Westways Primary School

Westways Primary School Mona Avenue, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S10 1NE

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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 Good

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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

 Over time, leaders and governors have not dealt successfully with the areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection. Consequently, the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes still require improvement.  Pupils do not make consistently good progress across a wide range of subjects, including reading, writing and mathematics.  Teachers’ expectations are not high enough to ensure that pupils of all abilities produce high- quality work, especially in writing.  The most able pupils are not challenged consistently well by the work set for them. Also, work is not matched well enough for least able pupils and those who have special educational needs or disability to help them make good progress.  There are too few opportunities for pupils to strengthen their writing and mathematical skills across a wide range of subjects.  Questioning is not used well enough to check the understanding of pupils and ensure that all groups

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This is a school that requires improvement

of pupils focus well on their learning.  Leaders are not checking the impact of the work done with disadvantaged pupils well enough. The progress for disadvantaged pupils is not consistently good across the school and gaps in attainment are not closing quickly.  Subject leaders have not checked the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress thoroughly. They have not ensured that the school’s policy for marking and feedback is applied consistently to strengthen pupils’ progress.  Plans for improvement do not show clearly how the changes to be made will improve the progress of the various groups of pupils. This limits governors’ ability to link pupil progress to the quality of teaching and leadership.

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The school has the following strengths

 Children in early years make good progress because of good teaching and good leadership.  Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school. Pupils thoroughly enjoy sporting activities and competitive sport.  Personal development, behaviour and welfare are all good. This is a harmonious school where attendance is good, all feel safe, valued and respected. Parents have a high level of confidence in the school’s work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching across the school so that it is consistently good in all subjects and ensures that all groups of pupils make good progress by: – increasing teachers’ expectations so that pupils produce high-quality work and make good progress – raising teachers’ expectations of the quality of written work that is presented by pupils – setting work that matches the needs and abilities of all groups of pupils, especially the least able pupils and those who have special educational needs or disability – skilfully questioning pupils to deepen their knowledge and understanding and engage pupils fully in their learning – providing greater challenge for the most able pupils to attain well across a wide range of subjects – increasing opportunities for pupils to apply their mathematical skills across a wide range of subjects – increasing opportunities for pupils to write at length in a wide range of subjects

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– improving writing in Years 5 and 6 through the use of pupils’ wider reading.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the impact of leaders, managers and governors by making sure that: – the quality of teaching is thoroughly checked by all leaders to ensure that it is at least good and expectations are high – subject leaders ensure that the school’s marking and feedback policy is applied consistently well in all subjects to strengthen pupils’ progress – pupils’ work is checked thoroughly to ensure good progress for all groups of pupils – highly effective action is taken if pupils are not achieving well – the quality of work with disadvantaged pupils, both inside and outside of the classroom, is checked thoroughly to determine its impact and close gaps in attainment for these pupils – leaders, including subject leaders, are crystal clear about how planned actions will improve the progress of the various groups of pupil in school – governors hold leaders to account more fully for the progress and teaching of all groups of pupils

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 Over time, leaders have not improved the quality of teaching and pupils outcomes so they are good. Some issues from the previous inspection have improved, but the lack of improvement in the quality of teaching is a stumbling block and results in gaps in outcomes between different groups not closing quickly enough. Consequently, the overall effectiveness of the school requires improvement.  Leaders regularly check teaching and pupil progress in English and mathematics but it has not been thorough enough to ensure consistently good teaching and pupils’ outcomes. In other subjects, checking of teaching and pupils’ progress is underdeveloped.  Plans for improvement indicate the main priorities for the school and actions are clear. However, the plans lack clear criteria by which success can be measured in terms of improving the quality of teaching and outcomes for the different groups of pupils in the school.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 Systems for checking pupils’ progress have been upgraded and there are regular pupil progress meetings with teachers to identify shortcomings or strengths in pupils’ progress. However, subject leaders have not ensured that pupils’ current work is taken into account sufficiently well. This has meant that they have not been able to ascertain the progress and teaching of groups of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils. Leaders have not ensured that the school’s marking and feedback policy is applied consistently.  Systems to manage teachers’ performance are well organised and identify any necessary training and support required to strengthen teaching. Actions are taken to challenge underperformance. Currently, the actions taken have not been effective enough to ensure that teaching is good. The classroom practice of newly qualified teachers is developing well because of the good support they receive from the school and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

