Burrowmoor Primary School

Burrowmoor Primary School Burrowmoor Road, March, PE15 9RP

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected as an academy This inspection: Inadequate 4 Leadership and management Inadequate 4 Behaviour and safety of pupils Inadequate 4 Quality of teaching Inadequate 4 Achievement of pupils Inadequate 4 Early years provision Requires improvement 3

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires special measures.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher, other leaders and the local governing body have not been successful in addressing weaknesses quickly enough.  Leaders are over generous in their evaluation of the school’s work. This means that they do not have a clear picture of the main priorities for improvement.  The school’s systems for checking and then improving the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress are not thorough enough.  Pupils do not achieve well enough because teaching is inadequate. Many pupils make slow progress. Attainment and progress in many year groups is too low.  The school is not effective in closing the gap between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and others. The use of pupil premium funding is not checked closely enough by leaders.  In Key Stages 1 and 2, teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve in their work are too low.  Teachers do not always provide the right level of challenge for pupils.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Teachers do not ensure that the feedback given to pupils on their work helps them to improve it.  Some teaching assistants are not suitably deployed to ensure that they make a positive contribution to pupils’ learning.  Adults do not manage pupils’ behaviour consistently well in class or in the playground.  Pupils’ behaviour is inadequate. Too many have poor attitudes towards learning. They do not always behave well in lessons or at break times. They do not always try hard enough to do their best. Their work is often poorly presented.  Early years provision requires improvement because children’s writing skills improve too slowly in the Reception year.

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The school has the following strengths

 Children in the nursery make good progress because they are taught well in this class.  Children behave well in the early years provision.  The good range of clubs, visits and special days enrich learning and help pupils to enjoy school.  The school’s safeguarding arrangements meet requirements.

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Information about this inspection

 This was an unannounced inspection with no notice given to the school.  The inspectors observed pupils’ learning in 16 lessons, two of which were observed jointly with the deputy headteacher. In addition, the inspectors made some short visits to observe learning in other lessons.  Discussions were held with pupils, staff, a representative from the academy trust and members of the local governing body.  The inspectors took account of the views of 67 parents who responded to the online questionnaire, Parent View. Inspectors also analysed the school’s own surveys of parental views and talked to parents at the end of the school day.  The inspectors observed the school’s work, heard pupils read and looked at a number of documents, including: the school’s own information about pupils’ learning and progress; planning and monitoring documents; the school development plan; records relating to behaviour and attendance; safeguarding

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Information about this inspection

information; and health and safety documentation.  The inspectors analysed 62 questionnaires from staff.

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Inspection team

Mike Capper, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Full report

In accordance with the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

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Information about this school

 This is a larger-than-the-average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are from White British backgrounds.  Children in the early years attend full time in the Reception classes and part time in the Nursery.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is above average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported though the pupil premium is close to the national average. The pupil premium is additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and for children who are looked after by the local authority.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  Burrowmoor Primary School converted to become an academy school on 1 July 2013. When its predecessor school with the same name was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be satisfactory.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress to good or better by:  planning work that provides the right level of challenge  giving pupils clear guidance through feedback about how to improve their work  making better use of teaching assistants to support pupils’ learning  giving the teaching of writing a stronger focus in the Reception year.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by:  ensuring all staff have high expectations for pupils  improving the rigour of checks on teaching and learning to identify and tackle weaknesses promptly  improving the effectiveness of all staff with allocated responsibilities and the governing body, in monitoring provision and securing the necessary improvement  making better use of the pupil premium to provide the right support for disadvantaged pupils and then checking the effect of this support more closely.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ behaviour and the presentation of their work by:  ensuring that all adults manage behaviour consistently well in lessons and at playtimes  helping pupils understand the importance of good behaviour  ensuring that pupils always try hard and present their work neatly.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

