Cross Lane Primary and Nursery School

Cross Lane Primary and Nursery School Cross Lane, Elland, West Yorkshire, HX5 0LP

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Overall effectiveness

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

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

 There is not enough good teaching to ensure pupils consistently make good progress and achieve the standards of which they are capable in reading, writing and mathematics.  Mathematics has not been taught consistently well. Pupils’ progress has been slower in mathematics than in reading and writing.  By the end of Key Stage 2, the progress pupils have made in reading, writing and mathematics is too variable between subjects and from one year to the next.  As they move through the school, pupils experience good teaching in some years but not in others. They are able to catch up when taught well but by not enough for them to make good progress overall by the end of Key Stage 2.  Disadvantaged pupils are not catching up quickly with other pupils within school or pupils nationally despite the support they receive through the pupil premium.  Leaders, managers and governors have not driven improvements in teaching and pupils’ achievement

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

strongly enough to move the school quickly to good.  Early years requires improvement. In Nursery, children do not get the opportunities they need for a good development of their skills of speaking, listening and talking to others.  The assessment of children’s skills when they start school and their progress through the Nursery Year is not thorough enough. Data on progress is not analysed rigorously to provide an accurate view of children’s progress.

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The school has the following strengths

 The headteacher and staff nurture and maintain a happy and safe school.  Leaders, managers and governors are deeply committed to the school’s success. They are starting to achieve some success in improving teaching.  Middle leaders have started making a positive contribution to raising standards in English, mathematics and provision for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs.  The most able pupils achieved a high standard in mathematics in 2014 as a result of some good teaching and effective additional support for their learning.  Pupils feel very safe in school and take pride in behaving well, being cooperative and contributing to the school’s well-ordered and friendly atmosphere. They willingly meet the school’s high expectations for good behaviour.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed teaching and learning across the school. The headteacher and deputy headteacher joined the inspectors in observing lessons.  Meetings were held with senior leaders, middle leaders and teachers.  Discussions took place with representatives of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  An inspector selected small groups of pupils and listened to them reading and also met with a group of pupils to hear their views of the school and their experiences of learning.  Inspectors looked at a range of the school’s documents including information on pupils’ progress, the school’s development plan, the school’s evaluation of its work. The policies and procedures for child protection and safeguarding pupils were also scrutinised.  Inspectors spoke to parents and took account of the views of the 22 parents who completed Ofsted’s online questionnaire (Parent View). The views of staff who responded to the Ofsted questionnaire were

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Inspection team

Alan Lemon, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an above-average-sized primary school.  The very large majority of pupils are White British.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported through the pupil premium is in line with the national average. The pupil premium is additional funding for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those who are looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is in line with the national average.  Children attend the Nursery part-time. Children in Reception attend full time.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set out the minimum expectations for pupils’ progress and attainment in reading, writing and mathematics.  The governing body has a large number of recently appointed members including a new chair- and vice- chair.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching to be good or better and so raise pupils’ achievement in reading, writing and mathematics by ensuring that:  good practice in relation to teaching and marking is shared to achieve consistency in practice across the school  teachers assess what pupils know and can do and use their assessments to plan appropriately challenging work which builds systematically on pupils’ knowledge and skills  teachers set consistently high expectations for what pupils should achieve and adjust the pace of learning where necessary to suit their capabilities  pupils’ progress is rigorously checked by teachers so that none fall behind in their learning and disadvantaged pupils are supported effectively and catch up with other pupils  all teachers have the necessary knowledge, understanding and skills for teaching mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching in the Nursery Year and hence raise achievement in the early years by ensuring that:  children in the Nursery Year have the opportunities they need to develop their skills of speaking, listening and talking to others  activities are planned on the basis of thorough assessment of children’s starting points and accurate checks on their progress during the Nursery Year.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen leadership and management ensuring that:  leaders make rigorous, regular checks on the impact teaching is having on pupils’ learning and achievement  where pupils’ achievement falls below expectations, any shortcomings in teaching are identified and remedied  governors continue to question and challenge school leaders rigorously.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Teaching and pupils’ achievement are not yet good despite the fact that the headteacher and other school leaders are now beginning to drive improvements to teaching. Leaders make regular visits to lessons throughout the school to check the quality of teaching. They are beginning to set their evaluations of teaching against pupils’ outcomes but this process is not yet rigorous enough to allow leaders to pinpoint exactly what needs tackling in order to make improvements.  However, expectations are steadily being raised. The objectives leaders set for teachers to improve their teaching as part of the annual management of their performance have helped teachers reflect on their practice and its impact on pupils’ outcomes. They are beginning to take more note of the data on their pupils’ progress. Teaching of literacy is improving, with standards in reading and writing starting to rise.  The support and advice of the officers of the local authority have helped the headteacher in making his

