Bird's Bush Primary School

Bird’s Bush Primary School Birds Bush Road, Belgrave, Tamworth, Staffordshire B77 2NE

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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 Requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school has been judged to require improvement at its two previous inspections. Leaders and governors have not improved the school rapidly enough.  Standards at the end of Year 6 remain too low, particularly in mathematics and reading.  Many pupils do not make enough progress from their individual starting points in key stage 2 because of inadequate teaching, learning and assessment.  Disadvantaged pupils are not achieving well enough in key stage 2. Differences between their attainment and other pupils nationally are not diminishing.  Groups of pupils such as boys, the most able and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are underachieving.  Pupils are given too few opportunities to use their mathematical skills in other subjects.  Teachers’ use of assessment to match learning tasks to the needs of pupils is weak, which leaves pupils floundering.  Areas identified for improvement at the

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

school’s previous inspection still need to be improved.  The curriculum fails to meet the needs of groups of pupils such as disadvantaged pupils, the most able, boys and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.  School leaders have an overgenerous view of how well the school is performing. Their monitoring of teaching and learning lacks rigour.  Governors are unsure if pupil premium spending helps disadvantaged pupils make better progress. They fail to hold school leaders fully to account for pupils’ achievement.  Pupils’ behaviour is not good. In a minority of lessons pupils behave poorly. The school has the following strengths

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school places a high priority on keeping pupils safe and takes effective action to achieve this.  The number of pupils persistently absent from school has reduced dramatically because of the effective work of the family support worker.  A caring, nurturing and supportive culture exists in school and the social and emotional needs of pupils are met well.  Achievement in the early years and key stage 1 is stronger than key stage 2. Standards at the end of Year 2 in 2015 were above average.

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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?

 Substantially increase the capacity that leaders and managers, including governors, have to improve pupils’ learning, so improvements take place quickly, by making sure that: – leaders use accurate information about the school’s performance more effectively to plan for improvement, so all gain a well-informed and secure understanding of how pupils are progressing – leaders focus rigorously on pupils’ learning when they carry out monitoring activities, including when observing in the classroom – the curriculum meets the learning needs of groups of pupils such as disadvantaged pupils, the most able, boys and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities – pupil premium funding supports disadvantaged pupils’ learning more effectively, especially those who are most able – the leadership of provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is effective, and pupils’ learning is carefully tracked

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– the governing body holds the school’s leaders fully to account for the impact of the spending of pupil premium funding on the achievement of disadvantaged pupils.  Improve teaching to more rapidly accelerate the progress and improve the attainment of all groups of pupils in key stage 2, particularly in mathematics and reading, by making sure that: – teachers use assessment well to match learning tasks more precisely to the pupils’ needs so that pupils are appropriately challenged by their work – teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve and how they will present their work – when teachers give feedback to pupils it helps pupils understand exactly what they need to do to improve their work – teachers provide more opportunities in a range of subjects for pupils to apply their mathematical knowledge and explain the reasoning behind how they solve mathematical problems.  Make sure all teachers and other adults have the highest expectation of how pupils will

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

behave in lessons and enforce these stringently. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved. 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

 Pupils’ achievement has not improved enough since the previous inspection because school leaders have not focused relentlessly on improving teaching and learning. Consequently, standards at the end of Year 6 and for other pupils remain too low.  Pupils’ achievement in mathematics and reading in key stage 2 was identified as a weakness at the previous inspection. This is still the case.  Leaders overestimate the school’s strengths and view its effectiveness as good when there are clearly far too many shortcomings. Plans for improvement are not precise enough. The monitoring processes which inform their views lack rigour and precision. Consequently, they have not tackled the weaknesses effectively enough since the previous inspection.  Actions taken by middle leaders to improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment have so far failed to bring about the necessary improvements, leaving too

