Lacewood Primary School

Lacewood Primary School Carr Head Lane, Bolton Upon Dearne, South Yorkshire, S63 8DA

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher and other senior leaders are relentless in their drive to continually improve Lacewood. They, along with middle leaders and the governing body, have been pivotal in ensuring that the quality of teaching and achievement for all pupils continues to improve.  From usually below and sometimes significantly below typical starting points, children’s learning in the early years gets off to a good start. They are taught well and make good progress.  Between Years 1 and 6, pupils make good progress. By the end of Year 6, standards are above and sometimes significantly above average. Pupils are well prepared for secondary school.  Achievement in reading is outstanding. Pupils demonstrate a love of books and read widely and often. Progress in writing and mathematics is good.  Teaching is good. Staff work very well as a team. Expectations of what pupils can achieve are usually high. Provision to support disabled pupils and those

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

with special educational needs is excellent.  Pupils’ good behaviour and positive attitudes contribute effectively to their good progress. Pupils who find it difficult to control their actions are managed extremely well by staff.  Pupils are extremely well cared for and say they feel safe in school. They have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe.  Parents are fulsome in their praise for the school. Strong and effective links ensure that relationships between home and school are extremely positive.  The curriculum is extremely well planned and provides pupils with a range of exciting and stimulating experiences. Pupils have many opportunities to develop good social, moral, cultural and spiritual understanding.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 In some year groups, pupils, especially the most able, are not always given hard enough work or moved on to harder work quickly enough.  Pupils are not always given enough guidance on how to improve their work or given time to respond to teachers’ comments in marking.  Achievement in mathematics, although good, lags behind that of reading and writing. Pupils’ progress is sometimes held back because misconceptions are not always identified as early as they could be.  There are not always enough opportunities for pupils to use and apply their mathematical skills in practical problem-solving activities.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed teaching in 17 lessons, including two observations carried out jointly with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. The inspectors also observed assembly and listened to pupils reading. They looked at examples of pupils’ work and observed pupils at lunchtime and break times.  The inspectors held meetings with pupils, staff, members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority. They spoke to parents as they brought their children to school.  The inspectors took account of 23 questionnaires returned by staff and the 17 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View)  The inspectors looked at a range of documents, including data on pupils’ current progress across the school, the school’s view of its own effectiveness, and how the school checks on the quality of teaching and learning.  The inspectors checked the arrangements for safeguarding pupils and looked at records relating to

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Inspection team

Emma Jackson, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Lacewood is a slightly larger than average-sized primary school.  The very large majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is above average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium funding is above average. The pupil premium is additional funding for pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and children that are looked after by the local authority.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  Since the last inspection, there have been considerable changes to the teaching staff. There has also been a slight increase in pupil numbers.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching even further so that it is outstanding by: - ensuring that pupils in all year groups are given work which is always hard enough to allow them to progress at a faster rate, especially the most able - making sure that pupils are always given enough guidance on how to improve their work, and allowing them time to respond to comments in teachers’ marking and correct any mistakes.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Accelerate pupils’ achievement in mathematics so that standards across the school match those of reading and writing, by: - ensuring that misconceptions are identified swiftly by all teachers so that pupils can move on more quickly - giving pupils more opportunities to use and apply their mathematical skills in problem-solving situations.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher and other senior leaders are relentless in their pursuit of excellence at Lacewood. The staff team has changed considerably since the previous inspection and leaders have worked tirelessly to ensure that all staff develop their teaching skills to ensure that pupils’ good progress is maintained and built upon. Staff morale is high and there is a tangible sense of teamwork.  Leaders and managers at all levels have created a culture in which effective teaching and learning and good behaviour allow pupils to flourish and to ensure that by the end of Year 6, pupils are very well prepared for the next stage of their education.  Leaders and managers at all levels have a precise understanding of what the school needs to do to improve even further. Clear plans for improvement ensure that actions are taken very swiftly to successfully raise standards.  Middle leaders, including those responsible for leading subjects and groups of pupils, such as those with

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The leadership and management are outstanding

special educational needs and disabilities, are particularly effective in their work. They have a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses in their areas of responsibility and regularly monitor the quality of teaching so that pupils make at least good, and sometimes outstanding progress.  The leadership of teaching is highly effective. Robust systems for managing the performance of teachers are closely linked to teachers’ pay progression. Both teachers and teaching assistants access high quality training and this contributes to the good progress pupils make.  Senior leaders have a vast range of information on how well individual pupils and groups of pupils are doing. They use this information extremely well to pinpoint precisely where any pupils may be falling behind and need extra support and they ensure that they swiftly receive it. Leaders know that their next steps are to ensure that the most-able pupils are always moved on more quickly in all year groups.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The curriculum is very lively and exciting and strongly supports pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural development. Art features heavily in the curriculum. Artwork displayed around school is of a very high quality. Additional funding to develop sporting opportunities is being used well to promote develop pupils’ skills, both in lessons and before and after school. Pupils say they enjoy the wider range of sports clubs that are now on offer and there has been an increase in the number of pupils taking up these activities.  Senior and middle leaders have developed a new curriculum for 2014, which includes a wide range of activities and prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain. Pupils enjoy the many visits and trips built into the curriculum. For example, Year 4 pupils visited a mining museum. A governor, who is an ex-miner, brought artefacts and talked to the pupils about life as a miner. This brings the curriculum to life. Leaders

