Askern Moss Road Infant School

Askern Moss Road Infant School Moss Road, Askern, Doncaster, South Yorkshire DN6 0NE

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher, ably assisted by her deputy, has effectively led the school through a period of turbulence and change. Leaders have ensured that there has been no impact on the outcomes for the pupils and maintaining high aspirations for all.  The governing body now challenges robustly and ensures that any actions are successfully completed.  All staff, including the learning support assistants, have taken responsibility for aspects of developing the exciting curriculum. However, the more recent restructuring means that some coordinator roles are not yet fully developed.  Most pupils make good and better progress during their time in the school and leave very well prepared for the next stage in their education. The progress of pupils capable of achieving higher levels of understanding is not yet as rapid as others.  Pupils know that the challenges that teachers and others set them in their work help them to

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

learn. However, the most able are not consistently challenged across the school. Questioning does not always help pupils to think more deeply about their learning.  The relationships with parents and carers are a strength of the school. Staff have established strong links with families and the community. As a result, parents actively seek out this school and attendance is improving.  Parents are very well informed of their children’s progress and are confident that when there are any learning issues, they will be involved in the solution.  Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary. They are proud of their work, and presentation is of the highest quality. They are courteous to each other and to adults.  The school holds the pupils’ welfare and safety at the highest priority. Parents speak highly about the caring and nurturing family ethos that has been secured by the headteacher and the whole staff team. Every child is made to

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

feel special.  The early years foundation unit is successfully led and managed by a highly skilled team. The staff know the children and families well. This strong provision enables children to make rapid progress from low starting points. Effective transition arrangements mean that parents feel secure in bringing their children to this school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further improve the quality of teaching by ensuring that: – teachers set work for the most able pupils that always represents a high level of challenge, so that their progress and attainment are even higher – teachers’ questioning consistently encourages pupils to think more deeply about their work.  Enhance the impact of leadership and management on pupils’ achievement by developing the leadership skills of staff and their role as curriculum coordinators to improve their knowledge of how well each subject is taught, particularly with a view to the planning and evaluation of learning, to better identify strengths and any areas for improvement.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 The headteacher and governors have high aspirations for staff and pupils. They have effectively led the school through a period of change, while continuing to improve practice and outcomes. Staff are highly complimentary about how well informed and involved they have been throughout the process.  The vision of ‘Sharing the Joy of Learning’ is exemplified through the engagement with learning demonstrated by both pupils and staff, alongside the commitment of parents to supporting their child’s learning. Parents from the Travelling community actively choose this school because they know that their children will be safe and cared for and because staff have gone out of their way to engage all parents in their children’s education.  The headteacher and the senior leaders have an accurate, detailed knowledge of the school. They use a wealth of data to successfully support their analysis. They also review other evidence, such as observations of teaching and the learning environment,

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

to further secure their judgements. Their action plans for improvements are based on this knowledge and are regularly monitored by the governing body to ensure progress towards targets.  Observations of teaching are accurate and always identify where improvements could be made. These are consistently followed up at the following observation. This means that there is an ethos of continual improvement among all staff in the school.  Assessments of pupils’ work are extensively moderated, both internally and externally every term, so leaders are certain of their accuracy. These assessments are demonstrating good progress and improvements in attainment for all pupils. Leaders are clear that these improvements could be even better, particularly for the most able pupils.  All staff, including the learning support assistants, have excellent access to training to improve their skills. The headteacher ensures that all support necessary is provided for

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

those who need it to improve their teaching. By taking this robust approach, based on direct observations, the headteacher is successfully ensuring that there is high-quality teaching across all age groups and classes.  The recent restructuring of staff has led to a reorganisation of responsibilities. The leadership team has ensured that those taking on new responsibilities are attending appropriate high-quality training, such as how to be an effective middle leader. Some coordinators are already having a positive impact, but leaders recognise that this is not yet consistent and that all parts of the role are not yet in place. For example, coordinators have not been able to observe subject delivery in class. Therefore, this means that the curriculum leaders’ roles of monitoring teaching and evaluating the quality of planning are not yet fully embedded.  Pupils influence the development of the school through the school council. Their

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

discussions feed directly into the governing body as some of the members observe and join in these meetings. This not only develops an understanding of democracy but also ensures that the voice of the pupils is clearly heard by senior leaders and managers.  The exciting curriculum integrates all aspects of spiritual, moral, social and cultural education. For example, within in a long-term study of sunrise, pupils are comparing England with Japan, while also studying the culture of that country. Older pupils are studying Australia and are challenged not only to understand the Australian culture and compare it with their own, but to investigate why the cultures of Sydney and the outback differ.  The school works productively with partners such as the children’s centre and the ethnic minority and travellers’ achievement service (EMTAS) to meet the needs of parents. For instance, staff help parents to toilet train their children and with bonding

