William Rhodes Primary & Nursery School

William Rhodes Primary School Hunloke Avenue, Boythorpe, Chesterfield S40 2NR

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a school that requires improvement

 Since the last inspection, leaders and governors have not ensured that pupils’ outcomes have improved enough in Key Stages 1 and 2. Teaching, learning and assessment are not yet good in all year groups.  Although rates of pupils’ progress have increased considerably in the past year, their attainment in writing and mathematics is not yet high enough. Too few pupils make better than expected progress.  Improvements to the teaching of English grammar, punctuation and spelling are not yet firmly embedded in pupils’ writing and pupils do not follow teachers’ recommendations for improvements in their writing often enough.  The most-able pupils are not always challenged to deepen their understanding and reach higher levels of attainment.  Personal development, behaviour and welfare require improvement. Attendance is still too low and some pupils’ behaviour at times inhibits the playing and learning of others.

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This is a school that requires improvement

 Subject leaders do not monitor and evaluate pupils’ outcomes, and the quality of teaching and learning in their subject, and use this information to make improvements.  The curriculum is not sufficiently broad and balanced. For example, pupils’ religious, spiritual and cultural education does not enable them to have a deep enough understanding of British values or of current British society.  The school website does not comply with the legal regulations to publish the information required.

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The school has the following strengths

 The headteacher has secured the strategic direction and vision for the school, which has ensured that the school is now improving.  Children in the early years provision get off to a good start because they are taught well and staff have a good knowledge of their individual needs.  Pupils say that they feel safe. They learn in a secure environment where all safeguarding arrangements are in place.  Pupils’ social and moral development is promoted regularly within the curriculum.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in order to accelerate pupils’ progress in writing and mathematics, especially for the most-able pupils, by ensuring that: rigorous checks are made on the accuracy of assessment information so that teachers know the next steps for learning challenging opportunities are provided for the most-able pupils to deepen their understanding and reach higher levels of attainment improvements seen in the teaching of grammar, punctuation and spelling become firmly embedded in pupils’ writing and that feedback from teachers is more focused on how pupils can improve their writing, so that pupils can act upon it pupils are given more opportunities in mathematics to develop their reasoning and problem solving.  Improve behaviour so that pupils’ attitudes to learning are consistently positive across the school.  Increase the capacity and effectiveness of the leadership to improve the school by:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

ensuring that all leaders and managers receive the training they need to fully undertake their curriculum leadership roles ensuring that subject leaders systematically monitor and evaluate outcomes, and teaching and learning in their subject, and use this information to develop future plans continuing to reinforce the importance of parents sending their children to school every day so that pupils always achieve their full potential ensuring that the school’s website meets statutory requirements.  Improve the curriculum by: strengthening religious education, British values and pupils’ spiritual and cultural knowledge to ensure that pupils have a good understanding of current British society and the communities from which it is made up ensuring that the planning and teaching of e-safety is improved to help pupils to stay safe when using the internet and other electronic forms of communication.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership and management require improvement because they have not yet secured good teaching and outcomes for all pupils. The current headteacher has only been in post for one year, but has in that time restructured and simplified the actions for improvements in teaching, so that all teachers are now clear about what is expected of them and know how to improve their teaching.  Leaders have not fully evaluated the impact of the curriculum. There is no overview of the progression of skills that pupils learn from one year to the next, and the school has not taken account of the limited information that is being taught in religious education across the school or the limited cultural opportunities for pupils. The school’s curriculum outlines how pupils should be prepared for life in modern Britain through the teaching of British values. However, pupils do not yet demonstrate a good understanding of such aspects as mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

