Carter Knowle Junior School

Carter Knowle Junior School Carter Knowle Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S7 2DY

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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

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

 School leaders have not brought about overall improvement fast enough since the previous inspection.  Not enough has been done to address the weaknesses in mathematics.  The governing body does not hold leaders sharply to account for the year-to-year progress made by pupils of all ages and abilities.  The quality of teaching requires improvement because pupils are not making sufficient progress from the time they start school and from year to year.  Pupils’ achievement requires improvement because too few make the progress of which they are capable, and they are underperforming in mathematics.  Even though standards reached by pupils at the end of Year 6 in 2014 were in line with national averages in reading, writing and mathematics, this reflects slow progress from their starting points.

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The school has the following strengths

 The behaviour of pupils is good in lessons and around the school and they show positive attitudes to their learning.  Pupils enjoy coming to school and their attendance is good.  Pupils’ achievement is slowly improving as a result of the commitment of all staff.  Pupils feel safe and very well cared for by all staff.  The school community is harmonious.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection team inspected 11 lessons and parts of lessons. Five of these observations were undertaken with either the headteacher or the deputy headteacher.  Inspectors examined the quality of work in the books of pupils in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6, and carried out some of this work analysis with the deputy headteacher.  Inspectors held meetings with senior leaders, middle leaders and two members of the governing body.  Discussions were also held with pupils, parents and a parent governor, as well as a representative from the local authority.  The inspection team took into account the views of 58 parents who responded to the online questionnaire (Parent View). They also took into account the views of 20 staff that completed the questionnaire for school staff.  Inspectors examined documentation relating to pupils’ safety and attendance, relevant to the performance of staff, and the school’s data on pupils’ year-on-year progress.

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Inspection team

Henry Moreton, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is average in size for a primary school.  There is a higher than average number of pupils from minority ethnic groups, but the two significant groups are Pakistani and White British.  An average proportion of pupils are disadvantaged and supported by the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those in the care of the local authority.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is in line with the national average.  The school runs a breakfast club each morning for pupils and a private provider runs an after-school club.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  During the inspection, the acting assistant headteacher was on maternity leave.  The deputy headteacher is in an acting capacity, as she had been at the time of the previous inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that school leaders:  make more effective use of the available information on pupils’ performance  hold teachers more rigorously to account for each pupil’s year-on-year performance.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that all teaching is good by:  providing teachers with clearer information on pupils’ progress from year to year  evaluating learning in lessons accurately.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise standards and accelerate pupils’ progress in mathematics by:  ensuring teachers mark pupils’ work diligently  raising pupils’ expectations about how they present their work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership and management require improvement because progress in raising pupils’ attainment since the previous inspection has been too slow.  One of the main areas for improvement the school was left with following its previous inspection, pupils’ achievement in mathematics, has not been tackled with enough rigour. As a result the quality of teaching in this subject has not sufficiently improved.  The school relies on external consultants to offer it challenge but findings are not moderated by the local authority, which has provided light touch support.  All teachers are dedicated to improving their performance and respond well to coaching. Their responses to the staff questionnaire indicate high morale and good team working.  Teachers enjoy excellent relationships with pupils and work hard to foster the happy school community; the school’s senior leaders have led this aspect of the school very well.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school’s middle leaders are developing into their roles well but are not provided with clear information in order to monitor and evaluate progress effectively enough in the areas for which they are responsible.  Pupils told inspectors that they enjoy the many sporting and extra-curricular opportunities.  The school has used its allocation of the primary school sports funding effectively to increase access to sport and, as result, there is an improvement in pupils’ healthy lifestyles.  Performance targets for teachers link to those in the school improvement plan but are not linked closely enough to pupils’ performance from their various starting points.  The curriculum meets all aspects of the new requirements. Preparing pupils for life in modern Britain is well embedded as reflected in the harmonious school community. This aspect of the school has gone from strength to strength under the school’s leadership. There is a clear commitment to promoting equality of

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The leadership and management requires improvement

opportunity and the good pupil relationships reflect success in tackling discrimination.  Pupils’ cultural development is well supported by a range of visits and visitors. Their spiritual development is good and reflected well in the way they respect others and through the religious education curriculum. Pupils’ social and moral development is good and this is reflected in the way pupils conduct themselves around the school and how well they work in small groups and with their partners.  Assessment arrangements are developing methodically following well-considered guidance from the local authority.  The governance of the school:  Governance requires improvement because governors’ view of the quality of teaching and the school’s overall performance is inaccurate.  The governing body offers good support to school managers, but not enough challenge.  The governing body benefits from the experiences of its Chair who brings considerable expertise