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

with the youngest children. This means that children are more secure and are beginning to progress more rapidly. Staff also develop contracts to improve the attendance of older pupils. This has meant that attendance has improved and persistent absence is decreasing.  Funding for the small number of pupils eligible for pupil premium is used effectively to deliver additional support for those who need it and for additional challenge for the most able. The barriers to learning for these pupils are swiftly identified and addressed. Leaders robustly monitor these pupils’ progress to ensure that what is being delivered for them is having the desired impact.  The additional funding received by the school for physical education and sport is spent effectively. Outside sports coaches provide high-quality learning experiences for pupils. Staff are more confident in delivering lessons, and pupils have a greater understanding

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

of the importance of exercise. This is demonstrated through the numbers taking part in the daily mile run and taking part in inter-school competitions, such as cricket and dance. Pupils talk enthusiastically of these additional activities.  The leadership team ensures that pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities are effectively supported. The one-to-one support is of high quality and enables all of these children and pupils to be included and integrated within lessons. Support staff have been trained well to address these needs, such as those of children who have autistic spectrum disorder or those who have social or emotional difficulties. One parent spoken to during the inspection expressed that no matter what their needs, every child is treated as an individual. Many parents agreed with this view.  The relationships with parents are extremely strong. Parents have great trust in the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

staff and know that they will always resolve any issues parents may have. They know that the headteacher and her staff will treat any information in complete confidence. In discussions, parents said how much they appreciate all the additional hours staff put in, not only in delivering workshops for them but also in attending events in the wider community.

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Governance of the school

 The governing body provides extremely strong leadership. As a group, governors have a wide range of skills and share a wealth of additional knowledge and training with the rest of the governing body from their individual professions. They know their own strengths and areas for improvement, having commissioned an external review of governance.  Governors know the school well. They challenge and support effectively using information received from the headteacher about children’s progress, their own knowledge from focused visits and other information, for example the pupils’ workbooks they look at before every meeting. Following last year’s test results, they identified that the outcome in phonics was an issue. They challenged the headteacher as to why this was and suggested a change in approach. This has been extremely effective, and the test results greatly improved this year.  Governors are aware of how well teachers are meeting the targets set for them and so

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Governance of the school

have a clear view of the standard of teaching in the school. They also receive external reports from visits by local headteachers and others, which validate their own judgement. They work closely with an external consultant to set challenging targets for the headteacher’s own performance.  All governors, especially those who hold a professional specialism in safeguarding, effectively ensure that the arrangements for safeguarding meet requirements and that the wider knowledge of the governing body is up to date. They regularly audit paperwork and records to make sure that they are of the highest quality, and share their knowledge with the school.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  The headteacher and governors ensure that all staff are trained annually. Safeguarding is on every agenda for staff meetings to ensure that any concerns are discussed and that staff are kept informed with the most recent updates.  The headteacher has set up highly efficient systems to enable swift retrieval of information. Paperwork and records are of the highest quality and clearly set out the goals to be achieved. Any referrals to other services are rigorously followed up to ensure that actions are being taken to meet these goals.  Behaviour in school is closely monitored by all staff and anything of concern is instantly reported to the headteacher or deputy in her absence. This is all logged on an electronic system and regularly analysed so that any worrying patterns of behaviour can be quickly identified and necessary actions taken to ensure that all pupils are safe.

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Safeguarding

 All staff are trained in first aid, and those who work with the youngest children hold a paediatric first aid qualification.  Pupils are taught to stay safe when using information technology. They have an excellent knowledge of how to stay safe when using the internet or social media, whether they are at school, or at home. They also are aware of how to behave to keep themselves safe from abuse, for example not playing close to the perimeter boundaries of the school and not going with strangers when outside of school.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Teachers consistently engage pupils’ interests because of the exciting ways they deliver learning. For example, in a literacy lesson, pupils were asked to compare the style of two different, but popular, authors. They had to use high-level reading skills to identify similarities and differences in use of language and phraseology. Because the teacher had chosen novels that were full of humour, all pupils were enjoying their learning.  Teachers use precise assessments of progress and achievement to plan and deliver lessons that meet individual needs and support progression targets. Because these are clear to the pupils, they know whether they are making good or outstanding progress. As one pupil explained to the inspector, ‘It’s the challenge that helps us learn. If it was too easy we wouldn’t learn, if it was too hard we couldn’t do it, but teachers here get it just right.’ While they are correct in saying this most of the time, it is not consistent

