South Bank Community Primary School

South Bank Community Primary School Learning Lane, The Avenue, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, TS6 0DD

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The behaviour and safety of pupils are both outstanding. Pupils are confident, friendly and courteous. They are proud of their school and have excellent attitudes to their work. Pupils are given many opportunities to take responsibility for themselves and others. Pupils feel safe in school and know how to keep themselves and each other as safe as possible.  Leadership and governance are outstanding. The school has rapidly improved all areas of its work since the previous inspection two years ago. As a result teaching is consistently good, and pupils are making good progress.  The headteacher maintains a constant focus on pupil progress. She grasps every opportunity to provide the very best experiences for pupils. This drive and determination is shared by all who work in the school.  The quality of teaching is good. Teachers plan interesting and purposeful activities. Teachers have high expectations and an enthusiastic

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

approach. This helps pupils to develop a love of learning, work hard and make good progress.  Pupils in the two learning support units make outstanding progress. This is because adults are highly skilled, have high expectations and make sure that every single pupil makes the best possible progress.  Reading is taught exceptionally well throughout the school so that pupils make rapid progress to reach above-average standards by the time they leave at the end of Year 6.  Achievement in writing and mathematics is good. Pupils make good progress from their starting points to reach average standards by the end of Year 6. Standards in writing have improved over the last three years.  Children make good progress throughout the early years because the quality of teaching is good. Staff provide a wide range of learning activities that help children to thrive in a happy, busy and interesting atmosphere.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The quality of teaching is good rather than outstanding. Teachers do not always give pupils enough opportunities to learn from their mistakes in order to make even more rapid progress.  Not enough pupils reach above-average standards in writing and mathematics in all key stages.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed lessons and checked the quality of pupils’ work. Some of these activities were carried out jointly with the headteacher and deputy headteacher.  Inspectors talked to pupils at break and dinner times, and listened to others in Years 1, 2 and 6 read.  Not enough parents responded to the online questionnaire (Parent View) to be analysed so inspectors spoke to parents during the inspection and took the school’s own survey of parents’ views into account.  Inspectors met with senior and middle leaders, teachers, teaching assistants, members of the governing body and a director from the Trust.  The school’s improvement plan and records of pupils’ achievement, as well as records of the quality of teaching, pupils’ behaviour and safeguarding were examined.  Twenty-seven staff submitted their views via a questionnaire and inspectors took these into account.

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Inspection team

Christine Cottam, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 South Bank Community Primary is a similar size to the average-sized primary school.  South Bank is a member of Aspire Learning Partnership, a Trust consisting of eight primary schools who work together. The Trust is governed by a board of directors. South Bank Community Primary school has its own governing body. The Chair of the Governing Body and headteacher are directors of the Trust.  The school had to vacate its new building in July 2014 when structural faults were identified. The school is housed in temporary accommodation where it is likely to remain until the end of the year.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils, those known to be eligible for the pupil premium, is much higher than the national average. (The pupil premium is additional funding the school receives for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals, and those children who are looked after by the local

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Information about this school

authority.)  The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage and speak English as their first language.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is much higher than that found nationally.  The school manages two units that provide additional support for pupils with special educational needs in Key Stages 1 and 2. The units support pupils with learning and behavioural difficulties.  Early years provision is part time in the Nursery and full time in the Reception Year.  The school meets the current floor standard, which is the government’s minimum expectation for attainment and progress in English and mathematics at the end of Year 6.  The school has gained a number of awards, most recently a silver ‘Eco-School’ award and ‘Enhanced Healthy School’ status.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that it is outstanding and helps pupils make even more rapid progress by:  giving pupils more consistent opportunities to correct or improve their own work  using information from day-to-day assessments to provide additional practise for pupils who need it  helping teachers to develop their teaching still further by providing more opportunities for teachers to share best practice within the school and across the Trust.  Provide greater challenge for the most able pupils so that the proportion attaining above-average standards in writing and mathematics is higher than it is currently in all key stages.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher leads the school with flair and enthusiasm. The school is well organised, calm and welcoming. The unexpected move to a temporary building has not distracted leaders and governors from their ambitious pursuit of excellence. All aspects of the school’s work have improved since the previous inspection.  Leaders carefully check the quality of teaching by looking at pupils’ books and visiting lessons regularly. They also check whether pupils are making enough progress. Leaders take effective action to help pupils who are falling behind. For example, the school has used some of its pupil premium funding to appoint an additional teacher to help pupils catch up if they struggle to learn to read. This approach has resulted in outstanding achievement in reading for all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils.  Middle leaders are fully involved in checking pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching. They share

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The leadership and management are outstanding

the drive and ambition of senior leaders and are well supported by them.  Leadership of the specially resourced units is extremely effective so that disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make excellent progress and their behaviour is outstanding.  Teachers and teaching assistants are given detailed and precise feedback to help them to improve. Where teaching in the past has not been good enough, leaders have withheld pay rises and taken rapid action to address weaknesses. This rigorous management of the performance of teachers has resulted in consistently good teaching.  The school joined the Trust in November 2014. The Trust has started to bring teachers together for professional development to help them develop outstanding teaching skills. These opportunities for teachers to share best practice are too new to have had an impact.  The local authority works in partnership with the Trust to challenge the school and make sure it is

