Great Hollands Primary School

Great Hollands Primary School Wordsworth, Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 8YR

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

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Early years provision Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 School leaders, including governors, do not have an accurate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school.  School improvement planning is weak. It does not focus sharply enough on the most important aspects required to bring about rapid improvement in pupils’ achievement.  School leaders and governors do not check on the school’s work rigorously enough. They do not measure the impact of their actions.  Assessment systems are underdeveloped. School leaders have not yet implemented a robust system for assessing pupils’ progress. They do not measure pupils’ progress from their starting points.  Systems and procedures for record-keeping and monitoring incidents are not rigorous enough.  Expectations of what pupils can achieve are not high enough. Pupils’ achievement in all key stages across the school is below national averages. Pupils do not make enough progress to reach expected standards by the end of Year

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

6.  Middle leaders do not have sufficient skills to support improvement in their areas of responsibility, including improvements in teaching, learning and assessment.  The curriculum is not exciting or engaging enough. It does not promote good progress well enough.  Opportunities to develop pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding and knowledge of British values are not embedded. Pupils are not well prepared for life in modern Britain.  Teachers’ understanding and use of assessment is fragile. They do not have an in- depth knowledge of the progression of knowledge and skills across the curriculum.  Teachers do not use assessment information well enough to adjust their plans and learning in lessons. Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and the most able, are not provided with sufficient challenge.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Children get off to a positive start in their learning in the Nursery class. Opportunities for learning are beneficial both inside and outside.  Safeguarding is effective. Pupils feel safe. Parents are positive about the inclusive ethos of the school.

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Full report

In accordance with section 44(1) of 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 the quality of leadership and management by ensuring that: – school leaders accurately evaluate the work of the school – school improvement planning is sharply focused on the impact the school’s actions have on improving outcomes for pupils – the progress of all groups of pupils is measured accurately by school leaders – school leaders and governors monitor all aspects of the school’s work more effectively and adjust plans and procedures to promote rapid improvement – effective, up-to-date guidance is provided by school leaders to all staff on assessment procedures and that these methods are implemented effectively – systems and procedures for recording, monitoring and reviewing incidents are robust – middle leaders’ skills are developed effectively to enable them to have a greater impact on improvements in teaching, learning and assessment – the school’s curriculum is further developed to engage and excite pupils in a wide

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

range of learning across all subjects – pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and their understanding of British values are embedded.  Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in order to raise standards and ensure that all groups of pupils make at least good progress by: – raising expectations of what pupils can do and the progress they can make – increasing teachers’ understanding of assessment and the progression of knowledge and skills in each subject – making sure teachers’ assessments of pupils’ learning are accurate – using assessment information to adjust plans and learning in lessons to provide sufficient challenge to all groups of pupils. An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 School leaders and governors do not have an accurate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. Their view is overgenerous. This is because they do not evaluate the impact of the actions they take. They have not used the information on pupils’ achievement well enough to make accurate judgements.  Some important improvements and developments have not been implemented in a timely manner. For example, the introduction of the new national curriculum and, in particular, the assessments of pupils’ learning in the new curriculum have been too slow.  School leaders have failed to ensure that a suitable assessment system has been put in place quickly enough. Teachers are not able to determine whether pupils are on track to meet the standards they are expected to achieve by the end of the year. As a result, the assessments teachers make about pupils’ achievement are not accurate.  School improvement plans do not focus sharply enough on the most important

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

activities required to raise standards. The plan is not linked to the expected gains in pupils’ progress over time from their starting points. As a result, priorities from the previous year have not been addressed successfully. School leaders have not identified the most important actions required to rapidly increase rates of pupils’ progress.  School leaders do not monitor the work of the school rigorously enough. Although some checks on the quality of teaching are carried out, aspects identified for improvement are not followed up well enough. Consequently, school leaders do not know whether weaknesses in teaching have been addressed.  Middle leaders do not have the skills to support improvements in teaching and assessment. Although they are provided with time to check on teaching and learning in their area of responsibility, they do not have clearly focused, well-thought-through plans to bring about the needed improvements.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 School leaders have invested heavily in professional development and training opportunities for staff. But the impact of this investment is unclear because there is no clear link to improving outcomes for pupils in the school’s plans. Training has not been evaluated.  The curriculum, including extra-curricular activities, provides a broad and balanced range of subjects, but lacks the content to inspire and excite pupils in their learning. The curriculum does too little to deepen pupils’ knowledge or challenge them to think more deeply. As a result, pupils are working below the expectations for their age and are not presented with opportunities to progress quickly enough. This has an adverse effect on their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  The local authority recognised that school leaders were not acting swiftly enough to raise standards. They increased the level of support provided to the school during the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

