Wheatfield Primary School

Wheatfield Drive, Bradley Stoke, Bristol, South Gloucestershire BS32 9DB

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Overall effectiveness

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

 Achievement is not good because overall standards in Year 6 in 2014 declined. Pupils do not make fast enough progress over their time in the school.  Teaching is not good, particularly in mathematics, because teachers do not always plan lessons which build on what pupils have learnt and understood. Pupils are not always given advice on how to improve their work.  The weaknesses in the pupils’ calculation skills have not been tackled effectively enough. As a result, the proportions reaching average standards in mathematics are lower than in other schools nationally.  Leaders have not been able to improve mathematics teaching rapidly enough.  Not all middle leaders have a clear overview of pupils’ progress and attainment. This limits their effectiveness in helping the school to improve.  Pupils do not always have opportunities to write at length in subjects other than English.  The governing body has identified the right

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

priorities for improvement. However, it has not been successful in halting the decline in standards at the end of Key Stage 2.

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The school has the following strengths

 Behaviour is good; pupils are enthusiastic and positive learners. They are polite and show respect to all adults. They feel safe in school.  Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 has been rising steadily in English and mathematics.  Reading is taught well and pupils make good progress.  Social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is good because of the well-planned curriculum.  The provision for the early years is good because adults know the children well and they adapt the learning to the needs of the individuals. This quickly moves the children’s learning on.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed pupils’ learning in 17 lessons and part-lessons. On two occasions, they were joined by the deputy headteacher.  Discussions were held with the headteacher, other senior and subject leaders, members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority. Meetings were also conducted with two groups of pupils.  Inspectors heard pupils reading and talked with them in lessons and during lunch and break times. Inspectors also took account of 97 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and a letter received from a parent. In addition, 22 staff questionnaires were also considered.  Pupils’ books were scrutinised by the inspectors, with some looked at jointly with the headteacher.  The inspectors looked at a range of documents, including the school’s development plan, information about pupils’ current progress and attainment, the monitoring of teaching files, and records relating to

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Inspection team

Shahnaz Maqsood, Lead inspector Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is much larger than the average primary school.  Most of the pupils are of White British heritage. About 30% of pupils are from different ethnic backgrounds and a fifth speak English as an additional language; both are average proportions compared with other schools nationally.  Just over 7% of pupils are known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional government funding for pupils known to eligible for free school meals or who are looked after by the local authority. This is well below average.  Children in the early years attend full time.  The school provides breakfast and after-school clubs. This is extremely popular, especially with working parents, and provides a valuable service.  An average proportion of pupils are disabled or have special educational needs.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for

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Information about this school

pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics at the end of Year 6.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring all leaders, including middle leaders, have a clear overview of pupils’ performance and contribute to school improvement.  Raise achievement in writing and mathematics, especially in Key Stage 2, by:  improving pupils’ calculation skills through regular practice  ensuring that teachers plan lessons which build on what pupils are able to do and understand  giving pupils opportunities to write at length in a range of subjects.  Improve teaching so that it is good by:  ensuring that advice given in books helps pupils to improve their work  monitoring pupils’ progress regularly during lessons to check if they have understood the task, and use this information to adapt teaching accordingly.

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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 require improvement

 The headteacher and deputy work well together. Both are determined to improve the school and raise attainment. However, leadership requires improvement because the school was not able to halt the decline in Year 6 standards in 2014. Leaders have accurately identified what needs to be done to secure improvements in the school through the development plan.  Some of the middle leaders are not able to use pupils’ progress data to identify patterns in order to address underachievement. Consequently, they have not been able to fully support the senior leaders with school improvement. The school has recognised this and has provided good professional development which is helping to improve skills.  Systems and checks are in place to monitor the pupils’ progress on a regular basis and are more rigorous than last year. These are beginning to have an impact in tackling underachievement.  Checks on the quality of teaching are regular and have resulted in some improvement. Performance

