Barnburgh Primary School

Barnburgh Primary School Church Lane, Barnburgh, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN5 7EZ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Early years provision Requires improvement 3

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

 Not all pupils make consistently good progress and so do not achieve as well as they should.  Pupils are not always sufficiently challenged in the work they do to help them reach the higher levels of which they are capable particularly in their reading.  From starting points that are typical for their age, children in the early years do not all achieve well.  Teaching is not consistently good to ensure all groups of pupils make good progress because assessment is not used effectively to plan tasks that are at the right level of difficulty for all pupils.  Marking is not always effective in helping pupils improve their subsequent work and consequently, pupils do not always do their best work.  The high standards pupils attained at the time of the previous inspection have not been maintained because leaders, including subject leaders, are not sufficiently rigorous in checking that assessments of pupils’ achievements are accurate and that teaching

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

and learning are good for all pupils.  Governors are not challenging sufficiently the accuracy and reliability of the information they receive from senior leaders regarding the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievements.

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The school has the following strengths

 Standards in writing have improved since the previous inspection and more pupils are attaining the higher levels in this subject at the end of Year 2 and Year 6.  Pupils who have special educational needs or are disadvantaged receive good support and often achieve well.  The headteacher and governors have applied robust procedures to tackle any inadequate teaching.  Attendance has improved since the previous inspection and is currently above average.  Pupils behave well and say they feel safe in school.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 14 lessons, four of which were observed jointly with the headteacher. In addition, inspectors made other visits to classes, scrutinised pupils’ work in their books and listened to them read.  Meetings were held with pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body and one other governor, the headteacher, senior leaders and subject leaders. Inspectors also had a conversation with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s evaluation of its own performance, the school’s own data on pupils’ progress, planning and monitoring documentation, and the records of how the school uses its funding, especially the funding for disadvantaged pupils and primary school sports funding. Records relating to behaviour and attendance, as well as documents relating to safeguarding were also taken into consideration.

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Information about this inspection

 There were only seven responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View). Inspectors took account of the views of parents who spoke with inspectors during the inspection and the school’s own survey of parents.  The eight responses from staff who completed Ofsted’s staff inspection questionnaires were also considered.

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Inspection team

Rajinder Harrison, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Gill Curtis Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an average-sized primary school, which serves Barnburgh and the wider local area.  Almost all pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is well below the average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also well below the average.  The proportion of pupils deemed disadvantaged and supported through the pupil premium is well below the average. These pupils include those who are known to be eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after by the local authority.  The school has had a very high number of staff changes since its previous inspection, including some temporary appointments to cover maternity leaves.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for

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Information about this school

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 so that it is consistently good or better for all pupils by ensuring that:  pupils have work that is challenging and suitably matched to their ability levels, particularly for those who work at average levels but are capable of more  pupils build on what they already know and can do effectively and contribute fully in every lesson  questions that pupils are asked deepen their knowledge and understanding  expectations are always high for pupils to complete their work to the highest standard  pupils respond to marking and that subsequent work improves as a result.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve achievement in reading by ensuring that:  pupils read for pleasure regularly at school and at home  pupils read to staff in order to receive the help they need to improve their skills  pupils apply their knowledge of phonics to spell more accurately in their written work  pupils learn from their reading what they might do to make their writing of even higher quality.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen leadership and management by:  checking that assessments, to inform planning of the work pupils do, are wholly accurate and reliable  checking more rigorously that all teaching is of high quality and that all pupils make good progress in every class and every subject  holding leaders, including subject leaders, to account for raising standards in their areas of responsibility  making sure that governors have accurate information about the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress so that they can hold senior leaders to account if improvements are not effective.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school rightly acknowledges that achievement is not as high as at the time of the previous inspection. Much of this has been due to the many staffing changes in the last few years, which have caused actions implemented by leaders to improve the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement to be slow in taking effect. More recently, there has been noticeable improvement in these areas.  A number of subject leaders are relatively new to their posts so have not had sufficient opportunity to ensure that pupils consistently make good progress in their areas of responsibility. Plans are in place to address the decline in standards in reading, for example, but the impact is not yet fully evident.  The monitoring of learning lacks some rigour in that teacher assessments are not always accurate or in line with the national test results. So while the pupils who receive additional support often achieve well,

