Britannia Community Primary School

Britannia Community Primary School Rochdale Road, Bacup, Lancashire, OL13 9TS

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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 Good 2 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

 Leaders’ clear plans for improvement have not yet had time to secure pupils’ good achievement, including in the early years where provision requires improvement.  Too few pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics as they move though the school.  The gap between the performance of disadvantaged pupils and other pupils in the school remains too wide.  The quality of teaching is variable. Teachers do not all have high enough expectations of how much work pupils should produce in a given time and of the quality and presentation of this work.  In too many lessons, work is not sufficiently well planned to challenge all groups of pupils to achieve well. The most able pupils are not always moved on to harder work quickly enough. Equally, in some lessons, the less able pupils struggle to make progress because they do not fully understand the tasks they are expected to complete.  Some leaders are still developing their skills. As a

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

result, key priorities identified for improvement, especially pupils’ progress in mathematics, have not improved rapidly enough. 

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The school has the following strengths

 The newly appointed headteacher has a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. She has already introduced effective systems to check how well the school is doing and to hold teachers to account for pupils’ progress. As a result, this is an improving school.  Teaching is improving because teachers and support staff now have opportunities for training and development.  Governance is strong. Governors are very well- informed on pupils’ progress and on the quality of teaching. Governors ensure that arrangements for the performance management of staff are rigorous in holding teachers to account for pupils’ progress.  Behaviour and safety are good. Pupils attend regularly, enjoy coming to school and treat one another and adults in the school with respect.  Pupils with special educational needs make good progress owing to high-quality intervention and support.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 10 lessons or parts of lessons taught by eight different teachers.  Inspectors looked at a range of evidence including: the school’s improvement plan; the school’s data relating to pupils’ progress; the work in pupils’ books; and the school’s documentation relating to safeguarding.  The lead inspector conducted three lesson observations jointly with the headteacher. She also observed the headteacher reporting back to teachers on her findings regarding the quality of teaching, learning and pupils’ achievement.  Inspectors spoke to a range of pupils about their work and play in school and listened to some children reading.  Inspectors held meetings with seven members of the governing body, school leaders and with two local authority representatives to discuss support for the school.  Inspectors took account of 72 responses to the online questionnaire for parents (Parent View) and 25

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Inspection team

Janette Corlett, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is slightly smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are White British.  The school makes no use of alternative provision elsewhere.  The Reception class provides full-time early years education.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is below the national average. The term disadvantaged is used to describe those pupils who are eligible for free school meals and those children who are looked after by the local authority. Both these groups are eligible for support through the pupil premium funding.  The proportion of pupils with disabilities or special educational needs is below the national average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ progress and attainment in reading, writing and mathematics.  There are breakfast and after-school clubs operating on the school site. These are not run by the

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Information about this school

governing body of the school and receive their own inspections. The reports are available on the Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.  The headteacher took up her post in September 2014 and the deputy headteacher was appointed from January 2015.

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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 outstanding in order to raise standards and the rates of progress for all groups of pupils by:  increasing teachers’ expectations of the amount of work pupils can do and the pace of their learning  ensuring that the most able pupils are given activities which stretch them to achieve to the very best of their ability  ensuring that the less able pupils are given enough support to enable them to complete tasks confidently and independently  making sure children in the early years always get the support and guidance they need and are encouraged to persevere with their tasks  ensuring that teaching and support for disadvantaged pupils is fully effective in closing the gaps between their performance and that of other pupils in the school and nationally at the end of Year 2 and Year 6.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership by:  ensuring that subject and phase leaders, including early years, effectively fulfil their roles and responsibilities so that the headteacher and deputy headteacher have the support they need to drive up standards and improve pupils’ progress rapidly.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The newly appointed headteacher has already had a significant impact on improving the school. While plans have not yet had time to ensure that this is a good school, there have been improvements in the quality of teaching. The pupil premium funding is being used effectively to support individual and small group sessions that will support disadvantaged pupils in catching up with other pupils in literacy and mathematics so that the gaps in progress between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils in the school are closing.  The headteacher regularly checks the quality of teaching. She understands what constitutes good teaching and judges it accurately. She is clear in her feedback to teachers, who respect and welcome her advice. The appointment of a strong deputy headteacher means that she is now well supported in this and her drive to raise standards and improve progress has rapidly gained momentum. Teachers are keen to

