Nonsuch Primary School

Wood Leasow, Woodgate Valley, Birmingham B32 3SE

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Early years provision Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected as an academy

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This is an inadequate school

 Leaders have failed to ensure that pupils receive an acceptable standard of education. The quality of teaching, pupils’ behaviour and achievement have all declined considerably over recent years.  The very poor and intimidating behaviour of a small number of pupils means that many pupils do not feel safe.  The school’s curriculum does not promote pupils’ personal development or academic progress effectively.  Disadvantaged pupils are underachieving because leaders have not targeted the pupil premium grant at improving their progress. As a result, gaps between the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and others are growing.  Pupils who have special educational needs or disabilities are underachieving because they do not receive the support that they need.  The most able pupils are underachieving because teachers do not challenge them to work hard and think deeply in lessons.  Teachers do not have high enough expectations of

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This is an inadequate school

the amount and quality of work that pupils should produce in a lesson.  Teachers do not plan activities that are well matched to pupils’ ability. So, some pupils struggle to begin tasks while others find the work too easy.  Teachers’ questioning in lessons does not help to deepen pupils’ understanding of their work. They are too ready to accept very brief answers from pupils who could give much more detailed responses.  Pupils do not behave well in many lessons. They become distracted, chat and do not listen to the teacher. Teachers do not consistently deal with this low-level disruption.  The early years requires improvement because the quality of teaching is not consistently good. Consequently, children’s progress, although improving, is not good.

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The school has the following strengths

 New leaders and governors have accurately assessed the school’s weaknesses. They are beginning to tackle its most urgent problems, but it is too early for their actions to have had an impact.  Pupils’ attendance is close to the national average for primary schools.

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Full report

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

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching so that all groups of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, pupils who have special educational needs or disabilities and the most able pupils, make consistently good progress by ensuring that teachers:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

use information about what pupils already know, understand and can do to plan activities that are well matched to pupils’ ability have high expectations of the quantity and quality of work that pupils produce in lessons ask questions that make pupils think deeply and then insist on full and detailed answers give pupils feedback that helps them to know how to improve their work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ behaviour by ensuring that:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

the very poor behaviour of a minority of pupils does not prevent other pupils from learning and feeling safe in school teachers consistently apply the school’s behaviour policy and do not tolerate low-level disruption of lessons.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management so that there is a rapid improvement in the quality of teaching and the behaviour and achievement of pupils by ensuring that:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

all senior leaders have clear roles, responsibilities and accountabilities that are understood by pupils, parents and staff leaders regularly use assessment information to identify pupils who are falling behind and then help them catch up leaders routinely analyse information about the progress, behaviour and attendance of groups of pupils, in order to identify patterns and tackle weaknesses training for teachers is targeted effectively at issues and individuals where it is most needed the pupil premium grant is spent effectively to rapidly improve the progress of disadvantaged pupils the sport premium grant is spent effectively to sustainably improve pupils’ participation in sport the curriculum is interesting and engaging so that it contributes positively to pupils’ academic and personal development extra-curricular activities and opportunities make a good contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium and sport premium should be undertaken in order to assess how these aspects of leadership and management may be improved.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is inadequate

 Standards of teaching, behaviour and achievement have fallen significantly and leaders have failed to arrest the decline. The executive headteacher and head of school have only recently joined the school and their actions have, as yet, had limited impact. Other senior leaders have recently been appointed, and are due to join the school in September 2016. The recent changes in leadership have created unease and uncertainty among pupils, parents and staff.  Leaders have not tackled weaknesses in the quality of teaching over recent years. There has been a high turnover of teachers and staff morale is low. Recently appointed leaders have accurately identified where weaknesses in teaching exist, and they have plans to address them through training. However, it is too early to see any impact of these plans.  Leaders do not possess reliable information about pupils’ progress in most year groups because they have

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is inadequate

not confirmed the accuracy of teachers’ assessments. Consequently, they do not know when a pupil, or a group of pupils, begins to fall behind with their work. Pupils who are falling behind are, therefore, not given extra support and they do not catch up. Teachers’ assessments in Years 2 and 6 have been carefully checked and they confirm that these pupils are underachieving.  Leaders, at all levels, do not routinely analyse information about pupils’ progress, behaviour and attendance. As a result, they do not know, for example, if any particular group of pupils are underachieving or whether pupils’ behaviour is worse at particular times, or whether the attendance of disadvantaged pupils is improving or not.  The school’s curriculum is poorly planned and fails to interest many pupils. This contributes to the large amount of low-level disruption in lessons because pupils do not enjoy their learning. Pupils also fail to see