summer term. Further support has been provided by local authority officers and the headteacher from a local outstanding infant school. Further concerns were raised at the end of the last academic year, when the outcomes for pupils at each key stage remained below national averages.  The school’s website does not meet statutory requirements. It does not set out the impact of pupil premium funding or physical education (PE) and sports funding. The results of the key stage 2 tests are not published on the school’s website. The complaints policy is missing.  School leaders promote the school values well. Pupils are able to quote the meaning of the values the school promotes: ‘Great’ which represents generosity, resilience, empowerment, ambition and teamwork. However, their understanding of British values is less well developed. Pupils have a very limited understanding of democracy, the rule of law and individual liberty.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 Extra funding for disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is used to provide additional support. However, the impact of the spending on increasing rates of pupils’ progress is not evaluated well enough. This means that school leaders are not always sure whether the funding is being targeted effectively.  The school uses primary PE and sports funding to utilise the skills of a specialist PE teacher and sports coaches. There are now more opportunities for pupils to participate in sports. Pupils’ involvement in sport has increased. However, the impact of the funding has not been evaluated.  The school may not appoint newly qualified teachers.

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Governance of the school

 Governors are supportive of the school. Many governors visit the school regularly to provide support and check on the school’s work. However, they have an overgenerous view of the school. This is because they are not always furnished with information in a timely way, despite their best efforts to hold leaders to account.  Outcomes at the end of the last academic year were disappointing, but governors were not fully informed about teachers’ lack of understanding and skills in assessing pupils’ achievements. Consequently, they are not able to monitor the school well enough.  Governors receive information about the performance of teachers, but targets set for teachers are broad and lack specific detail to ensure robust evaluations of their performance. Governors carry out their statutory duty to monitor the performance of the headteacher using the information available.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Staff are suitably trained at the correct level and have a good understanding of their responsibilities to keep pupils safe. Staff and governors have received training to help them to know how to prevent pupils from being exposed to extremism and radicalisation.  The school maintains an up-to-date record of all the suitability checks carried out on all staff, which is monitored by the governing body.  The family support adviser provides additional valuable support to vulnerable pupils and families, particularly in guiding and supporting families in challenging circumstances.  School leaders have created a culture where pupils feel safe. They ensure that pupils are taught about staying safe within the community, online and at school. Pupils say they feel safe and most parents agree that their child feels safe in school.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

 Teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve are not high enough. Delays in fully implementing the new national curriculum and, in particular, the new assessment system, mean that learning in lessons has not reflected the higher expectations.  The new assessment system was partially implemented at the beginning of the last academic year. Although pupils’ progress has been tracked during the year, the school does not hold information about the progress of pupils over time, from their starting points.  In the autumn and spring terms last year, teachers’ assessments of pupils’ achievements were too generous. Teachers continued to try to assess using levels of attainment. This created complications and inaccuracies in assessment information. Teachers did not have a secure understanding of what pupils were expected to achieve by the end of the year. Consequently, end-of-year tests revealed that pupils had not

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

achieved as well as expected.  Teachers devise objectives for learning in lessons and convey these, along with statements to help pupils to know how to be successful. However, the learning that is intended to take place is often too general, and the success requirements too broad, to increase pupils’ understanding or develop their skills.  Teachers do not challenge pupils enough. They often set work for all pupils at the same level of difficulty. This means that the most able pupils, including the most able disadvantaged pupils, find the work too easy. The feedback teachers provide for pupils does not always ensure that they deepen their understanding.  Mathematics teaching does not enable pupils to develop their problem-solving and reasoning skills. A great deal of mathematics work in books links to calculations with insufficient evidence of pupils using their mathematical knowledge to complete investigations.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