External reviews of governance and the use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how these aspects of leadership and management may be improved.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Leadership is inadequate because it has been unsuccessful in securing essential improvements in the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement. Difficulties with staffing have led to an insufficient focus on tackling the key weaknesses.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The school is strongly advised not to seek to appoint newly qualified teachers.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Leaders do not have high enough aspirations for the school. This is reflected in over generous self- evaluation which gives leaders an unrealistic picture of school effectiveness. This makes it difficult to secure the necessary improvements because the urgency to do so is not fully understood.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The school gathers a wealth of information on pupils’ achievement but this is not used with sufficient rigour to identify and tackle dips in progress as soon as they arise. For example, although leaders know that pupils are not doing well enough in Year 3, the actions they have taken have not secured improvement.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The management of teaching is inadequate. Subject leaders and other staff with allocated responsibilities play too small a part in improving teaching. Although they are keen and enthusiastic, not all understand clearly what needs improving. Senior leaders take too much responsibility for improving teaching and learning. Consequently, when they are diverted by other issues, too little is done to tackle weaknesses.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Leaders do not make sure that advice and school policies are followed consistently by all members of staff. For example, staff follow the school’s behaviour policy with varying degrees of success. This results in some lessons being disturbed by poor behaviour and there are differences in how incidents of poor behaviour are tackled at break times.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Leaders are not successful in ensuring that the pupil premium is used to good effect. Funding is used to finance a range of activities but their success is not checked closely so that leaders can identify what is working well and what is proving to be ineffective. Leaders do not ensure that spending is closing the gap between the attainment of eligible pupils and that of others nationally.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The curriculum (the topics and subjects taught) does not successfully promote basic skills or provide equal opportunities for all pupils to learn because it is not taught well enough. Leaders do not monitor the curriculum with sufficient rigour to check that time is being used wisely or that all subjects are being taught in enough detail. A strength in the curriculum is the way that clubs, visits and visitors contribute to pupils’ enjoyment of school. For example, pupils greatly enjoy ‘enrichment days’ when they are able to learn new skills in subjects and sports such as archaeology, archery and animal care.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Activities both in and out of lessons make a sound contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. For example, pupils happily raise funds for the needy, demonstrating their willingness to help those less fortunate than themselves.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 School events, such as a recent visit from a Member of Parliament, help pupils to learn about citizenship and democracy and contribute suitably to the school’s work in promoting British values. Staff show willingness to tackle discrimination. They model tolerance and respect well in their dealings with pupils, each other and parents.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The school focuses successfully on encouraging healthy lifestyles and promoting pupils’ well-being. Pupils participate keenly in physical activity. Leaders are using sports funding successfully to extend the range of activities available for pupils to take part in so that they can fulfil their potential. The school is beginning to check the impact of spending to ensure that additional support is providing value for money.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The academy trust has provided too little support to help the school to improve quickly.  Leaders provide effective support for pupils who have challenging home circumstances. This is the aspect of the school’s work that parents are most pleased about. However, not all would recommend the school to others because of their concerns about pupils’ behaviour and the quality of leadership.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Leaders ensure that safeguarding arrangements meet statutory requirements. They are diligent in ensuring that pupils are kept safe. For example, staff check the school site daily for potential dangers for pupils.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The governance of the school:  Governance is ineffective. Governors are over reliant on information from the headteacher to check provision. Some of this paints a picture of the school’s work that is too positive. Consequently, they have an unrealistic view of how well the school is performing in comparison with others. Governors do not have thorough systems for finding things out for themselves so that they can provide greater challenge to school leaders when they receive reports.  The local governing body does not ensure that the pupil premium is being used well to close the gap between eligible pupils and others.  Although leaders evaluate teaching as good, governors know that there is weak teaching in the school. However, they do not check with enough rigour that it is being improved quickly. They are insufficiently involved in monitoring the performance of teachers so that they can ensure that only good teaching is

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is inadequate.  Some parents and a small number of staff, feel that pupils do not behave well enough. Pupils agree with this view. Pupils are clear that their learning is sometimes disturbed by the thoughtless and disruptive behaviour of others. Inspectors saw that in lessons, pupils are too often inattentive.

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Behaviour

 Pupils do not take sufficient pride in their work. Too often, pupils’ work is poorly presented and untidy. Pupils do not understand the importance of trying hard all of the time. They waste time in lessons by talking. When they are working, they do not always do their best.

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Behaviour

 The school’s behaviour logs show that there is too much poor behaviour at break times. Although little was seen during the inspection, pupils report that this usually happens when ball games get out of hand and adults do not intervene quickly enough.

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Behaviour

 There are some aspects of pupils’ behaviour which are positive. Children’s behaviour is good in the early years provision. Pupils in Key Stages 1 and 2 behave well when work is engaging and practical. For example, during an ‘Enrichment Day’ pupils participated enthusiastically and behaved very sensibly when working on a range of activities that included dance, cookery and sport.

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Behaviour

 Across the school, most pupils are polite and courteous to visitors. They attend regularly. They are keen to talk about their work and most enjoy school, although some say that they would like it better if ‘teaching was more fun.’

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure requires improvement.

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Safety

 Most pupils agree that they feel safe. However, they report that there is some rough play at break time and when this happens they feel less safe.

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Safety

 Parents are clear that the school keeps pupils safe although some have concerns about bullying. School records show that there is some bullying but it is generally dealt with appropriately. Pupils confirm this.

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Safety

 Pupils know who to turn to if they are worried. They understand that bullying can take many forms and can describe how to avoid problems such as cyber-bullying when using the internet.

