Bredbury Green Primary School

Bredbury Green Primary School Clapgate, Romiley, Stockport, Cheshire SK6 3DG

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Inspection dates 30 November–1 December 2016

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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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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Outstanding

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders and governors have failed to address the deterioration in the school’s effectiveness since the previous inspection. The school’s performance in all key areas has declined.  Governors have not consistently challenged school leaders about the performance of the school, and have failed to ensure that pupils are receiving a good quality of education.  Standards are inadequate across key stages 1 and 2. There are significant weaknesses in pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  Writing is not taught effectively in key stages 1 and 2. Teachers’ expectations are too low and they set work that does not challenge pupils to reach the expected level for their age. Pupils do not have enough opportunities to practise and develop their writing skills.  Procedures for assessing how well pupils are doing are ineffective. As a result, leaders have not been able to see accurately what progress

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

pupils are making, and teachers’ planning does not meet pupils’ needs.  Teachers do not use questioning effectively enough to check pupils’ knowledge and understanding and swiftly address misconceptions.  Subject leadership is weak, and so these leaders have had little impact on raising standards in their subject areas.  The school’s curriculum does not make clear to teachers precisely what to teach in English and mathematics. As a result, sequences of lessons are sometimes confused and do not build effectively on pupils’ prior learning.  The recently revised marking policy is not used consistently well. In some classes, poor presentation and simple errors in punctuation and spelling are not challenged, and so pupils make slow progress.  Too many pupils, particularly in the older year groups, lack the resilience to persevere when they encounter difficulties. When this happens they lose focus and concentration.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Off-task behaviour is not consistently challenged by teachers in some classes.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The new headteacher has quickly and accurately assessed the school’s position. She has developed a clear strategy to bring about improvement. The actions being taken are already having a positive impact.  Provision in the early years, including the resourced Nursery, is strong and enables children to get off to a good start.  Pupils feel safe and are happy in school. Vulnerable pupils are well looked after.

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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 effectiveness of leadership and management by:  improving governors’ understanding of the school’s performance data and its use in self-evaluation to more accurately and robustly hold leaders to account  ensuring that the school’s website contains all that is required by law and provides parents and visitors with clear information about the school’s work  improving assessment procedures so that leaders and teachers have a clearer view of pupils’ attainment and their progress towards age-related expectations  developing the skills of subject leaders so that they are able to drive improvements in their subjects  ensuring that the school’s curriculum gives teachers clear guidance so that they understand the content and progression of teaching in English and mathematics  ensuring that teachers consistently apply the recently reviewed marking policy so that marking and feedback have greater impact on pupils’ learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching throughout key stages 1 and 2 in order to rapidly raise standards by:  improving teachers’ questioning skills so that they are better able to assess and develop pupils’ understanding  ensuring that teachers use information about pupils’ attainment to plan lessons that will more accurately meet pupils’ different learning needs and match their abilities  raising teachers’ expectations of what pupils are able to achieve, particularly in writing  ensuring that teachers give pupils sufficient opportunities to practise and develop their writing skills across the curriculum  ensuring that teachers insist on consistently high standards of presentation in pupils’ books, and that they correct careless mistakes.  Improve pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare by:  increasing pupils’ resilience so that they keep trying with their work, even if they encounter difficulties

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 ensuring that teachers consistently challenge off-task and silly behaviour in class.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

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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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 Leaders and governors have failed to arrest a significant drop in the quality of education provided by the school since the last inspection. They have been too slow to respond to clear evidence of a year-on-year decline in outcomes for pupils, which are now inadequate. A culture of low expectations has been allowed to develop.  Leaders have not successfully tackled weaknesses in the quality of teaching that have developed over time. Staff training has had little impact on the effectiveness of teaching in key stages 1 and 2. The arrangements to check on teachers’ performance have failed to hold teachers to account effectively for pupils’ poor progress.  The curriculum in key stages 1 and 2 fails to prepare pupils properly for the next stage of their education. Pupils’ books show that the progress of the majority of pupils is too slow. A lack of ambition among teachers means that pupils of all abilities are not

