupils are considerate and responsible. They take good care of the school environment and enjoy the extended opportunities provided by after-school clubs and facilities.  There is an on-site school family link officer, who has worked successfully with families, and has helped to secure improvements in both attendance and punctuality in the last year.  Pupils say there are only a small number of incidents of poor behaviour, and the school’s records of behaviour confirm this. There are a number of pupils with particular behavioural needs within the school, and staff are well trained in dealing with these needs. Pupils say that others rarely

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

disrupt lessons, and are confident staff will quickly solve any issues.  Parents report being happy with the work the school does, and are pleased that their children are supported and cared for so well.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils are taught how to stay safe online and they understand risk and how to keep themselves safe in school and home. They report few incidents of bullying and are confident that staff would deal with any incidents that might occur.  Pupils with a statement of special educational needs are supported by teachers who are well trained to meet their particular needs. Some have additional specialist training to support pupils with statements of autistic spectrum disorders in the ‘ASD unit’. All pupils in the unit have individual plans and support to make sure they are safe and well cared for at all times.  There are appropriate policies and procedures in place to keep all pupils safe, and the governing

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

body are kept well informed of issues relating to behaviour and safety. Minor safety issues arising from the first use of the new facilities are dealt with quickly and effectively as they arise so that no pupils are at any risk.  The pastoral care for pupils is a strength of the school. An inclusive nature and welcoming atmosphere are evident throughout the school, and pupils particularly comment on how all staff care for and look after them.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Systems in place are not sufficient to ensure all staff are held to account for their performance and are following the school’s policy and procedures. Although good training and plans for improvement have been implemented, these are not leading to consistently good teaching and progress for all pupils.  The headteacher is not ensuring all middle leaders have sufficient information to be effective. For example, those who monitor literacy and numeracy do not have a thorough overview of pupils’ progress in these areas. This means they cannot identify trends in pupils’ progress nor monitor the impact of training and support on the achievement of individual pupils.  Good quality care and guidance for all pupils are evident in all aspects of the school’s work. The headteacher has ensured the support for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is of good quality and enriches their experiences well.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Communication and joint work with external agencies are coordinated well. Training and support are of good quality and the progress of pupils with a statement of special educational needs is tracked and monitored closely. The ‘ASD unit’ is led and managed well.  Currently, the methods of managing teachers’ day-to-day performance are not rigorous enough to ensure consistency. Some teachers have not implemented the good quality training and support for the teaching of early reading, spelling and problem solving that are having a positive impact in other classes.  There has been on-going support from the local authority, directed at correctly identified areas for improvement. However, this support has yet to impact on improving the areas of middle leadership that it has been supporting.  The school’s website does not currently meet government requirements and core documents and information are not available to those who may be researching the school for information.

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The governance of the school:

 The governing body is going through a period of change, and has recently completed an audit of skills, which is ensuring effective and comprehensive governance is in place.  The governing body is well informed about the quality of teaching and how performance is linked to pay. Governors have use of a wide body of data and are supporting the school’s performance management with their awareness of local and national information.  Under-performance has been tackled in the past, and governors are managing a period of staff change with the headteacher to minimise any disruption to pupils.  Governors are managing finances tightly. They monitor the spending of the pupil premium and check that the progress of these pupils has improved since the previous inspection. Governors also check the use of the primary school sports funding to ensure its use is effective and broadens staff and pupils’ experiences and understanding of healthy lifestyles.

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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 107525 Local authority Calderdale Inspection number 446063

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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 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 197 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Steve Scott Headteacher Lindsay Lomas Date of previous school inspection 28 February 2013 Telephone number 01422 202086 Fax number 01422 205286 Email address admin@cliffehill.calderdale.sch.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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