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The leadership and management requires improvement

those who do not benefit in this way, do not always achieve as well as they could.  The work in pupils’ books shows that pupils are sometimes working at levels lower than the assessments would suggest. Consequently, as this information is not always reliable, pupils are set tasks that are not always matched accurately to their ability or effectively building on what they can already do. As a result, not all pupils achieve as well as they should.  Although the school has arrangements for marking and providing feedback to pupils so that pupils have the help they need to improve their work, not all leaders are checking that this guidance is followed consistently.  The school’s procedures for managing the performance of teachers are thorough. Teachers have individual targets linked to the national Teachers’ Standards and to expectations for pupils’ progress. Senior leaders and subject leaders make regular checks on the quality of teaching. This has been effective in eradicating

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The leadership and management requires improvement

any inadequate teaching. Staff who need support to improve their skills have good opportunities to attend training. However, the impact of this training and support has not been as effective as it needs to be to ensure all teaching is good and that all pupils achieve well.  Since the previous inspection, school improvement has focused strongly on raising standards in writing and as a result, writing has improved. School leaders are a little optimistic in their view that the school is good but recognise what needs to be done urgently to make improvements. School leaders are passionate in their commitment to the pupils and make effective use of the advice from the local authority and others to support school improvement. Standards in writing and attendance have improved this year and these reflect the school’s capacity to improve further.  The curriculum has a good emphasis on promoting the key skills pupils need to prepare them for

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The leadership and management requires improvement

secondary school. Leaders are purchasing laptops and tablet devices to increase opportunities for pupils to use information and communication technology more readily in their day to learning. However, because pupils do not always build successfully on what they have learnt previously or read sufficiently, they do not always achieve well. Sporting and other activities, such as learning to play the violin or other instruments and to learn about life in other countries through partner schools and to learn Mandarin, promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. Pupils explore other faiths and cultures through assemblies and subjects, including philosophy, but their understanding of British values in modern Britain is limited.  The primary sports funding is motivating pupils to take part in different sporting activities and events; increased levels of participation are having a positive impact on pupils’ health and well-being. In addition,

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The leadership and management requires improvement

staff receive effective training to extend their skills and so benefit pupils’ health and wellbeing further.  The governance of the school:  Governors are diligent in their challenge to senior leaders to secure effective school improvement. They have worked with leaders to successfully eradicate any inadequate teaching. Governors also know that standards have declined since the previous inspection and that they need to hold school leaders to account more emphatically if pupils of all abilities are to make consistently good progress. They are reasonably well informed about pupils’ achievement but do not question rigorously enough the accuracy of the information they receive, especially on the quality of teaching and the impact this has on achievement in different classes and subjects. Governors make sure safeguarding procedures meet requirements. They oversee the funding for disadvantaged pupils and primary sports effectively and

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The leadership and management requires improvement

