Grange Community Primary School

Grange Community Primary School Brindley Avenue, Winsford, Cheshire CW7 2EG

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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 Inadequate

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders and governors have failed to take timely and effective action to address the deterioration in the school’s effectiveness since its last inspection. The leadership team does not have the capacity to improve the school.  Teachers do not prepare pupils well for the next stages of their education. For example, provisional outcomes for 2017 show that very few pupils left the school with the skills and knowledge expected for their age.  Outcomes are inadequate across key stages 1 and 2. There are significant weaknesses in pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Teachers’ expectations are low.  Leaders do not make sufficient checks on the quality of teaching. Some teachers do not implement leaders’ teaching and learning policies.  Teachers’ weak subject knowledge limits pupils’ opportunities for learning in subjects such as history and geography. The wider curriculum is not taught effectively, and pupils are not fully

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

prepared for life in modern Britain.  Writing is not taught effectively throughout the school. Consequently, Years 2 and 6 pupils underachieved substantially in writing in 2017.  Middle leadership is ineffective and under- developed.  Procedures for assessing how well pupils are doing are ineffective. As a result, current information on pupils’ progress is inaccurate and teachers do not tailor lessons effectively to meet pupils’ needs.  Leaders’ use of the additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils is poor. Disadvantaged pupils do not make enough progress in all subjects to enable them to catch up with other pupils nationally.  There are significant weaknesses in early years provision, especially in writing and mathematics. Assessment information is inaccurate. Teachers do not meet the different needs of the children.  Too many pupils are excluded from school. Pupils’ rates of attendance are not good

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

enough. Many pupils lack the resilience to persevere when they encounter difficulties.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The new, temporary executive headteacher has quickly and accurately assessed the school’s position. She knows what needs to be done to secure further improvements and has been pivotal in halting the school’s decline.  Breakfast provision for disadvantaged pupils enables them to get a good start every day.  Some new governors are beginning to challenge school leaders to improve the school.

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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, including governance by: – ensuring that the wider curriculum is taught effectively and prepares pupils for life in modern Britain – ensuring that the skills and knowledge of subject and middle leaders are developed so that they can monitor standards and drive improvements within their areas of responsibility – ensuring that governors hold leaders at all levels fully accountable for their work to improve outcomes for pupils – implementing more rigorous checks on the quality of teaching and learning to help teachers improve their practice and accelerate pupils’ progress – ensuring that pupil premium funding is effective in improving outcomes for disadvantaged pupils and that the impact of this funding is monitored carefully.  Improve the quality of teaching and learning across the school in order to raise pupils’ achievement by: – ensuring that teachers use accurate assessment information to plan work that

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

is well suited to the different needs and abilities of pupils – ensuring that the newly introduced policies for teaching and learning are used in the classroom by all staff – ensuring that all teachers have consistently high expectations of pupils, including of the most able, in reading, writing and mathematics – ensuring that teachers give pupils sufficient opportunities to practise and develop their writing skills across the curriculum – ensuring that the curriculum provides pupils with broad and challenging learning opportunities.  Improve pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare by: – reducing the proportion of pupils regularly missing school so that the rates of attendance improve to be at least in line with the national average – improving the support for pupils at risk of exclusion to reduce the overall rate of exclusion – increasing pupils’ resilience so that they keep trying with their work, even if

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

they encounter difficulties.  Improve provision in the early years by: – providing children with more access to activities that develop their writing and mathematical skills – ensuring that assessment information is accurate and that staff use this information to plan children’s learning and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 Since the school’s last inspection in 2016, leaders have not taken effective and decisive action to prevent a serious decline in the quality of education that the school provides. Leaders have failed to ensure that the quality of teaching reflects the national changes to the curriculum and assessment. This has resulted in a marked deterioration in outcomes for pupils, which are now inadequate.  Since September 2017, the newly appointed, temporary executive headteacher has been effective in quickly understanding what needs to be done to improve the quality of teaching and learning across all age groups. For example, the executive headteacher has introduced a well-organised behaviour policy and new procedures for dealing with poor behaviour. However, staff do not consistently implement the new policy and procedures to encourage good behaviour.  The executive headteacher has overhauled the system to assess teachers’ performance

