Burnt Tree Primary School

Burnt Tree Primary School Hill Road, Tividale, Oldbury, B69 2LN

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 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

 As the result of strong leadership, teaching is now consistently good with some examples of outstanding practice.  Members of the governing body have reviewed the way they work and are now very knowledgeable about the school. They challenge and support leaders to make further improvements.  Pupils now make good progress throughout their time in school. Standards at the end of Key Stage 2 are rising quickly as a result. In reading and writing, the vast majority of pupils are on course to reach expected levels by the end of the school year, with a minority reaching the higher levels.  Teachers make learning exciting and plan work that helps pupils of all abilities to make good progress.  Provision for children in the early years has greatly improved and, as a result, children make good progress.  Pupils feel very safe in school and are confident of support if they have any concerns.  Pupils behave well. They are very polite, well-

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

mannered and have a deep respect for each other and the adults who care for them.  A wide range of activities enrich the subjects pupils are studying.  The school is held in high regard by the local community, which supports the school in a range of ways.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils’ attainment in mathematics is not yet high enough. Pupils have more ground to make up because of past underachievement.  Not all pupils are skilled at problem solving or are able to understand and use mathematical language effectively.  Relevant links are not always made between mathematics and other subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 17 lessons and part-lessons. They were accompanied by the headteacher or deputy headteacher in five of the observations.  Meetings were held with staff, members of the governing body, a representative of the local authority and with pupils from Years 2 to 6.  The inspectors heard pupils reading from Years 1 and 2.  Inspectors looked at the school’s development plans and monitoring files, the headteacher’s leadership files, and arrangements for the management of staff performance. They also looked at safeguarding documentation and minutes of the governing body meetings. They looked at the school’s records of pupils’ progress and evaluated work in pupils’ books.  Inspectors considered the 22 staff questionnaires that were returned.  There were insufficient responses to the online parent questionnaire Parent View for results to be analysed. Inspectors held informal discussions with parents at the start of the school day. Inspectors also

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Information about this inspection

took note of the school’s survey of parent views.

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Inspection team

Jennifer Batelen, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Burnt Tree Primary School is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Children attend the Nursery part-time and Reception class full-time.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds, including those who speak English as an additional language, is well above the national average. The biggest group is pupils of Pakistani heritage.  A high proportion of pupils join the school at different times throughout the school year.  Half of the pupils are known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium and this is much higher than the national average. This is additional funding for those known to be eligible for free school meals and children in the care of the local authority.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is 12% and this is higher than the national average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set minimum expectations for

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Information about this school

attainment and progress.  The governing body manages a breakfast club.  Senior and subject leaders provide support to staff in local schools.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise achievement in mathematics by strengthening pupils’ knowledge and deepening their understanding so they:  use mathematical language confidently and accurately  apply their calculation skills in problem solving  practise mathematical skills across all areas of the curriculum.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, well supported by the deputy headteacher, has raised the quality of teaching since the previous inspection, including in the early years. This has led to improved achievement across the school as pupils want to do well and staff and the governing body are committed to making further improvements.

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The leadership and management are good

 Teachers with specific responsibilities have been highly effective because they have been extremely well supported to manage their roles and lead developments in their subjects or areas. The early years leader has been highly effective in improving the provision for the younger children.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has very effective systems for assessing, recording and analysing pupils’ attainment and progress and using this to raise standards further. All staff are quick to identify pupils who may not be making enough progress and to provide extra support or challenge as necessary. This demonstrates the school’s strong capacity to make further improvements.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders have ensured that staff have received appropriate training to enable them to develop the oracy skills of all pupils, including those who speak English as an additional language and are bi-lingual learners. The progress of these pupils is tracked to ensure they are able to make good progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 Regular and accurate checking of teaching and its impact on pupils’ progress enables the identification of any training needs to develop staff skills further. Teachers have clear targets for pupils’ progress and understand their contribution to school improvement priorities and how meeting these responsibilities relates to pay progression.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupils enjoy the way the curriculum is presented through themes and extended by visits and visitors that enrich their learning. Their cultural development is enriched by the opportunity to take part in drama, music and explore works of art. Leaders ensure that all pupils are able to take part in the range of activities offered, thus demonstrating their commitment to equal opportunities and ensuring there is no discrimination.

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The leadership and management are good

 The cultural diversity of the school is celebrated, resulting in a very cohesive community. Various activities, including assemblies, explore pupils’ different faiths and cultures as well as developing a strong understanding of British values. This contributes strongly to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and, as a result, pupils are very well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has good relationships with parents, who speak positively of the care their children receive and the progress they make.