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Safety

 Work in and out of lessons helps pupils to learn about keeping safe in different situations. For example, older pupils spoke knowledgeably about how to avoid the potential dangers of living on a farm. Following a visit from the fire service, younger pupils are able to explain the importance of fire safety.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 The teaching of reading, writing and mathematics is inadequate. Too much teaching is dull and does not sustain pupils’ interest. It does not inspire them to do their best, to work hard or to develop positive attitudes towards learning.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Teachers do not manage behaviour consistently well across the school. Teachers allow poor behaviour to continue for too long in some classes as a result it disturbs the learning of other pupils.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Teachers do not always expect enough of pupils. They sometimes set work that is too easy for the most able and too hard for the less able, including disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. Consequently, pupils do not learn rapidly and their skills, knowledge and understanding improve too slowly.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Teacher’s marking leaves pupils unclear about what they have done well or what needs improving.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Teachers do not deploy teaching assistants well enough so that they can contribute fully to pupils’ learning. Teaching assistants are keen and enthusiastic but are insufficiently involved in supporting pupils, especially when they are working together at the start of lessons.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Not all teaching is inadequate and some is good. Pupils make good progress when work motivates and engages them and they are clear about what they are learning. For example, pupils quickly improved their knowledge of the meaning of Easter in Year 2 when they were supported to think about the key elements of the Easter story.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Too many pupils including disadvantaged pupils, the more able pupils, disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are making inadequate progress. The school does not successfully promote equality by ensuring that all groups do well. Consequently, pupils lack the skills and knowledge needed to prepare them for the next stage of their education.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Pupils’ attainment at the end of Year 2 in 2014 was below average in reading, writing and mathematics, as was the proportion reaching the expected levels in the national phonics check at the end of Year 1.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 The most able pupils do not make good progress because they are not always provided with the right level of challenge in their work. Too few pupils are on track to reach the higher Level 3 by the end of Year 2 or Levels 5 or 6 by the end of Year 6 because teaching takes too little account of the needs of the most able.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Although, pupils’ attainment in national tests at the end of Year 6 in 2014 was broadly average in reading, writing and mathematics, this is not the case in the current year. Pupils do not make enough progress as they get older. Pupils’ current work shows that there is significant underachievement across the school. School assessment information confirms that in many year groups, pupils’ attainment continues to be low with too few working at the expected levels for their age. Pupils’ attainment is not improving quickly enough.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 The school is not successfully closing the gap between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and others. In national tests at the end of Year 6 in 2014, disadvantaged pupils were around a term behind their classmates in mathematics and writing, but were working at similar levels in reading. When compared with all pupils nationally, they were working at similar levels to all pupils in mathematics and reading but were around a term behind in writing. However, school assessments show that in the current year, the gap is widening.

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The early years provision requires improvement

 Children make better progress in early years provision than elsewhere in the school because the leader has responded decisively, over the last year, to tackle weaknesses. Consequently, children are now more ready than in the past, both socially and academically, for learning in Year 1.

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The early years provision requires improvement

 In 2014, children’s attainment at the end of the Reception year was very low and too few made sufficient progress from their starting points. While they are making better progress in the current year and attainment is already higher than in 2014, children’s achievement and the quality of provision still requires improvement. This is because children do not yet do well enough in improving writing skills in the Reception year. In these classes, the teaching of writing, especially for boys, is not a suitably high priority.

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The early years provision requires improvement

 In the Reception year, teaching does not always provide the right level of challenge. Adults do not always move children’s learning on quickly by, for example, asking questions to see what they already know. When this happens, the pace of learning is too slow, especially for the most able.

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The early years provision requires improvement

 Children make the best progress in the Nursery where teaching is good. In the Nursery, adults work together well to meet differing needs. Children make good progress in learning about phonics because learning is fun, with good use made of resources to make work purposeful.

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The early years provision requires improvement

 A strength of the early years provision is the way that staff in both the Nursery and Reception year promote children’s personal, social and emotional development. Adults give children calm and sensitive support to help them settle at the start of the day. Children behave well because adults have high expectations and do not accept poor behaviour. Consequently, there is a happy atmosphere in lessons with children supporting each other and concentrating well.

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The early years provision requires improvement

 Children feel safe. They use resources sensibly. Activities such as visits from a farmer help them learn how to avoid dangers at home and contribute well to children’s learning about the world of work.

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The early years provision requires improvement

 In the last two terms, leaders have made a good start in improving provision. They are making improvements based on a clear understanding of what is, and what is not going well and why. They check information on children’s progress thoroughly and use this to plan the next steps in children’s learning. For example, work has already started to improve children’s attainment in writing by increasing opportunities for them to write throughout the day. Nevertheless, this is not yet strong enough in the Reception year.

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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 139843 Local authority Cambridgeshire Inspection number 449943

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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 Academy converter Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 440 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Julie Southwell Headteacher Anna Goffe Date of previous school inspection Not applicable Telephone number 01354 652330 Fax number 01354 661149 Email address office@burrowmoorprimary.org 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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