know the impact this funding had had on pupils’ achievement and their health and well-being. Governors are involved in decisions regarding teachers’ pay and make sure that any action the school takes to make improvements leads to pupils’ making better progress.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. While most pupils behave well, a few occasionally lose interest in their learning because the work fails to challenge them sufficiently or is too difficult for them to understand. On these occasions, they chat about things unrelated to their work, become noisy and stop trying. The work these pupils produce, as a result, is often poorly presented, inaccurate, incomplete and far from their best.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils say they are safe and well looked after at school. They have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe from potential dangers, for example, when using social media sites. Regular visits from the local police remind them of the dangers outside school and how to keep safe. Nursery children, barely a few weeks in school, took it in their stride when the fire alarm went, saying that, ‘you must do what the teachers tell you so you don’t get burnt’.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils enjoy school and know that if they are upset, staff will help them. They know that bullying can take many forms and say that it is rare in school because staff sort it quickly. They know that it is wrong to call people names, like ‘gay’ for example, because, ’it is unkind and if you do there are consequences’.  Pupils enjoy helping around the school, looking after younger ones at lunchtimes and playtimes and sharing play equipment, for example in the early years, because ‘you have to share nicely to make it fair’.  Pupils form good relationships with others and are mostly very polite, friendly and courteous. Any lapses are managed effectively. Children new to school quickly follow the good example of others, for example, at lunchtimes. The dining hall, while a little noisy, is orderly; pupils serve their meals sensibly and show due respect to lunch time staff.  The school has worked hard to remind parents that good attendance is important. Attendance is now

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

good, as is punctuality. Pupils are keen to attend every day so they do not let their class down.  Parents who spoke with inspectors during the inspection or who have previously completed the school’s survey are generally positive about pupils’ behaviour and how well their children settle in the nursery.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching is not consistently good. Pupils, particularly those in Key Stage 2 who have experienced poor teaching in the past, are not always confident in their previous learning and so do not make good progress.  The work pupils are set is not always accurately matched to their ability. For some it is too easy and for others too hard. While in many instances, the lower attaining and the most able pupils receive additional help to support and challenge them, those who are of average ability are not always secure with work they have done in the past, and so sometimes struggle with new learning.  Pupils’ progress slows further when they have insufficient time to think about their work or engage fully during question and answer sessions to clarify their understanding. Expectations for pupils to always do their best and carefully check their work before handing it in are not sufficiently high.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 While the school has extensive assessment procedures, assessments are not always accurate or reliable to help pupils build successfully on what they have achieved previously. As a result, pupils struggle at times to apply themselves confidently when facing new work and so make no better than expected progress.  School policies on marking and feedback are thorough, but not applied consistently to enable pupils to improve their subsequent work. Pupils are not always reminded that they should respond to this feedback or seek further help if they are not sure what they need to do to improve. Some pupils continue to make the same errors, for example, with handwriting, grammar and spelling and their work does not improve.  Pupils apply basic literacy and numeracy skills regularly, particularly writing skills, effectively in other subjects. However, not all pupils read sufficiently, at home or school, to extend their reading skills further.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

Pupils in Key Stage 2, particularly those who are not confident readers, do not have enough opportunities to read to adults so that they have the help they need to improve their skills and so achieve well.  The progress pupils make is heightened when they respond to probing questions and have time to discuss their ideas with others. In these instances, pupils complete the tasks they are set. However, this high- quality questioning is not routine. From discussions with pupils and from the work seen in pupils’ books, it is evident that not all pupils have understood their learning well enough to move on successfully.  Learning is effective and often fun when pupils undertake activities that encourage them to think. For example, pupils in Year 4 delighted in exploring how to build an environmentally friendly wormery at home. They became so engrossed in the idea that a number forget the key task which was to write a

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

plausible introduction to explain their mission. However, learning was effective in that it made pupils think about why they should consider the needs of the worms or any other life forms when discussing environmental issues. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development was enhanced as a result.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Progress is uneven between classes and for groups of pupils and this inconsistency results in too few pupils making good progress. Overall, not enough pupils reach the higher levels of attainment at the end of Year 2 and Year 6, particularly in reading.  Pupils’ progress in both Key Stages 1 and 2 has not been consistently good since the previous inspection and standards have declined as a result. They recovered slightly in 2014, and continue to do so overall. Standards overall are broadly in line with those found nationally. Standards in writing and mathematics are slightly higher than those in reading. Too few pupils make better than expected progress from their starting points because the activities they undertake lack appropriate challenge.  Improvements in the teaching of writing since the previous inspection, particularly with greater emphasis in writing in other subjects, has resulted in a significant number of pupils now making good progress.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