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The leadership and management requires improvement

improve their practice and say that they really appreciate the increased opportunities for professional training and development that they have been provided with.  Salary progression has been used to begin to improve teaching and raise standards because teachers are very clear that they will only be rewarded when their pupils have done as well as, or better than, they should have done.  Subject and phase leaders are still developing their skills. As a result, some of the improvements to the quality of teaching in English and mathematics and the provision for children in the Reception class have not been rapid enough to have a measurable impact on outcomes for pupils.  Leaders collaborated with pupils in writing the school’s behaviour policy and the development of the ‘Britannia Bee’ system that celebrates good and thoughtful behaviour and promotes pupils’ good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 This is an inclusive school that fosters good relations within the school and with the local community. There are no recorded incidents of racism or discrimination of any kind, and pupils confirmed on inspection that this simply does not happen in their school. Equality of opportunity is demonstrated in the good progress made by pupils with special educational needs. However, not enough has yet been done to ensure that pupils of all levels of ability make equally good progress as they move through the school.  The primary school sports funding has been used effectively to give pupils access to a wider range of sports and to increase their involvement in competitive team sports. The funding has also been used to employ a coach who is helping develop teachers’ own expertise in teaching physical education. Pupils say they enjoy their lessons. This is contributing well to pupils’ physical development and well-being.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The curriculum provides opportunities for pupils to develop their understanding of fundamental British values. Older pupils understand that Britain is a democratic society because people vote for the government. They learn tolerance and respect for different cultures and religions. Some areas of the curriculum, including history and geography, are not covered in sufficient depth in all year groups. Leaders are aware of this and are working with teachers to address this.  Leaders welcome the support of the local authority that is helping to improve subject leadership in mathematics and to develop the skills of teaching and support staff in the Reception class.  The governance of the school:  Governors bring a wide range of expertise to the school. They have clear areas of responsibility which they regularly check through school visits. Governors have robust systems to check plans for the future,

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The leadership and management requires improvement

the quality of teaching, the achievement of pupils and the curriculum, although these have not yet been fully effective in ensuring that this is a good school.  Governors have a secure awareness of the arrangements to check on teachers’ performance and any rewards for good teaching. The budget is well managed. For example, additional resources have been targeted on professional development and training for teachers and support staff. Governors are aware that the pupil premium funding, whilst beginning to help disadvantaged pupils improve their progress, has not yet had the necessary full impact on closing the gaps in their attainment. Governors ensure that the school fulfils its statutory responsibilities for safeguarding. All staff have been cleared as suitable to work with children and are trained appropriately to keep pupils safe and free from harm.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Most pupils are really keen to learn and lessons are very rarely disrupted by poor behaviour.  Pupils have respect for one another, are very polite to adults and keen to talk about their school and their work. Older pupils show maturity and enjoy taking on responsibilities as buddies, looking after other children as playground friends and helping one another to play safely and enjoyably together.  The school council and eco council give pupils real opportunities to influence school improvements. Councillors speak of how they have helped develop the school gardens and have tried to find ways of using energy more efficiently.  Pupils know that the adults in the school are there to help them and that they care for them well. They are confident in asking for help when they need it and think that the school’s rewards and sanctions systems in relation to behaviour are fair and consistently applied.

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Behaviour

 Most parents agree that pupils behave well in school. They feel that the school is very caring and typically comment that they have no concerns about bullying.  At lunchtimes the school dining hall is sometimes very noisy whilst pupils wait to be served. School leaders are aware of this and plan to re-arrange timings so that pupils will have less time to wait. Equally, in the early years, children are not always kind to one another when playing in the role-play areas.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.  Pupils feel safe in school. They say that there is no bullying and no use of racist or homophobic language. They understand the importance of eating a healthy diet and the dangers of misuse of drugs. Representatives from the police and fire services visit the school and support pupils’ good understanding of how to keep themselves safe outside of school.  Pupils have a good understanding of how to use the internet safely. They are aware of the potential dangers of inappropriate images, chat rooms and fraud and know what to do if they ever come across something that is harmful.  The school buildings and grounds are secure and there is ample adult supervision at all times during the school day.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching requires improvement because, while there is evidence that it has improved in the last few months, its impact on pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics is not consistently good in all year groups and for all groups of pupils.  The recently introduced mathematical calculations policy is helping to ensure a more consistent approach to the ways in which pupils learn to solve problems. Parents have recently been invited into school to find out about the ways in which their children will be taught mathematics skills. This is helping them to support further learning at home.  There is good teaching in Years 4 and 5, particularly the teaching of writing. In these classes pupils are given really good advice on how to develop their use of more complex sentences. For example, in one lesson the teacher reminded pupils about using subordinate clauses in sentences. She described these as

