Byron Wood Primary School

Byron Wood Primary School Earldom Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S4 7EJ

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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

 The quality of teaching throughout the school is not consistently good. Many teachers do not explain clearly enough to pupils what they are supposed to be learning. This particularly affects the less able pupils.  The most able pupils spend too much time waiting to move onto harder work appropriate to their abilities.  Teachers do not help pupils to remember their targets for improvement, particularly in English and mathematics.  Some staff lack sufficient skills to support pupils’ reading needs.  Children in the early years do not get enough opportunity for speaking and listening to improve their language skills more quickly.  Leaders and managers have not ensured that all policies and procedures are consistently applied so that all teachers can help improve teaching.  Leaders and managers do not make sure that all staff receive effective professional development. The evaluations of teaching and training needs do

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

not ensure that the quality of teaching is consistently good or better.  Not enough pupils in the early years, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 reach standards in English and mathematics that are expected for pupils of their age.

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The school has the following strengths

 Behaviour in the school is good. Pupils are polite and courteous. They feel pride in their work and respect their school environment.  Pupils feel safe. They say that they are not bullied and they have an accurate knowledge of what different types of bullying are.  Leaders and managers ensure pupils are safe because they take appropriate measures, such as risk assessments and immediate checks on any unexplained absence.  Leaders and managers have secured some improvements in teaching and pupils’ learning in the last few months.  Governors have undertaken a review of the work they do and they have a much clearer picture of what they need to do next.  Pupils have made better academic progress in the last year and have recently reached standards that are close to or above that expected for pupils their age.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed a number of lessons in a range of subjects. They also completed extensive scrutiny of pupils’ books. Both activities were completed jointly with the deputy headteacher and the headteacher.  Inspectors spoke to pupils throughout the school day, both informally at break times and when appropriate in lessons. They also listened to pupils read in Years 2 and 6 and had a formal meeting with older pupils. The behaviour of pupils was observed throughout the inspection.  There were no responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View. However, inspectors spoke to several parents during the inspection and their views along with 36 responses to the Ofsted staff questionnaire were considered.  Discussions were held with a number of teaching staff, senior leaders, governors and representatives of the local authority. Recent reviews and evaluations of the effectiveness of the school undertaken by

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Information about this inspection

external consultants and one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors were also studied.  School documents were examined. These included information about pupils’ progress, the school’s evaluation of its own work and improvement plans, and information about the work of the governing body. The work in pupils’ books and on display, together with records relating to the quality of teaching, staff performance management, behaviour, attendance and safeguarding were also scrutinised.

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Inspection team

Joanna Sharpe, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Byron Wood Primary School is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils supported by pupil premium funding is higher than the national average. This funding is for pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those who are looked after by the local authority.  The number of pupils who start school speaking English as an additional language is also higher than the national average.  Many pupils join the school at times other than is normally expected.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is in line with the national average.  There is a nurture unit for disabled pupils and those who have a special educational need.  Children attend the early years provision on a full-time basis.  The school meets the government’s floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ progress and attainment in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

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Information about this school

 The headteacher has been in post since 2009. There have been changes in the senior leadership and teaching team this year. Further changes in the leadership and teaching team are expected for September 2015.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching to raise standards in all key stages across the school by ensuring that:  teachers explain clearly to pupils what is expected of them, particularly the less able  pupils, particularly the most able, do not waste learning time by waiting to move on to work that matches their academic ability  teachers help pupils remember their targets so that they know how they can improve their work  children in the early years have far more opportunities to experience spoken English through activities such as music, story, nursery rhymes and using electronic equipment.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management to improve the quality of teaching by ensuring that:  professional development for all staff takes into account individual training needs, evaluations and support needed  policies and procedures are firmly embedded and applied consistently by all staff.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 There has recently been an improvement in the quality of teaching and the standards pupils have reached but both still require improvement.  Instability in the leadership and management of the school has meant that policies and procedures are not fully understood or implemented by all staff. This has had a negative effect on the quality of teaching and on pupils’ achievement throughout the school.  The quality of senior and middle leadership has been variable and therefore has not been sufficiently effective in improving the quality of teaching. Senior and middle leaders have not made expectations clear to teachers and teaching assistants and this has led to varying standards of behaviour in some lessons and learning.  Leaders and managers do not make sure that all staff receive effective professional development. Training needs of staff are not met; training opportunities are limited and there is not enough opportunity for staff

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The leadership and management requires improvement

to reflect on their work with others or to share good practice in the school and with other schools. Professional development targets for staff are not individualised to support improvement. Evaluation and monitoring of teaching is not effective in improving the quality of teaching so that it is consistently good or better.  Leaders and managers have an accurate picture of how the school is currently performing. They are aware there has been some improvement since the last inspection but that more is needed. Self- evaluation is accurate, although this document is not sufficiently succinct to ensure issues are clearly evaluated and identified. An appendix to the self-evaluation report now identifies timescales to ensure issues are continually monitored.  Information on pupil progress is well documented and regularly reviewed. The school has recently adopted the local authority assessment system.  The curriculum ensures that pupils gain opportunities appropriate to their needs and gives them

