Monkwood Primary School

Inspection of Monkwood Primary School Estate Road, Rawmarsh, Rotherham, South Yorkshire S62 7JD

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected 17–18 September 2019

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What is it like to attend this school?

The headteacher and her team have created a school in which, as the school’s motto says, ‘a love of learning grows’. Teachers plan experiences that capture pupils’ interest. For example, a ‘Dig Deep’ topic included a visit to a coal-mining museum and a discussion with a retired coal miner. Pupils love spending time in the school’s forest on Fridays. They work together to build dens, create sculptures, solve problems and make friendships.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils like their teachers and enjoy school. Nearly all attend every day and on time. Most pupils behave well. Class 14 (the nurture class) helps them to cope when they are anxious or need a little extra help. Pupils know what bullying is. They know what to do if it happens. They are confident that their teachers will sort it out.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders make sure that children get off to a good start in early years. Pupils learn to read and are confident to use numbers. However, the work pupils do in key stage 2 does not help them to achieve well in reading. In some subjects, such as design and technology, the curriculum is not well planned and pupils do not achieve as well as they should.

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better?

Early reading skills are taught well in early years and key stage 1. All teachers and teaching assistants are well trained. The school follows one reading scheme faithfully. Most pupils are confident readers by the end of Year 1. Leaders took action recently to improve early reading even further. The books that pupils take home are now at just the right level to develop pupils’ confidence in reading.

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better?

The curriculum for reading in key stage 2 needs further development. The subject content is not organised well. The work that teachers plan does not help pupils to use and understand a wide enough range of vocabulary. Pupils do not achieve as well as they should by the end of Year 6.

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better?

Pupils enjoy the challenging mathematics curriculum in school. They use their knowledge of numbers confidently. This helps them to carry out investigations and solve problems. Pupils are beginning to use mathematical vocabulary in their discussions. The leader for mathematics has provided staff with useful training.

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better?

Sometimes, subject content is not organised effectively to help pupils to achieve well. This is the case in subjects such as design and technology, history, geography and modern foreign languages. Leaders have not thought carefully about the knowledge that pupils need to learn in some subjects. There is not enough focus on helping pupils to know more and remember more. Leaders are just beginning to develop the procedures to assess pupils’ learning in some subjects.

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better?

Teachers’ expectations of pupils’ behaviour are very high. Most pupils behave well in and around school. Far fewer pupils were excluded for poor behaviour last year than 17–18 September 2019

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previously. The school’s provision for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs is innovative and successful.

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Pupils have a strong awareness of personal safety. They know how to stay safe online, near water and when crossing roads. Pupils at Monkwood Primary School know the difference between right and wrong. They welcome newcomers to the school and include them in their work and play. Many pupils attend extra-curricular activities. These include the school’s breakfast, street dance and football clubs. Pupils take on roles of responsibility willingly. The school councillors wear their special sweatshirts with pride. Pupils understand that there are people less fortunate than themselves. They take part in charitable fund-raising enthusiastically.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do not achieve as well as they should. The school does not arrange assessments for education, health and care plans fast enough. Some parents and carers feel excluded from decisions about their children with SEND. The new special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) knows that the school’s systems and procedures for SEND are not sharp enough. She has prioritised areas for development well.

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Most curriculum leaders, senior leaders, governors and trustees do not check on the school’s performance as well as they should. Trustees and governors have not requested information about trends in behaviour and bullying. Leaders’ plans for school improvement are not sufficiently strategic. They do not include how, when and by whom improvements will be made.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The school’s procedures for the safe recruitment of staff are strong. The central record of recruitment checks is compliant with statutory requirements. All staff, through regular training, understand how to keep children safe. Adults are knowledgeable about current child protection issues such as child exploitation and radicalisation. The designated and deputy safeguarding leads work well with a wide range of external agencies. They ensure that pupils at risk of harm have access to the support they need in a timely manner.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The curriculum for reading in key stage 2 is not coherently planned and sequenced. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum builds on what pupils know and can do. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum content is sufficiently demanding and sequenced appropriately so that all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, can achieve well in reading.  The curriculums for most foundation subjects are not well planned. Leaders 17–18 September 2019

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should ensure that the subject content is carefully chosen and well sequenced so that pupils can learn and remember more.  Leaders have not provided training for staff in most foundation subjects. Teachers do not routinely assess pupils’ knowledge and understanding in these subjects. Leaders should ensure that teachers’ subject-specific knowledge is up to date and that teachers know when and what to assess.  The SENCo should continue to address the areas for improvement that have been identified in relation to the school’s provision for pupils with SEND. Education, health and care plans should be applied for in a timely manner. Leaders should ensure that parents are involved in reviews and referrals as a matter of course.  Curriculum leaders, senior leaders, governors and trustees do not check on the subjects and areas they oversee with enough rigour. They do not have a full understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. Strategic

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planning is weak. Leaders at all levels should make regular checks on their areas of responsibility. They should evaluate the success of the actions they undertake to improve the school.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you’re not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

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. 17–18 September 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10110550 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 This is the school’s first inspection. The school was registered with the Department for Education on 1 October 2016.  The school is a fresh start, sponsored academy. It is one of 11 schools in the Wickersley Partnership Trust.  A third of the pupils with SEND have specific learning difficulties, a quarter have autism spectrum disorder and a quarter have speech and language difficulties.  The SENCo took up post at the beginning of the academic year, two weeks before the inspection.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 Members of the inspection team carried out curriculum deep dives into reading, history, mathematics, science and modern foreign languages. The deep dives consisted of visits to lessons, review of documents, scrutiny of pupils’ work, and discussions with senior leaders, curriculum leaders, teachers and pupils.  The lead inspector reviewed SEN support plans chosen by the school, scrutinised 17–18 September 2019

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pupils’ work, saw the pupils at work in the school and talked to the SENCo.  The inspectors held discussions with the trust’s chief executive officer, the chair and vice-chair of the local governing body, the headteacher and other members of the senior leadership team, the SENCo and curriculum leaders. The trustees were unavailable to speak with the lead inspector during the inspection.  An inspector looked at the school’s record of staff recruitment checks and pupils’ safeguarding records. Discussions about safety were held with senior leaders, teachers, support staff, pupils and parents. The inspector also checked on pupils’ attendance, punctuality and exclusions. A discussion was held with pupils who have experienced the school’s behaviour sanctions.

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Inspection team

Belita Scott, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Cathy Morgan Ofsted Inspector 17–18 September 2019

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regulates and inspects to 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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