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

many inconsistencies in the quality of teaching. Middle leaders are now developing systems which will enable them to track progress in a wide range of subjects other than mathematics and English. Currently they cannot do this.  Senior leaders promote a culture of high expectations for pupils’ achievement, but this does not yet permeate school life. Too often low expectations were apparent, particularly in key stage 2.  The curriculum in key stage 2 is poorly matched to the needs of pupils, especially for boys, those who are disadvantaged, the most able and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Even though school leaders are aware of the underperformance of these groups, they have done too little to adapt the curriculum to meet their needs effectively. The curriculum is adequately enriched through educational visits and exciting activities for pupils, such as sewing and puppet-making.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 Additional funding provided for disadvantaged pupils through the pupil premium fund is not being used effectively enough by leaders and is failing to improve these pupils’ achievement. Additional funding for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is not helping enough of them to achieve well and catch up in their learning. The leadership of provision for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities is poor.  Funding provided for improving pupils’ take-up of sports is being used well. Teachers’ skills have improved. Additional equipment has been purchased for specialised teaching of sports such as gymnastics.  Newly qualified teachers may not be appointed. Leaders and managers do not have enough capacity currently to provide good support for teachers at the beginning of their careers.  A restructuring of teaching and support staff has taken place since the previous

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

inspection. So far this has had little impact on pupils’ achievement.  Responses to the staff questionnaire show teachers and teaching assistants are well motivated. Pupils are effectively prepared for living in modern Britain. The school council is actively involved in promoting democracy in school following their visit to the Houses of Parliament. They see their role in promoting British values throughout school as highly important.  Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is well promoted. Pupils know the difference between what is right and wrong. They expressed their outrage to an inspector about the possibility of there being any racism in school; they explained it would just not be acceptable.

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Governance of the school

 Governors have an insufficiently realistic understanding of the wide spectrum of weaknesses in the school. They judge the school as good even though they recognise achievement in mathematics is weak. Their processes for monitoring the effectiveness of leaders are not sharply enough focused on checking that the actions taken are bringing about fast enough improvement.  Governors do not check carefully enough on the impact of the school’s decisions about pupil premium spending on the learning of disadvantaged pupils. Consequently, they are unaware that the money is not having the intended effect.  The current governing body has many members who joined since the previous inspection; their governance skills are at an early stage of development. Governors display a good knowledge of their roles and responsibilities in keeping pupils safe in school. They ensure they are fully represented at regular safeguarding training

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Governance of the school

events in order to keep their knowledge up to date.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. A well-established culture of safeguarding permeates all aspects of school life.  School leaders work successfully with a wide range of outside agencies to ensure pupils are kept safe.  The family support worker plays a pivotal role in ensuring pupils are kept safe.  All adults in school have undergone the required training and are proactive in ensuring children are kept safe.  The record of all required pre-employment checks is effectively maintained by the school business manager.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

 Weak teaching in key stage 2 prevents pupils from achieving high enough standards at the end of Year 6, particularly in reading and mathematics. There are far too many inconsistencies in the quality of teaching, which are hindering learning.  Groups of pupils are not challenged well enough by the learning tasks they are asked to complete. Too often these are either too hard or too easy for them. One most-able disadvantaged pupil rapidly completed 11 calculations correctly before being given a more difficult challenge to attempt. This was then completed rapidly. The pupil explained to the inspector, ‘This work is easy, I have done it before in another class’.  Pupils’ underachievement in key stage 2 is shown in their work. The most able pupils are poorly challenged because not all teachers understand what they should do to move them forward in their learning.  Feedback given to pupils does not help them to understand how well they are learning.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

