Marlborough Infant School

Marlborough Infant and Nursery School Marlborough Road, Small Heath, Birmingham, West Midlands B10 9NY

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Outcomes for pupils 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

This is a school that requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders have not taken effective steps to improve pupils’ progress over time and help them to be better prepared for Year 3.  Leaders’ checks on teaching are not sufficiently focused on pupils’ progress and do not align closely enough with pupils’ outcomes over time.  Leaders’ and teachers’ learning expectations of pupils are not high enough. As a result, pupils do not make as much progress as they could.  Some systems, such as the school’s approach to teaching and learning, marking and feedback, are currently being reviewed and are not yet not effective enough to support pupils’ strong progress.  Teachers do not consistently match activities to what the pupils need to learn. Teachers’ subject knowledge of the national curriculum changes has not been developed enough.  By the time pupils leave the school at the end of Year 2, pupils’ outcomes require improvement. Pupils’ progress is inconsistent across the year groups and subjects over time.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Early years provision, particularly in the Nursery, requires improvement as teaching is inconsistent across classes.  Governors do not operate strategically enough or rigorously hold senior leaders to account for pupils’ progress from their starting points to the end of Year 2.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders and managers are experienced and demonstrate the drive and ambition to improve the effectiveness of the school.  As a result of the challenging backgrounds of a high proportion of the pupils, staff work closely with families and external advisers to support pupils’ social and emotional needs.  The positive ethos, colourful displays and broad curriculum help pupils to enjoy school and develop their speaking skills.  Teaching assistants are experienced, know the pupils well and deliver strong support.  Leaders work very closely with parents to keep them informed of curriculum changes and expectations of good attendance, for example. Parents appreciate this, along with the care and support their children are provided with.  A strong sense of values is evident in the school’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural work. As a result, pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare are good.  Staff support leaders well and are enthusiastic

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

about their roles. At its best, this enthusiasm encourages pupils to make better progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of leadership and management by ensuring that: – improvement planning is succinct and more sharply focused on the areas of the school’s provision which need improving the most – monitoring and evaluation systems are sharper, timely, aligned with pupils’ progress and effective – all staff are held to close account for improving pupils’ progress – governors continue to receive effective training and support in order to carry out their roles more strategically, to rigorously hold the senior leaders to account and to have a greater focus on the development of teaching and learning – external support is improved in order to provide greater challenge.  Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment so that it is consistently good and pupils’ outcomes improve, by ensuring that all teachers: – receive training to develop their subject knowledge and teaching, to plan and deliver lessons enabling pupils to make the progress that they are capable of

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– increase their expectations of pupils in reading, writing, phonics and mathematics – have accurate assessment information to enable them to plan and deliver lessons to improve weaknesses in pupils’ skills – refine and effectively use the school’s marking and feedback policy.  Improve the effectiveness of early years, so that children’s progress and outcomes are at least good, by ensuring that: – adults receive training to develop their teaching and intervention skills and expectations when working with young children – teachers quickly assess children’s starting points at the beginning of the year and plan activities and tasks to maximise their progress – staff across the department work together more effectively to raise expectations and the learning environment, particularly in the Nursery. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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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 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 Requires improvement

 Leaders and managers have not taken effective action to address weaknesses in teaching. Consequently, pupils’ progress has been too slow and they leave the school typically with below-average outcomes. Despite an improvement in the proportion of pupils achieving a higher level at the end of Year 2 in 2015, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment remains too variable across the school.  Leaders and managers do not rigorously hold staff to account. Performance management of senior leaders and teachers is not demanding enough to bring about the improvements needed in this school for these pupils. Many children start in early years with skills below those typical for their age. Although pupils make progress in this school, too many leave with skills below those typical at the end of Year 2 and do not make the progress they are capable of. Expectations of staff and pupils are not high enough.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Assessment systems are not used effectively to track pupils’ progress. Leaders regularly collect assessment information but this has sometimes been misinterpreted. Governors, leaders and teachers have thought that pupils have made more progress than they actually have, leading to inaccurate planning, teaching and assessments. Leaders have started using a new assessment system this term, but it is too early to judge the impact of this change.  School improvement plans are cumbersome and not sharply concentrated on the main areas that need improving, such as boys’ outcomes and the progress of disadvantaged pupils. As a result of this and inaccurate assessments, teaching and resources are not sufficiently focused on improving the weakest areas of pupils’ progress.  The responsibilities of the senior leadership team have recently been reorganised to include the English, mathematics and early years leaders. These adults are skilled, but

