Rounds Green Primary School

Rounds Green Primary School Brades Road, Oldbury, B69 2DP

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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 Good 2

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

 Pupils' achievement over time has not been consistently good.  The proportion of pupils making more than the progress expected of them in mathematics is not high enough.  Over time, there has not been enough consistently good teaching at Key Stage 2 to ensure all pupils achieve as well as they should.  Work is not always challenging to meet the different abilities of the pupils, especially in mathematics. Not enough opportunities are provided for pupils to practise and use their mathematical skills to solve problems.  The role of subject leaders has not yet developed for them to have a good impact on improving teaching and learning.  Although improvements have taken place recently, over time the school has not been quick enough to support pupils falling behind in their work.  The governing body has not held senior leaders accountable for raising standards.

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The school has the following strengths

 The headteacher gives clear direction to the work of the school. Together with the senior leadership team, she is having a positive impact on teaching and standards.  Children achieve well in the early years and Key Stage 1.  Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is effective.  Behaviour is good. Attendance has improved and is now average.  The school's work to keep pupils safe is good.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 15 lessons, of which three were observed jointly with senior leaders. In addition, inspectors observed senior leaders giving feedback to staff.  Inspectors and senior leaders conducted a joint work scrutiny.  Inspectors met with pupils, talked to pupils informally at break times and listened to a group of Key Stage 1 pupils reading.  Meetings were held with members of the governing body, including the Chair, a representative of the local authority, senior leaders, subject leaders and teachers.  Inspectors took account of the 65 responses from parents and carers recorded in the online questionnaire Parent View.  Inspectors took account of the 22 responses to the staff questionnaire provided by Ofsted.  A number of documents were observed, including safeguarding records, the school improvement plan, the school's data for tracking pupils’ progress, self-evaluation assessments, teachers' planning and work in

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Inspection team

Ian Jones, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a larger than average-sized primary school.  The majority of pupils are White British. Almost half of the pupils come from Caribbean, Asian, African and other backgrounds. Approximately one in five pupils are learning English as an additional language.  In the Early Years Foundation Stage, 43 children attend the Nursery on a part-time basis and a further 61 children attend full time in the two Reception classes.  Two in five pupils are known to be eligible for the pupil premium; this is well above average. This is additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible to receive free school meals and those in local authority care.  The proportion of pupils who are disabled and those with special educational needs supported at school action is 7%, which is a little below average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is average at 6%.

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Information about this school

 The school meets the government's current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress.  The school has seen significant changes of staff, with seven new teachers appointed last year. The senior leadership team, including the headteacher, were appointed from April 2013.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and raise achievement, particularly in mathematics, by:  ensuring that work is pitched at the right level and provides a high level of challenge so that pupils make more rapid progress and reach a higher standard  improving pupils' abilities to solve problems by providing further opportunities to develop and apply their skills in practical situations.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by:  embedding the existing systems to monitor teaching and achievement so that those pupils in danger of falling behind are quickly identified and effectively supported  ensuring that the role of subject and other leaders is fully developed so that they can check standards in their areas of responsibility  developing the governing body's monitoring to ensure that school leaders are challenged and held to account for their work.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership and management require improvement because leaders and governors have not ensured that all teaching has been good over time. Achievement fell sharply in the 2014 national Key Stage 2 tests. There remains some inconsistency across classes and year groups in the progress pupils are making, particularly in mathematics.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leaders have not used information about pupils' progress effectively to drive improvement. This is because systems to monitor teaching and learning have lacked rigour. Consequently, the leadership team have been slow in tackling some underachievement in the past. A more rigorous process of monitoring teaching, together with sharper tracking of pupils' progress, was introduced last year. These are helping to improve progress rates across the school.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Subject leaders have identified improvements needed in their subjects. However, they do not currently have sufficient information to check the impact their actions are having.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Procedures to manage staff performance have strengthened this year. Leaders identify and tackle underperformance. Staff targets are now linked more closely to the standards expected of teachers. This is beginning to have a positive impact on improving teaching.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school successfully uses sports funding and has improved provision for physical education. Teachers and specialist coaches combine to run additional activities at lunchtimes and after school. Participation by pupils is high and the various activities are having a positive impact on behaviour and enjoyment of school.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 All safeguarding policies and procedures meet statutory requirements. Leaders have created a safe and calm environment and pupils say they enjoy school.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school curriculum is good and is having a positive impact on preparing pupils for life in modern Britain. Pupils have a good understanding of other faiths and cultures, and they respect others whose background or religion is different from theirs. A good array of enrichment activities promote tolerance and respect and contribute well to pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The local authority adviser identified the dip in standards in 2014 and is now providing support and advice, although it is too early to see the long-term impact of this work.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governance of the school:  The governing body has an overview of the school's performance and areas of improvement. Its members have a growing understanding of school data and how this compares with other schools nationally. However, governors have not monitored school progress closely enough in the past or robustly held school leaders to account for progress.  The governing body has recently commissioned an external review of their effectiveness and has clear plans to improve its work. For example, it plans to develop a more rigorous approach to evaluating progress of the school improvement plan and how school leaders are monitoring teaching and learning.  Governors know how additional pupil premium and sport funding are being spent, and they check that this extra funding is making a positive impact on pupils' progress. The school is successful in closing the gaps between pupils eligible for additional funding and those who are not, especially in English.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governing body oversees the process used to hold teachers to account and links teachers' pay with their performance.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils enjoy school. They develop good attitudes to learning and are keen to do their best. They are keen to be rewarded for good behaviour, hard work and regular attendance at school.