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The leadership and management requires improvement

through her governance work in other schools.  The governing body is provided with information about pupils’ performance but this information does not enable them to have a clear understanding of their progress from their starting points.  Governors have appropriate plans in place to spend the pupil premium funding but do not check its impact well enough. As a result disadvantaged pupils are not making fast enough progress and their standards are still behind others in the school and others nationally.  Governors have a system in place for checking the performance of teachers but it is not effective in rewarding good teaching and addressing underperformance.  Safeguarding policies and procedures meet current requirements.  The management of finances is effective and changes to the school building and its grounds are having a good impact on pupils’ attitudes and behaviour.  Overall, governance has not improved enough since the school’s previous inspection.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. They look smart in their uniforms, which they wear with pride.  Pupils enjoy coming to school and they come well prepared to learn.  Attendance is above average when compared to similar schools, and pupils are punctual to school and lessons.  Learning in classrooms takes place with very few interruptions and this reflects pupils’ eagerness to learn.  The parents who completed the online questionnaire and who spoke to inspectors agree that behaviour is good.  School records show that there have been few short-term exclusions since the previous inspection and these were well managed.  The records show that incidents of poor behaviour are rare and this is because the school’s behaviour policy is consistently applied by staff, and pupils respond well to it.  Pupils of all ages and abilities work cooperatively with their partners and within small groups.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.  Improvements have been made to the school building since the previous inspection and the environment for learning is positive.  Inspectors spoke to different groups of pupils and they were clear about the different forms bullying can take; all pupils were sure that no bullying takes place in school. This reflects the calm and peaceful ethos throughout the school as seen by the inspectors.  Pupils are encouraged to take responsibility and the members of the school council are active, for example, in managing the healthy playtime snacks.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Evidence in pupils’ work does not support leaders’ views that the quality of teaching is good over time.  However, there was agreement between inspectors and school leaders about the achievement of pupils in all the lessons that were jointly observed.  The school’s own data shows that too many pupils are not making the progress of which they are capable from one year to the next.  Mathematics is not taught well and this is reflected in pupils’ slow progress in this subject. This is similar to the findings at the previous inspection and reflects leaders’ lack of urgency in dealing with this matter.  Teachers are not provided with enough accurate information about pupils’ progress and so are not planning well enough to meet their precise learning needs, especially in mathematics.  Pupils are enthusiastic readers in school and at home and this reflects the school’s drive in this area.  Pupils like to do homework and told the inspectors that they would like more challenging activities.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Pupils’ work is marked regularly but too often pupils’ incorrect or untidy work is not challenged by teachers.  Teachers’ expectation of how pupils present their work is not high enough.  Teachers plan lessons around a curriculum that promotes good links between the different subjects. This is complemented very well by a wide range of extra-curricular activities.  Teachers work well with parents to help them support their children’s learning and this has contributed to pupils’ progress in reading.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ achievement requires improvement. Current school data show that all groups, including disadvantaged pupils, disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are not making good enough progress from their starting points, both from when they entered the school and from one year to the next.  The 2014 data shows that standards in English attained by most Year 6 pupils were average. Standards in mathematics were below average, equivalent to half of an average point score, or half a term, below pupils nationally. However, the 2014 results, including for mathematics, show an improvement on the previous year, but not as much as for reading and writing.  In 2014, the attainment of disadvantaged pupils in Year 6 overall in reading, writing and mathematics was around a term behind other pupils in the school and around two terms behind other pupils nationally. From their previous starting points, they made similar progress to their peers in school and to

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

disadvantaged pupils nationally. This was because of the interventions put in place, but the gap is still not closing fast enough.  The 2014 results show that the rate of progress for disadvantaged pupils is too slow and the school’s use of pupil premium funding is not effective enough. The gap in this group’s attainment in reading is closing but is still wide in writing and mathematics.  The most able pupils have not made good enough progress since the previous inspection. The 2014 results show that these pupils are making the expected progress from their starting points in reading and writing, but not in mathematics where they are a term behind their peers nationally.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are not making fast enough progress in mathematics. Their progress is good in writing as a result of effective interventions, and improving in reading as a result of the school’s recent drive in this area.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 School leaders’ commitment to equalities is strong and managers amass much data to measure each pupil’s performance. However, they do not use this information well enough to ensure that teachers can plan effectively, and inequalities in performance remain.  Overall, there is no clear and sustained upward trend since the previous inspection, but the gains in 2014 indicate a corner has been turned, and the school’s performance is improving.

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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 106988 Local authority Sheffield Inspection number 456100

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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 7–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 241 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Alison Warner Headteacher Carole Staniland Date of previous school inspection 8 November 2011 Telephone number 0114 255 2347 Fax number 0114 255 2347 Email address enquiries@carterknowle.sheffield.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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