the local authority’s induction programme.  The headteacher has increased the school’s capacity for improvement by developing teams of staff, led by middle leaders, to develop the curriculum and focus on improving teaching and pupils’ progress. She has developed partnerships with other schools to share best practice and support middle leadership. Staff are enthusiastic about the partnerships and the new leadership teams, but good teaching and learning has yet to be secured.  The curriculum is supported well by visits and external activities which are enjoyed and welcomed by pupils and parents. Reading, writing and mathematics are taught very regularly but developing these skills across other subjects is limited. The curriculum provides good and interesting activities for pupils but these are not well developed by teachers to ensure that pupils make consistently good progress. Pupils are taught Spanish in key stage 2 and this supports their understanding of life in other countries.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 Pupil premium funding is used carefully to provide additional support inside and outside the classroom. The attendance of these pupils has improved, with exceptionally few regularly absent from school. Inspectors saw examples of support outside of the classroom that was effective and signs of improvement for these pupils. Leaders have not been meticulous in checking the overall impact of the funding on pupils’ academic progress and more has yet to be done to ensure equality of opportunity.  The promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is strong. Pupils visit various places of worship and share their own cultural experiences with others in the school. The school’s values of tolerance, respect, democracy and law are well known by the pupils who apply them very well indeed. Pupils are keen to support charity work and organise their own charity events.  The primary school sports funding is used very well to promote pupils’ enjoyment of sport, develop good

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

teaching in physical education and widen the range of sports available to pupils. The school checks the increasing participation well. During the inspection, one of the school’s orienteering teams won the honour of representing the city in the South Yorkshire Games.  Parents are very positive about the work of the school and are complimentary about the good information the school provides for them.  The local authority has supported work in early years and has assisted the school well. They have supported work to improve the provision for pupils who speak English as an additional language as well as providing training for middle leaders. However, more has yet to be done to ensure that the overall effectiveness of the school is good.  The governance of the school – Governors have taken action from a review of governance recommended at the previous inspection. They have restructured governance and have organised good links with middle leaders. Governors are

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

knowledgeable and visit the school regularly. They attend subject meetings and see pupils’ written work. Governors offer support and challenge and regularly receive training to develop their role. – Governors check the finances of the school and ensure that resources are allocated effectively. They have a good understanding of the link between teacher performance and pay. Governors have approved the use of the pupil premium grant and school sports funding. They are clear about the overall outcomes for pupils and that gaps in attainment exist for disadvantaged pupils. School information and plans are not clear about the progress of all groups of pupils and this limits governors’ challenge to leaders to ensure swift improvement.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Staff are appropriately trained and vigilant. Governors check the quality of the school’s work and know that links with parents and external agencies ensure that

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

 Since the previous inspection there have been significant changes to staffing and pupils have been taught on occasions by temporary teachers. Over time, the quality of teaching has not been consistently good and currently inconsistencies remain between year groups and within year groups.  Expectations are not consistently high for groups of pupils. Unclear writing, not of good quality, is not challenged effectively to ensure that pupils are making good progress. Teachers’ expectations of the quality of work in a wide range of subjects are very inconsistent and do not lead to good work from pupils. The curriculum has many interesting tasks for pupils to work on but the quality of the work is not good as expectations are not high enough. Therefore, pupils are not making good progress.  Work set is not planned well enough, using previous assessment information, to meet the varying needs and abilities of pupils. As a result, the least able pupils and those who have special educational needs or

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

disability have incomplete work, as work has been too challenging or they have not been given appropriate support to complete it. Often, work set for the most able pupils does not allow them to swiftly engage with challenging work as they spend too long on what they already know.  Questioning is not used well enough to keep all pupils focused on their learning or to deepen the knowledge of pupils of all abilities. For example, there are times when questions are too easy for the most able and too hard for the least able. At these times some pupils lose interest and teachers do not draw them back in quickly enough and pupils’ progress slows.  An analysis of pupils’ work across a wide range of subjects showed that the impact of marking and feedback was not ensuring good progress and the school’s policy was not being applied fully. It also showed that in many subjects, work is not appropriately challenging or completed to a high standard.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

