Ormesby Primary School

Inspection of Ormesby Primary School Henry Taylor Court, Ormesby, Middlesbrough, Cleveland TS7 9AB

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Inadequate Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Inadequate Early years provision Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 28 and 29 June 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour varies considerably. Younger pupils behave well. They listen attentively to their teachers and speak enthusiastically about their learning. However, this is not the same for all pupils. Older pupils say that they hear offensive and derogatory language regularly. These pupils describe this as ‘normal’. Some pupils told inspectors that incidents go unreported because they feel that adults do not deal with their concerns properly. Pupils told inspectors that the aggressive behaviours, displayed by a minority of pupils, upset them. As a result, lessons for older pupils are disrupted and a significant minority of pupils feel unsafe in school. Some pupils describe their school as ‘chaotic’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

A small number of pupils hold positions of responsibility in school. These include being prefects or house captains. Pupils say that they enjoy having these jobs.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are aware of the significant contribution important historical figures have played in shaping society. Pupils know about Martin Luther King’s fight for equal rights. They told inspectors one of their ‘houses’ is named after him. Pupils also have an expanding knowledge of significant artists.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Older pupils have an age-appropriate understanding of healthy relationships. They are aware of the different types of family that exist in modern Britain. However, pupils do not know what fundamental British values are. They are not able to explain why values such as respect and tolerance are important in society. A significant minority of pupils do not display these values in the way they treat one another.

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better?

Leaders and governors do not have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Trustees and governors make regular visits to school to evaluate leaders’ work. However, deficiencies in how leaders record and report incidents has resulted in trustees and governors having an overly positive view of pupils’ behaviour and safeguarding. Consequently, leaders’ actions to address issues in these areas have been delayed. Where issues have been identified, trustees have brokered extra help to improve the school. A school improvement adviser, provided by the trust, is helping leaders to improve the quality of education pupils receive.

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better?

Leaders have not acted swiftly enough to address the decline in the behaviour of older pupils. Staff apply the behaviour policy inconsistently. This results in pupils viewing rewards and sanctions as unfair. The expectations that staff have of pupils’ behaviour vary too much.

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better?

In Years 1 and 2, the reading curriculum is well planned. It is ambitious and introduces pupils to a wide variety of literature. Many pupils say they enjoy reading. Most teachers have a strong understanding of the chosen phonics scheme. Pupils 28 and 29 June 2022

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learn well in many of their reading lessons. Teachers make regular checks on the sounds pupils have learned. They use this information to ensure pupils are reading the right books. This gives pupils plenty of opportunities to practise their newly learned letters and sounds. However, not all staff have the skills they need to support pupils with their reading. Pupils in key stage 2, who need support with their phonics, do not get enough help to catch up.

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Reading is a priority in the early years. Daily phonics lessons ensure that children progress quickly with their reading and writing skills. However, the phonics activities children complete when they are learning through play are not accurately matched to what they need to learn next. Activities, such as finding letters in the water tray to make short words, do not stretch and challenge the children who have secure phonics knowledge.

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In the foundation curriculum, including in history, teachers are flexible in how and when they teach units of work. The curriculum does not provide pupils with enough opportunity to revisit their previous learning regularly. Consequently, pupils do not remember the detail of what they have been taught. In art, this is not the case. Inspectors spoke to pupils who demonstrated a growing knowledge of artists and different artistic techniques.

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In mathematics, the checks teachers make on pupils’ learning do not ensure teachers understand well what pupils know and can do. In the early years, inspectors observed children searching for pretend caterpillar eggs in a tray of leaves. The teacher supported the children to accurately count to 10. However, not all adults identify such suitable learning opportunities. When children were learning while playing elsewhere, adults missed opportunities to develop children’s vocabulary and understanding of number and patterns.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified quickly. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) works with a range of external professionals to get pupils with SEND the help they need. Pupil targets are regularly reviewed to ensure the support pupils with SEND receive is helping them to progress.

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Most staff are proud to work at Ormesby Primary School. Staff describe a close and supportive team. A small but significant minority of staff shared concerns with inspectors that their workload is unmanageable. Senior leaders have not allocated time for some subject leaders to monitor the effectiveness of the curriculum on pupils’ learning.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have carried out the necessary recruitment checks to ensure that staff are suitable to work with pupils. Leaders with safeguarding responsibilities have completed the required training. 28 and 29 June 2022

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However, leaders have not provided the training that all staff need to keep pupils safe. When staff have been trained, this training has not been revisited often enough. Leaders have not done all that is necessary to ensure safeguarding has a high profile in school. As a result, some staff lack the knowledge they need to identify pupils who may be at risk of harm.