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

enough across all lessons to ensure rapid progress, particularly for the most able. Teachers do not always question pupils in a way that helps them to think more deeply about what they are learning.  Learning support assistants are highly skilled and exceptionally well trained to deliver support, especially to the least able or for those who have social and emotional difficulties. They know exactly how to support learning, when to intervene and when to sit back and observe. They have also benefited from training to support the most able, for example in mathematics, and help teaching staff in identifying where pupils could make more rapid progress. Teachers are skilled in planning for children who have SEN and/or disabilities to ensure that they are included in all learning activities.  Pupils make excellent progress within phonics sessions because teachers make sure that the activities match their abilities, while also challenging the pupils to progress.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

When pupils read to the inspector, the most able confidently discussed characters and storylines and distinctive styles of authors. Other pupils were applying their phonic skills effectively to identify unknown words. The majority of pupils read for meaning, using punctuation to bring greater fluency and understanding. The school has successfully adapted their approach to phonics this year and it is having a dramatically positive effect on children’s reading skills.  Teachers ensure that the whole curriculum is covered in their planning, and also ensure that skills and aptitudes are developed. The clear progression in planning of the curriculum, across and within year groups, is very effective in supporting pupils’ progress. For example, at various times during the inspection, pupils were observed using scientific skills. In one lesson, younger pupils were exploring the properties of jelly and observed that a change had occurred while the jelly cooled. In another class,

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

older pupils were using paper to construct a bridge. In both lessons, scientific method was taught and followed, with the related vocabulary extension, and there was a clear progression in understanding of how properties may change.  In a history project, the most able pupils were challenged to research the impact of the great fire of London and then they had to develop and deliver a PowerPoint presentation. This led to research into different typefaces and which was the most like 17th-century copperplate handwriting.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.  The headteacher and the staff are dedicated to supporting families in the community. Their approach has improved parental engagement and has had a very positive impact on pupils’ attitudes to school.  The highly skilled learning support assistants deliver one-to-one and small-group work to support children’s emotional and social development. This work is particularly effective, and pupils benefit greatly. With support, they can access the activities which the rest of their class are engaging with more independently. As one parent told the inspector, ‘My child doubted themselves, but now they can do it all!’  Pupils consistently develop empathy with each other. As one pupil said during the inspection, ‘The best thing about this school is the kindness and helpfulness of others.’ Many parents talk of how the school is a caring and nurturing environment.

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Personal development and welfare

 Pupils also develop an understanding of active citizenship through the fundraising activities undertaken to support charities such as Macmillan Nurses and WaterAid.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.  Pupils conduct themselves extremely well around the school. They are courteous and polite to staff, visitors and to each other. They have a strong work ethos and are keen to learn.  When working collaboratively, they listen intently and act upon the suggestions made by their friends. They take immense pride in their work, and this is ably demonstrated by the high quality of presentation of work seen in their books and displays.  There are no serious incidents of any forms of bullying or harassment recorded. The very rare incidents of low-level disturbance in class are well managed and swiftly dealt with. This means that there is no impact on learning.  Due to the highly effective partnership working, attendance is improving and is now broadly in line with the national average. Persistent absence is declining, and the school uses all the means at its disposal to encourage parents to bring their children to

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Behaviour

school.  When pupils from the Travelling community are away, there is a contract in place to ensure that they keep in touch, and they are provided with work to complete during their absence.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Pupils’ progress slowed over the last two years and levels of attainment dipped. This was due to the very low levels of development of children on entry to Nursery and Reception and some changes in staffing. However, the determined efforts of school leaders to improve pupils’ achievement are now making a clear and positive impact.  Pupils’ progress is rapidly improving due to consistently effective teaching. This is evident in all year groups. It is reflected, not least, in the increasing proportion of pupils in Year 2 who are reaching the expected levels of attainment in reading, writing and mathematics. This has risen from a half in 2017 to three quarters of all pupils this year. This is in line with outcomes in national assessment tests last year.  Between 2017 and 2018, the proportion of pupils attaining above expected outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics rose from 21%, 11% and 25% to 45%, 23% and

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Outcomes for pupils Good

36% respectively. Even so, more pupils could attain above expected outcomes. In science, the proportion attaining expected outcomes has risen from 61% in 2017 to 77% in 2018. This improvement was evident for all groups of pupils.  The improving rate of progress is even more impressive given the high proportion of disadvantaged and Travelling pupils. The school’s detailed records and analysis show that these pupils are typically making similar improvements to other pupils, and the most able among them make rapid progress. This is because they rise to the school’s expectations that all pupils succeed. They benefit from the work of teachers and learning support assistants in helping this to happen. Teachers consider pupils’ culture when planning for their learning.  Across all year groups, progress is demonstrated year-on-year, with outcomes improving. Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities benefit from individual support for