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

‘jam sandwiches’ and this helped pupils to understand how to use them in a way that was relevant to their experience.  However, in other year groups, teachers’ expectations of the amount and quality of pupils’ written work are too low and there are not enough opportunities for pupils to practise their skills in writing and mathematical calculations across a range of subject areas. The quality of work in topic books is too frequently poor. Pupils sometimes complete worksheets that are not demanding enough to help them make good progress and they miss out on chances to write for extended periods of time.  The school’s marking policy is beginning to be used more effectively to help pupils understand how successful they have been in their work and the steps they need to take in order to improve it further. However, there is still too much variation in the quality of marking. Pupils do not always have the

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

opportunity to follow up on teachers’ advice on how to improve, and this limits the effectiveness of the comments on improving their progress. While pupils are given targets for improvement they are not specific or rigorous enough to ensure that all pupils can close the gaps in their learning.  Assessment across the school is increasingly accurate and teachers are developing a better awareness of what good progress looks like in lessons and in pupils’ work over time.  Recent improvements to the teaching of phonics and reading are helping pupils make more rapid progress in their reading. Pupils enjoy reading and use a variety of strategies to read with accuracy and understanding. Inspection evidence shows that progress in reading is improving because there is a strong focus on reading across the school. Older pupils are eager readers who talk enthusiastically about their favourite authors and themes.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers who do not meet their objectives are supported with professional development opportunities but do not progress up the pay scales before demonstrating that they have improved their practice.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Standards at the end of Year 2 are slightly above average in reading and writing, and average in mathematics. Standards at the end of Year 6 in reading, writing and mathematics are average and have fallen from significantly above average over the last two years. The new headteacher has acted swiftly to address this, and standards at the end of Year 6 are now rising.  Most pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics as they move through the school is no better than expected and this is why achievement requires improvement.  The standards reached by the most able pupils at the end of Year 6 are in line with those of similar pupils nationally in reading and mathematics. However, due to missed opportunities for these pupils to write for extended periods of time in a range of different subjects, they do not all make as much progress as they can in writing.  Most pupils’ progress in mathematics is weaker than in reading and writing throughout the school because

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

too frequently work is not well planned to move the most able pupils on when they are ready for the next stage in their learning.  In Year 6, the most able pupils make better progress in mathematics than in other year groups. Historically, pupils who began Year 6 with lower starting points from the end of Year 2 did not make as much progress as they could because they did not always understand the tasks. The gaps in their learning were not always identified and supporting action taken. Leaders have addressed this by giving the deputy headteacher time on three or four mornings every week to teach these pupils; their progress is already improving.  The gap between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils in the school and other pupils nationally in the end of Key Stage 2 tests, 2014, was six average points and this means that they were almost two years behind. There was a similar gap between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils in the school. The overall

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

attainment of this cohort was affected by the small number of pupils in the group and the complex needs of individual pupils. However, school leaders have acted swiftly to ensure that disadvantaged pupils are catching up with other pupils and the gap in their standards has narrowed from two years to between one and two terms for the current Year 6 pupils.  The achievement of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is good. From their individual starting points these pupils receive well focused support from teachers and support staff and this ensures that they make good progress.

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The early years provision requires improvement

 Children enter the Reception class with levels of skills and development typical for their age. They make the progress expected of them, and, by the end of the year, the majority of children are ready to start the Year 1 curriculum.  Leadership in the early years is shared by the two class teachers and is in the very earliest stages of development. Both teachers have embraced their roles and have undertaken a range of professional development and training opportunities. These have included support from the local authority and visits to other schools to observe good practice in early years. They have rightly identified the need to improve the skills of classroom assistants so that all adults are skilled in supporting children’s learning, particularly when children are playing together in activities that they choose for themselves. Plans are in place to do this through weekly workshops supported by the headteacher and further opportunities for external

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The early years provision requires improvement

training.  Behaviour and safety require improvement. When closely supervised by adults, children feel safe and are calm and listen well to instructions. Sometimes, however, children do not behave as well and are overly boisterous in their play and make too much noise. On one occasion during the inspection a few children playing in the role-play area threw toys around and did not play well together. Hygiene routines, such as washing hands before eating snacks, are not established routines and this is a missed opportunity to promote children’s personal and social development.  Children say they enjoy coming to school. During the inspection they particularly enjoyed playing outside in the deep snow and building an igloo. Relationships are strong and youngsters are confident in approaching adults for help when they need it.  Teaching is good when teachers are working with groups of pupils. However, adults are sometimes less

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The early years provision requires improvement

effective in helping children to extend their creativity and thinking when they are playing together, for example in the construction and the role-play areas. Children are not always encouraged to persevere with an activity and they flit from one activity to the next without really extending their learning or developing their language skills.

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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 119189 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 456172

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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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 221 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Debbie Wroe Headteacher Natalie Longstaff Date of previous school inspection 28 May 2012 Telephone number 01706 874447 Fax number 01706 873935 Email address head@britannia.lancs.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

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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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