This hinders pupils’ progress.  Pupils’ books show there are many opportunities to write in other subjects, but pupils are rarely able to use their mathematics skills in those subjects.  In a minority of books, pupils’ work was poorly presented and this was not obviously challenged by their teachers. Too many teachers do not have high enough expectations of what pupils can achieve in mathematics and reading in key stage 2.  Teaching assistants support lower-ability pupils effectively and move them forward in their learning.  Many teachers use effective questioning strategies. This helps them understand how well pupils are progressing in their learning.  In the majority of classrooms, interactive resources were used effectively to support pupils in their learning.  Occasionally, pupils were given many opportunities to solve problems and explain how they arrived at their answers. This was not consistently the case across the school.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.  Pupils’ books show they do not always take as much pride in their work as they could. In addition, they do not have a good understanding of how to improve their work.  Pupils’ social and emotional well-being is well promoted. Much work is done, successfully, to ensure that pupils are well cared for and nurtured during their time at school. Many parents praised the work of the family support worker in this respect.  Pupils are confident and self-assured. They happily report that they feel safe in school. Pupils are well aware of how they can keep themselves safe when using the internet and in the wider world because of how well these topics are taught in school.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.  In a minority of lessons pupils become bored and disrupt the learning of others. Their attitudes to learning are not consistently strong.  In the early years, children are not always given clear enough behaviour guidelines. Consequently, they do not respond rapidly enough to the instructions of adults.  Pupils report that some bullying happens occasionally in school. They say it is sorted out well by staff.  Pupils are polite and well-mannered. They are welcoming to visitors and respectful to everyone in school.  Attendance is broadly average. The number of pupils regularly absent from school has reduced dramatically in the last year because of the effective work of the family support worker.  The alternative provision used by the school to help pupils with their behaviour provides a good level of support for pupils.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 From their individual starting points at the end of Year 2, pupils make slow progress to the end of Year 6, particularly in reading and mathematics. Standards in these subjects remain too low. Pupils are not well-enough prepared for the next stage of their education.  Groups of pupils are not making enough progress throughout key stage 2 because of inadequate teaching. From their different starting points, disadvantaged pupils, those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, boys and the most able make too slow progress in reading and mathematics. This is reflected in other subjects across the curriculum. In the alternative provision used by the school, pupils’ progress is as expected.  The overall differences between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils at the end of Year 6 in school and other pupils nationally failed to diminish in 2015. The differences reduced in writing, but increased in reading and mathematics.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 In the phonics screening check at the end of Year 1, high proportions of pupils reach the expected standard. The school was above average in 2015. A much lower proportion of boys reach this standard than girls.  At the end of Year 2, standards were above those nationally in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils are taught to read well in their early time in school. Their reading ability and comprehension skills decline in key stage 2 because of poor teaching.

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Early years provision Requires improvement

 Fewer boys than girls achieve a good level of development by the end of the Reception Year. The school has identified this in the latest school performance information and staff are working with adults in the early years to develop the provision so it suits the needs of boys as well as it does that of girls. This approach has been too recent to make a difference.  Children start school with knowledge and skills which are below those typical for their age, especially in reading and writing. The staff get to know the children well and provide a good range of activities for children to explore. As a result of appropriately targeted teaching, children begin to catch up, making fast progress in their learning and development. At the end of Reception in 2014 and 2015, the proportion of children reaching a good level of development was above average. It remained high in 2016, but more girls than boys reached the early learning goals. Taken overall, children were

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Early years provision Requires improvement

well prepared to start Year 1.  There are also, rightly, plans for teaching to be improved in order to strengthen children’s achievement, particularly the boys, and for improvements to the outdoor area.  Adults’ expectations for children’s behaviour are not always high enough.  Additional funding to support the achievement of disadvantaged children is used well in early years and there are no noticeable differences between their achievement and that of other children.  Parents praise the transition arrangements which help their children to settle rapidly into daily routines, supporting their learning and development well. The school works effectively with other early years providers to aid transition into Bird’s Bush Primary School.

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Email address headteacher@birdsbush.staffs.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 3–4 June 2014

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Information about this school

 This is a slightly larger than average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium funding is just above the national average.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below the national average.  Early years provision is full time in the Reception class.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ progress and attainment in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website, after updating it during the inspection.  Since the previous inspection the school has been supported by a local leader of education from Whittington Primary School.  The school works with the Cornerpost Education Centre which provides alternate provision for pupils who require support with their behaviour.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed learning in lessons and part lessons. Five part lessons were observed jointly with the headteacher or deputy headteacher.  Meetings were held with senior leaders, school staff and the chair of the governing body accompanied by three other governors. The lead inspector also spoke with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors held discussions with parents and groups of pupils. Inspectors spoke informally to pupils in lessons, during breaks and lunchtimes.  Inspectors scrutinised the work that pupils produced during lessons and in their books, including a wide range of subjects over time. They also listened to a small number of pupils from Year 1 and Year 2, Year 5 and Year 6 reading.  Inspectors closely observed the work of the school and looked at the latest school performance information showing the progress pupils in school are currently making.  Other documentation scrutinised included plans for school improvement, safeguarding

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Information about this inspection

information, behaviour logs, attendance records and minutes of governing body meetings.  Inspectors took account of 25 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View). Inspectors considered 25 responses to the online staff questionnaire and 21 free text responses.

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Inspection team

Declan McCauley, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Susan Lowry 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

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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

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