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

provided with sufficient challenge and that there are significant gaps in their key skills, particularly in writing.  Middle leaders responsible for particular subjects, including English and mathematics, have not been effective. They are beginning to develop their knowledge and skills in checking on the quality of teaching and learning in their subjects, but have had little impact on raising standards so far.  The new headteacher has made a very positive start and has quickly gained the trust and support of staff. Her evaluation of the school is accurate and honest. She has brought much-needed robustness to the management of teachers’ performance, ensuring that teachers are accountable for pupils’ progress. This work is already having a positive impact on the quality of teaching and learning in some classes.  Pupil premium money has been used in a number of different ways, including to provide disadvantaged pupils with access to creative arts experiences, such as learning

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

to play a musical instrument. However, leaders’ analysis of the impact of this funding on pupils’ achievement has been weak. The new headteacher has identified this weakness and has developed a clearer strategy, with more measurable targets, to find out how effective the school’s use of this funding has been. It is for this reason that there is no recommendation for a review of the use of pupil premium funding.  The school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development effectively, as can be seen in the respect that pupils have for people’s differences and the way in which they support each other. Pupils learn about different religions and cultures and are developing their understanding of fundamental British values.  The primary physical education and sport funding is used to bring specialist sports coaching into school. Coaches work alongside class teachers, developing the teachers’

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

skills and confidence and ensuring that pupils have the opportunity to participate in a range of enjoyable physical activities. Extra-curricular activities and an annual outdoor activity-themed residential trip for pupils in Year 6 provide further opportunities for pupils to keep fit and develop sporting skills.  The local authority has provided a high level of support for the school for a significant period of time, with records showing frequent visits to the school by its advisers. The initial impact of this support was limited and it failed to halt the school’s decline. More recent initiatives by the local authority, however, such as brokering support from the headteacher of a successful local school in the summer term 2016, have been more effective.  The school now has some capacity to support new entrants to the teaching profession, but may not appoint more than one newly qualified teacher.

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Governance of the school

 The governance of the school is inadequate.  The governing body has failed for some time to hold school leaders to account effectively for the quality of education in the school. Governors have unquestioningly accepted information on the school’s performance that leaders have presented to them. Minutes of meetings of the governing body reflect a lack of discussion or challenge about pupils’ attainment and progress, even when published data showed there to be a clear decline. Not enough has been done to ensure that governors have the knowledge, skills and understanding that they need to provide effective and robust challenge and support for school leaders.  The recently appointed chair of governors recognises that governance has been weak, and discussions held with members of the governing body during the inspection showed governors to be committed to the school and keen to secure the necessary improvements. Changes have been made to the structure of governing body

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Governance of the school

committees to provide more effective challenge and support for school improvement, but it is too early to judge the impact of these changes.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  Safeguarding is given a high priority by the school. Staff and governors all receive regular training to ensure that their knowledge is up to date. Thorough checks are made on staff, governors and volunteers to ensure that they are suitable people to work with children.  There are clear procedures so that staff know what to do if they are worried about a child’s well-being. Detailed records confirm that any concerns raised are conscientiously followed up. Good partnerships with external agencies ensure that support is put in place for pupils and their families when it is needed.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

 The quality of teaching across key stages 1 and 2 has been inadequate for some time and, as a result, pupils have not been making the progress they need to reach the standards of which they are capable.  Weak assessment practice and a lack of clarity around expected outcomes for pupils have meant that teachers plan work that does not consistently meet pupils’ different learning needs. As a result, pupils make inconsistent progress.  Teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve are typically too low. This is most noticeable in writing, where pupils have made particularly slow progress. Teachers do not challenge pupils to use more complex vocabulary or sentence constructions, and are too ready to accept poor presentation and careless errors. Pupils are not given sufficient opportunities to practise and develop their writing skills across a broad range of subjects.  The impact of the teaching of phonics and reading has been inconsistent, as can be

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

seen from the varying results in the phonics check in Year 1 over the last three years. Typically, pupils in key stage 1 make steady, rather than rapid, progress from their starting points at the end of the early years, and most are able to use their phonic skills to help them tackle unfamiliar words. They make similar progress in key stage 2 and, as a result, too few of the most able readers reach the higher levels of which they are capable because they are not consistently stretched and challenged.  The teaching of mathematics has not been effective in securing strong progress and high standards of attainment for pupils for some time. There are some strengths in the teaching of number but the most able pupils are often presented with large numbers of similar calculations to tackle, rather than being challenged to develop their problem- solving and reasoning skills.  Teachers use questioning inconsistently to assess pupils’ understanding and move

