Bankwood Community Primary School

Inspection of Bankwood Community Primary School Bankwood Close, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S14 1LW

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The quality of education Inadequate Behaviour and attitudes Inadequate Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Inadequate Early years provision Inadequate Previous inspection grade Good 2–3 March 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils do not develop the knowledge they need because the curriculum is poorly designed. Leaders’ expectations of pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are often too low.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils like to come to school. They enjoy playing with their friends and feel that their teachers support them with their work. They say that their teachers are fair.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Many pupils behave well in lessons. However, there are occasions when a minority of pupils disrupt others from their learning. In addition, older pupils say that they often hear sexualised and offensive language, including racist remarks, at playtimes and lunchtime. They also report that adults are not successful in preventing bullying from happening. As a result, some pupils do not report concerns to adults. Some pupils say that bullying is a normal part of school life.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Many pupils do not attend school regularly. They miss out on chunks of learning and, as a result, have significant gaps in their knowledge. Leaders do not have a rigorous system in place to encourage pupils to regularly attend school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the extra-curricular activities that are on offer, such as woodwork and archaeology club. School councillors feel that they make a difference by contributing to the planning and development of the ‘Gleadless valley partnership’ with the local council. However, opportunities to engage pupils in the life of the school are limited.

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better?

Leaders and governors have an overly generous view of the school’s effectiveness. Leaders do not understand the most pressing school improvement priorities. They have failed to take action to address weaknesses in the school. As a result, the school’s effectiveness has declined significantly since the last inspection.

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better?

Systems for monitoring and reviewing behaviour are not effective. While incidents of behaviour concerns are recorded precisely, leaders do not review these incidents to identify patterns or trends. As a result, leaders do not put strategies in place to prevent incidents from reoccurring, such as homophobic bullying.

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better?

Leaders have not implemented a broad curriculum that prepares pupils for the next stage of their education. Pupils do not receive regular lessons in subjects such as religious education and history. Leaders of these subjects do not have the time or support they need to develop the curriculum effectively. As a result, the curriculum from early years to Year 6 is poorly designed and implemented. Leaders have not set out the knowledge that they want pupils to know and remember. Teachers do not build on pupils’ prior knowledge. In addition, teachers do not have effective 2–3 March 2022

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systems to check what pupils have remembered. Pupils do not develop sufficient depth of understanding in these subjects.

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Leaders have identified that staff need to develop children’s communication and language in the early years. However, leaders have not set out the specific knowledge and vocabulary they want children to learn that will prepare them for Year 1. Staff do not routinely introduce new vocabulary to children while they are engaged in activities. They miss opportunities to build children’s knowledge. Children are not ready for Year 1 when they leave Reception.

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Leaders are not doing enough to support pupils who are at the early stages of reading. Staff do not receive the appropriate support to teach phonics effectively. As a result, there are inconsistencies in the teaching of early reading. Leaders do not ensure that pupils with SEND and pupils who are new to the country have the same opportunities as their peers. Their learning is not prioritised and they often access inaccurate teaching. As a result, some of them are unable to read.

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Older pupils love to read. Teachers encourage pupils to write reviews from the carefully chosen ‘100 books’ available in their class. Pupils love to listen to their teachers read to them every day. However, often teachers move on to new books without completing the one they are reading. Pupils find this frustrating and lose interest.

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Leaders have not carefully considered the curriculum for pupils with SEND. Often, expectations of what pupils can achieve are too low. As there are no clear leadership plans in place detailing the provision available to support pupils with SEND to access the curriculum, teachers use their own initiative and experience. This leads to inconsistencies in support. Pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they should.

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Leaders have a curriculum for personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education in place. However, this is not delivered on a regular basis. As a result, pupils miss out on valuable learning, particularly older pupils. Some pupils are not clear about fundamental British values, including democracy, and have limited understanding of other religions, faiths and protected characteristics. This means pupils are not well prepared for their next stage of learning.