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is inadequate

the relevance of what they are studying. For example, pupils explained to inspectors about different religions that they had studied, but could not explain what that might mean to a young person growing up in Birmingham.  There are very few extra-curricular activities and opportunities for pupils. Pupils told inspectors that they are often bored at lunchtime. Together with the deficiencies in the school’s curriculum, this means that pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is poor.  The school’s work to promote the fundamental British vales of democracy, the rule of law, liberty, respect and tolerance is not effective. Pupils have little understanding of concepts such as democracy and the curriculum has failed to instil in pupils the importance of respecting the beliefs of others.  Leaders have not spent additional funding, including the pupil premium and the sport premium, wisely.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is inadequate

Although leaders can account for how the additional funding has been spent, there has been no attempt to evaluate the impact that it has had, and so it has not been well focused on its intended purposes. Consequently, gaps between the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and others have grown and pupils’ participation in sport has not increased.  Leaders have failed to ensure that the school’s website contains all of the required elements. For example, it has no information about external test results, it does not have a ‘special needs information report’ or a ‘pupil premium report’ and it contains insufficient information about the curriculum and school admissions. A new, compliant, website is currently under construction and is planned to ‘go live’ within a few weeks.  Provision for pupils who have special educational needs or disabilities has not fulfilled statutory requirements for some time. Some pupils have been incorrectly identified as having special educational

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is inadequate

needs, while others, with particular needs, have been missed. Many pupils who have special educational needs do not receive the help that they need in lessons or at other times and they make poor progress as a result. However, the recent appointment of a special needs coordinator has led to considerable improvement. Systems and processes are now fit for purpose. Relationships with parents of pupils who have special educational needs have improved. Pupils with education, health and care plans do now receive the support to which they are entitled. Leaders are currently putting in place further improvements to provision for other pupils who have special educational needs.  The executive headteacher, supported by other senior leaders, governors and trustees, has an accurate view of the school’s many weaknesses. She has put in place actions to address some of the most pressing concerns including behaviour and provision for pupils who have special educational needs or disabilities.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is inadequate

Some early signs of improvement are evident, but it is too early to see any substantial impact as yet.  The school became an academy, as part of the Barchelai Multi-Academy Trust, on 1 January 2016. The trust was not aware of the school’s decline prior to conversion because it had not carried out recent and careful due diligence.  Inspectors strongly recommend that the school should not seek to appoint newly qualified teachers.  The governance of the school The local governing body has only very recently been formed. It has met only once and so has had no impact on the school to date. Since academy conversion in January 2016, the Barchelai Multi-Academy Trust Board, which includes some members of the local governing body, has governed the school. The trust board brings considerable commitment, educational expertise and experience to the school. It includes a national leader of governance, a national leader of education and a local leader of

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is inadequate

education. Since January 2016, much of its work has focused on establishing stable leadership within the school. It has done this successfully, and a permanent senior leadership team will be fully in place from September 2016.  The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective. Many pupils do not feel safe in school because of the very poor and intimidating behaviour of a small number of pupils. Most members of staff who completed the inspection questionnaire do not believe that pupils are safe in school, for the same reason. However, safeguarding policies and child protection procedures are strong. Adults are well trained and vigilant to potential dangers. The leadership of safeguarding in school is meticulous. Links with outside agencies are strong and the school’s most vulnerable pupils are well cared for as a result.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

 Teachers do not expect a high enough standard of work from pupils. Many pupils find their work easy, finish quickly and wait, doing little, until their teacher sets the next task. Teachers are too accepting of mediocre work from pupils who are capable of producing much better quality. Inspectors observed able mathematicians quickly solving straightforward calculations and then doing nothing for a significant amount of time.  Teachers do not use information about what pupils already understand, know and can do when they plan lessons. As a result, some pupils, including those who are less able, struggle to begin a task because they do not understand it. They wait until an adult helps them begin, but then often give up again soon after the adult has moved on to help someone else. The most able pupils find the work easy, complete it with little effort and learn little as a result.  Teachers do not question pupils skilfully enough. Teachers’ questions often invite very brief, sometimes

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

one-word answers from pupils. As a result, pupils are not challenged to think carefully about their responses and they fail to gain a deep understanding of the topics they are studying.  Teaching does not support the learning of pupils who have special educational needs or disabilities and these pupils are therefore not making enough progress. Teachers do not use information about these pupils’ specific needs to plan activities in which they can succeed. Teaching assistants support pupils in class, but spend most of their time helping them to tackle tasks that are too difficult for them, or in managing poor behaviour.  Teachers mark books regularly and in line with the school’s marking policy of highlighting success in green and errors in pink. However, pupils do not learn from their mistakes because they often do not understand why their teacher has highlighted something in pink. Consequently, pupils do not know how

