Borrow Wood Primary School

Borrow Wood Primary School Arundel Drive, Spondon, Derby, Derbyshire DE21 7QW

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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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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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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

 The school’s leaders have not been quick enough to deal fully with the areas for improvement identified at the time of the last inspection, such as the role of subject leaders.  The procedures for checking the school’s effectiveness are not robust enough. This has led to leaders and governors having too generous a view of some aspects of the school.  The school’s leaders have not monitored the impact of teaching assistants’ work well enough. The support they give to pupils’ learning varies too much.  The quality of teaching and learning in key stages 1 and 2 is not consistently good. Too often, teachers are not precise enough in identifying the next steps in pupils’ learning.  Teachers and teaching assistants do not have the same high expectations of pupils’ work in other subjects as they do in reading, writing and mathematics. The quality of presentation in books and depth of learning are not consistently good across the curriculum.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Rates of pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics are not good enough in key stage 2. From their different starting points, too few make more than expected progress.  Pupils in key stage 1 do not attain as well as they should. The strong progress they make in the early years is not continued.  Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities do not make enough progress in key stages 1 or 2.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Senior leaders have been successful in improving pupils’ behaviour since the last inspection. Pupils have very positive attitudes to their learning and want to do well.  The school’s culture of respect and tolerance towards everyone is ever-present. Pupils’ personal development and welfare are strengths of the school.  Phonics teaching has improved since the last inspection and more than average proportions of pupils achieve the national standard by the end of Year 1.  Learning in the early years provides children with an excellent start to their education. Children thrive because the early years’ team plans engaging and inspiring learning activities.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Rapidly improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, so that it is consistently good or better and accelerates pupils’ progress in key stages 1 and 2, by ensuring that: – teachers improve their accuracy in identifying the next steps in pupils’ learning, so that work is more closely matched to pupils’ abilities – teachers provide more opportunities for pupils to use their developing skills in reading, writing and mathematics across the range of subjects taught – teachers and teaching assistants have the same expectations in all subjects of the presentation and quality of pupils’ work that is found in reading, writing and mathematics – teachers and teaching assistants have higher expectations of what the most able pupils and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities should achieve – teaching assistants have a greater impact on pupils’ learning where they lead small groups and where they lead whole-class learning

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the impact of leaders and managers on improving the school at a faster rate by: – refining the systems for checking and evaluating the school’s performance to provide a more accurate picture that guides leaders and governors in what actions to take and deciding which has the highest priority – checking and evaluating more effectively the impact of teaching assistants and other additional adult support on improving pupils’ learning, particularly in relation to pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities – speeding up the training of subject leaders so they have a greater impact on raising standards in their subjects – sharing more effectively the excellent practice that is now fully in place in the early years

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Since the previous inspection, leaders have not been quick enough to secure the improvements needed. There have been significant improvements in some areas, notably the early years, but leaders have placed too much focus on nurturing pupils’ well-being, sometimes at the expense of academic rigour. Consequently, pupils’ academic standards have not risen quickly enough in key stages 1 and 2.  Leaders’ evaluations of most aspects of the school’s performance are too generous. They have put procedures in place for checking key aspects, such as the impact of teaching on pupils’ learning, but these are not always as rigorous or as timely as they need to be. This has resulted in leaders not being effective enough at identifying the actions needed to improve the school and deciding which has the highest priority.  The leaders have not monitored the use of teaching assistants and their impact on pupils’ learning closely enough. Leaders and teachers have not always supervised or

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

checked on teaching assistants’ work with the necessary rigour. This has contributed to the achievement in some subjects and for some pupils, particularly pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, not being as high as it should be.  Leaders have not been quick enough to include subject and other middle leaders in the pursuit of school improvement. The middle leaders who are now in place are enthusiastic and keen to make a difference to the school. Some of them lead their area of responsibility well, but senior leaders have not been quick enough to share this practice with colleagues.  The headteacher and the deputy headteacher have been successful in creating a culture where pupils’ good behaviour and emotional well-being have high priorities. The school’s motto ‘CHOICE’ reflects this, drawing on key values such as determination, truthfulness, care and respect. These values are now well understood