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The leadership and management require improvement

management is conducted through effective appraisal. Teachers’ pay awards are dependent on pupils’ progress, teachers are now more accountable for the progress of pupils in their care, and the rate of pupil progress is beginning to accelerate this term. However, leaders have not been able to improve the quality of teaching, especially in mathematics, rapidly enough.  The new curriculum has been devised to stimulate and enthuse pupils and is beginning to capture pupils’ enthusiasm for learning. Interesting topics, such as the role of women during the First World War, and visits to places of worship help pupils to understand British values and to develop their social, moral, spiritual and cultural awareness. This is reflected in pupils’ tolerant attitudes and respect for other religions and cultures.  The school has used the sports fund to improve the skills of the teachers and pupils, and to increase

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The leadership and management require improvement

opportunities for competitive sport. More pupils actively participate in sports clubs and enjoy the subject. This has benefited pupils’ health and well-being.  The pupil premium funding is used effectively in a range of ways but mainly to employ staff who can support disadvantaged pupils both socially and academically. The impact of this support is carefully tracked to ensure that gaps in attainment are closing.  Safeguarding arrangements are regularly checked and meet current requirements.  Equal opportunities are important to the school and discrimination of any kind is not tolerated.  The school has developed good relations with parents. They are very supportive of the school. The parents’ association recently raised significant funds to be spent on additional resources.  The local authority provided light-touch support last year. Support for the school has increased recently and the local authority has helped leaders with future planning. Nevertheless, this is at the early stages

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The leadership and management require improvement

and has yet to have an impact on school improvement.  The governance of the school:  New members have recently joined the governing body and are getting to know their role. More experienced governors are supporting them with their development. Governors have a good range of expertise.  The governors know the school’s strengths and weaknesses. They have worked closely with the senior leaders on the school development plan, which focuses on the areas for improvement. The governors are now monitoring the work of the school to ensure that all milestones in the plan are reached.  Governors visit the school regularly to find out about the quality of teaching for themselves. They are aware of the improvements required in teaching and are involved in the management of staff performance. Teachers’ pay is now linked directly to how well pupils attain and progress.  Governors have a good understanding of how the pupil premium is spent and how it is helping to close

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The leadership and management require improvement

gaps in attainment. The use of the sports funding and its effectiveness are also monitored.  The governors have given high priority to ensuring that all pupils have equality of opportunity. The governing body checks that the curriculum meets regulations and that British values are well promoted.  Governors are now beginning to challenge leaders much more effectively and to hold them to account. This was not the case in 2014 and thus they were unable to prevent the fall in Year 6 standards in 2014.  The governing body ensures that safeguarding arrangements meet requirements.  A review of the governance is recommended to improve its effectiveness in helping secure school improvement.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils have good attitudes to learning and they come to school ready to learn. The only time pupils’ behaviour deteriorates is when they become frustrated because the task given to them is too difficult.  At lunchtimes, pupils conduct themselves sensibly and respond to requests made by the supervisors. Many of the older pupils take pride in taking responsibilities and discharging their duties, such as those on the school council.  Attendance is above average because pupils enjoy coming to school. Pupils want to achieve well and always try their best in all lessons.  The vast majority of parents gave positive responses to the questionnaire. They felt that pupils’ behaviour was good and that their children were safe in school.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils feel safe in school and have complete confidence in all the adults who take care of them.  Pupils know what bullying is and about the different types. They know how to keep themselves safe on the internet. They told inspectors that bullying is rare but if it does happen, they have complete faith that staff will deal with it immediately and effectively.  Pupils from different backgrounds get on well with each other. The school is a cohesive community. As one minority ethnic pupil said, ‘Everyone here is nice to each other.’