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The leadership and management are outstanding

performing as well as it can.  The curriculum is rich with a wide range of subjects and experiences to stimulate the interests of pupils. For example, a large group of parents came to a meeting during the inspection to find out more about an outdoor adventure residential visit planned for Year 2 pupils. Pupils are very excited about the opportunity to camp, climb and explore the countryside. These enrichment opportunities are regularly provided for all pupils.  Pupils have excellent opportunities to develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding. This has led to high levels of tolerance and respect. The school council is very active and this helps pupils understand the importance of democracy in modern Britain.  The primary school sport funding has been used effectively to increase specialist teaching and to enable more pupils to take part in competitions. The school has carefully checked the effect of this spending and

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The leadership and management are outstanding

has subsequently changed plans slightly to employ their own sports coach. This extends the provision of specialist teaching to all pupils.  Parents have high levels of confidence in the school. Leaders and governors regularly seek the views of parents and take action on the rare occasions when they are not completely satisfied. For example, parents had concerns about healthy lifestyles. As a result the school has improved school meals and introduced sports coaching at lunchtimes. Parents are happy with behaviour and expressed no concerns about bullying or safety.  The school’s arrangements for safeguarding pupils are excellent. For example, leaders work exceptionally well with other agencies to safeguard the well-being of particularly vulnerable pupils.  The governance of the school is outstanding:  Governors have an excellent knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. This is because

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The leadership and management are outstanding

they visit for themselves and listen to the views of leaders, teachers and pupils. Governors, to make sure their view is accurate, also engage external consultants on an occasional basis.  Governors have a detailed understanding of the quality of teaching. They review the pay of all staff very carefully and only reward performance when teaching is good enough.  Governors receive a great quantity of pupil performance information. However, they are not daunted by this because they take time to understand it, ask challenging questions and take part in extra training if they need it. This approach helps them to know exactly how well the school is performing.  Governors manage finances, including the pupil premium grant, very effectively. As a result, all pupils, regardless of their backgrounds, achieve well. This demonstrates the school’s outstanding commitment to promoting equality of opportunity, fostering good relations and tackling discrimination.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Pupils are polite, friendly and well behaved at all times and for all adults. Pupils thrive in an atmosphere where adults consistently model high standards of trust and respect. As a Year 5 pupil said, ‘We respect and look after each other here.’ This attitude helps pupils to grow in confidence and maturity.  Pupils are extremely enthusiastic learners who enjoy school and want to do well. This is because teachers and other adults are equally enthusiastic and have high expectations. All adults set clear rules, routines and boundaries so pupils know what to expect on the rare occasions they do not behave well.  Pupils are given excellent opportunities to take on additional responsibilities across the school. There are pupil buddies who help younger pupils, a junior leadership team and a school council. These opportunities help pupils to develop their social and moral skills. It also prepares them very well for life in modern

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Behaviour

Britain as they begin to develop their understanding of responsibility and democracy.  The school has appointed and trained ‘Learning Captains’ to check the quality of work in other pupils’ books. Pupils who have been selected are very proud of this responsibility and give rewards to those who live up to their standards.  The behaviour of pupils in the units is outstanding. Some of these pupils come to the school with significant behavioural difficulties. They are managed expertly and calmly by staff and their behaviour improves rapidly.  Attendance has improved and is now average.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding  Pupils are taught well how to stay safe, for example on the internet, on the school buses and when crossing the road. They are able to describe confidently what to do to stay safe in a range of situations.  Pupils and parents have no concerns about bullying. Bullying and racist incidents are extremely rare. Pupils are confident that if bullying does happen, they know what to do and that it will be dealt with effectively.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers plan learning that is interesting to pupils so that pupils work hard and make good progress. For example, in a literacy lesson, pupils were developing a real love of poetry because of the excellent activities and the enthusiasm of the teacher and teaching assistant.  Teachers use their good subject knowledge to explain clearly and ask searching questions that help pupils to think and develop a deeper understanding.  Teachers mark pupils’ work regularly and accurately and tell pupils how to improve or correct their work. Sometimes teachers give pupils opportunities to respond to this feedback, but this is not always the case. In some instances pupils do correct their work but do not have an opportunity for further practise to make sure they have fully understood.  Teaching assistants provide effective support. Sometimes they support small groups of pupils within the classroom and sometimes they teach those who need to catch up separately. This particularly helps the

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The quality of teaching is good

least able pupils to make good progress.  Teachers sometimes plan good activities that have high enough levels of challenge for the most able pupils. However, this is not consistently the case in all classes and at all times. This means that not enough pupils are reaching above-average standards, particularly in writing and mathematics.  Teachers and teaching assistants create a positive learning atmosphere in classrooms and around the school. They forge excellent relationships with all pupils and model the high standards of tolerance and respect they expect to see. There are fair and firm rules and routines so that learning is very rarely disrupted.  The teaching of reading is outstanding. Pupils are taught to read on a daily basis and a ‘reading recovery’ teacher is particularly effective in making sure all pupils make the best possible progress.  The teaching of writing, mathematics and other subjects is good. Teachers provide good opportunities for