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The leadership and management are outstanding

are aware of the need to include more opportunities for mathematical problem-solving in the curriculum.  The pupil premium funding is used extremely well to support the achievement of disadvantaged pupils, not only to improve their academic achievement, but also to support pupils’ emotional well-being. Disadvantaged pupils make good progress in school and some make outstanding progress. In Year 6 in 2014, there was no gap in overall attainment between disadvantaged pupils in the school compared to non-disadvantaged pupils nationally. This shows the school’s commitment to promoting equality of opportunity and tackling discrimination.  Partnerships with parents are excellent. The school works particularly hard in the early years to establish good relationships with parents and these are maintained throughout school. These good relationships have been instrumental in the outstanding progress pupils make in reading.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The local authority provides an appropriate level of support for the school and encourages other schools to visit and share good practice. The school has good links with other schools through local clusters and a teaching school alliance.  The governance of the school: - The governing body has recently changed the way in which it is organised. This change has proved extremely effective. Governors now have a wide range of skills and expertise, which allows them to hold the headteacher to account very effectively. They are fully committed to raising achievement still further and they ask probing questions to ensure that they have an accurate understanding of all aspects of the school’s work. - Governors have a very good awareness of the quality of teaching and learning. They know that the performance of teachers is linked to pay progression and ensure that any underperformance is challenged. - Governors undertake regular training. They are aware of their duties with regard to safeguarding and

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The leadership and management are outstanding

ensure that these are met. They are fully involved in agreeing how funding, including the pupil premium funding, is to be spent and they are fully aware of how effective it has been. - Governors are highly committed to the school and to the wider community. They have an excellent understanding of the needs of their community and work closely with parents and the school to ensure that the school continues to improve quickly and is the best it can be.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils display good manners around school. They are polite and courteous to adults and each other. Pupils held doors open for inspectors during the inspection, for example. Pupils are given a range of responsibilities in school, including eco-council and the school council. They are proud of their school and in particular take great pride in looking after their school environment.  Behaviour is well managed. Pupils who find some aspects of school life challenging are supported well by a behaviour support leader and other staff. However, occasionally when work in lessons is less interesting or lacks challenge, a few pupils can lose interest and concentration.  The school’s behaviour policy sets out clear expectations and processes, which are shared with staff, parents and pupils. As a result, most pupils demonstrate good attitudes to learning.  Visitors to the school are often highly complementary about the behaviour of the pupils. Responses from

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Behaviour

parents and staff questionnaires also support the view that behaviour is good.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe. They are knowledgeable about fire safety, pedestrian safety and the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. Their knowledge about how to keep themselves safe on the Internet is less well developed, but the school is working hard with parents to improve this.  Pupils have a good understanding of the different forms of bullying. They say bullying is very rare in school and all pupils feel that staff intervene swiftly to ensure that any incidents are dealt with.  Attendance has improved since the last inspection. It is now similar to the national average. The school has successfully implemented a number of strategies to promote the importance of attendance. These include a notification system for parents and rewards for good attendance. There have been no exclusions and the number of pupils who do not attend school regularly has declined.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is good and, as a result, pupils make good progress in writing and mathematics and outstanding progress in reading. Some teaching results in pupils making outstanding progress across a year; this is particularly evident in Year 6, but is not the case in all year groups.  All staff work very well as a team. Pupils who need extra help with their work, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, are particularly well supported and, as a result, make outstanding progress.  Teachers usually have high expectations of what pupils can achieve. Teachers skilfully question pupils in order to develop their understanding and then swiftly move them on in their learning. For example, in a Year 1 class, a special letter arrived which captivated pupils, who were then able to describe their feelings using descriptive words and adjectives. However, in some year groups, pupils are not always given hard

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The quality of teaching is good