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

to improve their work in the light of their teacher’s feedback.  The teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds that they make) is improving in the early years and in key stage 1. As a result, pupils read confidently and they enjoy reading, although many could read more challenging books than those they are given.  Teaching in the early years is stronger than in the rest of the school, although it is not consistently good. Adults successfully engage children in their learning and questioning makes children think. For example, inspectors observed a physical education lesson where children were ‘going on a bear hunt’ through different environments such as water and long grass. The teacher challenged the children to think about why different environments might be more difficult to walk through. However, at other times, inspectors observed the most able children completing straightforward activities that failed to challenge them.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is inadequate.  Pupils told inspectors that, because of the behaviour of a minority of pupils, they do not feel safe in school. Most staff who completed the inspection questionnaire do not believe that pupils are safe in school. Just over half of parents who completed the Parent View online questionnaire said that their child did not feel safe in school.  Pupils’ understanding of different forms of bullying and other potential dangers is underdeveloped. They could not describe different forms of bullying to inspectors, and their strategies to deal with bullying are limited to ‘tell a teacher’. Some pupils said that they had confidence in adults to deal with problems such as bullying, but others were very clear that they did not.  There are very few extra-curricular clubs, activities and leadership opportunities for pupils in school.

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Personal development and welfare

When combined with the deficiencies in the school’s curriculum, the result is that pupils lack self- confidence and do not have a positive view of their school.  Children in the early years told inspectors that they feel safe. The poor behaviour of the small number of pupils higher up the school does not have an impact on the Nursery or Reception classes.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is inadequate.  A small number of pupils, in several year groups, regularly behave very poorly. They refuse to stay in classrooms, instead wandering around the school often pursued by members of staff. At times they intimidate pupils and adults.  In many classes, especially when lessons are not interesting, challenging or well planned to match their ability, pupils misbehave. They lose interest in their work, become distracted, chat with those near them and do not listen to their teacher. Some teachers do not deal with this low-level disruption; instead they allow it to continue and fail to use the school’s behaviour policy. In a minority of classes, where teachers’ expectations of behaviour are higher and teachers have established clear routines for pupils to follow, pupils behave very well and are eager to learn.  There have been a high number of fixed-term exclusions during this academic year and a high proportion

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Behaviour

of these have been of pupils who have special educational needs or disabilities. The number has fallen sharply since the appointment of the executive headteacher.  Pupils’ behaviour at break and lunchtime is usually good. Different breaktimes for classes and a high staff presence ensure that poor behaviour is kept to a minimum and is dealt with quickly when it happens. The dining hall is calm and orderly. Pupils sit and eat sensibly and maturely, supervised by their class teacher. However, there is little for pupils to do at lunchtime and pupils told inspectors that they become bored.  Some pupils and parents told inspectors that behaviour has begun to improve recently, and that there are now fewer incidents of extreme poor behaviour. Inspectors did not see any of the most extreme behaviour that pupils and staff told them had happened in the past.  Behaviour in the early years is better than in the rest of the school because teaching is better. Behaviour

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Behaviour

is good in Nursery and adults manage incidents of low-level disruptive behaviour in Reception well.  Attendance has improved steadily over recent years and is now close to the national average for primary schools.

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Outcomes for pupils are inadequate

 Outcomes at key stage 1 and key stage 2 have declined considerably. Most pupils in Years 1 to 6 underachieve.  Published key stage 2 test results for 2015 showed a mixed picture. Consistently strong results in writing contrast with a sharp decline in reading standards and a less dramatic dip in mathematics. Disadvantaged pupils achieved similar results to others in writing, but gaps had grown in reading and mathematics. Standards in reading and mathematics have fallen further this year, and standards in writing have declined sharply. The school’s assessment information indicates that less than half of Year 6 pupils have reached the standard expected of them.  The decline in key stage 2 has been matched at key stage 1. In 2015, outcomes at the end of Year 2 were broadly average in reading, writing and mathematics. The school’s assessment information indicates that only half of pupils have reached the expected standard this year.