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The leadership and management requires improvement

experiences they may not normally have. Residential visits and day trips as well as experiences through topic studies make learning fun for pupils. Assemblies help pupils, especially those new to England, learn about British culture and institutions so that they are better prepared for life in modern Britain.  The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils is good. Pupils learn about different cultures and were fascinated when learning from a Buddhist visitor. School leaders ensure that pupils have a tolerance and understanding of the wide range of cultures and beliefs found in the school to secure good relations. Pupils comment that there is no division in school due to culture or belief. School leaders foster good relationships, ensure any discrimination is tackled immediately and also make certain that pupils have an equal opportunity to access the curriculum.  The school uses its primary physical education and sport premium to increase pupils’ physical skills well.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

As a result, pupils’ progress in physical education is good throughout the school.  Partnerships with other schools have led to improvements across the school, such as the setting up of New Starters Classes for pupils starting the school in Key Stage 1 and 2 with little or no English language skills. This and other initiatives such as those relating to improving reading skills have had a positive impact on pupils’ progress and standards reached.  Pupils move onto a wide range of different secondary schools and the school ensures that transition arrangements to these schools are good.  The local authority has supported the school including the promotion of partnership arrangements and training events for governors. The school has a number of newly qualified teachers joining in September 2015 and the local authority has offered support for these new teachers.  The school’s arrangements for safeguarding pupils are effective and meet statutory requirements. Safe

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The leadership and management requires improvement

recruitment practices are followed and appropriate records kept to ensure pupils’ safety. Risk assessments are completed as appropriate. Parents are confident that their children are safe while in school.  The governance of the school:  Governors have recently undergone an external review of their work and have a much clearer vision of how to improve their effectiveness further. They have a clear view of their financial spending. Sports funding has been well spent on employing skilled physical education practitioners. This has impacted positively on pupils’ health and welfare and the quality of the teaching in physical education. Pupil premium money is carefully accounted for. This money has funded the New Starters Classes and performing arts lessons. The impact on the progress of pupils in these classes is good. Governors have a clear idea that teaching requires improvement and what has to be done to reward good teaching and

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The leadership and management requires improvement

tackle underperformance. They are aware that the professional development of staff does not currently meet individual needs well enough to improve the quality of teaching. Governors have a clear idea of the standards and progress pupils make but they do not analyse this information thoroughly enough to identify weaker teaching.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are polite and courteous and have a friendly curiosity towards visitors.  Pupils say they enjoy coming to school. This is also the view expressed by their parents.  Pupils are respectful of the needs of others in lessons. Relationships are good and all pupils play well together. Pupils in the school come from a wide range of different cultural backgrounds and nationalities and they all mix together harmoniously.  Pupils’ conduct around school is good and they move quickly and sensibly to their next lesson.  Pupils take pride in their work and in their environment. They ensure that the school is tidy and that coats and bags are carefully hung on pegs so that they do not cause hazards or untidiness in corridors.  The attendance of pupils is steadily improving. Leaders, managers and teachers place a strong emphasis on the importance of arriving at school on time and attending every day. Rates of persistent absence have

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Behaviour

fallen and are now much closer to the national average. Teachers have been instrumental in improving attendance and reducing exclusions, for example by using smiley faces and behaviour plans. There have been no fixed-term exclusions this year.  Views expressed by staff and parents say that pupils do not behave as well when they are taught by teachers other than their normal teacher. This was not witnessed by inspectors during the inspection; pupils know the behaviour rules well and say they apply it to all teachers.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.  Parents are confident that their children are safe while in school and children say they feel safe.  Pupils consider that bullying in any form does not happen in school. They are aware of the different types of bullying. Pupils are able to say what they would do and who they would ask for help if they had any concerns.  Pupils know that they have a right to say no to something if it is not the right thing to do. They are also aware that not everything they read is necessarily the truth.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching is highly variable throughout the school. Although there is some good and occasional outstanding teaching, much requires improvement. Some teaching is inadequate. For these reasons, the impact of teaching on learning and achievement, including in literacy, reading and mathematics requires improvement overall.  Some teachers do not explain clearly enough to pupils what they are expected to do and learn. This was apparent in a literacy lesson where pupils, particularly less able pupils, were not sure what they should be learning and therefore wasted time waiting for further explanation.  The most able pupils too frequently spend time listening to explanations of work that is too easy for them. In mathematics lessons pupils too often actually complete work that is too easy for them before moving on to harder work. They are not given the opportunity to make more valuable use of their learning time by