There are infrequent opportunities for pupils to write extensively in subjects other than English. This slows the development of writing and limits pupils’ ability to exhibit a deep understanding of what they are learning. In mathematics there are good opportunities for pupils to apply their skills to real-life situations, but across a wide range of subjects these skills are not applied consistently well.  There is good teaching across the school which, particularly in mathematics and English, helps pupils make good progress because expectations are high. In these subjects pupils are questioned well and their work is checked carefully, with future work planned to meet pupils’ needs and abilities.  Good relationships between adults and pupils feature strongly across the school. Teaching assistants give effective support to pupils, with some good work seen by inspectors when disadvantaged pupils were

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

working in small groups outside the classroom.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils are confident when speaking with adults. Many pupils hold doors open for adults and address each other and adults politely.  The school is a welcoming place and a harmonious community. Pupils get on well together and enjoy helping each other in class and around the school.  Pupils told inspectors that they enjoy school and they feel safe. They are clear about how to adopt safe practices when working with technology and using the internet. This is promoted well throughout the school and to parents. Pupils are proud of their school.  Pupils are very keen to participate in activities that will keep them fit and healthy. They look forward to the ‘Daily Mile’ when they all have an opportunity, at some time in the day, to run around the school playground several times with their class. The school promotes healthy eating throughout the curriculum.

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Personal development and welfare

Pupils were keen to tell inspectors about a restaurant manager who had recently visited the school to speak to them.  Pupils have good opportunities to be active at lunchtimes and breaktimes using a wide selection of play equipment. There are many additional clubs after school and a wide range of competitive sport.  Pupils enjoy opportunities available to them to take on responsibilities such as members of the school council. Pupils know they are listened to. For example, their suggestions to improve the lunchtime salad bar and ideas to keep the school tidy were readily taken up by the school. Pupils vote for the school council and those wanting to be councillors have to write a manifesto.  The guidance pupils are given and the responsibilities they readily take on, give them a very good understanding of the school’s values. These are closely linked to democracy, respect, helpfulness and tolerance. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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Personal development and welfare

 Pupils are clear about what constitutes bullying and say it is rare; school records confirm this. They are confident that staff deal with bullying appropriately.  School leaders have good systems in place to support pupils’ welfare and safety, particularly the safety of the most vulnerable pupils.  Parents are very confident that children are safe and well cared for in school.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  The school is a calm and orderly place where pupils manage their conduct well both inside and outside the classroom. They know what is expected of them and behave well. Very occasionally, when teachers do not engage them well in thinking about their learning, a few pupils can lose concentration.  Pupils know what is expected of them and behave well. They say that they believe behaviour is good around the school and in lessons. Also, their parents believe that behaviour is good.  Pupils respond well to teachers’ requests and the requests of other adults. Most are keen to learn.  Attendance is above average, with few pupils regularly absent from school. The school acts quickly if pupils are absent and this has resulted in good attendance for all groups of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils.  Pupils conduct themselves well around school. They walk in an orderly manner along corridors and obey

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Behaviour

the school’s ‘one way’ system. In the playground, pupils line up quickly at the end of lunch and breaktimes. Behaviour in the school’s dining area is good, with pupils socialising well together.  The school environment is well cared for and is litter-free. Displays of pupils’ work and other educational displays interest pupils and promote good behaviour.

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

 The quality of teaching has not been consistently good enough to ensure that all groups of pupils make consistently good progress in a wide range of subjects including reading, writing and mathematics. Currently, pupils’ outcomes require improvement as the quality of teaching across Years 1 to 6 is inconsistent and teachers’ expectations are not high enough.  An analysis of current pupils’ work, by inspectors, showed that the quality of pupils’ work requires improvement across the school. In particular, pupils’ writing needs strengthening and their work in a wide range of subjects does not show good progress. There is still inconsistent progress being made in mathematics and reading across the school.  Published information shows that overall progress improved strongly in 2014 for those pupils leaving school at the end of Year 6 but slipped back in 2015 to be broadly average. Some groups of pupils such

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

as those who have special educational needs or disability, least able pupils and disadvantaged pupils did not make enough progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  Currently, across the school, the progress being made by groups of pupils is uneven and not good. Leaders have not made sure that teachers are using information well enough to help pupils who have special educational needs or disability to make good progress. Overall, these pupils are making less progress than other pupils, as are the least able pupils.  The progress of disadvantaged pupils is inconsistent across the school. In 2015, disadvantaged pupils’ attainment at the end of key stages 1 and 2 was behind others in school and nationally, with wide gaps in attainment in English and mathematics. Gaps in attainment for disadvantaged pupils are beginning to narrow across the school, but not consistently and not quickly enough for these pupils to catch up.