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The leadership and management are good

 The pupil premium funding is used well ensuring that disadvantaged pupils make at least good progress. This has included appointments of staff with specific responsibilities to support children in early years with language development and others to support pupils and families with particular difficulties such as attendance.

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The leadership and management are good

 Sports premium funding is used to develop teachers’ skills and to improve resources. As a result, sports lessons are of a higher quality than previously and there is now much greater enthusiasm from the pupils.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority gives good support to the school, particularly in helping staff to raise achievement and to develop high quality monitoring skills.

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The leadership and management are good

 Safeguarding procedures meet requirements.  The governance of the school:  Governors have reviewed their work and made significant changes to their membership, structure and procedures. They develop their skills through regular training. They are now highly effective at supporting the school and challenging leaders to make further improvements. They represent the school community well. They know how pupils’ achievement compares with national averages and have a thorough understanding of the priorities for the school. Governors know the quality of teaching in the school and how good teaching is rewarded and underperformance is tackled. Governors ensure that school finances are well spent and have good knowledge of how effective additional funding is in improving the achievement of disadvantaged pupils.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. They enjoy school and take pride in their work; some spoke of how important their learning is for their possible future employment.

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Behaviour

 Relationships are strong between pupils and adults. On the rare occasions when pupils are not engaged fully in learning they are quickly helped to get on with their work.

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Behaviour

 Pupils are eager to learn and come well prepared, for example, remembering when they need their kit for sports lessons.

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Behaviour

 Pupils are very clear about the school’s behaviour policy and what is expected of them. They believe that they are fairly treated. They value the rewards offered by the school including those arising from challenges such as ‘Good to be Green’. School records show a reducing number of behaviour incidents since the previous inspection. The number of exclusions has now dropped to below the national average.

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Behaviour

 Pupils believe that behaviour is good and that any bullying is dealt with swiftly by adults. Surveys indicate that staff and parents share this view.

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Behaviour

 Governors have taken positive action to implement attendance policies. As a result, attendance has improved and persistent absence has been reduced.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.

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Safety

 Pupils say they feel safe and understand how to keep themselves safe in a range of situations, including when using the internet. They understand the dangers of online bullying and how to deal with any possible problems. Parents say that they feel their children are well cared for and safe in school.

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Safety

 Safeguarding policies and procedures are fully in place. Any accidents are carefully recorded, but are not yet analysed so that the school can find any patterns and address any resulting issues.

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Safety

 Pupils’ movement around the school and at break and lunchtime is well supervised so that they are safe and helped to play well together.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers have high expectations and create an atmosphere in which pupils want to learn. In early years and across the school they plan work that challenges children and pupils of all abilities so that they make good progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers’ good subject knowledge ensures that pupils are well engaged and are able to develop the appropriate skills in each subject. The consistent use of techniques to develop pupils’ communication skills ensures that achievement in reading and writing is improving. However, there has not previously been enough focus on helping pupils achieve the higher levels in reading.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Helping pupils understand and use the specific language for mathematics is well taught, but has not yet had time to be effective in raising standards. At times, pupils do not use the vocabulary accurately or confidently enough when explaining their calculations or investigations.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers’ use of oral and written feedback is effective in helping pupils understand how they can improve their work. Pupils told inspectors how they value this and are keen to improve. They are also being helped to develop skills in evaluating their own work.

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The quality of teaching is good