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

by pupils and they play a significant role in the calm and orderly environment that is present throughout the school day.  The leaders’ plans for school improvement are generally appropriate to the needs of the school. Leaders have an accurate picture of where teaching and teaching support is strongest. They have identified teachers’ underperformance in the past and tackled this successfully through additional training and support, along with the use of the school’s performance management procedures.  The school’s curriculum ensures that pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is very well catered for. The school’s corridors are awash with displays showing pupils’ aspirations and their good work on behalf of charities. Pupils’ knowledge of, and tolerance towards, people of different faiths, cultures and lifestyles are ensuring that they are well equipped to be citizens in modern Britain.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Leaders’ use of the pupil premium has improved since the last inspection. The achievement of disadvantaged pupils is improving because leaders are more effective in analysing their attainment and progress and meeting the particular learning needs of this group. The leaders also use the additional funds provided through the physical education and sport grant effectively. This has improved the skills of teachers in delivering lessons and raised pupils’ participation rates by increasing the range of sporting activities on offer.  The local authority has not provided effective support to secure the improvements identified at the last inspection. Consequently, the school’s leaders have sought support from other external organisations and individuals during that time. The quantity of local authority support has increased since January 2017, however, as has the level of rigour placed on school leaders to deliver faster school improvement.

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Governance

 The governing body is ambitious for the future of the school and for each pupil. Governors bring a wealth of professional and personal backgrounds to the school’s leadership and this helps to provide challenge to the school’s leaders. Governors regularly visit the school and invite school leaders to meetings to check the information they are given on the school’s performance. However, like the school’s senior leaders, the governing body has too generous a view of the school’s performance.  The governing body is clear about its role and the responsibilities that go with it. It is increasingly effective in its checks on the use of additional funds such as the pupil premium. Governors know the importance of linking pay progression to teachers’ performance in the classroom and have not shirked from challenging underperformance.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective and leaders ensure that statutory requirements are met. The culture of care and protection has taken a much higher profile in the school since the last inspection. Staff and governor training is regular and effective in raising adults’ awareness of the signs and symptoms of different forms of abuse.  Pupils are taught how to stay safe in a variety of situations. Work on e-safety has been particularly successful and this is reflected in the increase in the number of incidents recorded by school leaders, resulting from the heightened awareness of pupils and their parents. Pupils trust adults in the school to deal with any concerns quickly and effectively.  Pupils are certain that incidents of bullying are rare and that the school is a safe place to learn. They particularly value the school’s anti-bullying ambassadors and believe that these pupils make a significant contribution to improving playtime behaviour. The

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Safeguarding

school’s records show a considerable decline in the number of incidents since the time of the last inspection. Parents are less positive about the school’s response to bullying, but inspectors could find no evidence to support this.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 Teaching and learning in key stages 1 and 2 are not consistently good. Too often, teachers are not adept enough at identifying the next steps in pupils’ learning.  The teachers follow the school’s policy but their feedback to pupils focuses on what pupils have done rather than what they need to do to improve their work. This is compounded because teachers are not consistent in following up on pupils’ corrections or responses. As a result, too many pupils do not make the progress they could.  The teachers do not provide enough opportunities for pupils in key stages 1 and 2 to practise the skills they have learned in reading, writing and mathematics across the range of subjects they study. Pupils’ topic and science books show that teachers have given them few opportunities to deepen their learning through writing for extended periods or applying their mathematical skills.  Pupils’ wider learning is inconsistent because teachers and teaching assistants have

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

much lower expectations of what pupils can and should achieve in other subjects than they have in English and mathematics. These lower expectations apply also to the most able pupils, who are not always challenged sufficiently to reach the standards of which they are capable.  The work of teaching assistants does not have enough impact on pupils’ progress and attainment in key stages 1 and 2. In many cases, too much emphasis has been placed on nurturing pupils in small-group support sessions. Consequently, pupils’ learning is not consistently accelerated and their learning is not sustained well enough to help then benefit from classroom teaching at a later point. Where they lead whole-class learning, pupils’ books show that teaching assistants do not adapt lessons effectively enough to meet the different needs of pupils, and their progress is limited as a result.  The pupils are enthusiastic learners. They are conscientious workers who are eager to