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

and she has introduced appropriate training for staff. This is starting to have a positive effect on improving the quality of teaching in some year groups. However, it is too early to have had enough impact to remedy the significant weaknesses affecting the school.  Teachers’ expectations of what pupils can and should achieve are too low. Consequently, too many pupils underachieve considerably.  School leaders, with the exception of the executive headteacher, have had an overgenerous view of the effectiveness of the school’s work. Improvements to teaching, learning and assessment have been limited. Current leadership at all levels is not strong enough.  Many leaders do not have the knowledge, skills and experience required to change the direction of this school. As a consequence, senior and middle leadership remains ineffective and the capacity to improve is weak.  There are significant weaknesses in the overall quality of the curriculum. Pupils do not

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

receive a broad and balanced curriculum, and teachers do not teach different subjects consistently well. Leaders are beginning to deliver a full range of subjects by broadening the curriculum. However, opportunities to deepen pupils’ skills in reading, writing and mathematics are not well developed across all subjects. As a result, pupils do not apply these skills equally well across the curriculum. This slows their progress and learning.  The provision for pupils who have special needs (SEN) and/or disabilities is inadequate because the support that they receive is inconsistent and does not match their individual needs. These pupils make significantly less progress than other pupils nationally with the same starting points. The SEN leader has recently joined the school and is now developing clear, consistent, strategic plans and actions that match closely the needs of these pupils. She is ensuring that targeted support is in place to support

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

pupils’ individual needs. However, it is too early to judge the effect of this action on pupils’ progress. To date, the use of additional funding for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities has been poor.  Leaders’ plans for the use of the pupil premium funding are inadequate. The majority of additional funding has been allocated to employing extra staff. There is no clear plan as to how this spending will improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils, nor how leaders will measure the success of their actions.  The additional sports premium funding is spent on providing a range of extra-curricular activities such as judo and fencing, which pupils enjoy attending. However, the impact of this spending is not tracked carefully enough, and leaders are unsure of how the activities benefit pupils. Nevertheless, the breakfast club provides a calm and settled start for a number of pupils before school.  The executive headteacher has taken action to promote equality of opportunity. Pupils

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

and parents recognise her work in establishing a more productive learning environment for pupils. Parents spoke positively about how they are encouraged to talk to staff and they feel that they now have a voice. They appreciate the approachable manner of the executive headteacher. One parent, whose view was typical, said, that there has been a ‘massive improvement since September with the new headteacher’.

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Governance of the school

 Until recently, the governing body has not been effective in holding school leaders to account for the quality of education that the school provides or for the decline in standards.  Recent new appointments to the governing body are now bringing about some much- needed change. However, it is too early to see the effect of new governors’ work on school improvement priorities.  Governors’ evaluations of the quality of teaching, learning and pupils’ outcomes are too generous. Some recently appointed governors are supportive and accepting of the new executive headteacher’s evaluation of pupils’ performance. They are beginning to challenge leaders more effectively.  Governors have not held leaders sufficiently to account for the pupil premium funding, the physical education and sports funding, or the funding to support pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities.  Governors have recently been effective in ensuring that the school site is secure and

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  Since the arrival of the new executive headteacher, there has been a renewed focus on safeguarding. Staff are fully trained in safeguarding, and processes are compliant with statutory regulations. Leaders carry out the required checks efficiently to ensure that staff, governors and volunteers are suitable people to work with children.  The school now has effective procedures to record and monitor safeguarding concerns and incidents. Leaders use the information to ensure that support is put in place to help the most vulnerable pupils and their families.  Leaders work well with families and other agencies to support pupils. Communication is effective and there is a secure culture of safeguarding.  The school’s website does not provide parents with important information about the school, including the policies relating to safeguarding, behaviour and exclusions.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

 Pupils do not make sufficient progress to reach the standards expected for their age because teaching is inadequate. Pupils are not adequately prepared for the next stages of their education.  Too many teachers do not assess pupils’ work accurately. Consequently, the work they plan does not build on what pupils already know, can do and understand. Teachers do not give pupils the help that they need to support their learning. The most able pupils in some classes are not consistently challenged. Teaching does not deepen their learning and understanding, so very few of these pupils achieve the highest standards of which they are capable.  The teaching of writing is not good enough and has been weak for some time. Outcomes in writing have continued to decline over the last few years. Pupils’ capacity to apply their writing skills across the curriculum is also not good enough because teachers do not consistently plan for it to take place.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

