Shooter's Grove Primary School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Louise Ash Headteacher Shooter’s Grove Primary School Wood Lane Sheffield South Yorkshire S6 5HN

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Short inspection of Shooter’s Grove Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 30 June 2016, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in October 2010.

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Short inspection of Shooter’s Grove Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since you became the headteacher 18 months ago, you have made significant improvements to the quality of the learning environment, the early years, teaching, pupil outcomes and leadership. New appointments have strengthened the quality of leadership and of teaching. Staff, pupils and governors welcome your clear direction, strong ambition and high expectations. Almost all parents responding to the online questionnaire were highly positive about the school and your leadership.

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Short inspection of Shooter’s Grove Primary School

Rigorous performance management and well-targeted professional development have strengthened the quality of teaching. Pupils confirm that the quality of teaching has improved. They are more involved in sporting activities and they enjoy the wider range of extra-curricular activities. In addition, pupils say their parents receive good information about the school through the weekly newsletter, the website, twitter and news alerts. They appreciate the increased involvement of parents in class assemblies. Pupils behave well, concentrate in lessons and are friendly, polite and cooperative.

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Short inspection of Shooter’s Grove Primary School

Effective action has been taken since the last inspection to tackle the areas identified for improvement. Attendance has risen slowly but steadily and increased again in 2016 to meet the 2015 national average. In the current school year, the number of persistent absentees reduced by half compared to the previous year. The reconstituted, smaller governing body has well-defined roles and responsibilities and governors’ attendance has improved. Through their link roles they have a clear first-hand understanding of the impact of leaders’ actions. They use informative headteacher reports to closely question leaders in their termly reviews of the school improvement plan. Governors benefit from presentations from pupils about the new developments in cooperative learning and homework.

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Short inspection of Shooter’s Grove Primary School

The proportion of pupils gaining at least Level 4 or above in reading, writing and mathematics has risen over the last three years and was significantly above average in 2015. Overall, the progress pupils make at key stage 2 is in line with or above national averages. In 2015, the proportions of Year 6 pupils who made more than expected progress was below average in reading and writing. Leaders identified that the most able pupils are not always suitably challenged.

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Short inspection of Shooter’s Grove Primary School

You improved the security of the school site by changing the arrangement of rooms and securing fences and doors. Pupils welcome the changes and say that you have re-made the school. They feel safe, secure and well looked after. Staff are alert to safeguarding concerns, and records of issues identified and action taken are detailed and systematic. Your positive engagement with parents and carers encourages open dialogue. Safeguarding leaders communicate promptly with other agencies and schools and are proactive in following up any concerns.

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Inspection findings

 Your coherent performance management system entitled ‘lessons learned’ focuses sharply and reflectively on a wide range of evidence about pupils’ learning, their progress and the quality of teaching. Performance management targets match specific school priorities and the objectives of the school improvement plan. This ensures that all staff are clear about school priorities and contribute to the shared drive for improvement.  The restructured senior and middle leadership teams have developed strong ownership and responsibility for evaluating the progress of pupils in their subjects and phases. Accurate and rigorous analysis leads promptly to action to improve provision for individuals, groups and classes.  Additional support for pupils who fall behind, or who have special educational needs or disabilities, provides an increasing range of help and personalised support. Teaching assistants are trained in specific methods

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Inspection findings

which help to close gaps in pupils’ knowledge and improve pupils’ understanding. They have taken greater responsibility for leading small- group learning in lessons. Plans are in place to further develop the skills of teaching assistants, particularly in phonics (letters and the sounds that they make).  Target setting for pupils, and teachers’ marking, are sharply focused on what pupils have achieved and what they need to do next. Pupils respond to marking well by correcting and extending their work. Pupils value the clear direction provided by these systems.  Strong leadership of the early years, high-quality planning and detailed assessment lead to purposeful and enjoyable learning and good progress. For example, Nursery children were highly engaged in digging up worms, categorising them by size on their charts and creating a wormery for recycling. Improved access to the outdoor area has improved the flow of

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Inspection findings

learning activity. Further development of the outdoor area is planned.  Adults develop children’s speaking and listening skills well. Children have frequent, well-planned opportunities to develop their knowledge of letters and sounds and their skill in making sentences . Assessment over time is based on well-documented evidence and next steps in learning are accurately identified and recorded. The proportion of children achieving a good level of development rose in line with the national average in 2014 and 2015 and increased further in 2016.  Early years leaders quickly identify children from disadvantaged backgrounds, or with special educational needs or disabilities, who are behind in their development. A regular play scheme for pre-Nursery children facilitates early identification of need. The provision of free, extra days in Nursery, with tailored support, enables most of these children to make rapid progress so that they develop skills and abilities typical for

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Inspection findings

children of their age.  The proportion of pupils at the end of Year 1 who met the required standard in phonics increased in 2015 and was above average. The figures are lower for 2016 because a number of new arrivals from abroad had not had time to develop their phonics knowledge. In 2016, almost all pupils reached the required standard by the end of Year 2, an increase on 2015, when this outcome was above average.  At the end of key stage 1, attainment rose from below average to average in 2015. In 2016, approximately three quarters of pupils met the expected level and almost a quarter achieved at greater depth in reading, writing and mathematics. We do not have national comparators at this time. Teacher assessment accurately matched the test scores. School assessments indicate that pupils made at least expected progress in Years 1 and 2.  School assessment shows that pupils have made at least expected progress

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Inspection findings

this year in all year groups in reading, writing and mathematics. In the majority of year groups, disadvantaged pupils are making similar progress to their peers. Leaders are ambitious for a higher proportion of pupils to exceed national expectations at the end of key stage 2.  Leaders have ensured that pupils are developing skills in problem solving in line with the increased demands of the national curriculum. Pupils deepen their understanding by applying their skills in arithmetic to problems that are expressed in words. In addition, effective use of practical equipment enables pupils to develop a stronger grasp of mathematical concepts, language and methods.  The quality of writing is improving at a good pace due to a clear focus on teaching the grammatical features of writing and by providing models of what different types of good writing look like. Pupils are learning to join their handwriting well. Pupils take pride in their work and the quality of

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Inspection findings

presentation is good.  Persistent absence has been reduced by employing an education welfare officer to work with local schools. He checks the attendance of targeted pupils frequently, communicates with parents promptly and carries out immediate home visits when there is a concern. Legal action is taken when necessary.  Governors delayed appointing a new headteacher until they found someone who could provide the dynamism and ambition they were looking for. They are rightly pleased with the impact of their appointment.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 the most able pupils make more progress and exceed the expected standard.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Sheffield. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I met with you, senior and middle leaders, a group of pupils, two members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority. I jointly observed teaching with you and we discussed the learning and pupils’ work. I examined Year 6 books with the Year 6 teacher as the pupils were out of school on a transition day. I also observed an infant assembly attended by parents.

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Information about the inspection

A range of documents were examined, including the school’s self-evaluation, the school improvement plan, a local authority review and records relating to assessment, attendance and safeguarding. I took account of 70 responses from parents and five responses from staff to the Ofsted online questionnaires.

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