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Outcomes for pupils Good

both their academic achievement and their personal development. The school’s records indicate that they typically make good, and often rapid, progress towards their individual targets. Similarly, the progress of low-attaining pupils is accelerating due to effective teaching which takes their starting points into account.  Pupils’ workbooks show that their skills in English develop well through the year. For example, pupils in Year 2 moved from writing simple sentences to more complex ones, and are now using joined-up script, writing for different purposes, drafting, editing and revising their own work. While in Year 1, pupils move from incorrect letter formation to writing for effect, using punctuation such as exclamation marks correctly.  Evidence of pupils’ accelerating progress is evident across the school. In Year 1, pupils’ confidence in applying their phonics skills when reading and writing generally grows

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Outcomes for pupils Good

quickly. This year, because of the radically changed approach to teaching phonics, 83% of pupils achieved the expected standard in Year 1, compared to 52% in the previous year, and 89% achieved this by the end of Year 2.  Pupils in Year 2 are extremely well prepared for the next stage in their education. Their parents agree with this statement and say that they are very sad that their children’s time here is coming to an end.

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Early years provision Good

 The foundation unit is extremely well led and managed by highly knowledgeable staff. They have created a caring and nurturing environment. For example, they check whether children have had breakfast, and if not, provision is made. Deepening relationships are made with parents from the start through home visits, including to the Traveller community. This means that parents have a secure confidence in the staff and the safety of their children.  All children start with skills below those typical for their age group, with a significant proportion well below. These children make swift progress because of the effective care plans which are put in place, working with parents and partners such as health visitors. Most children, including those from vulnerable groups, make rapid progress. Additional funds for disadvantaged children are used effectively.  By the time they begin Year 1, an increasing majority of children achieve a good level of

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Early years provision Good

development. The proportion of children who reached a good level of development this year indicates that the upward trend of the last few years has continued. Consequently, the majority of children are well prepared for learning as they enter Year 1.  Reading, writing and mathematics outcomes are all improving, with Traveller children achieving as well as other children nationally, from being significantly below. This rapid progress and increasingly strong attainment is due, in no small part, to the skills of the teachers and learning support assistants. The unit manager has high expectations of staff and children. She ensures that everyone knows exactly which children need additional support, or pushing on further, in their learning. This means that all adult interventions are focused on the needs of individual children.  In whole-group activities, staff ask individual children questions matched to their

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Early years provision Good

knowledge and understanding, while learning support assistants ensure that children who have SEN and/or disabilities are integrated and included in the learning. However, the most able are not always presented with challenges to enable them to progress even more rapidly in their knowledge and understanding.  The highly stimulating environment enables children to learn at every opportunity. There is a clear focus on challenge, with questions of a high calibre evident across the learning environment. During observations of child-led learning, children built ramps and measured how far their vehicles ran, using both bricks and string. They were then questioned as to why some children’s vehicles went further than others. The children discovered that the angle of the ramp made all the difference.  In another experiment, children were observing changes caused by heat on ice. Astutely, staff had put food colouring into the ice, so children were prompted to use

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Early years provision Good

the melting ice to practise their writing skills. They then took pencils and paper to produce extended written descriptions of ice, using their phonic knowledge effectively and accurately to aid their spelling.  Children work well together. They listen intently to each other’s ideas and so develop their social skills, alongside their communication. For instance, children developed their imagination while playing together in the sand, bringing objects to life as characters in the story they acted out.  Staff are consistently alert to learning opportunities and developing a love of learning. They ask questions such as ‘So, what are you going to do next time?’ to develop children’s critical thinking.

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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@mossroad.doncaster.gov.uk

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller than average-sized primary school.  Of the 106 pupils in the school, currently about 15% are from the Travelling community and regard this as their base school.  The proportion of pupils with SEN and/or disabilities is below average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is slightly above average.  The proportion of pupils joining the school at times other than the start of the early years foundation stage is low, although the pupil population does fluctuate during the year when families from the Travelling community move away.  There has been a significant decrease in the number of pupils on roll since the previous inspection and this has led to several staff changes.  There has been a new headteacher and deputy headteacher in post since the last inspection.  The school moved into new buildings in June 2016.  There has been a period of staff turbulence since the last inspection.

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Information about this inspection

 The lead inspector carried out joint observations of teaching and learning with the headteacher, looked at examples of children’s work and spoke to children.  The lead inspector met with the headteacher and middle leaders. He also talked with four governors, including the chair of the governing body. He met with the standards in education partner of the local authority.  The lead inspector scrutinised the school’s website and a range of documentation, including records of assessment and children’s progress, planning for improvement, monitoring of teaching and learning, governors’ meetings and those relating to attendance and safeguarding.  The lead inspector considered the nine responses made by parents to Parent View, spoke with five parents and also took the school’s own parent survey outcomes into account.  Additionally, the lead inspector looked at the 13 responses to the staff questionnaire

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Inspection team

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

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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