 Teachers do not have high enough expectations of what pupils can achieve. As a result, pupils repeat mistakes and waste learning time.  The teaching of reading across the school is inadequate. Pupils are insufficiently supported across all year groups to develop their understanding and use of more complex vocabulary. Some older pupils have not developed their phonic skills sufficiently well because of historic poor-quality teaching. Consequently, some pupils are unable to tackle unfamiliar words. Too few of the most able readers reach the higher levels of which they are capable because they are not consistently supported and challenged.  More recently, however, the teaching of early phonics has become more effective. More pupils in key stage 1 are now able to successfully apply their knowledge and understanding of phonics to their reading. As a result, phonics outcomes in key stage 1 are improving.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

 The teaching of mathematics has been weak over time. Following support from a partner school, there are now some strengths in the teaching of number. However, teachers miss opportunities to stretch and challenge the most able pupils to develop their problem-solving and reasoning skills.  The use of teaching assistants to support learning and progress is inconsistent across the school. Some teaching assistants work effectively to support pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. Others work with pupils who need additional support in controlling their behaviour. This support enables pupils to engage effectively in suitable learning activities. However, on other occasions, teaching assistants are not clear about what pupils are learning and they provide weak explanations to pupils. Leaders are aware of these differences in the quality of the work of support staff and have plans to develop high-quality and consistent support across all age groups.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

 The teaching of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is not good enough because support is inconsistent and often poorly matched to the needs of these pupils. Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make too little progress in their learning.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is inadequate. This is because systems remain inconsistent and they fail to address persistent poor behaviour and potential incidents of bullying. The executive headteacher has recently introduced new policies and procedures to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare. However, staff do not implement these policies and procedures consistently well enough.  Pupils, parents and carers said that there is bullying and that not all staff are effective at handling concerns. Incidents still occur on a regular basis. Although pupils know about different forms of bullying, they do not ensure that bullying does not occur. Behaviour logs show that staff are responding more quickly to incidents. However, the executive headteacher recognises that serious issues remain.  Leaders recognise that more work is required to strengthen pupils’ physical and

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Personal development and welfare

emotional well-being so that they achieve well at school.  Pupils’ resilience when encountering challenge in their learning is weak and is a significant barrier to their learning and progress.  Pupils are generally welcoming and friendly. They open doors for visitors politely and were happy to show their work and talk to inspectors.  Pupils said that they feel safe and know how to stay safe in a variety of contexts and situations. They know how to stay safe online and are aware of the potential risks of cyber-bullying and other forms of online abuse.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is inadequate.  Staff do not have high enough expectations of behaviour in lessons, and too much learning time is lost in managing unacceptable behaviour.  Although some pupils can behave sensibly in class, others become easily distracted and engage in challenging, disruptive behaviour when they are not engaged in their work.  The new ‘good behaviour’ policy that has recently been introduced is taking time to have the required effect on pupils’ understanding of behaviour and tolerance.  Pupils’ conduct around school and on the playground needs improving. Some pupils misbehave at playtimes and this is not dealt with quickly enough by staff.  Attendance remains below the national average, and the number of pupils who are regularly absent from school is currently over twice the national figure. Senior leaders have secured some recent improvements by working with parents and professional

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Behaviour

organisations to ensure that pupils attend school regularly.  The proportion of pupils who are excluded or temporarily excluded from school is too high.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 Since the school’s previous inspection, there has been a decline in pupils’ progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics. In 2017, provisional outcomes show that the proportion of pupils in Year 6 who reached expected levels in all the national tests in reading, writing and mathematics was well below the national average. Overall, less than one in four pupils left Year 6 in 2017 having reached the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics. Few were sufficiently prepared for the next stage of their education.  In 2017, provisional information shows that pupils’ attainment at the end of key stage 1 was below the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. The number of pupils meeting the expected standard in writing at the end of key stage 1 has sharply declined since the previous inspection. Only one in five pupils achieved the expected standard for writing in 2017.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 Outcomes for the most able pupils are inadequate. Too few of the most able pupils are challenged and supported to attain the higher standard in reading, writing and mathematics across the school. In 2017, no pupil achieved the higher standard in writing at the end of key stages 1 or 2. Work in current pupils’ books shows that, while most pupils are making progress with their writing, too few are making the accelerated progress needed to reach the higher standard in their learning.  Current assessment data shows that around half of the pupils in the school are working at the level expected for their age in reading, writing or mathematics. The work seen by inspectors in pupils’ books and around school also showed significant inconsistencies in outcomes between different year groups. Few pupils are making fast enough progress in their writing to enable them to match the standard typical for their age.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 In recent years, standards in mathematics throughout the school have been low. This is due to past weaknesses in the mathematics curriculum and to teachers’ weak subject knowledge. Pupils now regularly practise key mathematical skills, but are not provided with enough opportunities to apply these skills in problem-solving and reasoning activities.  Over time, weak assessment practice has resulted in an over-generous view of pupils’ progress and attainment. Consequently, teachers have inaccurately matched the level of work to pupils’ needs. This continues to have a negative effect on pupils’ progress because gaps in their knowledge and understanding are wide. Leaders are now currently ensuring that there is a stronger correlation between the quality of pupils’ work and assessment information.  Disadvantaged pupils, including the most able disadvantaged, are still too far behind other pupils nationally in all subjects. Evidence seen by inspectors suggests that