 All adults question pupils carefully and so are quick to find out how well pupils understand their work. As a result, teachers adjust lessons, when necessary, so that pupils don’t waste time on work that is too easy or too hard. This ensures that all those pupils in receipt of the pupil premium funding are quickly catching up with their peers.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers plan well across subjects to develop pupils’ skills in writing. Written work on display around the school shows how pupils are able to explain their thoughts and feelings using complex sentences and descriptive language. However, mathematical skills are not always planned sufficiently across the curriculum so that pupils can deepen their understanding in a variety of contexts and extend their knowledge of how mathematics can be applied in different situations.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching assistants and other adults work closely with teachers. They understand the purposes of planned lessons and how well pupils are doing; they give strong support to groups and to individuals, including disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, so that they can achieve well.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children start school with skills that are lower than typically seen, particularly in communication and language, reading, writing and mathematics. From these starting points, they make good progress across the school, resulting in rising attainment. The legacy of previous underachievement of pupils due to weak teaching has meant that the improvements made in the school are not yet reflected in the results of national tests and assessments.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Standards at the end of Key Stage 1 are still below national figures but are steadily improving and the gap between the school and the national averages is closing.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In the 2014 national assessments, Year 6 pupils’ attainment in mathematics was below average and the data showed that pupils made inadequate progress over the key stage, especially those who are the most able. The school analysed the reasons for this and adopted strategies to significantly improve pupils’ understanding of mathematical language, and their skills in problem solving. Pupils’ books and test results show that their progress in other year groups has been good since the previous inspection and these strategies are leading to further rapid improvement. The school’s assessment data suggest that current Year 6 pupils are likely to come close to national averages in attainment and progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The teaching of phonics (sounds that letters make) has improved since the last inspection and as a result children’s reading and writing is well developed in the early years. In Year 1 they build rapidly on these foundations, with a much higher proportion reaching the expected level in the phonics screening check than previously. Throughout the school, pupils talk with enthusiasm about the books they are reading and how they enjoy reading at home with parents and older siblings. Across the school there is also a greater focus to ensure that pupils develop higher level reading skills.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The whole-school focus on developing pupils’ oracy has led to improvements in their communication skills. This was clearly shown in a Year 2 class when pupils confidently answered questions and discussed with their partner how play scripts differ from narrative texts. Pupils have developed the necessary skills in sentence building to write extended, descriptive pieces confidently across a range of subjects. As a result, the progress in writing, since the previous inspection, has been more rapid than normally expected.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Clear identification of the specific needs of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs means that they have work and support that is well targeted to their particular needs. They make good progress, especially in writing.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils who speak English as an additional language make at least the same good progress as others in all year groups. This is because they are helped to learn English quickly using a range of support, including staff, parents and older pupils who speak the home language.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The high proportion of pupils from the range of ethnic groups represented make good progress throughout the school. However, this has not always been the case and data show those of Pakistani heritage in Year 6 in 2014 made less progress than expected. The particular needs of this group have been analysed and this progress in not reflected in the rest of the school where progress for this group of pupils is good. The high proportion of pupils who move into the school other than at normal times are helped to settle quickly so that they can make good progress similar to their peers.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Additional funding is used to give disadvantaged pupils the specific help they need in order to make rapid progress. As a result the gaps between these pupils and their peers nationally have almost closed for younger pupils. Year 6 pupils in 2014 made progress comparable to their peers in reading, writing and mathematics. The gap in attainment between these pupils and others in school was three terms in mathematics and two terms in reading, with no difference in writing in 2014. The gap between the disadvantaged pupils and those nationally was four terms in mathematics, and three terms in reading; this is wider than nationally. The gap in writing is the same as the national picture.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The most-able pupils are regularly challenged in lessons to work to higher levels. Pupils have the opportunity to work at the higher levels in mathematics by joining an older class where they deepen their understanding. As a result, the school’s records show that these pupils are now doing much better than pupils in previous years and a higher percentage of pupils are working at higher levels in reading, writing and mathematics.

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The early years provision is good

 The early years’ leader has been well supported by senior leaders to make considerable improvements to the provision for the children in the Nursery and Reception classes. As a result teaching is now securely good and children are able to make at least good progress throughout the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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The early years provision is good

 Careful planning ensures that children have access to all areas of learning throughout the day, inside and outside. Adult-led activities and those children initiate themselves give them a wide range of experiences across the curriculum.

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The early years provision is good

 Assessment is regular, thorough and informative. Adults note how well children do during activities led by the adults, but also as they play independently together. This information helps the adults to plan the next activities so that children can make continue to progress.

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The early years provision is good

 The induction process ensures that children settle quickly into the Nursery. A focus on developing personal, social and language skills helps children to develop the confidence to play well together and share their thoughts with adults and their friends.

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The early years provision is good

 Plenty of physical activity helps children’s physical development. For example, children playing with hoops developed skills in rolling them while also developing the language of push, pull and roll.

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The early years provision is good

 Children develop early reading and writing skills because of skilled phonics teaching and the focus on handwriting skills, quickly learning how to speak and write sentences.

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The early years provision is good

 Plenty of opportunities are provided to develop early mathematical skills. Children are challenged to try activities that will extend their knowledge and understanding.

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The early years provision is good

 Behaviour is good. Children play and work safely together and show a strong understanding of how to cooperate well in a large group. The opportunities for children from Nursery and Reception classes to join together for activities develop their confidence and independence.

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The early years provision is good

 Parents are welcomed into the classrooms and also join in a variety of trips. They are given opportunities to share the progress of their children at home and also to understand the progress made at 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 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 103914 Local authority Sandwell Inspection number 453533

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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 Select School category Select Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 270 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Joyce Bitchenor Headteacher Jo Evans Date of previous school inspection 17 January 2013 Telephone number 0121 5572967 Fax number 0121 522 4980 Email address jo.evans@burnttree.sandwell.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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