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Behaviour

 Pupils are friendly and welcoming to visitors. They behave well in lessons and around the school, including during playtimes and lunchtimes. Lunchtimes are pleasant and the pupils enjoy playing together and participating in the sporting and other activities offered. There is a strong emphasis on good manners throughout the school.

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Behaviour

 On very few occasions, pupils lose interest in their work and they lose attention when teaching fails to interest them. The very small number of pupils who find it hard to regulate their own behaviour are well supported during their time at the school.

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Behaviour

 Attendance has improved significantly in the last academic year and is now average. Improvements stem from the school’s more rigorous monitoring of individual pupils’ attendance, the closer working with families and a well-established rewards system.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Most parents and carers who responded to Parent View agree that behaviour is good and feel that their children are kept safe.

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Safety

 A small minority of parents expressed concerns about bullying but pupils all say they feel safe in school and that bullying is rare. They have a good understanding of the different forms of bullying. Older pupils know how to keep safe when using the internet.

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Safety

 Pupils are confident that any problem will be resolved quickly. They know that name-calling and inappropriate language are not allowed. This contributes to the school’s calm and well-ordered learning environment.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching requires improvement because pupils’ progress over time has not been consistently good. This is because leaders have not always made sure that teaching is challenging enough to raise pupils’ achievement. The headteacher has taken action to address underperformance and provide training and support, which has resulted in improved teaching in the last academic year.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Occasionally, pupils do not make enough progress as the work set is too easy and does not motivate them. This is because teachers do not have consistently high enough expectations of what pupils can achieve.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The school employs a large team of assistants to support learning who make a useful contribution to pupils’ achievement. Disabled pupils, those who have special educational needs and other vulnerable learners receive particularly helpful support, allowing them to make good progress.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers regularly mark pupils’ work, and the quality of marking has improved considerably this year. Pupils are given time to act upon the advice given, and say that they value the helpful comments and suggestions offered.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Where learning is most effective, teachers regularly check the progress of pupils in lessons and pupils are clear about their tasks. In one lesson in Year 6, pupils made good progress in their understanding of negative numbers because the teacher skilfully adjusted the task to ensure they remained challenged and that they reflected on their thinking.  Work in pupils’ writing books shows that grammar is being taught effectively. Writing is promoted well within the school and pupils have many opportunities to write at length and apply these skills in the topics they study. As a result, standards in writing have improved. Reading is also taught effectively and the school ensures that pupils access a good range of high-quality books and resources. Although progress in mathematics is also improving, pupils are not always challenged to achieve highly enough or given sufficient opportunities to apply skills to practical problem-solving tasks.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Progress in the past has been hampered by frequent changes of staff, weak teaching and disruptive behaviour, although these issues have now been successfully resolved. However, in 2014, too few Year 6 pupils made enough progress due to a legacy of previous underachievement.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils make good progress in Key Stage 1 from below typical starting points. They reach average standards by the end of Year 2. Progress at Key Stage 2 has been more variable. In 2013, Year 6 pupils reached the standards expected but, in 2014, their attainment dropped markedly and was well below average. Current rates of progress in classes across the school are accelerating, indicating that the school is back on track to reach average standards.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 In reading and writing, there is little difference in the progress made by boys and girls. However, in recent years, in mathematics, girls have consistently underachieved. Inspectors found clear evidence that the school has successfully addressed this issue, and that the gap is quickly closing.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 In the 2014 national tests, too few Key Stage 2 pupils demonstrated that they had made or exceeded the progress expected of them. Current evidence shows that pupils are improving at a faster rate, especially in reading and writing.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The most-able pupils have made inconsistent progress over time. At times, the work is too easy for them and some do not reach the standards of which they are capable.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The proportion of pupils reaching the expected level in the Year 1 phonics screening check is below average. Although the teaching of phonics has improved so that lessons are more consistent throughout the school, pupils are not given enough time to practise and consolidate new sounds.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Disadvantaged pupils in Year 6 did not do as well as other pupils at the school in 2014, although the gap narrowed. Data show that they were a term behind their classmates in mathematics and less than a term behind in English. At around two terms in English and mathematics, the gap with pupils nationally was wider, however. The school uses the additional funding to provide additional teachers and further resources to support achievement. Disadvantaged pupils throughout the school are making faster progress than their classmates so gaps in their attainment are narrowing.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress. Pupils supported at school action plus or with statements of special educational need benefit from high-quality individual and group support.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Teachers are becoming more accountable for the progress made by their pupils. This ensures that everyone has an equal chance of success and is being prepared for secondary education. This includes pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and those who speak English as an additional language.

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The early years provision is good

 Children start school with levels of skills and knowledge that are well below those typical for their age. They make good progress, entering Year 1 with skills and abilities which, while lower than those expected, have improved at a good rate.

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The early years provision is good

 Teaching is consistently good, and children are well motivated and engaged through the wide range of exciting activities delivered through the well-planned curriculum. Relationships between staff and children are very positive. As a result, children settle quickly into Nursery.

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The early years provision is good

 Children behave well and make good progress with their personal, social and emotional skills. They walk sensibly within the classroom and around the school; for example, when going to the dining room for lunch.

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The early years provision is good

 The Early Years Foundation Stage is well led and managed. Children’s learning is assessed accurately and teachers have good systems that enable them to share this information well with parents and carers. Safeguarding requirements are fully met.

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The early years provision is good

 Teaching assistants support children’s learning by taking opportunities to extend the vocabulary and the learning of all groups. As a result, those children with special educational needs make the same good progress as their peers.

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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 103980 Local authority Sandwell Inspection number 444226

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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 442 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Louise Hale Headteacher Sarah Batstone Date of previous school inspection 12 January 2010 Telephone number 0121 5521910 Fax number 0121 5527332 Email address roundsgreen.admin@roundsgreen.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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