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching requires improvement because pupils’ progress across the school is inconsistent.  Marking, especially in mathematics, does not give good advice to help pupils to improve their work and make progress.  The teaching of mathematics is not good because teachers do not plan tasks which build on pupils’ prior learning. Often, the tasks are too difficult for pupils. They are moved on to the next stage without being secure in their prior learning. This results in gaps in pupils’ knowledge, which slows down their progress. Weaknesses in pupils’ calculation skills are hampering their progress because they are not able to readily use a range of strategies for solving problems.  Teachers do not always monitor pupils’ progress when pupils are working by themselves, and pupils’ misconceptions are not picked up quickly. This slows down their progress.  Writing is taught better in English than in mathematics. English books show clear evidence of progress and

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

development of skills. Marking is also better in this subject and provides good advice to help pupils to improve. However, pupils are not always able to practise their writing skills in other subjects to accelerate their progress.  The teaching of reading is good. Pupils demonstrate knowledge of a range skills to help them to read well, and reading is promoted well by teachers. Inspectors observed a group of pupils sitting on the floor reading in the library area. They were so engrossed that they did not get up until they had finished reading their books. Effective teaching and pupils’ enthusiasm for reading have resulted in pupils making good progress in reading.  Relationships are positive between the pupils and adults. The pupils respect adults and listen carefully to instructions, which benefits their learning.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make similar progress to their classmates. Extra

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

classes and additional support for this group of pupils ensure that they are well supported.

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requires improvement

 In 2014, standards in Year 6 were lower than those of other pupils nationally in mathematics and writing. Pupils achieved well in reading. Overall attainment declined slightly, mainly because pupils did not make good enough progress in mathematics. Progress in mathematics requires improvement.  Although the proportion of pupils making expected progress in mathematics at the end of Year 6 is similar to that found nationally for all pupils, this is not the case for the proportions making better-than-expected progress.  At the end of Year 2 in 2014, attainment rose from the previous year in reading, writing and mathematics.  Pupils make better progress in writing than in mathematics in Key Stage 2, but progress in writing is not as strong as in reading. Proportions making and exceeding expected progress in writing were the same as those seen nationally.  Despite recent improvements, lack of challenge for the most able slows down their progress and not

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requires improvement

enough pupils reach the higher levels in mathematics at the end of Year 6.  Pupils make good progress in reading and achieve well. Attainment in reading rose at the end of both Years 2 and 6. Pupils have a good grasp of phonics (the sounds that letters make), which helps them with reading. They enjoy reading and the school encourages pupils to read widely by introducing them to different authors.  There are variations in the progress and attainment of disadvantaged pupils, but on the whole they make similar progress to their classmates. There were too few disadvantaged pupils to report the gaps in Year 6 at the end of last term.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress in Key Stage 1, but this slows in Key Stage 2. Pupils from minority ethnic groups and pupils who speak English as an additional language make similar progress to their peers.

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is good

 Children enter with skills and abilities which are typical for their age. In 2014, about two thirds reached a good level of development and were well prepared for Year 1. Children’s progress is closely monitored and those falling behind are helped to catch up. This is because information about children’s needs is shared between the adults, so that all can focus on developing the right area of learning for each individual child.  Targeted support for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs ensures that they learn well. Increasing numbers of children who speak English as an additional language are joining the school. They receive strong support and acquire fluency quickly. Parents of these children were extremely positive about their children’s abilities in English.  Parents told inspectors that they are fully involved and included in their children’s education.  Leadership is good because they have a good knowledge of how young children learn and are aware of

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is good

how to improve the provision further to ensure that pupils make consistently high rates of progress.  Teaching is good because all the learning experiences are exciting and stimulating, which helps children to make progress. For example, children excitedly chose from a range of activities based on the North Pole (Santa’s home). These included designing and making an ice-breaker and split-pin polar bears. They worked happily in groups, sharing resources and ideas. This helped to develop their personal and social skills well.  Behaviour is good and sometimes outstanding. Children show that they feel safe because they explore and investigate while learning, which has a good impact on their progress. All staff are strongly committed to keeping children safe.

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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 131705 Local authority South Gloucestershire Inspection number 448585

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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 413 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sue Davey Headteacher Christine Dursley Date of previous school inspection 11–12 May 2010 Telephone number 01454 868610 Fax number 01454 868611 Email address wheatfieldprimary@southglos.gov.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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