This is because although pupils are clear that that everyone ‘regardless of their differences can still be friends’, they lack a basic understanding of different faiths and beliefs so they have not explored them.  A significant proportion of the PE and sport premium funding for primary schools has been spent on sports coaches to work alongside teachers to improve their skills. The funding has had some success in improving the skills of teachers and extending the range of sporting opportunities offered to pupils, but the evaluation of the spending lacks detail and has not yet enabled pupils to take part in competitive sport.  The school’s website is not compliant with statutory regulations and lacks information on pupils’ progress, the impact of the PE and sport funding, information relating to the Year 6 curriculum, the religious education curriculum across the school and details about the school’s governors.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 Since the appointment of the current headteacher new initiatives have been monitored effectively, mainly by the headteacher and the deputy headteacher. Teachers now have clear individual information about where they need to improve, linked to the outcomes for the pupils they teach. This information is used to set targets for improvement which help to ensure that all teachers are held to account, along with leadership and management targets for those with additional responsibilities. Staff now have better opportunities for training.  The school’s self-evaluation is largely accurate and it is insightful of the school’s own current limitations and areas for improvement. The headteacher, working alongside better-informed governors, has raised the aspirations of pupils and staff. The teachers and wider school community support her in her drive for improvement.  Frequent reviews, challenge and support from the local authority has ensured that the school has been

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

supported well, although initially, after the previous inspection, the impact on improvement was limited despite the level of support. Reviews have been held alongside senior and middle leaders, thus continuously helping to improve their skills.  The governance of the school Governance is improving and is becoming increasingly effective in holding leaders to account in order to achieve good outcomes for pupils across the school and in ensuring that teaching and pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare are good. A review of governance was completed after the last inspection and a skills audit undertaken. More recent appointments to the governing body have increased the range of skills and expertise governors can offer. Governors have improved their knowledge through a good range of training courses. Some, for example in safeguarding, were undertaken alongside the staff in the school, thus also increasing

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

the opportunities for staff and governors to work alongside each other to improve the school. Governors have started to monitor the impact of the school improvement plan much more closely. A recent school visit report from a governor indicated good and appropriate challenge to senior leadership on the impact of feedback and marking of pupils’ work. Governors have checked the spending of the pupil premium funding and ensured that it is used to successfully close gaps in attainment between disadvantaged and other pupils.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Parents say that the school listens to their concerns. Staff are available regularly at school entry points, so there are good opportunities to raise concerns. There is a collective responsibility to keep all pupils safe and secure; staff at the school work closely with staff from safeguarding and social support services outside the school. Staff are becoming aware of the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

need to be alert to any extremist or radicalising views that may potentially influence pupils.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

 Although leaders have improved many specific aspects of teaching, the progress of pupils is not yet consistently good. The quality of teaching is too varied and some still requires improvement. Teaching is good in some classes, including in the early years. Teachers use questioning well to check pupils’ understanding.  A recently introduced system of layered learning targets is used effectively by teachers to let pupils know what they are expected to learn. However, not all the teachers then structure the learning tasks so that pupils, especially the most able, are supported to achieve those expectations.  English grammar, punctuation and spelling are taught explicitly and it is clear that these skills then form part of most teachers’ expectations for pupils’ writing. However, these expectations are not clearly articulated by all teachers, so pupils’ achievement in writing is not yet good.  Too often in mathematics lessons, pupils complete lots of calculations successfully at a similar level of

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

challenge but do not have the opportunity to apply their reasoning and problem-solving skills to deepen their understanding.  Feedback and marking to support pupils’ learning in mathematics is usually good. However, when marking pupils’ writing, not all teachers follow the marking policy. Most pupils receive good-quality supportive information and written or oral comments to indicate where they have achieved well, but teachers’ improvement recommendations have only a limited impact.  Teachers are developing their understanding of how to assess pupils’ progress in the new National Curriculum. They have considered systems used by other schools but are still at the early stages of ensuring that their assessments are accurate and fully reflect the progress pupils make, so that the next steps in learning and any underachievement can be easily identified.  The teaching of phonics (the sounds that letters make) in Key Stage 1 is improving and the teaching of

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

reading is good across the school, reflected in pupils’ better standards. Pupils are particularly enthusiastic about their reading sessions, and the reading challenge and reward chart used by teachers. Pupils say the recently introduced book bands have helped them to select appropriately challenging books when making their own choices.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement. Pupils do not have a good knowledge or the skills to know how to identify potential dangers to help them stay safe online or when using electronic communication devices. Since the previous inspection, e-safety has not been given a high enough priority and staff have not received enough training in how to teach this aspect of pupils’ welfare.  Pupils are helped to understand the importance of living healthily and enjoy the school’s healthy eating, exercise and nutrition programme. However, opportunities for participation in sports are more limited although there are after-school sports clubs, for example offering football and tai chi.  Staff do teach pupils about how to keep themselves safe from a range of other risks, such as strangers and bullies. The use of derogatory or aggressive language is not tolerated. Logs kept by the school show