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

learning on in key stages 1 and 2. In some classes, teachers were seen skilfully using questions to check what pupils already knew, and adapting their teaching in order to meet pupils’ needs. In others, teachers’ questions were less effective at gathering information. These teachers allowed small numbers of pupils to answer the bulk of the questions asked, so that they learned little about the learning of much of the class.  While the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate overall, there are pockets of stronger practice. Teaching in the early years is good, and teaching is having a positive impact on pupils’ learning in some classes in key stages 1 and 2. In some classes teachers’ feedback is becoming more effective because teachers are identifying appropriate next steps for pupils’ learning.  Some increasingly effective work is being done by teaching assistants in supporting pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, or who need additional

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

support with their behaviour. Their support is enabling these pupils to engage more readily in suitable learning activities and is increasing the number of opportunities they have to succeed.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils care about and support each other well. This reflects the ethos of mutual care and respect that the school’s leaders promote, and the nurturing nature of the school.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe is effective. Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe in different situations. As an example, they could explain the potential dangers when using the internet and how they would avoid them.  Pupils have a clear understanding of different types of bullying, including homophobic and racist bullying, and know that bullying of any type is wrong. While a significant minority of parents expressed concerns about bullying, others told inspectors that they felt the school now dealt with bullying more effectively than in the past. Pupils agreed with this, and said that bullying was rare and that they were confident that the new

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Personal development and welfare

headteacher and other staff would deal with any problems that they brought to their attention.  School leaders encourage pupils to eat a healthy diet. For example, different types of fruit, which pupils recognise as being good for them, are available. The school sensitively ensures that vulnerable pupils have had something to eat at the start of the day, and so are ready to learn.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.  The majority of pupils are attentive in lessons and behave sensibly. However, some pupils give up too easily and drift off task when they find work difficult, rather than showing the determination to ‘have a go’. This is particularly true among the older pupils, who have not developed sufficiently positive attitudes to learning during their time at the school.  In some classes and on some occasions, teachers do not engage pupils well enough in their learning and there are examples of silly, off-task behaviour. This is not consistently challenged by teachers, and so the pace of learning slows.  Over time, attendance rates have been well below average. However, the school is now tackling this issue and the learning mentor provides both support and challenge for families where attendance and punctuality are issues. This rigorous approach has led to marked improvements in attendance rates over the last two terms.

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Behaviour

 Pupils’ conduct around school and on the playground is good. Outside, pupils play well together, making use of the school’s sizeable play area and grounds. Inside, pupils move around school calmly and sensibly.  The school is a happy place. Pupils are polite and friendly, and are eager to talk to visitors. The school has put effective provision in place to help those pupils who find it difficult to manage their own behaviour.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 For some time, pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics in key stages 1 and 2 has been too low. By the time they leave key stage 1, pupils’ attainment has typically been below the national average, and the progress that they have made in key stage 2 has not been quick enough for them to make up the ground that they have lost.  Since the previous inspection, standards in writing have declined considerably so that the proportion of pupils reaching the expected level has been below average at the end of both key stage 1 and key stage 2 for each of the last four years. Pupils’ progress in writing during their time in key stage 2 is weak and, for the last two years, it has been in the bottom 10% of schools nationally.  Pupils’ books show that weak progress in writing is also the case for pupils currently in the school. Standards are typically below those expected for pupils’ ages. The most

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

able pupils are not fulfilling their potential, as they are only producing written work that is typical of the expected level for their age.  In reading, the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard at the end of key stage 2 is typically closer to the national expectation. However, the proportion of pupils making accelerated progress to reach beyond that standard has been stubbornly low. Results of national tests in 2016 reflected this picture. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standards at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 were in line with national expectations, but the proportions exceeding them were markedly below average, representing unsatisfactory achievement for the most able pupils.  Standards in mathematics in key stage 1 in recent years have been well below the national average because too few pupils make better than the expected progress from their different starting points. Pupils in key stage 2 typically make steady, rather than

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

accelerated progress, and not enough pupils reach the higher levels of attainment. In part, pupils’ progress in mathematics has been hindered by a lack of clarity in the curriculum and teachers’ knowledge of the concepts of mathematical reasoning and depth of understanding.  The attainment and progress of disadvantaged pupils varies between year groups, so that there are instances where disadvantaged pupils have achieved better than their classmates, and other occasions where their attainment and progress have been lower. This inconsistency reflects the lack of precision with which the pupil premium money has been spent and its impact analysed. The new headteacher has placed a much sharper focus on the spending of this additional funding, however, and early signs are that this better-targeted support is having a positive impact on both outcomes and attendance for the disadvantaged pupils currently in the school.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 The school’s data over time and the work of pupils currently in the school show that pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities typically make slow progress and so are not catching up quickly. The leader with responsibility for special educational needs has only recently taken on the role across the whole school, but has a clear strategic vision to secure improvement. This builds on her positive track record of successfully supporting pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities in the resourced Nursery provision.