 Phonics teaching has become more systematic recently, which is helping pupils to make better progress. Pupils are taught according to their ability. However, teachers’ subject knowledge is not always accurate and some sounds and groups of sounds are pronounced incorrectly.  The school library is well stocked and there is a wide range of reading material on offer to pupils. Too many pupils, however, do not read widely and with confidence. Older pupils with a limited knowledge of phonics to help them tackle unfamiliar words are at a disadvantage. The most able readers, including disadvantaged most-able pupils, enjoy reading and read regularly in school and at home. Lower-ability pupils are not enthused to read because they have not fully grasped the strategies to attempt to read unknown words. This impedes their ability to read fluently and develop a love of reading.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school's work to promote pupils' personal development and welfare requires improvement. This is because the systems and procedures in place to record, check and review incidents are not rigorous enough.  Pupils have a good understanding of different types of bullying, including cyber bullying, homophobic bullying and racist bullying. They say some bullying does exist at school. Some say that adults do not always respond quickly enough to eradicate it. This was evident during the inspection. Some parents expressed concerns about bullying too. Inspectors raised these issues with school leaders during the inspection. The school does have a system in place to record incidents of bullying, but there is no clear evidence of how issues have been resolved or monitored to prevent reoccurrence.  Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe in school, within the community and when using technology online. Most parents agree that their child is safe in school.

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Personal development and welfare

 Pupils know about the importance of building positive relationships. The school values are promoted well, encouraging pupils’ resilience, empowerment and teamwork.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Too many pupils do not display positive attitudes to learning. This is because teaching is not always suited well enough to their learning needs. As a result, they become distracted and lose concentration in some lessons.  Pupils generally conduct themselves well around the school. There are times during lunchtime and playtimes that their behaviour is overly boisterous. Pupils are usually well supervised, but occasionally, in some outside areas, pupils’ behaviour is not monitored closely enough and in these circumstances pupils find it difficult to regulate their own behaviour.  Pupils’ attendance has improved since the previous inspection. It is now above the national average. No group of pupils is disadvantaged by poor attendance.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 Too many pupils have not made the progress they are capable of. Attainment at the end of key stage 2 in 2016 was below the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. It was also well below the national average in grammar, punctuation and spelling.  Although standards were above the national average in reading from 2013 to 2015, in 2016 they dipped below the national average, with only just over half of the pupils achieving the expected standard.  Standards are beginning to rise in mathematics, but in 2016 only two fifths of pupils achieved the expected standard, which is well below the national average.  Writing has been consistently below and, in some years well below, the national average for six years. Although there has been a focus on improving pupils’ writing skills, there has been limited impact on raising standards. Overall, just over a quarter of pupils achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics in 2016.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 Attainment at the end of key stage 1 has been significantly below the national average for five years. In 2016, attainment was below the national average in reading, writing and mathematics, with only just over two fifths of pupils reaching the expected standard in all three subjects. Evidence in pupils’ work and teaching over time shows that rates of pupils’ progress are not fast enough to enable them to catch up.  Outcomes in the phonics screening check have also been below the national average in recent years. Although outcomes rose in 2016, they remain below the national average for Year 1 pupils.  The school’s own information on pupils’ starting points is limited, including for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, the most able and disadvantaged pupils. Although pupils’ progress is being tracked, the information on the progress of different groups of pupils is unreliable.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 School leaders and teachers have been grappling with the new assessment system, which is at an early stage of development. The tracking information of pupils’ progress during the last academic year was available for inspectors to evaluate. Inspectors also evaluated pupils’ work in books. Evidence shows that inaccurate teacher assessment information was not picked up early enough in 2016. Consequently, pupils’ underachievement has not been addressed quickly enough. Internal test results for Year 1 to Year 5 and national test results at the end of Year 6 were much lower than teacher assessments.  Outcomes for disadvantaged pupils are much lower than all other pupils in all year groups in reading, writing and mathematics. Although school leaders have used pupil premium funding to provide additional support for these pupils to increase their rates of progress, the impact of this funding is limited.  Boys do less well than girls in reading and writing in most year groups. Attainment in

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

mathematics varies between boys and girls. At the end of Year 6, boys and girls performed equally in mathematics.  All groups of pupils in all year groups are not well prepared for the next stage of their education. This includes the most able and the most able disadvantaged pupils because too few of them reach higher standards.

