The Pines School

The Pines School Hanworth Road, Hanworth, Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 7WX

p.1

Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

p.1

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

p.1

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

p.1

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

p.1

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

p.1

Early years provision Requires improvement

p.1

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires improvement

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Until recently, leaders and governors have not been sufficiently effective in their work. As a result, standards of teaching and pupils’ outcomes have declined since the last inspection.  Teaching is not consistently good. Mathematics teaching does not allow pupils to develop their skills well in reasoning and problem-solving. Pupils lack rich opportunities to develop their writing.  Middle leaders’ influence on the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes is not well established.  Pupils’ experience across the wider curriculum lacks sufficient depth. Consequently, pupils, including the most able, are not challenged sufficiently.  Children in the early years do not make consistently strong progress in their learning.  Many parents and carers lack confidence in the school’s leadership. They have been unsettled by the frequency of staff changes over the last 12 months.  Over time, pupils’ special educational needs

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

and/or disabilities (SEND) have not been identified efficiently. The consequent delay in providing appropriate additional support has limited these pupils’ progress.  The most able disadvantaged pupils, and disadvantaged pupils with SEND, make particularly weak progress.  The cultural aspects of the curriculum, such as learning about the range of faiths and cultures represented in British society, are not well developed. Pupils’ personal and social education is not systematically organised to promote pupils’ well-being effectively.

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Expert and determined leadership by interim senior leaders and the chair of the governing body has secured rapid and secure improvement in recent terms, most notably in pupils’ behaviour and in teaching. Staff are inspired to work hard to deliver this success. Parents’ confidence shows signs of recovery.  Pupils behave well, enjoy school and attend regularly. They are confident and friendly. The school is a welcoming, happy place in which to learn and work.  Robust safeguarding procedures are in place. As a result, pupils are safe, and rightly feel well looked after.

p.1

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that: – all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, the most able pupils and those with SEND, make consistently strong progress in their learning – all aspects of mathematics are taught effectively, including the application of pupils’ developing skills in reasoning and problem-solving – pupils’ writing is richly developed through a suitable range of opportunities to write in different ways.  Strengthen the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that: – governors hold leaders to account consistently well for the impact of their work on teaching and pupils’ outcomes, behaviour and well-being – middle leaders’ work results in improvements to the curriculum, teaching and pupils’ outcomes – the curriculum is well developed, particularly with regard to the depth of pupils’ study in different subjects and a systematic approach to pupils’ personal development and cultural understanding

p.2

What does the school need to do to improve further?

– efforts are redoubled to boost parents’ confidence in the school.

p.2

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Over time, leaders, including governors, have not maintained the standards seen in the last inspection, leading to a decline in pupils’ outcomes.  Current leaders have acted swiftly to improve the school. They know their school well and maintain high expectations for staff and pupils alike. Close monitoring of staff performance, complemented by relevant support, has resulted in strong and rapid improvements in teaching and in pupils’ behaviour.  With close support from senior leaders and the local authority, middle leaders are beginning to secure improvements in teaching and the curriculum. Recent developments in the teaching of mathematics and English reflect the initial effects of their work. Their leadership is, however, not yet influencing teaching and pupils’ progress significantly overall.  The local authority provides highly effective support to the school, helping to stabilise the school’s leadership arrangements and improve teaching. Ongoing guidance and

p.3

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

staff training provided by the local authority are ensuring that recent improvements are becoming increasingly well established.  The majority of parents responding to Ofsted’s inspection survey would recommend the school to others. However, a significant proportion of parents expressed dissatisfaction with the school’s leadership and management over time. Interim senior leaders have improved communication with parents and are making a concerted effort to recover parents’ confidence in the school, for example through individual contact. Some parents expressed optimism for the school’s future as a result. Nevertheless, further work in this area is needed.  Senior leaders have introduced an effective strategy for the use of the pupil premium, including family and attendance support, classroom interventions and support for pupils’ wider experience such as educational visits. Leaders reliably check the progress

p.3

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

of individual disadvantaged pupils, including checking the outcomes of any additional classroom support provided. However, leaders do not analyse this information in order to identify patterns in the achievement of disadvantaged pupils across the school. Inspectors noted that while disadvantaged pupils overall make as much progress as other pupils, those with SEND and the most able disadvantaged pupils make consistently weaker progress than their peers.  Over time, leaders have not ensured that pupils with SEND have their needs identified quickly enough. This situation is being rectified systematically by the new special educational needs coordinator (SENCo). Newly introduced systems, such as pupil progress meetings for example, are improving leaders’ understanding of which pupils may be falling behind, so that additional support can be targeted effectively. However, much remains to be done. Where pupils’ unmet SEND needs have previously affected

p.3

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

their behaviour, leaders have taken highly effective action to help pupils make impressive changes in their conduct. However, leaders’ focus on the learning needs of such pupils is less well developed.  While pupils are provided with a broad curriculum, they do not study subject areas in consistent depth. As a result, the curriculum does not encourage pupils to think deeply and link their learning. The personal, social, health and economic education programme is not well formed. In addition, while pupils’ spiritual, moral and social education is an implicit part of the school and developed well, pupils currently lack opportunities to develop their cultural understanding, for example about the range of faiths and cultures in British society.