However, pupils did not achieve well in relation to pupils nationally, in the accuracy of their spelling, punctuation and grammar and, therefore, overall literacy skills are no better than expected.  Standards in reading are not as high as those in writing and mathematics. There is a good focus on teaching letters and the sounds they make (phonics) in the early years and Key Stage 1, and a higher than average number of pupils attained above the expected standard in their Year 1 phonics screening check this year. However, pupils, particularly those in Key Stage 2, do not have enough opportunities to read at school, or read regularly at home. As a result, those who are less confident in their reading in Key Stage 2 do not progress as well as they should in extending their skills and applying what they learn confidently in their work in other subjects.  The most able pupils sometimes make good progress when they receive additional support and extra

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

challenge in their activities. However, overall they make expected progress from their starting points. For example, in mathematics, while the most able pupils in Year 3 were reasonably confident in their multiplication tables, they failed to recognise short cuts or patterns to speed up their calculations and thus achieve more.  Pupils of average ability do not always receive the help they need to consolidate their learning before they move on to new work and so consequently some do not achieve as well as they could if they were supported effectively. A high turnover of teachers in the time these pupils have been at the school has not helped some of them be more secure in their learning.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are supported well and so often achieve well from their starting points.  Disadvantaged pupils also often make good progress because they receive the help they need to keep up

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

with their classmates. The school is using its funding effectively to narrow the gap between these pupils’ attainment and their peers as they move up through the school. By the end of Year 6, the attainment of disadvantaged pupils in English and in mathematics is no more than a term or so behind other pupils in the school. Disadvantaged pupils’ attainment in comparison to other pupils nationally in both English and in mathematics is also approximately one term behind by the end of Year 6.  Pupils make at least expected progress, but some pupils, notably those of average ability, could achieve more if supported effectively. Provision is therefore not equally effective in helping all pupils to make good progress and so the school’s effectiveness in promoting equality of opportunity requires improvement.

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The early years provision requires improvement

 While a significant number of children in the last school year exceeded the levels expected for their age at the end of the Reception Year, this has not always been the case over time. However, with a greater stability in staffing, improvements in the curriculum, and more robust assessment procedures, provision is well placed to help all children achieve well.  The early years leader and staff have good relationships with parents. Home visits prior to children starting in the nursery and regular workshops for parents, encourage parents to support their children’s learning at home. Assessments of children’s ability and achievement are generally accurate. Occasionally, children are further on than the assessments would suggest. Assessments are used to plan the activities that individual children need to work at to extend their skills further. A number of children are already working at levels above those expected of them by the end of the Reception Year.

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The early years provision requires improvement

 Children’s knowledge and skills on entry to the nursery are at least in line with than those typical for their age and, from these starting points, all children make at least expected progress. Children with special educational needs are identified early and receive the extra help they need to settle quickly, gain in confidence, feel safe and secure, and participate in everything their friends enjoy.  Children learn new routines quickly because they want to explore everything that is planned for them. They show high levels of independence when they choose what they are going to do and explain what they are going to learn. Their communication and literacy skills are often very good. Even at this early stage, only a couple of weeks into the school year, the cooperation between children, for example, when sharing toys, is excellent. While expectations for children to participate and learn are generally high, some

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The early years provision requires improvement

of the most able children in both the Nursery and the Reception classes could be further challenged.  Children engage effectively in activities that are well organised but with enough scope for children to discover for themselves. For example, children enjoyed watching the dry sand sift through their hands and puzzled as to why the wet sand was not as ‘slidey’, deciding that it was because it was ‘soggy and sticky’. Similarly, children delighted in writing their names without using any prompts, ‘because I know all my letters and sounds already’.

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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 106694 Local authority Doncaster Inspection number 448321

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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 228 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Janine Reid Headteacher Rosie Baldock Date of previous school inspection 23 March 2010 Telephone number 01709 893125 Fax number 01709 881647 Email address admin@barnburgh.doncaster.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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