Osmaston Primary School

Osmaston Primary School Amber Street, Derby, Derbyshire DE24 8FT

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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 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 leaders and managers do not focus sharply enough on evaluating the amount of progress in learning made by the various groups of pupils at the school, particularly the pupils eligible for the pupil premium and the pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. This means that they do not use additional funding for these pupils as effectively as they might.  The staff’s assessments of the pupils’ learning are not sharp enough and do not lead often enough to action that increases the pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding.  A significant minority of the children leave the early years not having reached a good level of development, although the proportion is reducing. This means that those children are not ready to enter key stage 1, which slows their subsequent progress.  The progress made by different groups of pupils varies. In particular, the progress of the pupils eligible for the pupil premium is less

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

than other pupils at the school, though the difference is reducing. These pupils are not catching up with other pupils nationally.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The leaders, managers and staff at the school have, by dint of hard work, sustained a calm and orderly environment that supports positive attitudes to learning well among, and leads to good behaviour by, the pupils.  The children settle very quickly into the early years. The staff secure good behaviour and positive attitudes to learning rapidly.  The school is a very diverse, welcoming and harmonious community, in which the pupils feel safe and are cared for well.  The school places a high priority on the safeguarding of the pupils. The staff understand their responsibilities.  The governing body and senior leaders are candid and accurate in their views of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. They are taking appropriate actions and bringing improvements at the school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, including in the early years, by: – assessing precisely how well the pupils are learning and making progress – intervening quickly when the pupils do not understand something, or have finished the work that they have been set – correcting common and repeated errors by the pupils consistently, particularly in their writing and use of phonics – enabling the pupils to identify and to correct their errors themselves – enabling the pupils to apply their knowledge and skills routinely and systematically – ensuring that the feedback given to the pupils about their work is always accurate – ensuring that the pupils act on guidance given.  Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by: – analysing more precisely and acting on information about pupils’ progress, attainment and attendance, including more-detailed analyses for the different groups of pupils represented at the school

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– using the analyses of the information about pupils’ progress to identify clearly the gaps in pupils’ knowledge, skills and experiences, including in the early years – ensuring that the curriculum and teaching are focused on the pupils’ current learning needs, so that they fill gaps in pupils’ knowledge, skills and experiences – clarify and raise the school’s expectations of the progress that the pupils can make – ensure that additional funding is used to maximum effect in increasing the progress of the pupils, particularly the pupils eligible for the pupil premium and the pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium funding 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

 The leaders and managers have not secured teaching that is consistently good throughout the school. As a result, pupils’ progress is not sufficient to reduce the differences between these pupils’ attainment and others’ consistently.  The leaders and managers have not used information about pupils’ progress effectively to bring about the required improvements in the quality of teaching. They have not analysed the patterns in outcomes for different groups of pupils exactingly enough, including for disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Consequently, while there have been noteworthy improvements, they have been patchy over the period since the previous inspection.  The school’s approach to using the pupil premium funding is not based on any clear identification of the particular barriers to learning faced by the pupils, or focused on things that will reduce the gaps in their knowledge, skills and experiences.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Similarly, it is only recently that the leaders and managers have begun to evaluate the impact of how the funding for the pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities has been used.  The pupils’ progress in mathematics has been hampered in the past because the curriculum has not provided the right sorts of opportunities to meet the particular learning needs of the pupils. The changes that the leaders and managers have made recently to the mathematics curriculum have helped to improve pupils’ attainment in that subject.  Other very recent changes to the Year 1 curriculum have been designed to provide for the needs of the substantial minority of children completing the early years phase without reaching a good level of development. This means, however, that the pupils who are ready to begin key stage 1 are not currently doing so.  The staff are assisted in improving the quality of their work through appropriate

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

opportunities for training and development, linked with the targets that they agree with their managers. A small minority of the teaching staff do not benefit from this approach, mainly those on temporary contracts, even though those contracts are relatively long term.  The senior leaders are accurate and honest in their evaluation of the school. They know well its strengths and weaknesses and do not shirk from facing up to necessary improvements. They are taking convincing actions to deal with the weaknesses and can show improvements that they have made, including in the outcomes for the pupils.  The school has used the primary physical education (PE) and sport premium to enable the pupils to take part in a wide variety of sporting activities. It has used some of the funding to provide physical activities at lunchtimes, including dance and skipping, which has reduced the incidence of unruly play.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Overall, the curriculum is broad and balanced. For example, the pupils get good opportunities to learn about science by using suitable equipment.  The school’s work to promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils is successful. It is apparent in the pupils’ desire to learn new things and about the world around them, their tolerant and respectful attitudes, and their pride in themselves and their school. The work begins as soon as the children walk through the door into the early years.  The harmonious nature of the school community is testament to the work to promote equalities and fundamental British values. The school has, understandably, won the confidence of a very large majority of those parents who have expressed a view.