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

not class-based and therefore not in a position to effectively support the rest of the teachers. Leaders’ monitoring and evaluation of teaching are not effective, accurate enough or closely linked to pupils’ progress.  External support is not effective in challenging leaders to make improvements. Reports from termly visits by a representative of the local authority are too generous and do not challenge leaders to improve the school’s work. Similarly, the private school improvement consultant that the school employs does not provide reports for governors to use to hold leaders to close account. Consequently, the school’s external support is largely ineffective.  Pupil premium funding is not used and monitored effectively. This is partly because progress measures have been based on previously inaccurate assessments. Some disadvantaged pupils have made progress in mathematics, for example. However, provision and progress are inconsistent. In key stage 1, the difference between the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

outcomes for disadvantaged pupils and other pupils in the school and nationally are not diminishing. Leaders agree that an external review of pupil premium funding would be beneficial.  Parents clearly appreciate the school’s work and the efforts that staff make to support both pupils and parents. The school gained a ‘leading parent partnership award’ in 2014 and is hoping to be reaccredited soon. Leaders organise a number of workshops for parents which are well attended and support pupils’ welfare and personal development.  The school’s curriculum provides pupils with a wide range of learning experiences. Colourful displays demonstrate examples of pupils’ work across the curriculum, such as healthy eating and poems linked to Remembrance Day. Displays also promote the multicultural and multifaith school population. Leaders have made the most of the limited space available in a Victorian school by creatively developing outdoor learning

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

areas and separate outdoor learning areas for early years.  There is good provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The school’s aims are linked and displayed with the fundamental British values. A variety of cultures are represented in stories and poems used in teaching. Pupils learn about democracy and equality of opportunity through the annual election of the school council. This, along with the inclusive curriculum, has helped to develop pupils’ understanding and respect for others and supports their preparation for life in modern Britain.  Additional government money to improve pupils’ participation and ability in sport has been used effectively to enhance teaching and learning in physical education. For example, the school employs dance and sports coaches to improve the pupils’ skills. Staff work alongside these coaches to improve their own teaching skills. Consequently,

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

participation in both intra-school and inter-school competitions has increased and pupils have performed ‘dance assemblies’.

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Governance of the school

 Governors know the general strengths and weaknesses of the school and which aspects need to improve. However, they are overly focused on procedural matters such as policy reviews and do not hold leaders firmly to account for pupils’ progress or interrogate the information that they are provided with by leaders and teachers.  The governing body has had some training on safeguarding, for example, but does not currently demonstrate the skills or experience to provide the strong strategic steer needed to help this school improve.  The schedule of governors’ meetings is not well organised. For example, the governing body has not yet had a formal meeting during this school year, meaning that leaders have not been held to account for the results from July 2016.  Governors understand how the performance management system is used to reward success and tackle weaker teaching. However, they have not ensured that the targets

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Governance of the school

set for the headteacher are challenging and helping the school to improve.  Governors check that school finances are being managed and that specific grants are directed to improving pupils’ achievement. For example, governors are provided with information about how the sport premium is being spent and its impact on pupils’ participation in sport. However, they have not used external assessment information to challenge whether the pupil premium grant is being spent effectively.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  There is a strong culture of safeguarding throughout the school. Senior leaders ensure that all procedures are up to date and checks on adults working in school are thorough. All statutory safety requirements are met and arrangements to support vulnerable pupils and families are effective. Regular training takes place for all staff to ensure that they are kept up to date with any concerns or changes. Training has included child sexual exploitation, female genital mutilation and preventing extremism in education. Staff engage very effectively with parents and have earned their trust to be able to provide support to help families and keep pupils safe.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is too variable across the school. Teaching does not consistently meet the learning needs of all pupils or challenge them enough to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding. Teachers are aware of pupils’ misconceptions but the actions they take to tackle this are not effective enough.  Leaders’ monitoring of teaching is not focused enough on pupils’ progress or accurate assessment information. Therefore, leaders have an overly optimistic view of the quality of teaching and its impact on pupils’ progress. Policies, such as the school’s approach to marking and feedback, are currently being developed and have not yet had time to become consistently effective and well established across the school.  The teaching of reading is not strong enough. Inspection evidence and pupils’ outcomes show that the teaching of phonics is too variable across the school. Most

