Clarendon Road Community Primary School

Clarendon Road Community Primary School Clarendon Road, Eccles, Manchester, M30 9BJ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Inadequate 4 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’ attainment in Key Stage 1, and in writing across the school, is below expected levels.  While most pupils make expected progress and some now make good progress, some less-able pupils are still falling behind.  Too often, pupils’ achievement is limited by activities in lessons and support from adults that limit opportunities for pupils to think for themselves and deepen their understanding.  Lessons in different subjects do not build pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding in carefully planned sequences.  Leadership, management and governance require improvement because the teaching and pupils’ achievement are not yet good.  The quality of teaching requires improvement. Teaching is not consistently good and too often focuses on what pupils are doing rather than what they need to learn.  Not all work given to pupils is set at the right level and does not enable them to make good progress.  There is inconsistency in curriculum subjects

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

and lessons do not build pupils’ skills, knowledge and understanding in carefully planned sequences.  When checking the quality of teaching and learning, leaders including governors do not focus enough on what positive difference their actions are having.

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The school has the following strengths

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils show respect to one another and to adults. They cooperate well and are kept safe.  Use of sports funding has led to improvements in physical education and pupils’ behaviour, and enjoyment of, sporting activities.  The drive and determination of the headteacher have brought about improvements in teaching and pupils’ progress is beginning to accelerate.  Pupils’ attendance has improved and is now in line with the national average.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed parts of 21 lessons across all 13 classes in the school. They also observed an assembly and the school’s work with small groups of pupils. Inspectors also conducted joint observations of lessons with the headteacher. They also looked at work in pupils’ books.  In addition to a telephone conversation with the Chair of the Interim Executive Board (IEB), inspectors held a meeting with a member of the IEB and with a representative from the local authority. They also held meetings with groups of pupils, with senior teachers who lead subjects, the leader of the Early Years Foundation Stage and with the headteacher.  Inspectors listened to some pupils from Years 1 and 2 read. As well as meeting groups of pupils, inspectors also spoke with pupils informally around the school.  At the time of the inspection, there were insufficient responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire (Parent View) for inspectors to analyse. However, inspectors took into account the views

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Information about this inspection

expressed through the school’s parents’ forum, parent surveys and the views of a small number of parents who spoke to inspectors during the inspection.  Inspectors took into account evidence from the school’s behaviour logs. They scrutinised documents relating to the welfare, safety and safeguarding of pupils. They viewed information about pupils’ attendance, the school’s self-evaluation documents and development plans. Inspectors also considered other school documents and policies, some of which are available on the school’s website.

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Inspection team

Adrian Guy, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Mujahid Ali Additional Inspector

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Full report

In accordance with section 13 (4) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires special measures.

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Information about this school

 Clarendon Road Primary School is larger in size when compared with primary schools nationally.  The proportion of pupils for whom the school receives extra funding from the government through the pupil premium is larger than the national 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 proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational needs, or who have extra staff support because they are at ‘school action plus’, is slightly higher than the national average. There are a very small number of pupils who have a declared disability.  The proportion of pupils with special educational needs, who have support with their work because they have been identified by staff as needing ‘school action’, is slightly below the national average.  Approximately one-third of pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds. The proportion who

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Information about this school

speak English as an additional language is larger than the national average.  The number of pupils joining and leaving the school partway through their education is slightly higher than the national average.  No pupils from the school attend alternative provision.  There is a breakfast club which is run by the school.  Oversight of the school is provided by an Interim Executive Board (IEB). A ‘shadow governing body’, supported by a National Leader of Governance, is due to be in place from September 2014. The school also receives support and oversight from a school improvement officer from the local authority.  The school was placed in special measures following the section 5 inspection in September 2012.  In 2013, the school met the government’s floor standards (the minimum measure of attainment and rates of progress 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 so that it is consistently good across the school by:  ensuring teachers use assessments of pupils’ learning to make sure the work pupils are set is at the right level and provides enough challenge  ensuring that teachers focus their lessons and teaching on what pupils need to learn to make better progress  ensure that support provided for pupils challenges them and enables them to think for themselves and deepens their understanding  ensuring teachers’ marking and feedback identify gaps in pupils’ understanding and that these are addressed promptly to enable pupils to catch up quickly.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise pupils’ attainment particularly in Key Stage 1 and across the school in pupils’ writing and ensure that all pupils make at least good progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management, including governance, in the school by:  ensuring leaders check on the impact actions are having and follow up robustly where issues are identified  ensuring subject leaders provide clear guidance to teachers about how pupils’ skills, knowledge and understanding are built sequentially across the curriculum  develop governance in the school by ensuring a sharper focus on the impact leaders are having and the scrutiny of school procedures.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 From typical starting points in the Early Years Foundation Stage, most children make expected progress and some make good progress. However, inconsistencies in the quality of teaching and provision in the Early Year Foundation Stage have meant that some less-able children have not made enough progress. Nevertheless, improvements are evident and rates of progress are beginning to accelerate.  In Key Stage 1, although the proportion of pupils achieving higher levels in reading and mathematics has improved, the proportions achieving the minimum expected standard in these subjects has declined. This is because the work and teaching that less-able pupils receive do not help them to make enough progress.  Pupils’ attainment at the end of Year 6 has improved. However, pupils’ achievement in writing still lags behind their achievement in reading and mathematics. This is particularly true of girls in the current Year 6 class but is also reflected in the achievement of boys in other year groups, for