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A number of staff have concerns about workload and the support that they receive from leaders to manage this.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders make sure that staff receive safeguarding training. As a result, staff know how to recognise and address issues such as peer-on-peer abuse. However, staff have limited understanding about what the local safeguarding risks to pupils are. 2–3 March 2022

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Leaders and staff record any incidents, including safeguarding and behaviour, on a regular basis. Relevant staff are made aware of concerns. However, records show that while incidents are recorded, often the actions that leaders have taken are not. This makes it difficult for leaders to have a clear understanding of any patterns that need to be addressed or any further actions that may be needed.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have not developed a broad and balanced curriculum that sets out the knowledge that they want pupils to know and remember. Senior leaders have not given subject leaders the appropriate support or time to develop their curriculum. As a result, teachers are unsure what to teach. Pupils do not remember what they have been taught. Leaders should ensure subject leaders and teachers have the time and training to develop the curriculum so that pupils receive a quality education that is well planned and sequenced.  The system to check that pupils have remembered the knowledge they need for their next stage of education is weak. Leaders have not identified the precise knowledge that they want pupils to remember. As a result, teachers do not know what to check to ensure pupils’ knowledge builds over time. Leaders should develop their assessment systems so that they can accurately identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge and support them to know more and remember more.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders do not have a clear oversight of attendance and behaviour issues in the school. While they recognise and record safeguarding concerns, they do not analyse these well enough to identify any patterns, or to assure themselves that no further support is needed. There are no clear and consistent policies or systems in place for attendance and behaviour. Many pupils do not attend regularly or behave consistently well. Leaders should ensure that they analyse the information that they have and use it to improve the systems and processes in place.  Staff do not provide the right support for pupils with SEND to enable them to access the curriculum and know and remember more. Expectations for these pupils are low. Leaders should ensure that they provide appropriate support for pupils with SEND to address their specific area of need, so that they can be successful across the curriculum.  Pupils have limited access to a regular PSHE curriculum. This results in pupils not

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

being fully prepared for life in modern Britain. Some pupils do not know about fundamental British values and have limited understanding and respect for other cultures and faiths. Leaders should ensure that all pupils from early years to Year 6 have access to a regular PSHE curriculum to prepare them for life in modern Britain.  Leaders and governors do not have an accurate view of the school. Governors do not provide the right challenge to hold leaders to account. This means that the school is not improving. Leaders and governors must ensure that they receive the 2–3 March 2022

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right training and support so that they have the knowledge and skills to identify the right priorities for the school and hold leaders to account for their actions.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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 are the school and you are 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 March 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10199674 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 9 and 10 March 2016, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This is a larger-than-average primary school.  There have been significant changes to staffing since the last inspection. A number of teaching staff have left the school. Over the past five years, the headteacher has acted as a temporary executive headteacher across two schools in a soft federation. The acting executive headteacher works at Bankwood Community Primary School two days a week. The deputy headteacher has been the acting headteacher during this time. An assistant headteacher has recently been appointed in January 2022.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We deemed the inspection a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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Information about this inspection

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 2–3 March 2022

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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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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the acting executive headteacher, the acting headteacher, other senior leaders and subject leaders. Meetings were also held with a representative from the local authority and the chair of the governing body.  Inspectors spoke to teachers, teaching assistants and support staff over the course of the inspection.  Inspectors met with groups of pupils and spoke to others informally during breaktimes and lunchtimes.  Inspectors took account of a wide range of documentary information, including the school’s policies, self-evaluation, records of behaviour, documentation related to safeguarding and subject curriculum plans.  Inspectors considered parent responses to the online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent

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View.  Inspectors visited lessons across the school and looked at pupils’ work with curriculum leaders.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, religious education and history. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.

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Inspection team

Jenny Thomas, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Richard Jones Her Majesty’s Inspector 2–3 March 2022

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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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