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Personal development and welfare

that incidents are properly recorded and unacceptable behaviour is challenged.  Parents spoken to during the inspection are happy that their child is safe and happy in school. Responses to the Parent View survey were more mixed, but only reflected the views of very few parents. Taking account of all the evidence reviewed during the inspection, inspectors are satisfied that pupils are safe. Staff are careful to attend to pupils’ emotional needs and some successful support and additional teaching has enabled specific pupils to grow in self-confidence.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement because, while attitudes to learning are good for most pupils, they are not yet consistent across the school. Pupils raised some concerns about the behaviour of a few pupils and records evaluated during the inspection, as well as some incidents observed during the inspection, indicate that not all pupils have yet developed good levels of self-discipline.  Attendance has shown some improvement, particularly in reducing the number of pupils who are persistently absent, but it is still too low. Pupils say that they enjoy school and most show good attitudes to school.  Staff tackle any less than good behaviour or bullying. However, some more challenging pupils have caused some disruption to other pupils.  Around school most pupils are polite and considerate. They hold doors open for each other and for adults, and are welcoming to visitors and to new pupils in the school. Most are self-disciplined and take

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Behaviour

immediate note of any adults’ requests.  Books seen by inspectors during the inspection show that pupils have a good sense of pride in their work, which is neat and well presented.

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

 Outcomes for pupils require improvement because pupils have been making too little progress from their different starting points over several years. The most-able pupils do not reach the higher levels of attainment across the school mainly because too few pupils make better than expected progress. At the end of Key Stage 1 in 2015, no pupils reached the higher levels of attainment. Pupils in the school currently require the most improvement in their writing and mathematics.  Attainment in English grammar, punctuation and spelling has remained below average for three years because leaders and managers did not check the impact of new initiatives sufficiently well and make further improvements.  Pupils are developing their skills in subjects other than English and mathematics, and opportunities for applying their writing and for increasing their knowledge, for example in science and humanities, are

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

good. Pupils’ work and their knowledge in discussions show that opportunities for pupils to study religious education or to learn about cultures other than their own are limited.  Not enough pupils make good progress over time or have at least average attendance. As a result, despite good links and visits to their local secondary school, pupils are not sufficiently well prepared for the next stage of their education.  Teachers listen to pupils read regularly. In all classes across the school, they plan specific lessons, which focus on reading and comprehension skills. Many pupils enjoy reading, but there are limited opportunities for the pupils to use the school’s library. The results from the national phonics checks in Year 1 show that although standards are improving, even by 2015 too few pupils reached the expected level.  Published assessment information shows a significant improvement in the proportion of pupils who

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

reached the expected standard of attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 in reading, writing and mathematics, which rose from 50% in 2014 to 75% in 2015.  The achievement of disadvantaged pupils across the school shows that gaps in attainment are closing in all subjects. This improvement was reflected at the end of Key Stage 2 in 2015, where the attainment of disadvantaged pupils was similar overall to their classmates, although still slightly lower than other pupils nationally.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs achieve similarly to other pupils in school in reading, writing and mathematics. Their progress is tracked carefully and additional support organised if they fall too far behind. The few pupils who speak English as an additional language, some of whom have joined the school in Key Stages 1 or 2 with little or no English have benefited from the school’s increasingly good phonics teaching, which has helped them to learn English rapidly.