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

disadvantaged pupils are not catching up quickly enough, and too many continue to make slow progress.  Although the number of pupils meeting the expected standards in the Year 1 phonics screening check has increased, the figure was still well below national figures. Pupils’ lack of secure phonic knowledge has a negative impact on their confidence in reading independently.

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Early years provision Inadequate

 Children enter early years with a level of skills and knowledge that is below that typical for their age.  Teachers do not provide sufficient opportunities to stretch the most able children. This slows their development.  The assessment of children in the early years provision is inaccurate. Teachers are not identifying the needs of the children or intervening swiftly enough to ensure that children go on to achieve the early learning goals. In 2017, only half of the children left the Reception class ready for the Year 1 curriculum. Outcomes for children are poor.  Standards over time have not risen. The proportion of children who achieved a good level of development by the end of Reception has been lower than the national average since 2013. Outcomes in writing and number are especially low.  A lack of challenge in the teaching and learning for all groups results in children not making good progress from their different starting points. Teaching is inadequate.

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Early years provision Inadequate

 Teachers do not plan activities that sustain children’s engagement. As a result, some children, especially boys, can go off task. Children’s behaviour requires improvement.  There are significant gaps in staff members’ understanding of how young children learn and how to ensure that children make good progress across all areas of learning.  Weaknesses in the leadership of the early years mean that staff are not confident when assessing children’s work.  The children’s learning journals provide a range of photographs with short captions detailing what children are doing. Electronic records provide opportunities for staff to record observations. However, the journals and records are not used effectively to inform focused planning to improve children’s learning or to notify parents of the children’s progress and the next steps for learning.  Learning activities do not strengthen children’s languages skills enough to ensure that

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Early years provision Inadequate

they understand new vocabulary to reinforce their skills in reading and writing. As a result, there is a significant weakness in reading and writing.  The learning environment does not effectively encourage children to practise and develop their writing and number skills independently.  The children are well looked after, and safeguarding is effective.

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School details

Local authority Cheshire West and Chester

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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

Executive headteacher Mrs Annette Williams

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School details

Email address head@winsfordgrange.school.cheshire.org. uk Date of previous inspection 24–25 February 2016

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller-than-average primary school.  The large majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below the national average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils eligible for the pupil premium is well above the national average.  The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is higher than the national average.  The school meets the government’s 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 provides a breakfast club for pupils.  The curriculum has been introduced with the help of a partner school and is improving the breadth of opportunity for all pupils across all subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning across the school. They spoke to pupils and examined the work in their books.  Meetings were held with senior and middle leaders, governors, a representative from the local authority and groups of pupils.  Inspectors considered the 16 responses to Parent View. Inspectors also spoke to parents informally before school. Inspectors took into account nine responses to the staff survey.  Inspectors examined documents relating to governance, self-evaluation, school improvement planning, pupils’ progress, behaviour, the curriculum and safeguarding.  The inspectors undertook a scrutiny of pupils’ books to evaluate the quality of work and check the accuracy of assessment information held by the school in writing and mathematics. An additional workbook scrutiny and learning walk were conducted as part of an evaluation of the breadth of the curriculum.  Children spoke to the lead inspector during various activities throughout the inspection.

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Information about this inspection

In addition, the inspectors met with pupils in Years 2, 3 and 6 and heard them read.  The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour at playtime and lunchtime.

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Inspection team

David Fann, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Deborah Bailey Ofsted Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .

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Inspection team

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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Inspection team

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted .

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Inspection team

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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

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