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

moving quickly onto work that is challenging and appropriate to their abilities.  Pupils are given much opportunity to read with adults. However, not all these adults have received appropriate training so that they can effectively support pupils’ learning in reading.  Pupils have targets to aim for which teachers discuss with them and their parents termly. Teachers do not frequently remind pupils of these during lessons so that they continue to work consistently on areas they need to improve.  Due to a lack of adequate guidance from leaders and managers not all teachers implement strategies and policies effectively, including the marking policy and behaviour policy. This inconsistency has a negative impact on pupils’ behaviour and learning.  Teachers have good relationships with pupils and have created a positive climate where pupils enjoy their learning.  Teaching in the Nurture Room, which supports pupils with special educational needs and the New Starter

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

Classes, is good. The focus on learning to read and write English is good and leads to pupils’ good progress in these areas.  The teaching of performing arts is consistently outstanding. Pupils make outstanding progress in social and emotional skills as well as in language skills in these particular lessons. The enjoyment of pupils in this class is evident. Pupils who are seen struggling to communicate in school participate enthusiastically when in these lessons. Their enthusiasm means that they are prepared to ‘have a go’ and this supports the good progress they make.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Many pupils start the school in the early years and at different times other than normally expected with standards that are much lower than pupils of the same age nationally. This is generally due to English not being the primary spoken language for many.  Standards reached have improved across the school in 2015. Very recent results show that pupils leaving the school at the end of Year 6 in July 2015 have reached standards in English and mathematics that although better than 2014 are still below that of other pupils nationally. In 2014, the standards pupils reached in English and mathematics at the end of Year 6 were well below those of other pupils nationally.  The number of pupils in Year 6 who have made the progress which is expected of them in Key Stage 2 in reading, writing and mathematics has increased this year. However, the numbers who have made better progress than expected has decreased.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 A range of compulsory extra lessons before and after school has had a positive impact on the standards reached and the better progress made by pupils in Year 6 this year.  There was a small improvement in the standards pupils reached in English and mathematics at the end of Key Stage 1 in 2014. This improvement has continued for those pupils reaching expected standards but the number of pupils reaching higher standards has fallen. The progress of pupils in Key Stage 1 in reading, writing and mathematics requires improvement. The gap between disadvantaged pupils and those for whom English is an additional language and others in the school is not closing in Key Stage 1.  Progress in reading has been stronger this academic year in Years 5 and 6 due to the effective strategies that have been introduced to support pupils’ progress in reading.  Disadvantaged pupils and those for whom English is an additional language achieve standards that are

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

lower than those of other pupils in the school and nationally. In Key Stage 2 the progress they make is slightly stronger than that of other pupils therefore the gap in standards is slowly closing. These pupils reach levels of attainment that are about one term behind those of other pupils in the school and approximately one year behind those of other pupils nationally.  The most able pupils generally make the progress that is expected of them. They do not make better progress than expected as they are not consistently challenged to reach higher levels of attainment.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress from their starting points because teaching focuses on their very individual needs.  Pupils’ progress in the performing arts is outstanding and in physical education it is good.

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The early years provision requires improvement

 The leadership of the early years although improving and beginning to impact positively on children’s progress is not yet good and requires improvement. New systems are not fully effective in improving the quality of teaching and the learning environment.  Children generally start the early years provision with standards that are typically lower than other children of the same age. Their starting points in reading and writing are particularly low as many start the early years with little knowledge or experience of the English language.  Achievement in the early years requires improvement. When children leave the early years provision they generally leave with standards that are below those of other children of the same age nationally. Although children did not reach the standard the leaders had targeted for them to reach this year, standards have improved in 2015.  Disadvantaged children and those for whom English is an additional language make better progress than

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The early years provision requires improvement

other children. Therefore, although the standards they reach are lower than those of other pupils in the school and nationally, this gap is closing.  As the standards that children reach are improving children are becoming better prepared for their transition to Year 1.  Teaching requires improvement. Although children regularly sing and repeat rhymes at the end of learning sessions they do not experience enough English language throughout the learning sessions. Opportunities to join in songs, rhymes, listen to stories, play music and play singing games, particularly with information technology, are limited. This prevents pupils from making the progress in reading and writing that they are capable of.  The behaviour of children in the early years is good. Children mix very well together and make good attempts at overcoming language barriers so that they can play together.  Leaders and managers make sure that children are safe. Regular risk assessments ensure the environment

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The early years provision requires improvement

is safe. Children enter the early years happily and do not show any signs of feeling unsafe.

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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 107008 Local authority Sheffield Inspection number 462198

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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 505 Appropriate authority The governing body Acting Chair Jill Cornford Headteacher Satadru Ashton Date of previous school inspection 18 June 2013 Telephone number 0114 2723624 Fax number 0114 249 4981 Email address headteacher@byronwood.sheffield.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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School details

telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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