p.3

Governance of the school

 Over time, governors have not held leaders to account effectively for the impact of their work. They have allowed standards in the school to decline since the last inspection.  The newly re-formed governing body actively shares senior leaders’ determination to ensure that improvements are rapid and secure. The recent recruitment of a permanent headteacher and deputy headteacher from September, for example, has boosted the school community’s confidence that current improvements will be further consolidated and secured.  As a result of close and effective support from the local authority, governors’ skills and understanding are increasing well. The highly knowledgeable chair of the governing body provides skilful support to those governors who are new to their roles. Consequently, governors are beginning to challenge leaders confidently about the improvements needed.

p.4

Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders have established a robust culture for sharing child protection concerns through clear, effective systems. Communication is strong and ensures that successful strategies to support pupils and their families are effectively shared, for example through weekly meetings involving a range of school professionals.  Leaders ensure that record-keeping linked to safeguarding is systematic and robust. Referrals are made to external agencies quickly when needed, and leaders continue to monitor any support received by pupils and their families, ensuring that ongoing support remains useful.  Staff training is relevant and up to date. Consequently, staff are secure in their knowledge of how to carry out their safeguarding responsibilities effectively and are vigilant in their roles. There is a sophisticated understanding among staff about local risks for pupils.

p.4

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 Teaching is not reliably effective throughout the school. Consequently, pupils do not consistently make the progress they are capable of across a range of subjects.  Staff robustly maintain high expectations of pupils’ attitudes to learning, supported well by the recently introduced school code of conduct.  Teachers’ consistent approach to planning pupils’ learning in writing is leading to improvements in pupils’ writing. However, pupils are not yet developing richness in their work, for example as they write in other subjects.  Throughout the school, number skills are taught methodically. However, wider aspects of mathematics, including problem-solving and reasoning, are not taught consistently well. As a result, pupils are unable to reach the highest standards in their learning.  Phonics teaching is increasingly effective and is leading to pupils making improving progress year on year. Staff are well trained in the school’s chosen approach, ensuring

p.4

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

helpful consistency for pupils as they progress and move from group to group. For example, pupils use taught strategies successfully to sound out words and spell them correctly.  Pupils’ increasing success in phonics provides a firm foundation for their wider reading skills. Teaching in key stage 2 inspires pupils to enjoy reading, so that they are motivated to read, seeking books to read independently after being inspired at school. Pupils make informed choices about the texts they read for themselves, selecting from a range of authors and types of literature that they have experienced at school.  For some pupils with SEND, the additional adult support provided is appropriate and helpful. For other pupils with SEND, a lack of appropriate support to help them access their learning hinders their progress. Pupils receiving effective support to improve their behaviour are not as reliably helped to advance their learning.

p.5

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 Teachers provide pupils with useful feedback, consistently in line with the school’s policy. Pupils respond well to this feedback, using it to improve their work and develop their thinking effectively. For example, teachers’ feedback seen in books encouraged pupils to extend their writing, repeat or extend some mathematical calculations, or provide further information after conducting research on a topic.  In some subjects, such as history and geography, religious education and French, teaching focuses on singular aspects of the subject, rather than building pupils’ knowledge and understanding securely over time. As a result, pupils, including the most able pupils, develop only limited understanding.

p.5

Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.  The curriculum does not systematically support the development of pupils’ personal and social development, for example in areas such as bullying, including online. Although leaders are swift to deal with incidents when they occur, pupils expressed a lack of confidence and understanding about how to keep themselves safe in the first place, for example from cyber-bullying. The development of the curriculum to include clear messages about bullying, for example, is in the early stages and not yet effective.  Pupils talked positively about the recent improvements to the site that have helped them to feel more secure when in school. They talked confidently about ways to keep themselves safe from strangers online, explaining that e-safety weeks had taught them effective strategies to stay safe when playing games online.

p.5

Personal development and welfare

 A family support worker provides useful support and guidance for pupils and their families. The positive impact of this recent work has helped some pupils to manage their own behaviour effectively. The importance leaders have placed on ensuring this support is in place reflects the ethos of care felt throughout the school.