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Early years provision Good

 The Nursery and Reception classes at Bredbury Green are happy places to be. Relationships between adults and children are warm and positive. Children’s behaviour is good and they get on well with each other. All statutory welfare requirements are met and children’s safety and well-being are given a high priority.  Children start in the Nursery with skills and knowledge that are typical for their age in some areas of learning, but are noticeably lower than that in others, particularly their personal and social development, and their skills in reading, writing and mathematics.  Children make good progress during their time in the Nursery, thanks to effective teaching that engages them and makes learning enjoyable. The Nursery environment encourages children to play purposefully and explore different areas of learning while staff skilfully help them to develop their social skills and use of language. Detailed

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Early years provision Good

assessments allow staff to identify individual children’s learning needs and to plan activities that will move learning forward. This is in stark contrast to what is found in key stages 1 and 2.  Parents welcome close links with the Nursery and the active role that they are able to play in their children’s first school experience, for example through attending ‘stay and play’ sessions or by contributing to children’s ‘talking-time’ books.  The resourced Nursery unit provides good-quality provision for children who have a range of complex special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff know each child’s particular needs extremely well and cater effectively to meet them, meaning that children benefit from individually tailored programmes combined with high levels of care.  Good progress is maintained in the Reception Year because staff continue to observe and assess children’s learning and development carefully, and plan activities that build

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Early years provision Good

on children’s skills and interests. Staff encourage and develop children’s learning through skilful questioning and interactions. The classrooms and outdoor area provide attractive and stimulating learning environments.  Effective leadership of the early years has secured ongoing improvements in the quality of provision. As a consequence, the proportion of children achieving a good level of development has risen each year so that it is now broadly in line with the national average. This represents good progress from children’s starting points.  The proportion of disadvantaged children achieving a good level of development is rapidly improving, and assessment information about children currently in the early years shows that disadvantaged children are now outperforming their classmates in some areas, such as number.

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School details

Unique reference number 106095 Local authority Stockport Inspection number 10006386 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. Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 2 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 362 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair David Loughman Headteacher Jakki Rogers Telephone number 0161 430 3078 Website www.bredburygreen.stockport.sch.uk Email address headteacher@bredburygreen.stockport.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 24 February 2012

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Information about this school

 This school is larger than the average primary school.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is above average.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is broadly average.  Children in the early years provision attend the Nursery part-time and Reception class on a full-time basis. The Nursery building is situated approximately a quarter of a mile from the main school site.  The Nursery also offers specialist resourced provision for up to 12 children who have complex special educational needs and/or disabilities. A small number of two-year-old children make use of this provision.  The school does not meet the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  The school does not meet requirements on the publication on its website of information

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Information about this school

about the governing body, the impact and strategy for use of the pupil premium funding, complaints procedures and results of the key stage 2 assessments in 2016.  There have been recent and significant changes in school leadership. The headteacher joined the school in September 2016 and the chair of governors took on his role in the summer term 2016.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning across a range of lessons, year groups and subjects. This included shorter visits made jointly with senior leaders to observe the work of classes from the Nursery to Year 6.  Inspectors listened to pupils read and held discussions with two groups of pupils. Inspectors also talked informally with pupils around the school and on the playground.  Pupils’ work in books, records of children’s learning in the early years and other information about pupils’ attainment and progress were scrutinised with senior leaders.  Inspectors considered the 39 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and had a telephone conversation with one parent. Inspectors also talked briefly with some parents before and after school, at both the main school and Nursery sites.  Meetings were held with three governors, including the chair of the governing body. Meetings were also held with school leaders responsible for mathematics and English,

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Information about this inspection

provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and for children in the early years.  Meetings took place with a representative of the local authority and with the headteacher of Woodley Primary School, who had worked with the school in the summer term 2016.  Inspectors examined a range of documents. These included information about pupils’ attainment and progress, the school’s reviews of its own performance, checks on the quality of teaching, development plans, safeguarding documentation and various records of pupils’ attendance and behaviour.

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Inspection team

Neil Dixon, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Marcia Harding 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

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, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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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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