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

get on with each task. Some teachers have put good routines in place that allow pupils to get on with their work without direct adult supervision. Pupils in Year 6, for example, told an inspector how they relished the opportunity to plan their own learning by seeking out answers to questions they had set about their topic on evolution.  The work in pupils’ writing books is almost always well presented. Pupils develop and deepen their skills through the many opportunities to write for extended periods in a variety of styles. This is helping the majority of pupils to make increasingly strong progress in their writing lessons.  The majority of teachers provide regular opportunities for pupils to use and apply their developing mathematical skills in mathematics lessons. Increasingly, teachers are providing more chances for pupils to use their reasoning skills, having to show why they have chosen one particular calculation method over another. Their mathematical

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

understanding is improving as a result.  Teachers and teaching assistants are generally proficient at teaching phonics. The majority of pupils enjoy reading and are able to use their early reading skills to attempt tricky or unfamiliar words. Pupils are increasingly motivated to read at school and at home through competitions and challenges.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development is good. Pupils of all ages have very good attitudes to their learning, even when work is not well enough matched to their abilities. This is a significant improvement since the time of the previous inspection and reflects the good work done by leaders to promote and model positive learning and good social behaviour.  By the time they reach Year 6, pupils have a very good sense of personal and social responsibility. They value highly the roles of responsibility that are available and believe with absolute certainty that these roles make a difference to them and the other pupils at the school. Their sense of fairness, democracy and service to others equips them well as they prepare for the next stage of their education and their future as responsible citizens.  The pupils know how to keep themselves safe in a variety of situations, such as when

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Personal development and welfare

using the internet or when approached by someone they don’t know. Pupils are taught to value and celebrate the similarities and differences they have with others. The school’s curriculum and culture equip them with the knowledge and understanding necessary to accept and respect others, regardless of their culture, religious beliefs or family background.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Since the previous inspection, leaders have been very successful in improving pupils’ conduct and their attitudes to learning. The leaders have trialled and revised the school’s behaviour system, which is now applied consistently in all year groups and throughout the school day. Pupils of all ages told inspectors of their motivation to behave well and achieve awards such as ‘Truly Trusted’ and ‘Best at Borrow Wood’.  Pupils are respectful to their classmates and pupils of different ages. They take pride in their appearance and hold the school’s values in high esteem. Pupils are polite and well mannered to each other and to adults, including visitors to the school.  Pupils enjoy coming to school. They are punctual and attend regularly, ensuring that absence levels are similar to those seen nationally. In 2015 and 2016, the levels of persistent absence for disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational

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Behaviour

needs and/or disabilities were higher than the national average. Current information shows that leaders are increasingly successful in improving the attendance of these particular groups of pupils.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 Pupils in key stages 1 and 2 do not make good enough progress. From their starting points, too few pupils make more than expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics. In too many instances, pupils do not make the progress expected from their starting points, over time.  Although the school’s performance met the government’s floor standards for key stage 2 achievement in 2016, pupils made slower progress in reading, writing and mathematics than seen nationally. Pupils who had left key stage 1 at the expected and above the expected levels of attainment did not make strong enough progress.  By the end of key stage 1 in 2016, the attainment of pupils who left the early years at expected and at good levels of development was below that of pupils with similar starting points, nationally. This was the case for reading, writing and mathematics and was the result of pupils not making enough progress during their time in key stage 1,