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

pupils improve their phonics skills by the time they leave the school at the end of Year 2. However, pupils with weaker reading skills are not heard to read regularly enough by adults to help them catch up quickly and be well prepared for Year 3.  Leaders have been slow to introduce the recent changes to the mathematics national curriculum. Consequently, teachers’ skills and understanding of mathematics ‘mastery’ are still developing. No Year 2 pupils reached a ‘greater depth’ in mathematics this year and current workbooks show that Year 2 pupils are not accessing enough of the Year 2 curriculum.  The provision for the most able pupils has improved and they have been challenged to reach their potential. Consequently, progress for this small group of pupils has improved in reading, writing and mathematics.  Staff provide support for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Parents of these pupils appreciate the time taken to support their children and the

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

families where necessary. The progress of this group of pupils has not improved in Year 1 and Year 2, but did improve in early years in 2016.  All teachers and teaching assistants work hard, are enthusiastic and are keen to support pupils’ progress. Some aspects of teaching to improve pupils’ skills are stronger, such as oracy (the ability to express oneself fluently and grammatically in speech) and questioning. The indoor and outdoor learning environment of the school is well planned, engaging and a strength of the provision.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils enjoy coming to school and experiencing the broad curriculum on offer. They tell visitors about their learning and how they raise money for a range of charities. Pupils’ manners are a strength as they listen carefully to one another and hold doors open for others, for example.  Leaders have created a climate for learning which promotes pupils’ confidence, physical and emotional well-being. Consequently, pupils have good attitudes to learning, even when they do not fully understand the task they have been set.  Parents are supportive of the school’s actions to support pupils’ personal development and welfare. For example, parents commented how helpful the staff are at helping their children to resolve any concerns and settle into school quickly.  Pupils are aware of how to keep themselves and others safe. They are knowledgeable

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Personal development and welfare

about the dangers associated with the internet and say that they feel safe in school because adults are always there to help them if needed. Pupils are aware of what bullying is and say it is not a problem here as pupils get on well with each other. If anything does go wrong, any problems are dealt with quickly by the staff.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils’ conduct in lessons is usually very positive and they show good respect towards both adults and each other. Pupils play actively and happily at playtimes, sometimes with younger and older pupils playing together.  Staff promote good behaviour and manage pupils’ needs well. Consequently, lessons typically run smoothly and are seldom disrupted. Staff and parents agree that pupils are well behaved. Pupils have good attitudes around the school and during smooth transitions between classes.  Pupils enjoy lessons and nearly always respond well to adults’ questions and prompts. Low-level behaviour problems are rare and tend to occur when the learning does not engage the pupils enough.  The school analyses patterns of behaviour carefully. Records show that there have been no exclusions for at least the past four years.  Attendance has historically been a challenge in the local area, due to pupils attending

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Behaviour

Eid festivals and parents taking their children on unauthorised extended overseas holidays. Leaders promote good attendance through rewards and competitions between classes. While these strategies have helped individuals to improve, attendance remains below the national average. Leaders plan to encourage parents to work more closely with school and improve their child’s attendance, for example by not taking unauthorised leave. The latest attendance information for the current academic year is slightly better than this time last year.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 Some aspects of pupils’ progress and attainment at the end of Year 2 improved slightly in 2015. The school’s 2016 revised national assessments for Year 2 pupils were below the national average, because teaching, learning and assessment are not consistently strong enough. The proportion of pupils who achieved the expected standard in phonics at the end of Year 1 increased in 2015 to just below the national average and fell again in 2016.  Pupils’ workbooks from the academic year 2015/16 show that not enough progress was made to help pupils catch up by the time they left the school at the end of Year 2. The difference between the progress of disadvantaged and other pupils, both in the school and nationally, has remained in the 2016 Year 2 results. The difference between the attainment of disadvantaged and other pupils in the school in the Year 1 phonics check diminished slightly in 2016. This variability reflects the inconsistency in the quality of

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

teaching, learning and assessment at the school. Use of the pupil premium funding is not effective.  The progress of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is too variable. This group of pupils are provided with good pastoral support, but their academic support is not targeted enough to help them make strong progress from their starting points by the end of Year 2.  Pupils with a Pakistani heritage typically make a better start in the Year 1 phonics check. By the end of Year 2, pupils with a Bangladeshi heritage perform better in reading, writing and mathematics than any other groups in the school. Pupils with an African heritage perform well in writing by the end of Year 2 and typically in line with Pakistani and most other pupils in the school in reading and mathematics.  The progress of the most able pupils by the end of Year 2 is stronger. Comparative assessment information shows that the progress of this group of pupils in Year 1 and

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

Year 2 was slightly above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. This follows the pattern from 2015, when a greater proportion of pupils achieved level 3, especially in reading. This was an area for improvement for the school following the previous inspection in 2011.  Pupils’ progress is typically not strong or consistent enough and, as a result, too many pupils are not well prepared for the next stage of their education in Year 3.