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Governance of the school

 The governing body holds the school’s leaders and managers to account, though not stringently enough to bring about rapid improvements. It works productively with the senior leaders and, despite lacking numbers and so capacity, is working energetically and with increasing authority to increase the level of the challenge that it provides. It pays due regard to its duties concerning safeguarding. Its oversight of the senior leaders’ management of the staff’s performance ensures that decisions about pay progression reflect appropriate evidence of successful performance. It is ambitious for the school and, increasingly, providing clear direction about the school’s strategic priorities, such as ensuring that the quality of teaching is at least good.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  The staff work hard on, and give a high priority to, safeguarding. They are alert to the sorts of things that might give cause for concern, major and minor, and are conscientious in using the school’s systems to report any. All reported concerns are followed up carefully.  The school’s records are detailed and kept to a good standard.  The school works closely with other agencies, in order to provide the best available support for any pupils who need it.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 The pupils are not given sufficiently precise information about their learning to enable them to make strong progress. Occasionally, it is misleading.  Too often, the teachers do not identify and pick up on errors and misunderstandings by the pupils. In particular, frequent, common and repeated errors in pupils’ work persist.  In addition, the teachers do not check to see if the things that they have told the pupils about their work have had any benefit for the pupils’ learning. This means that pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding are not built up progressively and the pupils are not required routinely to apply what they have learned and so make more progress.  The staff do not intervene promptly enough when it is apparent that some pupils, particularly the most able, have completed a task. This restricts the progress that the pupils are able to make, while they are ‘kicking their heels’, and can lead to some slight

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

misbehaviour.  The lack of precision in assessing pupils’ learning lowers teachers’ expectations of how much progress the pupils can make, not just for the most able pupils. This is reflected, for example, in learning materials that restrict the pupils’ opportunities to write at length; the pupils’ reading books that do not match their reading ability and are often easy; questions that do not probe and extend pupils’ thinking, or which the teachers answer themselves without giving the pupils time to formulate an answer; and insufficient opportunities for the pupils to apply the things that they have learned in new and different ways.  The staff develop good relationships with pupils. These create a secure basis for learning, because pupils feel happy and secure in lessons.  The teachers manage changes of activity in lessons well, using clearly understood routines with which the pupils are familiar and to which they respond smartly. As a

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

result, potential disruptions to lessons are avoided.  The pupils are motivated and want to learn. Their positive attitudes are supported well by their relationships with the staff, the calm environment in lessons and around the school, and some good-quality resources to use when learning.  A recently adopted school-wide approach to teaching mathematics, planned carefully and taught consistently, is leading to better learning by the pupils.  The pupils who speak English as an additional language are included well in lessons. This helps them to make good gains in developing their English.  The pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities receive close support that enables them to complete their work during lessons. The staff draw up comprehensive plans to support these pupils and use a range of suitable strategies, for example using sign language with deaf children. Like their peers, these pupils enjoy

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

going to school and, as one of them commented, the teachers ‘make us work hard’.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils from different groups and backgrounds, typically, say that they feel safe at school, even though, occasionally, boisterous behaviour on the playground makes some of them feel anxious.  The pupils develop a good awareness of ways in which to keep themselves safe. They are able to assess risks, for example in relation to using local parks, and can talk about how they have used what they have learned about staying safe when using the internet or social media.  The pupils talk knowledgeably about the importance of a good diet and show good levels of interest in sports and physical activities, for which the school provides many opportunities.  Pupils’ attendance is below the national average. It is affected by a high level of mobility and has been affected recently by bouts of illness. Nevertheless, despite the school’s efforts, some groups of pupils are absent to a much greater degree than

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Personal development and welfare

others and the leaders and managers are not sharp enough in their analysis of attendance information to pick up on patterns.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. The school’s simple rules are reiterated constantly, taken on board and predominantly complied with by the pupils.  The pupils are willing learners, have a good sense of curiosity, and are typically well- mannered.  They are proud of their school and of the many and varied backgrounds from which they come. The school’s ‘language of the month’ theme helps them to appreciate the different languages represented in the school’s community. They learn to value and to respect diversity, so that pupils who join the school at unusual times, or who are learning to speak English as an additional language, are able to integrate with their peers quickly. They are able to talk maturely about sensitive topics, such as same-sex marriages.  The well-kept and tidy playgrounds, buildings and classrooms contribute to bringing about the calm and orderly environment and reflect the pupils’ positive attitudes.

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Behaviour

 The pupils show respect for each other’s ideas and views. A variety of activities, such as a visit by the school council to the local authority council chamber and to meet the mayor, helps the pupils to develop an understanding of democracy and how differences are resolved appropriately.  The pupils like to help each other and look for opportunities to put something back into the school community. One pupil explained, for example, how acting as a mini-play leader provided a chance to be of help to younger pupils.  The pupils express few concerns about bullying. They do not say that it never happens, but they trust the staff to deal with it effectively and similarly so with the racist and homophobic comments that they hear sometimes. More often, they are concerned about fallings out, or occasional random acts of unkindness. They are able to reflect upon and discuss such things quite maturely, given their ages.