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

following their very good start in the early years.  In 2016, pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities made particularly slow progress by the time they reached the end of both key stages 1 and 2. Data on the attainment and progress of current pupils suggests that this is still the case. This is because leaders, teachers and teaching assistants do not have high enough expectations of what this group of pupils can achieve.  Disadvantaged pupils did not achieve as well as non-disadvantaged pupils in 2016, at the end of both key stages 1 and 2. Leaders have raised the profile of this group of pupils, however, and their attainment and progress now form part of the targets set in the management of teachers’ performance. In the majority of year groups, the differences between the progress and the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and their non-disadvantaged peers are diminishing or have been eliminated completely.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 Pupils’ standards in the national phonics screening check in Year 1 have improved since the last inspection. This reflects the consistency of teaching phonics throughout the early years and key stage 1. Girls’ standards, in particular, have risen and this has helped to place the proportion of pupils achieving the required standard above the national figure for the past two years.  The most recent assessments of pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics show that the majority of pupils are now making progress that regularly exceeds that expected by this point in the year. This is true of all pupils, regardless of their prior attainment or background.  Leaders are increasingly effective in holding teachers to account for the attainment and progress of each child, and this is going some way to improving standards. Nonetheless, the inconsistencies in teaching and learning across the school remain a

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

barrier to some pupils achieving their full potential.

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Early years provision Outstanding

 Children make an excellent start to their education in the early years. Their appetite for exploration and learning is fed through well-thought-out activities that are presented in an exciting environment designed around the needs of the children. They benefit from quickly established routines that encourage independence, inquisitiveness and exploration.  Children enter the early years at levels of development that are typical for their age. There is no sense of complacency and pupils of all abilities and backgrounds make strong progress. A greater proportion leave the early years with good levels of development than is seen nationally. Children are very well prepared for key stage 1 as a result of effective assessment procedures that accurately identify the next steps in children’s learning.  The early years leader has had a significant impact on securing the positive outcomes that have been sustained over recent years. She has created a strong sense of

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Early years provision Outstanding

teamwork. Teachers and teaching assistants combine seamlessly to assess accurately the needs of each child and to promote high-quality learning as a result. She has also cemented very strong relationships with parents and external organisations to ensure that the social, emotional and physical development needs of the children are met.  The children are well cared for and procedures for keeping them safe from harm are effective. Children quickly become immersed in the caring culture of the school. They work cooperatively, collaborating particularly well to develop their vocabulary and social skills. In the role play area, a group of boys and girls worked together to make an imaginary meal for a baby, then took turns to feed the food to a doll they had placed safely in a high chair.  Children develop into resilient learners who persevere at tasks for extended periods of time. They benefit from a well-planned curriculum that engages children, in particular

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Early years provision Outstanding

boys, and stimulates their interests. Adults have consistently high expectations of each child and extend their learning through thought-provoking questions that encourage children to think for themselves.  The indoor and outdoor environments are well planned to complement each other in promoting children’s development. Adults develop children’s confidence, trust and interests by encouraging them to contribute their ideas to the design of activities and the learning environment. For example, outdoors, tyres that previously acted as a sand pit had been piled-up for a balancing challenge competition at the suggestion of the children.

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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 admin@borrowwood.derby.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 24–25 March 2015

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Information about this school

 Borrow Wood Primary School is larger than the average-sized primary school. In January 2017, the local authority issued a warning notice relating to standards at the school.  Pupils are taught in single-age classes. Reception age children attend full time and are taught in the early years’ classrooms alongside children who attend the school’s Nursery for half days.  The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage. There are very small numbers of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds or who speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is below the national average.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below the national average.  In 2016, the school met the government’s floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ progress by the end of key stage 2.  At the time of the inspection, teaching assistants were undertaking industrial action.

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Information about this school

This had disrupted, and was expected to continue to disrupt, pupils’ education through class closures during part or whole afternoons, with pupils being sent home as a result.  The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching in all year groups. They observed the teaching of early reading skills and listened to pupils reading. Inspectors talked with pupils about the school and looked at examples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, subject leaders, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors spoke with parents informally at the start of the school day. They took account of the 58 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and two telephone conversations with parents.  Inspectors looked at a range of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation of its current performance and plans for improvement, the school’s most recent information on the attainment and progress of pupils, information relating to the safeguarding of pupils, and the school’s most recent information relating to the attendance of pupils.

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Inspection team

Stephen McMullan, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Stephanie Innes-Taylor Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Janis Warren 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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