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Early years provision Requires improvement

 Leaders of the early years have taken time to get to grips with the strengths and weaknesses of the provision, but demonstrate the capacity to improve. The early years leader has been in post for just over a year and acknowledges that a number of improvements are needed to improve children’s progress in both Nursery and Reception.  The Reception learning environment is well organised, stimulating and makes effective use of the space and resources available. The Nursery learning environment makes use of the limited available space, but overall is not as engaging or well organised as Reception. In Nursery, adults do not make effective use of the learning opportunities for children or check that learning resources are of a high quality. As a result, too many children do not make good progress from their starting points and, therefore, do not catch up enough by the time they start Reception.  In the early years classes, many children enter the school with skills that are lower

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Early years provision Requires improvement

than those typical for their age, especially in speech, language and communication. Their skills are not significantly lower than those typical for children their age. A focus on developing children’s oracy skills has had some impact in improving their confidence to further engage in conversation. At the end of the Reception Year most children are not well prepared for Year 1.  The proportion of children achieving a good level of development at the end of Reception increased in 2014 and has remained approximately the same for the last two years, at slightly below the national average. Children progress in early years, but do not make rapid progress because teachers’ expectations are not high enough. In 2016, the outcomes for disadvantaged children improved to be just above other children in the school but still below other children nationally. Use of the pupil premium funding has recently been more successful in early years, but this is not the case in key stage

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Early years provision Requires improvement

1. Very few children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities achieve a good level of development, as they do not make enough progress to catch up with other children in the school. Boys do not achieve as well as girls.  Teaching is stronger in some classes than in others and therefore progress is inconsistent overall. Where it is stronger, children have access to a range of learning activities during the day and adults focus on improving key skills such as counting, phonics, speaking and listening. During outdoor learning, adults provide good opportunities for children to develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills, by exploring gravity and speed when releasing toy cars down a ramp for example.  Early years staff know the children well and ensure that they learn in a safe and caring environment. Consequently, children listen, are enthusiastic to learn and behave well.

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Early years provision Requires improvement

They share resources with each other and are keen to join in the wide range of exciting learning activities.  Reception parents who spoke to inspectors were positive and appreciative of how well their children had settled into school. Parents are kept informed of their children’s learning and progress through regular discussions with teachers.

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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 enquiry@malbrghi.bham.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 3–4 November 2011

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Information about this school

 Marlborough Infant and Nursey School is larger than most primary schools.  All of the pupils are from minority ethnic groups. The biggest groups are Pakistani, African and Bangladeshi.  Over seven out of every 10 pupils speak English as an additional language, which is much higher than in other schools nationally. Approximately one out of every six pupils has special educational needs and/or disabilities, which is higher than in other schools nationally.  Just over a quarter of the pupils are disadvantaged, which is higher than the national average. The school deprivation indicator is much higher than the national average.  The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.  Children in the Nursery class attend part time and children in the Reception classes attend full time.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection team observed 16 lessons or part-lessons, including examples of teaching in every year group. Some of these teaching observations were carried out jointly with senior leaders.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, senior leaders, middle leaders, staff and governors. The lead inspector had a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority who works with the school.  The inspection team looked at pupils’ workbooks with a senior leader in a range of subjects to establish the progress and quality of pupils’ work over time.  The inspection team talked to pupils during their lessons and at playtimes to find out their views about the school.  The inspection team heard pupils read and observed their behaviour in lessons, around the school and at playtimes.  Informal discussions were held with parents to gauge their views of the school. There were not enough responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire (Parent View), although

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Information about this inspection

any comments that parents made during the inspection were considered. The results of the school’s own parent questionnaire were taken into account.  The inspection team looked at a wide range of documents, including the school’s plans for improvement, external monitoring reports, records of checks made by leaders and information on pupils’ progress and outcomes. They also scrutinised records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Stuart Bellworthy, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Dawn White 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

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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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