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Behaviour

 The ‘chill out’ room provides the pupils with a way to manage their emotions and behaviour, providing a refuge at times of stress and helping them to become more aware of themselves and the impact of their behaviour.  Sometimes, the staff do not correct slight misbehaviour in lessons quickly enough, usually at times when the pupils are awaiting instructions, or are not finding the work interesting.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 The pupils’ progress is restricted by choices the school has made in the past about the curriculum. Previously, the provision did not meet the pupils’ learning needs sufficiently in mathematics. Also, the current approaches to teaching do not help the pupils to make the best possible progress.  A significant minority of the pupils spend much of their time trying to catch up with others, filling gaps in their knowledge and skills.  Many of the pupils are not confident readers. They can read fluently when they find the text easy, but often struggle to apply their knowledge of phonics, for example when having to build up words from different sounds. Generally, the pupils do not read widely or frequently enough and with texts of the right level of difficulty. They do not learn how to correct their errors.  The small number of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities have tended to make less progress than other pupils at the school. Until recently, the school

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

has been unable to track these pupils’ progress well enough to identify precisely what the issues are.  Similarly, disadvantaged pupils make less progress than their peers, and this is particularly so when compared with other pupils nationally. As with the funding for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, the senior leaders and governors have correctly drawn the conclusion that, though well intended, the approach to using the additional funding for these pupils has not had enough of the desired impact.  The most able pupils, including those eligible for the pupil premium, make secure progress, often better than other groups at the school.  The pupils develop a good understanding of the features of writing, such as rhetorical questions and modal verbs and are able to explain what these things are.  Overall, the pupils make broadly average progress. Their attainment is rising in the

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

early years and, in all key stages, getting gradually closer to average, but is consistently below average. In 2017, there have been several notable improvements, particularly in mathematics at key stages 1 and 2, and grammar, spelling and punctuation at key stage 2.  In 2016, for the first time, the school met the government’s floor standards and has demonstrated that it is improving.

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Early years provision Requires improvement

 The proportion of the children reaching a good level of development by the end of the early years is consistently below average. The significant minority each year that do not reach that level enter key stage 1 still with gaps in their learning that have a negative impact upon what they can do and the progress that they make.  The staff do not analyse the progress of the different groups of children sharply enough. Even though the children’s outcomes are improving, and the differences in learning for some groups compared with others are reducing, this is not happening consistently.  Occasionally, the children flit around a little, which is not always spotted and redirected quickly by the staff.  The staff do not pick up on and correct mistakes made by the children sufficiently well, for example when the children misspell words due to local pronunciation. The pupils use their knowledge of phonics and can distinguish between real and ‘fake’ words, but

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Early years provision Requires improvement

slip up when dealing with local variations in pronunciation.  The staff build the children’s confidence quickly. The leaders have developed well- established routines which the staff use well, so that the children know and understand what to do and are able to get on with learning.  The early years classrooms and outdoor learning area are well laid out and well resourced. They are used productively to draw the children into learning through a range of well-designed activities.  The staff develop positive relationships with the children. The children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged children are provided with close and helpful support. These things help the children to feel secure and support the rapid growth in their confidence.  The children like to talk about the things that they are learning. They show genuine excitement about some of the topics, for example when talking about beetles living in

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Early years provision Requires improvement

the soil.  The staff assess the learning of individual children accurately. They collect evidence systematically of what the children can do.

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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

Headteacher Mrs Wendy Baxter (interim headteacher)

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School details

Website www.osmastonprimaryschoolderby.co.uk/

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School details

Email address head@osmaston.derby.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 14–15 April 2015

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Information about this school

 The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards.  The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is high.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below average for all groups.  The proportion of pupils entering or leaving the school at times other than the usual is well above average.  The school uses no alternative provision.  The school has been in the process of becoming an academy for much of the past year. After some delays, the process came to an abrupt end at the end of the summer term preceding this inspection. The school has begun again the process of identifying a suitable sponsor.  At the time of this inspection, the school was being led by an acting headteacher, who had been in charge for one week. An interim headteacher has been appointed and was

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Information about this school

due to take up the post on the Monday following the end of this inspection.  A series of significant events, including major building refurbishments, staffing difficulties, major changes in senior leadership and management, and a protracted and ultimately unsuccessful process to become an academy, and some others, has hindered the pace of improvement at the school since the last inspection.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed lessons throughout the school and in all phases. They carried out other visits to classrooms to look at particular aspects of the school’s work and scrutinised examples of the pupils’ work.  The inspectors held meetings with leaders and other staff at the school and with members of the governing body. They spoke and met with representatives of the local authority.  They spoke with pupils in groups, in lessons and around the school.  The inspectors checked the two responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and looked at the results of the school’s surveys of parents’ views, with over 200 responses. They spoke with some parents at the start of the school day.  The inspectors looked at a range of documentation, including the school’s development plan and self-evaluation, policies and records relating to safeguarding, the school’s information about pupils’ attainment and progress, and other information about the

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Inspection team

Clive Moss, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Fiona Riley 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

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Inspection team

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

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