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The quality of teaching is good

pupils to apply their literacy and numeracy skills in other subjects.  The quality of teaching in the specially resourced units is outstanding. Teachers and teaching assistants work together as an effective team. They have an excellent knowledge of the needs of pupils because assessments are precise and accurate. Teachers use information from these assessments to plan work that is very well matched to pupils’ needs so that they make rapid progress from their starting points.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress because the quality of teaching is good and leaders are focussed on ensuring all pupils achieve well.  Children enter the Nursery with skills and abilities that are lower than those typically found for their age. Their skills are even lower than this in reading, writing and mathematics. By the time pupils leave the school at the end of Year 6 they have caught up and reached average standards in writing and mathematics and above-average standards in reading.  Pupils make outstanding progress in reading throughout the school. Pupils in Year 1 are taught their letters and sounds very well so that a higher than average proportion reached the expected standard in the national reading screening check in 2014. This rapid progress continues throughout the school so that standards are above average at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2. In 2014, almost three quarters of pupils made better progress than that seen nationally in reading.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress in writing to reach average standards by the time they leave the school at the end of Year 6. Standards have improved and are higher than they were at the previous inspection. Pupils’ writing is interesting, detailed and well organised. They are able to write at length for a wide variety of purposes. Their spelling, punctuation and vocabulary are weaker but they are improving with additional teaching of these aspects. The proportion of pupils reaching above-average standards is lower than found nationally in all key stages.  Achievement is good in mathematics. Pupils make good progress to reach average standards at the end of Keys Stages 1 and 2. As in writing, the proportion of pupils reaching above-average standards is lower than found nationally. Good teaching helps pupils to develop increasingly difficult calculation skills as they move through the school. This helps them to develop a good understanding of the number system by the

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The achievement of pupils is good

time they reach the end of Year 6. School leaders have identified the need to develop pupils’ reasoning and problem-solving skills. Work seen during the inspection showed that this is already starting to improve.  While the most able pupils are reaching above-average standards in reading at the end of each key stage, not enough are doing so in writing and mathematics. This is because the work they are set is not always challenging enough for them. For example, sometimes pupils are not moved on quickly enough when it is obvious that they already understand.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress. This is because teachers carefully check their progress and provide additional help when they need it.  The achievement of pupils in the Key Stage 1 and 2 specially resourced units is outstanding. Skilful teachers and their assistants inspire pupils and provide activities that are very well matched to their needs

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The achievement of pupils is good

so that they make rapid progress from very low starting points.  The number of disadvantaged pupils in each year group can be very high but it varies greatly. In some year groups there are hardly any pupils who are not disadvantaged. This makes year-on-year comparisons difficult. For example, in 2014, there were only three disadvantaged pupils in Year 2 and their attainment was much higher than others in the school and others nationally. In Year 6 only five pupils were not disadvantaged. Their attainment was particularly high so that there were very wide gaps within the school. However, disadvantaged pupils made equally good progress from their starting points, and in reading their attainment was slightly higher than others nationally. Disadvantaged pupils were about one term behind others nationally in writing and six months behind in mathematics.

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The early years provision is good

 Children make good progress throughout Nursery and Reception because the quality of teaching is good. Children thrive in an atmosphere where learning is fun. For example, children in Nursery were extremely excited about the appearance of the magic dragon’s footprints, a huge egg and a mysterious letter. This fired their imagination so that they made excellent progress in their communication skills.  Children start school in Nursery with skills and abilities that are lower than those typically found. Their skills are even lower than this in reading, writing and mathematics. They make good progress throughout early years so that about three quarters have acquired many of the skills they need to make a good start in Year 1. The proportion of pupils acquiring those skills in reading, writing and mathematics has increased over the last three years, but remains lower than found nationally. Not enough of the most able pupils

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The early years provision is good

exceed this level.  The quality of teaching in early years is good. There is an increasing emphasis on teaching children their letters, sounds and numbers so that achievement in these areas is improving. At the same time, indoor and outdoor learning activities are used well to foster children’s interests in a wide range of areas of learning.  Children make rapid progress in their social skills so that their behaviour is good. They are able to take turns and speak politely to adults and each other. Children understand the rules and routines of early years well and adults provide consistent and gentle reminders where they are needed.  The leader of the early years has a good knowledge of the achievements of children. She makes sure there are clear plans in place so that adults work together well to make sure all children make good progress.  Parents are unanimously happy with provision. They are kept well informed about their children’s progress

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The early years provision is good

and find staff approachable and helpful.  There are good systems in place to keep 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 134705 Local authority Redcar and Cleveland Inspection number 462210

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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 255 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Karen McGarrity Headteacher Helen Hall Date of previous school inspection 12 June 2013 Telephone number 01642 453451 Fax number 01642 442929 Email address south_bank_cps@redcar-cleveland.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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