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

example, in the Reception Year and in Key Stage 1.  The progress of pupils with special educational needs, pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds, those who speak English as an additional language and those who are supported by the pupil premium varies across the school. While the progress of some of these pupils is accelerating and more pupils are making good rates of progress, there are still some pupils who are not making enough progress. Taken overall, rates of progress for these groups are similar to their peers. However, as with pupils who are less able, the rates of progress they are making require improvement to enable them to close gaps in their learning and ensure they catch up. In 2013, the attainment of pupils in Year 6 supported by the pupil premium was, on average, over two terms behind their peers. Current assessment information suggests that, although there has been improvement in outcomes overall, this gap has not closed.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 For the most able pupils, their rates of progress are similar to others and, although the proportion achieving higher standards in mathematics is improving, the standards for the most able in English are below expected levels.  For most pupils, their reading is developing well. They use their knowledge of phonics (letters and the sounds they represent) to decode unfamiliar words. However, for some less-able pupils, their comprehension of what they are reading and the meaning behind the words is not well developed.  While pupils’ writing is improving, it still lags behind their achievements in reading and mathematics. One reason for this is that the feedback they receive does not always help them to make better progress. Too often, errors in the correct use of English are not picked up and, as a result, these errors continue to hamper their writing. Similarly, in mathematics, misconceptions are not addressed securely and gaps in pupils’ knowledge hamper their understanding of new

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

concepts.  In other curriculum subjects, pupils’ achievement requires improvement. This is because curriculum guidance for teachers does not clearly indicate the expectations of pupils’ progress. Consequently, lessons do not challenge them sufficiently and build on what pupils know, understand and can do. For example, in a history lesson, pupils’ understanding of what was different or the same about a range of toys from the past and the present was not developed well enough. This was because pupils’ skills for discussing and understanding these concepts had not been carefully developed in previous lessons. Similarly, in a music session, expectations of older pupils were not challenging enough. They were asked to clap along and join in songs at a simple level and were not challenged about the quality or accuracy of their singing.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 One of the main reasons why teaching requires improvement is that it does not consistently focus on pupils’ learning and progress in lessons. Inspectors found examples, both in lessons and in pupils’ books, where the work that pupils are given to do did not help them make good progress and did not build on, and make links with, their previous learning.  However, the quality of teaching has improved across the school and there is some good teaching which is being built on. For example, in a drama lesson for older pupils, teachers used carefully planned questions to engage pupils in thinking deeply about the emotions conveyed by characters in pictures.  Relationships between teaching assistants and pupils are positive and respectful and pupils appreciate the help they receive. However, too often the support provided for pupils limits opportunities for them to think for themselves and make better progress. For example, in one

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

lesson, a group of pupils had to find how they could divide a lump of play dough in half. The adult supporting the group took the dough and the scales and began to explain what pupils should do. However in a parallel lesson, pupils took the dough and found out for themselves how to divide the dough equally using weighing scales. As a result, there were greater levels of challenge, engagement and deeper understanding for the pupils who reasoned this out successfully.  Pupils’ work is marked regularly and there are some positive examples of pupils responding to teachers’ comments in their books. In scrutinising pupils’ work, inspectors found marking and feedback that did not identify and address gaps in pupils’ understanding before moving on to harder work.  In the Early Years Foundation Stage, in response to weaknesses in children’s writing abilities, there has been a concerted effort to promote writing through all aspects of learning and play. As

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

a result, opportunities to write are woven through a variety of activities and opportunities for learning. Children include writing as part of their play activities and are developing more positive attitudes to writing.  Pupils’ presentation of their work has improved and they are showing a greater sense of pride in their work. However, there are still a few pupils whose presentation is hampering their learning and teachers have not challenged this or insisted that this is addressed.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. They show respect to adults and are sensible in lessons, even when the teaching is not good and their work is not as challenging as it should be. Disruptive behaviour and exclusions are uncommon and the school has introduced ‘Golden Rules’ and rewards’ cards which have resulted in improved behaviour in the classroom.  Incidents of bullying are rare and pupils are clear that Clarendon Road is ‘a telling school’ and they are confident that issues will be dealt with effectively by adults. Pupils understand how language can be used to offend people and are clear that this has improved in school. School logs confirm that the number of incidents of racist and homophobic language have declined this year. The school has introduced a ‘worry bin’ where pupils can send messages to staff about any concerns they have. These are carefully logged and followed up by staff and pupils say that this