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The leadership and management requires improvement

plans for the school’s key priorities for improvement.  Middle leaders are providing effective leadership in some key areas of the school’s work and this contributes effectively to driving improvement. The new role of ‘reading champion’ has increased pupils' interest in reading, given them a better choice of books and is encouraging reading at home. A sharper focus on tutoring small groups of pupils in mathematics is starting to make a difference.  While leaders and governors are committed to tackling discrimination and promoting equal opportunities, pupils do not achieve equally well. The impact of the pupil premium has been limited on improving the attainment and progress of disadvantaged pupils. The gaps between them and other pupils are still too wide in writing and mathematics, although the gap has narrowed in reading.  The headteacher and staff are effective in creating a positive ethos for the school. Pupils enjoy school,

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The leadership and management requires improvement

value their experiences and behave well in accordance with the high expectations staff set. Arrangements for safeguarding pupils meet statutory requirements. The steps taken to protect pupils are robust and leaders ensure staff stay always alert to the signs that might be a cause for concern. Relationships with parents and the community are good. The parents who shared their views are happy their children attend this school and believe that their children are doing well at school.  Pupils experience a broad and balanced curriculum, which has been brought up to date with the new National Curriculum. Provision is being developed, aimed at ensuring no pupils fall behind in reading, writing and mathematics. The curriculum offers many enjoyable learning experiences using the school’s woodland and garden areas as well as visits. Pupils’ work and activities all contribute to pupils’ good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. They are prepared for life in modern Britain. The

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The leadership and management requires improvement

effective management of behaviour and the promotion of pupils’ personal development ensure pupils learn responsibility, being dutiful and have positive regard for others.  The physical education and sports premium has been used to extend the choice of sports, bring in expert coaching and to improve the skills of staff. While there is evidence of increased participation by pupils in a wide range of sports, leaders have not devised a means to check if this is having a good impact on pupils’ fitness and well-being.  The governance of the school:  The governors are firmly committed to improving pupils’ achievement. They are resolute in seeking to gain the insights and skills to enable them to hold the school to account. Governors have the experience and expertise which equip them well for carrying out all of their responsibilities. They have sought the necessary training to prepare them for their roles, particularly with regard to their responsibility for the

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The leadership and management requires improvement

oversight of safeguarding.  Governors are getting to grips with the school’s data on pupils’ progress and its interpretation.  They are showing considerable diligence in finding out about the work of the school. Governors use their meetings, the headteacher’s and other reports and visits to the school to build a detailed and accurate picture of strengths and weaknesses. They have started to question vigorously, and challenge, leaders.  Close attention is paid to reports on the quality of teaching and how it is improving. In relation to this they check carefully that the outcomes of teachers’ performance management are matched to promotions and improvements in pay.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Their attendance is above average and they thoroughly enjoy school.  Relationships with each other and with adults are very good. Pupils are polite, well-mannered and show good regard for each other.  Behaviour in classrooms, along corridors, on the playground and over lunch time is invariably good.  Throughout the school, pupils are keen to learn and they enjoy their work. When teaching is lively and challenges them, their enthusiasm and motivation come fully to the fore and are sometimes outstanding. Occasionally, when teaching fails to inspire pupils, they do not listen, actively contribute or work as hard as they should.  Pupils work constructively together in class and help each other. They are conscientious in presenting work which is finished, neat and accurate.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Where concerns arise regarding pupils’ safety the school’s robust procedures ensure the necessary steps are taken to protect and support pupils.  Pupils feel very safe. Leaders, governors and staff ensure pupils are kept safe by managing behaviour effectively and keeping the school’s premises safe, secure and in good repair.  The pupils spoken to acknowledged that bullying occasionally happens. However, it is not often and they feel reassured by the fact that staff are alert to incidents and deal with them effectively.  Pupils learn to recognise all the different forms bullying takes. They know what to do if they are, or see others, being bullied. The curriculum provides good opportunities for pupils to learn the risks of using the internet and social media. In addition, pupils learn wider aspects of safety such as on the road, when cycling, near water and fire risks.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching requires improvement. Its impact on learning and achievement across the school does not enable pupils to make consistently good progress and achieve well. Leaders are tackling the teaching that still requires improvement but not always with the rigour necessary to identify and remedy shortcomings. Checks by teachers on what pupils have learnt are not always thorough. As a result, the work pupils are given to do does not build effectively on what they already know and can do. Opportunities are missed to go over with pupils what they have learnt before moving on to new learning.  In some lessons, the pace of learning is too slow. This reduces pupils’ interest and they put less effort into their work. Teachers do not encourage pupils to contribute fully to lessons when to do so would help them learn more.  Expectations of what pupils can achieve are not matched sufficiently well to their existing knowledge and