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Early years provision Requires improvement

 Children begin in the Nursery and Reception classes with skills and abilities that are below and, for some children, well below those that are typical for their age.  Most children settle quickly into the routines of the early years settings. A few take longer to settle. They remain passive and lacking in excitement and enthusiasm. Adults do not always intervene actively enough to support children during their own initiated learning. Expectations are not always high enough. The most able children are not always challenged sufficiently well.  A significant proportion of children have poor language and communication skills. It is evident that adults in the Nursery class recognise this and the promotion of language and communication skills is a priority. Adults encourage children to develop their use of language during their own initiated activities. Sometimes in the Reception classes opportunities to extend children’s thinking and their development of vocabulary are

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Early years provision Requires improvement

limited.  Outcomes at the end of the Reception Year have been below and, in some years, well below those expected for their age. Improvements have been evident recently. Outcomes at the end of 2016 were the highest for some time. This means that a higher proportion of children were well prepared to begin learning in Year 1. However, outcomes are still below national averages.  Children enjoy the activities on offer to them. The new classrooms provide spacious, well-resourced indoor and outdoor learning opportunities. However, the outdoor space is not used well enough in the Reception classes.  School leaders know that the early years needs to improve. The deputy headteacher is leading the development of early years and supports early years staff to improve their skills. Pupil premium funding for eligible pupils is being targeted effectively to improve their progress. Although leaders aim to improve outcomes in early years, their plans

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Early years provision Requires improvement

are too broad and do not link precisely enough to expected gains in children’s progress.  Children in the Rainbow Resource Unit are supported well. Clear explanations and appropriate activities help children enjoy their learning. They make good progress from very low starting points. Adults are sensitive to the differing needs of each child.  Children are encouraged to take turns and share. They understand the routines and know that before they have their snacks they need to wash their hands.  Parents are generally positive about the opportunities for learning their children experience in the early years. They are less clear about how to support their child’s learning in some areas. The school is working well to support parents by providing workshops and stay and learn sessions to guide parents and increase their skills.  Pupil premium funding is used well to support disadvantaged children and their

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Early years provision Requires improvement

families. During the inspection, one early years practitioner worked with a group of parents and their children to support children’s enjoyment of books, helping parents to understand how to support children’s early acquisition of language. Parents are positive about these sessions and enjoy the opportunity to learn alongside their children.  All the safeguarding and welfare arrangements in the early years are met.

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School details

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

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Email address secretary@ghps.bracknell-forest.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 18–19 January 2012

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Information about this school

 The school does not meet requirements on the publication of information about publishing key stage 2 end-of-year assessment results, the school’s complaints procedure, the impact of pupil premium funding and the effect of the sports premium funding on pupils’ PE and sports participation and attainment on its website.  Great Hollands Primary School is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged and supported by the pupil premium is above the national average. The pupil premium provides additional funding for children who are looked after by the local authority and pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above the national average.  The Rainbow Resource Unit has provision for six children who have special educational

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Information about this school

needs and/or disabilities, primarily social and communication difficulties, in a separate nursery unit.  A children’s centre is attached to the school. This provision is registered separately and was not inspected as part of this inspection.  The school is receiving support from the headteacher of College Town Infant and Nursery School.  The school met the government’s current floor standards in 2015.  The headteacher took up post in September 2015. He was the deputy headteacher of the school until September 2015. A new deputy headteacher and assistant headteacher took up post in September 2015.  At the time of the inspection the school was undergoing a major building project.

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Information about this inspection

 This inspection was conducted under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. It converted to a section 5 inspection under the same act on the afternoon of day one.  Inspectors observed learning in a number of lessons on both days of the inspection. Some observations were undertaken jointly with the headteacher.  Inspectors held meetings with members of the governing body, the local authority, senior and middle leaders, staff and pupils.  Inspectors listened to pupils talk about their work and listened to pupils read in Year 2 and Year 6.  Informal discussions were held with pupils during lunchtimes and playtimes. Inspectors spoke with parents at the start of the school day.  The inspection team observed the school’s work and looked at a range of documents, including pupils’ work in books, achievement and progress information, documents relating to safeguarding and school policies and procedures.  Inspectors scrutinised the school improvement plan and external reports on the school.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection team also considered the 97 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, 24 responses from staff gathered through the staff survey and 38 responses from pupils in the pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Ann Henderson, lead inspector Her Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Kate Redman 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

In the report, 'disadvantaged pupils' refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .

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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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

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 .

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Inspection team

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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.gov.uk/ofsted

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