p.6

Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are self-assured, friendly and well mannered. The pride they take in their work is clearly evident in their books.  Pupils are polite and courteous, in lessons and around school. The school’s newly introduced code of conduct is clearly displayed around school and known and understood by pupils. Staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and apply the code consistently and promptly when needed. As a result, most pupils are attentive and engaged in lessons.  Pupils get along well together, and lunchtimes and breaktimes are sociable occasions. Some pupils and parents understandably remain concerned about social times because of incidents which have previously occurred. However, behaviour is managed carefully during playtimes, with attentive staff providing ample supervision. In addition, for example, a games coach provides pupils with a range of engaging playtime activities.

p.6

Behaviour

 Pupils attend school regularly. Leaders are tenacious in ensuring that pupils’ absences are noticed and chased up as soon as possible.

p.6

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 Key stage 2 outcomes have declined since the last inspection. Although in 2018 pupils’ reading outcomes improved, they remained below the national average, including for the most able pupils.  In key stage 1, the proportion of pupils who meet the standard expected for their age in reading, writing, mathematics and science typically matches that seen nationally.  Pupils’ outcomes in the national Year 1 phonics screen show an improving trend over time. Current pupils’ progress indicates that this positive picture is continuing.  The progress of current pupils in key stage 2, while showing some signs of improvement, remains inconsistent. Disadvantaged pupils with SEND and the most able pupils make less progress than their peers in school. However, work seen in books reflects a stronger picture than is evident from recent published outcomes, and pupils in Years 5 and 6 are making good progress with their reading.

p.6

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 Pupils who have SEND, including those who are disadvantaged, are not making as much progress as other pupils in English and mathematics.

p.6

Early years provision Requires improvement

 Overall, children’s outcomes at the end of the early years broadly match the national picture. However, this does not represent consistently good progress from children’s different starting points. Furthermore, children make weaker progress in mathematics and literacy than in other areas of learning.  A lack of focused leadership in the early years provision over time has resulted in a decline in the quality of teaching. However, current senior leaders evaluate the quality of early years provision accurately and are using this information in a concerted way to improve provision and enhance children’s outcomes.  While the activities on offer inside and outside typically engage the children, they do not provide rich opportunities for children to develop their literacy or mathematical skills, for example, or their understanding of the world. Sometimes, learning is not planned precisely enough to meet children’s specific needs.

p.7

Early years provision Requires improvement

 Safeguarding is effective in the early years. The environment is safe and caring. Attentive staff know the children well and ensure that they are well looked after. Staff work closely with parents, involving them in their children’s learning. This successfully promotes a culture that supports children’s progress and enables children to be kept safe.  Children are confident, happy learners. They enjoy their learning and are keen to participate fully in activities. They listen carefully to adults and behave well. The early years is a calm environment where children have positive relationships with staff and their peers.

p.7

School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

p.8

School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

p.8

School details

Email address secretary@thepinesschool.org.uk

p.8

School details

Date of previous inspection 24–25 June 2015

p.8

Information about this school

 The Pines School is a larger-than-average primary school. The school is expanding each year and currently has two classes in every year except Year 6.  The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged is below the national average.  The school has a lower-than-average proportion of pupils with SEND.  The early years incorporates a Nursery class and two Reception classes.  There have been a number of different senior leaders since the school was last inspected, with frequent staff changes, particularly in the last year. The current interim headteacher joined the school in January 2019. A substantive headteacher has been recruited to take up their role in September 2019.  The school receives focused support and guidance from the local authority.

p.8

Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited lessons, mainly alongside senior and middle leaders. These visits were across all key stages and included a range of subjects. In lessons, inspectors spoke to pupils and reviewed some of the work in their books.  Inspectors met formally with a group of pupils and spoke to others around the school. They observed pupils playing at breaktimes, visited an assembly and heard pupils read.  Inspectors met with leaders, teachers, parents, members of the governing body and representatives of the local authority.  A range of documents were scrutinised, including information relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding. Inspectors reviewed safeguarding procedures and policies.  Along with leaders, inspectors looked at a range of pupils’ work and discussed information about their current progress and attainment.  Inspectors considered the views expressed in 82 responses to Ofsted’s online

p.9

Information about this inspection

questionnaire, Parent View, including free-text responses. The views of 31 staff who completed Ofsted’s surveys were also considered.

p.9

Inspection team

Maxine McDonald-Taylor, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

p.9

Inspection team

Sian Thornton Her Majesty’s 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 .

p.9

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 .

p.10

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.

p.10

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 .

p.10

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.

p.10

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 .

p.10

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 .

p.10

Inspection team

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

p.10

Inspection team

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

p.10