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Outcomes for pupils are inadequate

 Pupils who have special educational needs or disabilities are neither given the support they need in lessons nor extra help outside lessons to help them catch up. Consequently, they underachieve. Recent improvements in provision for pupils with education, health and care plans have not yet had time to have an effect on these pupils’ achievement.  Disadvantaged pupils are underachieving because leaders have not focused the pupil premium grant effectively on strategies that help pupils catch up and make good progress.  The most able pupils are underachieving because teachers do not have sufficiently high expectations of what they should achieve. Teachers do not challenge these pupils to do their best in lessons.  Results in the Year 1 phonics reading check have been below the national average in each of the previous three years. However, improved teaching of phonics has resulted in an improvement this year.

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Early years provision requires improvement

 The quality of teaching, although stronger than in key stages 1 and 2, is not consistently good. Adults do not give the most able children activities that challenge them so they do not achieve as well as they should.  Outcomes at the end of Reception have been well below average for two years. Boys’ and disadvantaged children’s outcomes have been particularly low and declining over that time. However, current children, including boys, are making better progress. For example, the proportion of disadvantaged children reaching a good level of development has trebled this year and gaps between their outcomes and those of other children have closed. An increasing proportion of children are well prepared to start key stage 1.  Most children behave very well. They are polite to each other and to adults. A small number behave less well than the majority and, at times, adults are distracted from teaching because they have to deal with

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Early years provision requires improvement

this poor behaviour. For the most part, adults manage poor behaviour well and its impact on the learning of other children is minimised.  Adults take care to make sure that children are safe. All adults have been trained and are vigilant to the signs that children might be vulnerable to harm. There are positive and warm relationships between children and adults in the early years. Crucially, the very poor behaviour evident in the rest of the school, which results in pupils not feeling safe, does not affect Nursery or Reception. Children told inspectors that they trust adults and they feel safe in school.  Teachers and teaching assistants work together well to establish clear routines and interesting activities for children. Children enjoy their learning. Most are inquisitive, eager to learn and they concentrate well on the tasks they are completing. At times, the most able children find tasks too easy and they make less

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Early years provision requires improvement

progress than they should as a result.  Leaders know the children very well and they accurately assess children’s achievement. They use this assessment information well to plan each child’s next learning steps. Although outcomes for disadvantaged children have improved considerably, the pupil premium grant has not been well targeted at the needs of disadvantaged children. Its use in the early years shares the weaknesses in the rest of the school, where leaders do not know which strategies have been successful and which have not.  Leaders work hard to involve parents in their children’s learning and their efforts are yielding some success. Staff visit children at home before they join the school to help to establish each child’s starting points, which are consistently below those typical for their age. An increasing number of parents are contributing information to the school’s records of their child’s development.

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School details

Unique reference number 142358 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 10020327 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Academy converter Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 232 Appropriate authority Barchelai Multi-Academy Trust Chair Peter French Headteacher Samantha Cosgrove (Executive headteacher) Telephone number 0121 464 2064 Website www.nonsuchprimaryschool.co.uk Email address enquiry@nonsuch.bham.sch.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected as an academy

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Information about this school

 Nonsuch is an average-sized primary school.  The majority of pupils are of White British heritage, but the proportions from other minority ethnic groups and/or who speak English as an additional language are above average.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is more than twice the national average. This is additional funding for children looked after and pupils known to be eligible for free school meals.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disabilities is well above average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set out the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school does not meet requirements on the publication of information about several areas on its website. These include special educational needs, pupil premium, test results, the curriculum and admissions to the school.  Nonsuch Primary School converted to become an academy, as part of the Barchelai Multi-Academy Trust,

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Information about this school

on 1 January 2016. When its predecessor school, also known as Nonsuch Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good overall.  The executive headteacher and the head of school joined Nonsuch at the start of the summer term, 2016.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed learning and behaviour and looked at pupils’ work in all classes.  Inspectors talked to many pupils about their learning, attitudes and opinions about school. They observed pupils at break and lunchtimes and as they moved around the school. Inspectors heard pupils read and talked to them about the books they enjoy.  A wide range of documents were scrutinised, including information relating to attendance, behaviour, safeguarding, pupils’ progress and the checks made on the quality of teaching.  Inspectors met with the executive headteacher and other senior leaders and a group of trustees and governors, including the chair of governors.  Inspectors met with two representatives of the Birmingham Education Partnership (BEP) who have been providing some support for the school.  Inspectors considered 22 responses to the Ofsted online parent survey, Parent View, and spoke with parents at the beginning and the end of the school day. They also considered 11 responses to the

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Information about this inspection

school’s own survey of parents’ views.  Inspectors took account of 15 responses received to a staff inspection questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Alun Williams, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Michael Onyon Ofsted Inspector Ellen Taylor 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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