enough work or moved on to harder work quickly enough and so they do not make as much progress as they could, especially the most able.  Teachers mark pupils’ work regularly. Recently introduced ‘marking breaks’ allow pupils to assess their own work. Pupils are given good opportunities to correct and edit their work. However, they are not always given enough guidance on how to improve and develop their work further. Where guidance is given, pupils are not always given the time to respond and learn from their mistakes.  The teaching of reading is particularly successful in ensuring that pupils develop a love of books and a passion for reading.  Teachers plan together and have devised an interesting curriculum that engages the pupils. A range of topics excites pupils and the basic skills in reading and writing are woven seamlessly into the curriculum, resulting in progress that is at least good and some that is outstanding.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Basic skills in mathematics are also taught well, resulting in good progress. However, a lack of opportunities to engage in problem-solving activities means that pupils’ achievement in mathematics sometimes lags behind that of reading and writing.  There have been recent changes to the way mathematics is taught. The introduction of the visual calculation policy has allowed pupils to use a range of mathematical strategies in their work. Pupils are given a number of challenges called mild, spicy and hot. Pupils say they enjoy the challenge this offers them and they make good progress. However, not all teachers pick up quickly enough on misconceptions in mathematics and so progress is not as rapid as that of reading.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Across the school, pupils’ achievement is good in writing and mathematics and it is outstanding in reading.  From starting points in the early years that are below and sometimes significantly below those typical for their age, children’s learning gets off to a good start. Through the early years and Key Stage 1, pupils make good progress, especially in reading. By the end of Year 2, standards are broadly average in reading, writing and in mathematics. However, the proportion of pupils reaching the higher Level 3 is slightly lower than average, particularly in mathematics.  Good progress continues in Key Stage 2. Standards by the end of Year 6 in reading, writing and mathematics are usually above, and sometimes well above, average. In 2014, all pupils made the expected rate of progress from their previous starting points in reading, writing and mathematics. The proportion of pupils making more than the expected rate of progress was also above average in each of

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The achievement of pupils is good

these subjects and especially so in reading. For some pupils, this represents outstanding progress. However, current progress across the year groups in Key Stage 2, although good overall, is uneven, especially in mathematics. Progress accelerates in Year 6 to an outstanding rate.  Pupils’ progress in reading is outstanding. The strong focus on teaching phonics (the sounds that letters make) ensures that pupils make excellent progress with their reading skills. The proportion of pupils who reached the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics check is improving each year and in 2014 was above average. Pupils of all ages are encouraged to read widely and often and have an excellent understanding of the books they read. The recent introduction of class novels and the effective promotion of reading between home and school ensure that pupils have plentiful opportunities to develop their reading skills.

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The achievement of pupils is good

The proportion of pupils reaching the higher Level 5 in reading in Year 6 in 2014 was significantly above average.  Pupils make good, and sometimes outstanding, progress in writing. By the end of Year 6, pupils show a very good understanding of spelling, punctuation and grammar and this is reflected in their writing. The work seen in books across Key Stage 2 shows that pupils make good progress in most year groups and outstanding progress in Year 6.  Although achievement in mathematics is good overall, across the school it lags behind that of reading and writing. This is because pupils are not always given enough opportunities to apply their mathematical skills in a range of real-life situations. Sometimes pupils show misconceptions in mathematics and these are not always picked up fast enough to ensure greater rates of progress.  Overall, the most-able pupils achieve well. In Year 6 in 2014, the proportion of pupils reaching the higher

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The achievement of pupils is good

Level 5 was above average, and significantly so in reading. Across the school, however, work is not always hard enough for these pupils and they are not always moved on fast enough in their learning, especially in mathematics.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make outstanding progress by the time they leave school. This is as a result of very effective support for these pupils, both emotionally and with their academic work.  Disadvantaged pupils make good progress. In 2014, the standards reached by disadvantaged pupils in Year 6 were about two terms behind their non-disadvantaged classmates in reading and mathematics and nearly three terms behind in writing. However, their attainment was broadly in line with non- disadvantaged pupils nationally in mathematics. It was nearly a term ahead in reading and approximately half a term behind in writing.

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The early years provision is good

 The majority of children start school with skills that are below those typically expected for their age and some start with skills that are significantly below those expected for their age, particularly in reading, writing and mathematics.  Children make good progress through the Nursery and Reception Years in all areas of their learning. As a result, by the end of the Reception Year, the majority of children have reached a good level of development and are ready for the start of Year 1.  The learning environment is warm and welcoming and there is a range of areas for children to develop skills and play purposefully. Some of the areas, both indoors and out, lack opportunities to develop writing skills and as a result, standards in writing at the end of Reception are lower than those of mathematics and reading.  Activities are planned to stimulate the interests of the children and resources are used well to enhance the

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The early years provision is good

learning. This contributes to the good progress children make. Staff work well as a team, less experienced staff are supported very well by those with greater experience and as a result, children enjoy their learning and build strong relationships.  Children behave well and they are very well cared for. There are good procedures for keeping pupils safe and this contributes to the excellent relationships between parents, pupils and staff.  There is a range of information about children; leaders and managers use this well to assess the progress of the pupils. However, some of the information collected lacks clarity in terms of where the children are in their learning and this means that children are not always moved on as quickly as they could be.  The leadership and management of the early years are good. The early years leader has identified where improvements can be made, including to the outdoors and to assessment procedures, which will further

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The early years provision is good

improve children’s learning experiences.

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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 106579 Local authority Barnsley Inspection number 448311

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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 Maintained Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 269 Appropriate authority The local authority Chair Sharron Brook Headteacher Julia Chalkley Date of previous school inspection 11 January 2010 Telephone number 01709 887750 Fax number 01709 893238 Email address j.chalkley@barnsley.org 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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