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

skills. For example, in a writing task where pupils were asked to use some higher-level adjectives such as ‘alternatively’ or ‘especially’ to connect sentences, not enough thought was given as to how many of these words pupils could recall.  The marking of pupils’ work and the quality of feedback to pupils on how well they have done and how they can improve are inconsistent. However, school leaders are driving improvement in marking, resulting in good practice in some classrooms, effectively supporting pupils’ learning and progress.  There is some lack of expertise in teaching mathematics and pupils are occasionally being set work that is either too hard or too easy. Assessment of pupils’ mathematical knowledge and skills is not thorough, leading to work being set requiring skills pupils have not yet learnt. For example, pupils were given problems to solve involving angles before they were sure of the key principles and rules of angles.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 When teaching is lively, well-paced and has high expectations based on a good knowledge of pupils, they are highly motivated and fully enjoy the challenge in their work. In a Year 3 and 4 class, for example, pupils were greatly enthused by exploring equivalent fractions using good resources that helped them compare halves, thirds and quarters. The teaching of reading and literacy has seen most improvement recently and this is reflected in standards in reading and writing having risen slightly. The role of ‘reading champion’ has effectively raised the profile of reading across the school. Year 5 and 6 pupils, taking on the role of a 16th century Spanish soldier were thoroughly excited at writing a letter home about their jungle experiences in South America. Both lessons were effective in driving up the standards of pupils’ work.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils do not make consistently good progress to achieve the standards they should by the end of Year 6. In 2014, compared to the national figures, the proportion of pupils making expected progress by the end of Key Stage 2 varied. In mathematics it was well below average; in writing it was above average; and in reading it was broadly average. However, the proportions of pupils making more than expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics were below average in each subject. By the end of Key Stage 2, standards in reading and writing are broadly average. They are below average in mathematics.  From their starting points, a higher proportion of disadvantaged pupils make expected progress and more than expected progress in reading compared to other pupils within school and other pupils nationally. From their starting points in writing a higher proportion of disadvantaged pupils make expected progress

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

compared to other pupils within school and other pupils nationally. Fewer make more than expected progress in writing compared to other pupils. From their starting points in mathematics, a much smaller proportion of disadvantaged pupils make expected progress and more than expected progress compared to other pupils within school and pupils nationally.  By the end of Key Stage 2, the gap in attainment between disadvantaged pupils and others in writing has widened over time so that in 2014 it was slightly more than a year compared to other pupils within school and all pupils nationally. In mathematics the gap is widening and is approximately a year and two terms compared to both groups. In reading a narrower gap exists of just over a term behind other pupils in school and just under a year with pupils nationally. To an extent this reflects the success in boosting reading and a start to raising standards.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The most able pupils make expected progress, although too few make more than expected progress. In 2014, the most able pupils attained the higher levels in mathematics as a direct result of the introduction of small group interventions to boost standards in mathematics.  Too many pupils of middle ability did not reach the standards expected in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Key Stage 2 in 2014. Although these pupils took part in the small group interventions for mathematics they had too much ground to catch up to improve their outcomes. However, current data indicates that this group are now making more rapid progress.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make the same rate of progress as others. They are well supported in lessons, which ensures that they keep up with other pupils within school.  Pupils' engagement in reading and their enjoyment of books has gained a higher profile across the school

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

which, by the time they are in Key Stage 2, is improving their ability to read accurately and fluently. Younger pupils use their understanding of letters and the sounds they make to read difficult words, although some are less skilled at this than others. While the school is keen that parents encourage reading, when asked, some pupils say they only read when in school.

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The early years provision requires improvement

 The assessment of children’s starting points when they enter Nursery is not thorough. Therefore, it is difficult for teachers to determine children’s progress accurately and hence plan appropriate activities that will move them on rapidly in their learning. Nonetheless, by the end of Reception the majority of children have reached a good level of development and are ready to start Year 1.  In the Nursery, staff do not develop children’s language and communication skills as well as they should and so children are not making rapid enough progress. Children are not given the opportunities they need to talk about their learning.  In Reception, teaching is stronger than in the Nursery. For example, children respond enthusiastically to their work with number, calculating one less than or one more than a given number. They confidently estimate how many objects there are in a large jar and make a good start to developing mathematical

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The early years provision requires improvement

knowledge.  Nursery and Reception classes have a wide range of resources indoors and outdoors which stimulate and encourage children to make choices and take part in activities across all areas of early years learning.  Nursery and Reception children are closely supervised and are kept safe. Behaviour requires improvement overall because although children behave well towards each other, they sometimes find it difficult to pay attention and follow instructions. Staff have not developed the good strategies needed to help children develop these skills.  Leadership and management of early years require improvement. Leaders have not ensured that teaching is of consistently good quality in the Nursery Year or that assessment is up to date with children’s points in learning.

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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 107533 Local authority Calderdale Inspection number 453736

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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 322 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Paul Richardson Headteacher Ian Pilkington Date of previous school inspection 20 March 2013 Telephone number 01422 372614 Fax number 01422 373847 Email address head@crosslane.calderdale.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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