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

 Most of the children arrive in Nursery with skills that are well below those that are typical for their age, particularly in communication and language and physical development. By the time children move to Reception, they have made good progress in all areas of learning and this year, although only 14% have skills that are typical in personal and social education, approximately 60% have typical skills in literacy and mathematics. By the end of Reception, an average proportion of children achieve a good level of development representing good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Early years provision is good

 The early years leader ensures that the provision in the early years is of high quality and that all the staff have a good understanding of individual children’s abilities, needs and interests. She knows the strengths and weaknesses of this phase.  The Nursery has just started to admit two-year-olds and teachers and other adults are knowledgeable about the typical development and emotional needs of these children. Excellent links with parents ensured a good take-up of the recent ‘ready for nursery’ course, which helped the staff to share with parents their expectations, and also to advise them on activities to undertake with their child to help them prepare well.  On entry, many children, both two- and three-year-olds, have low skills and abilities in physical development. Staff use fun and engaging activities to help children to improve their walking, moving and coordination skills. One particularly successful regular activity then helps children to develop the

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Early years provision is good

movements and control they need for early mark making and letter formation.  Children are provided with interesting and challenging activities, which help them to make at least good progress. Children are motivated and all adults are deployed effectively. For example, in a Reception lesson, mathematical vocabulary was used to provoke excellent discussion regarding pairs of numbers and the concept of one more. Children’s understanding was frequently checked throughout the session using probing questions.  The frequent ‘stay and play’ sessions mean that parents feel included in the education of their children. Staff share their knowledge of good learning activities with parents, who can practise them with their children at home. Staff and parents work together to meet the needs of each individual child, especially when helping them to settle in.  The most-able Reception children are already using their knowledge of phonics to write simple words and

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Early years provision is good

are beginning to form their letters correctly.  Both indoor and outdoor classrooms for the early years children are safe and secure. Well-organised routines ensure that children settle quickly and feel happy. Expectations are high and behaviour is excellent. Children show respect towards each other, sharing and interacting well. Children listen and follow instructions carefully, with staff deploying a range of skills to extend their concentration and attention.  Staff do not always use opportunities well to record what children can do or to record the next steps for learning. Staff focus well on individual and gender differences, but miss opportunities to identify the needs of particular groups of children, for example those who are disadvantaged on arrival, so as to plan the best activities to help them to reach their full potential.

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School details

Unique reference number 112671 Local authority Derbyshire Inspection number 10001848

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School details

This inspection 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 2–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 200 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Toni Padley Headteacher Hilda Smith Telephone number 01246 234626 Website www.williamrhodes.derbyshire.sch.uk Email address info@williamrhodes.derbyshire.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 23 October 2013

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller that the average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are White British. A very small minority of pupils are from other minority ethnic groups and a few speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils who are disabled or who have special educational needs is above average compared with similar schools nationally.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils – those who are supported by the pupil premium funding – is well above average. The pupil premium provides additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those who are looked after.  The proportion of pupils who leave or join the school part-way through a year or key stage is well above average.  The headteacher is a local leader of education who was appointed executive headteacher of the school in September 2014 following the last monitoring visit by Ofsted. This visit identified that the senior leaders

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Information about this school

and governors were not taking effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement. She is also the headteacher of Spire Junior School in Chesterfield and joint work between the two schools is supporting William Rhodes Primary School.  In 2014, the school did not meet the government’s floor targets, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed pupils’ learning at least once in each class in the school. In total they visited 12 lessons, or parts of lessons. Inspectors also observed pupils’ behaviour at different times throughout the school day, including when they were at play and during lunchtime.  Discussions were held with the headteacher and other senior and middle leaders. Inspectors also met with several teachers and members of the governing body. An additional meeting was held with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors met with two groups of pupils and spoke to many others informally throughout the inspection, as well as listening to pupils read.  Inspectors met with several parents at the start of the school day and examined the school’s parent survey outcomes. The 10 parental responses expressed through the online questionnaire, Parent View, were also considered, as were nine questionnaire responses from staff.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection team scrutinised a range of school documentation, including the school improvement plan, the school’s data for tracking pupils’ attainment and progress, records relating to behaviour and attendance, and documents used by leaders and the local authority to monitor and evaluate the school’s work.  A review of safeguarding records and procedures was carried out.

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Inspection team

Angela Kirk, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Robin Cruise Ofsted Inspector guidance 'Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . 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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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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Inspection team

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, further education and skills, 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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

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