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

has helped behaviour in school to improve.  Parents who spoke to inspectors, together with the views expressed to the school through their parents’ forum, are positive about the school. The school website contains information about the views parents have expressed and the responses the school has made to issues parents have raised. These include adding non-slip coating to the new decking outside the school and improving playground games.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils know about the dangers of using the internet inappropriately and are aware of the things they should do to be safe. The school has reviewed its child protection policies and the learning mentor and the inclusion leader carefully check the well-being and progress of vulnerable pupils.  Pupils show they can act with respect and consider others’ viewpoints. For example, in a session where pupils were asked to consider whether it was always wrong to tell lies, pupils thought

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

carefully and respected each other’s contributions to the discussion with great sensitivity. They used the prompts given by the teacher to ensure their responses were measured and considered.  Pupils treat their environment with care. They are positive about the improvements to their playground and the games and equipment they have to play with at break times which they use to play a variety of cooperative and competitive games.  Pupils report that they feel safe and enjoy coming to school. This is reflected in the strong attendance of pupils, which has improved greatly in the past 12 months and is now in line with the national average. The school is aware of individual pupils’ attendance and works with parents and the local authority to improve this.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The determination and drive of the headteacher have been effective in moving the school forwards and removing the school from special measures. She has been clear in her expectations of learning and teaching and her ambition and vision are shared by senior leaders.  Leaders have undertaken checks on the quality of teaching and the work in pupils’ books. They have identified improvements and know what needs to improve further. However, the extent to which they focus on the impact that their actions are having and the difference this is making to pupils’ learning requires improvement.  The headteacher ensures that performance targets set for staff link directly to pupils’ achievement and to targets in the school’s development plan. Checks on the performance of staff are undertaken and the information gathered is used by the headteacher to make decisions on teachers’ pay.  Middle leaders and teachers are working to ensure the curriculum engages pupils and provides

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The leadership and management requires improvement

interesting and memorable learning experiences. These include trips to places of interest and visitors and groups to expand pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding. However, the overall leadership and management of the curriculum provision requires improvement because there is not enough structure in the curriculum to guide teachers in ensuring that pupils’ skills, knowledge and understanding in all subjects are built upon progressively as they move through the school.  The school has used the primary school sport funding well to engage the services of a sports coach. This has widened the range of sporting opportunities for pupils, increased the amount of time given to physical education in the curriculum and provided extracurricular clubs. Work to promote better sporting activities during breaks and lunchtimes have also contributed to the improved behaviour of pupils and also to their improved health and well-being.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The local authority has provided a range of useful support and challenge to the school. Most recently, it has brokered new members of the Interim Executive Board and supported the school in appointing a new inclusion leader. The school improvement officer has visited the school regularly and observed the quality of teaching and provided helpful reports to leaders and members of the Interim Executive Board about the progress the school has made.  Leaders are clear about the need to include everyone, eliminate discrimination and ensure there is equality of opportunities. Through the curriculum for personal, social and health education, they have worked to develop pupils’ understanding of diversity through class-based lessons and visiting groups and musicians. There is still further work to be done to ensure all groups are included in the curriculum for personal, social and health education.  Arrangements for the safeguarding of pupils in the school meet requirements.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governance of the school:  Two new members have joined the Interim Executive Board in 2014. This has increased the levels of challenge they have brought to leaders. They have a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of teaching and the use of performance management to reward effective teachers. They have visited the school and checked on aspects of teaching and have met with leaders to gauge how the school is improving. While they have interrogated the school’s data closely and are fully aware of the issues in pupils’ attainment, the extent to which they have focused on the impact that leaders are having on the quality of teaching and learning requires improvement.  Members have a secure understanding of the use of primary school sport funding and the pupil premium and the impact these are having on pupils’ achievements. They acknowledge there is further to go to ensure that gaps are closing consistently across the school.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

Preparations have begun to establish a ‘shadow governing body’ which will eventually take on the full governance of the school.

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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 105902 Local authority Salford Inspection number 432633

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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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 340 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mel Hemmings Headteacher Emma Ford Date of previous school inspection 19 September 2012 Telephone number 0161 7894469 Fax number 0161 7071790 Email address clarendonroad.primaryschool@salford.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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