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

 The school is beginning to take effective action to strengthen the progress of pupils for whom English is an additional language. Signs of improvement are clearly evident, particularly for the youngest children, although more is still to be done to improve their attainment across the school.  In the past two years, the most able pupils leaving school at the end of Year 6 have made good progress and attained standards that are in line with, and sometimes higher than, similar pupils nationally. There are good links with the local secondary school to support the learning of the most able pupils. However, inspectors found that currently the challenge for these pupils varies, depending on the quality of teaching and therefore their progress is not consistently good, particularly in subjects other than mathematics and English.  The school promotes reading effectively and encourages pupils to read widely. However, in Years 5 and

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

6, pupils’ independent reading is not linked well enough to strengthen the quality of writing. The proportion of pupils attaining the expected standard in the screening check for reading at the end of Year 1 was average in 2015 and is expected to be average again this year.

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Early years provision is good

 Children make good progress from broadly typical starting points. The proportion of children attaining a good level of development has improved year on year since the last inspection and is set to be above average this year.  Children settle in well to the Nursery. Good communication between school and parents contributes to children being happy and learning well. Good information is collected from other nurseries and parents prior to children starting in Reception. This helps the many children joining in Reception to have a ‘flying start’ to their learning.  Children are safe and happy in the well-organised provision. The curriculum provides many good opportunities for children to learn independently and to develop a good understanding of how to keep safe. For example, children put on their cycling helmets, without any adult instruction, before they started to ride their bikes. Relationships are strong and children say that if ever they were worried about

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Early years provision is good

anything they would tell one of the adults in the provision.  Children’s personal development, behaviour and welfare are good. They know what is expected of them and cooperate well with each other. For example, inspectors observed children working well together as a team to make compost.  There is a programme in place to support language development for new arrivals who have little or no English. This helps these pupils to gain good speaking skills over time and to integrate quickly into the provision.  All groups of children make good progress in the provision. Systems for checking pupils’ progress are thorough and detailed, with next steps for learning clearly identified. Adults use the information skilfully to plan interesting activities for children to learn well.  Leadership of the provision is good. The leader checks the quality of teaching and learning regularly to make sure that it is at least good and that children are making good progress. She has introduced online

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Early years provision is good

learning journals that are shared with parents each week.  Parents are positive about the good teaching in early years and the improved communication with the school. They are enthusiastic about the journals and their ability to contribute to their children’s learning.  Safeguarding is effective and the welfare requirements for children are met. Leaders are meticulous in keeping children safe and engaging with parents and other agencies to ensure the safety of children.  Children are being well prepared to start their work in key stage 1.

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School details

Unique reference number 107095 Local authority Sheffield Inspection number 10011952

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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 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 610 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Heather Stewart Headteacher Melany Holmes Telephone number 01142 662471 Website www.westwaysprimary.co.uk Email address enquiries@westways.sheffield.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 5–6 March 2014

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Information about this school

 The school is much larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported through the pupil premium is below average. The pupil premium is additional funding for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those children who are looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is well above average. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is above average.  The proportion of pupils who have support for special educational needs or disability is average.  The proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is well below average.  Children in the early years receive part-time education in the Nursery. In Reception, they receive full-time education.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for

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Information about this school

attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.  The school holds the International School Award and a school games award.  There have been significant changes in staffing since the previous inspection. There has also been an increase in the number of middle leaders in the school.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed a range of teaching and learning in parts of lessons. One observation was undertaken jointly with the headteacher.  Throughout the two days of the inspection, inspectors spoke with pupils, both individually and in groups, about learning and safety.  Inspectors listened to pupils reading. They reviewed pupils’ work in lessons and analysed samples of work in pupils’ books.  An inspector held meetings with the chair of the governing body and six other governors. The lead inspector held a meeting with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors also held meetings with senior leaders and other staff.  Inspectors looked at the school’s review of its own performance, its development and improvement plan, a number of key school policies and the minutes of the governing body meetings. They considered a range of documentation in relation to child protection, safeguarding, behaviour and attendance.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors analysed 133 responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire for parents (Parent View).  There were 13 staff questionnaires completed and considered by inspectors.  There were six responses to the online pupil questionnaire considered by inspectors.

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Inspection team

James McGrath, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Emma Gregory Ofsted Inspector Barbara Harrold Ofsted Inspector Marianne Young 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

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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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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