Barrowcliff School

Inspection of Barrowcliff School Ash Grove, Scarborough, North Yorkshire YO12 6NQ

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement 2–3 October 2019

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a school where staff care deeply about the well-being of the pupils who come here. School leaders and governors have a heartfelt commitment to helping pupils get on in life.

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What is it like to attend this school?

However, expectations for what pupils can achieve are not high enough. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). For pupils in key stage 2 who have fallen behind with their reading, there is not a plan to sort this out quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

For the most part, pupils behave well. Pupils are courteous to staff and visitors. They also feel happy and safe. However, a few feel less comfortable at times because of the rough play of some older pupils. Mostly, pupils do not think that bullying is a problem and that school deals with it if it happens.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils get many chances to see and experience the world beyond the school gates. They show tolerance and respect to others. However, a couple of pupils do not share the same understanding as their peers towards people of different ethnicities.

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better?

Pupils do not follow a well-organised curriculum. Important knowledge is not organised in a way that helps them build their understanding as they move through the school. In the ‘Victorians’ history topic, for example, pupils did not know when the Victorian era was. In writing, pupils use lots of different styles, but they do not have the necessary writing skills to do this well. Leaders know that the curriculum is a weakness and have plans to improve it.

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better?

Leaders have recently improved the teaching of reading in the early years and key stage 1. This has improved reading for those pupils. Leaders have paid less attention to pupils’ reading skills in key stage 2. In Year 5, for example, pupils made mistakes with the same sounds of letters that pupils in Year 1 had already grasped. Pupils chose books that were not well-matched to their reading ability.

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better?

There is some rough play by older pupils in the playground at social times. Younger pupils said that they did not feel comfortable in the playground when this is happening. During the inspection, pupils’ behaviour in lessons was courteous and respectful. Teachers were able to get on and teach.

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better?

Most pupils said that they were not troubled by bullying and that school sorts it out if it happens. The school takes bullying seriously and acts when appropriate.

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better?

Pupils have lots of opportunities to learn about the world beyond school. For instance, they take part in charity events such as the ‘Big Local’. Pupils visit places in 2–3 October 2019

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the community, such as the local council chambers, to learn about democracy. Leaders have recently introduced a new programme to teach pupils about multi- cultural Britain. This is timely, because a couple of pupils did not show respect for pupils of different ethnicities during the inspection.

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Teachers and teaching assistants do not refer well enough to support plans for pupils with SEND. The support plans themselves are not of good quality. Leaders have identified this and are working with the local authority to bring about improvement. Leaders make sure that the pastoral needs of pupils with SEND are well met. For example, the daily ‘nurture breakfast’ and monthly coffee mornings provide support and guidance for both pupils and parents.

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Leaders and governors are committed to the school and its pupils. They know what needs to improve. Governors have a secure understanding of the school’s weaknesses and they challenge leaders about what is happening.

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Leaders in early years make sure children get off to a good start with their reading. The children enjoy listening to stories and talking about them with their teachers. They also enjoy an attractive environment to play and learn in. Staff look for opportunities to use the children’s play to teach new things, especially number and science. Adults keep a close eye on how the children are doing. Behaviour in the early years is good. Staff show the children how to get along with one another and, when necessary, how to resolve fall outs.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders make sure that they carry out the necessary checks on staff who work in the school. Leaders are vigilant about the risks to pupils. When they have concerns about any pupil’s well-being, they make sure that they take the required action to keep pupils safe. Leaders know what to do and who to contact at the local authority’s children’s services if they need extra help. When serious safeguarding cases happen, leaders think about what lessons might be learned. They also put appropriate actions in place to further strengthen their safeguarding practice.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders should clarify and establish their overarching curriculum vision and aims so pupils can acquire the knowledge and skills they need for the next stages in education. They should construct a curriculum which is coherently planned and sequenced.  Leaders should continue to work closely with the local authority in improving the quality of academic provision for pupils with SEND. They need to complete the introduction of the new-style support plans for pupils with SEND as a matter of 2–3 October 2019

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urgency. Leaders must make sure that teachers and teaching assistants make due reference to these plans in their teaching of, and support for, pupils with SEND.  The quality of the teaching of reading at key stage 2 should be improved. There is a legacy of weak teaching of reading for pupils currently in key stage 2, which will not be resolved by the recent introduction of a phonics scheme in the early years and key stage 1. Action is needed now to improve current pupils’ reading skills in key stage 2.  Leaders should take action to eliminate the boisterous play of some older pupils, which takes place on the playground.  A few pupils do not feel that school responds very well when they report bullying. A more effective process for the systematic monitoring, analysing and evaluating of instances of bullying needs to be introduced. This is so any emerging patterns or trends can be identified, and appropriate action taken.

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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. 2–3 October 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10110573 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection 6–7 June 2017

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Information about this school

 The school is the base for an ‘enhanced mainstream school’ (EMS) provision for local authority SEND outreach. This caters for pupils not on the roll at Barrowcliff School who have social, emotional and mental health needs. Pupils are supported in their own schools. The EMS is due to be decommissioned by the local authority in December 2019.

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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

 We met with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. We also met senior leaders with responsibility for pupils with SEND, for the pupil premium funding and for pupils’ personal development. We met with a representative of the local authority.  As part of this inspection, we carried out in-depth considerations, known as ‘deep dives’, of four subjects, including reading, mathematics, science and history. A deep dive consists of: a meeting with the subject leader to get an overview of the curriculum planning and how it works in practice; a visit to several lessons in that subject in different year groups, accompanied by the leader; a meeting with some 2–3 October 2019

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of the teachers whose lessons were visited; a discussion with some of the pupils who were in the lessons visited; and a scrutiny of the workbooks of some of the pupils in the lessons visited.  To inspect the safeguarding arrangements in school, we looked at the records of staff employed at the school and the checks made on them. We met with the staff with responsibility for safeguarding. We sampled a case file to look at how the school identifies, helps and manages vulnerable pupils. We spoke with numerous pupils, staff and governors about safeguarding.  We spoke with pupils in meetings and around the school site.  We spoke with a wide range of staff, including teachers and support staff.  We visited the pre-school breakfast clubs and spoke with parents at ‘drop-off’ time.  The responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaires were considered. This included five responses to the pupils’ survey, 21 responses to the survey for staff and 9

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free-text responses to Ofsted’s Parent View.

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Inspection team

Steve Shaw, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Kathryn McDonald Ofsted Inspector 2–3 October 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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