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Leaders have systems in place to record safeguarding incidents involving pupils. However, the detail in the records is not thorough enough. Significant safeguarding incidents have not been reported to the governors or trustees. They have an inaccurate picture of safeguarding within the school. Leaders report that they have not had sufficient time to carry out their safeguarding role.

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There has been a decline in the behaviour of some older pupils. Leaders have not taken swift action to address this. Pupils’ poor behaviour has been allowed to persist. This has put individual pupils at risk. As a result, pupils feel unsafe in school.

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Leaders ensure that pupils learn about the risks they face online. Pupils know that they must report things that worry them to a trusted adult.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have not acted swiftly enough to address the significant and recent decline in pupils’ behaviour. The behaviour policy is not being implemented with consistency. Pupils and staff report that it is not leading to improvements in pupils’ behaviour. As a result, some pupils feel unsafe. Leaders should develop their behaviour policy to ensure it meets the full breadth of behavioural needs in school, and take the necessary action to ensure it is implemented with consistency so that pupils’ behaviour improves swiftly.  Leaders have not provided all staff with the training they need to keep pupils safe. As a result, some staff do not have the knowledge they need to identify pupils who may be at risk of harm. Leaders must ensure that all staff receive the required safeguarding training, and that this training is refreshed regularly.  Leaders’ record-keeping and reporting of safeguarding incidents is not detailed

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

enough. Serious safeguarding issues are not reported to governors and trustees consistently. As a result, leaders’ view of safeguarding is inaccurate. Leaders must ensure that all incidents are recorded in detail and accurately reported so that governors, trustees and those monitoring the effectiveness of the school have an accurate picture of safeguarding and pupils’ behaviour.  Some staff have received the phonics training that they need. Older pupils who are still learning to read do not get the support they need to catch up. Leaders should ensure that all staff receive updated phonics training so that older pupils, who are still learning to read fluently, get the support they need. 28 and 29 June 2022

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 In some curriculum areas, such as mathematics, assessments do not accurately check pupils’ understanding of the full curriculum. As a result, teachers do not have an accurate picture of what pupils know and can do. Leaders must ensure that assessment in all curriculum areas precisely checks what pupils have learned. Leaders must ensure that teachers are using this information to plan lessons so that gaps in pupils’ knowledge and skills are addressed.  In the early years, staff miss opportunities to develop children’s vocabulary and understanding of mathematical concepts. The activities that leaders plan for children in the early years are not accurately matched to what children need to learn next. As a result, opportunities for children to count and compare weights and shapes are missed. Leaders should ensure that all staff have the training they need to be able to support and expand children’s mathematical thinking and

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wider vocabulary through well-matched learning activities.  Pupils do not understand what British values are and why they are so important in British society. Leaders should ensure that the approach to teaching these aspects of the curriculum is reviewed so that pupils are clear on the key British values that are important in Britain today.  Some subject leaders have not had time allocated by senior leaders to monitor the impact of their curriculum on pupils’ learning. Consequently, the effectiveness of the curriculum is not clearly known. Senior leaders need to ensure that subject leaders are provided with the time and support they need to check on the quality and impact of the curriculum.

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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. 28 and 29 June 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10227292 Type of school Primary

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School details

Website www.ormesby.ironstoneacademy.org.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 15 May 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school joined the Ironstone Academy Trust in 2016.  The school runs a breakfast club on site.  The school does not make use of alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

In accordance with section 44(2) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances reasonably be expected to perform.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation. 28 and 29 June 2022

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 Inspectors met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and assistant headteacher. An inspector spoke with the SENCos.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in reading, mathematics, art and history. As part of the deep dives, the inspectors met with curriculum leaders, visited lessons, looked at pupils’ books and talked to pupils and teachers. Curriculum leaders were involved in many of the activities with inspectors.  An inspector held a meeting with curriculum leaders for personal, social and health education.  An inspector listened to pupils read to a familiar adult and visited phonics lessons.  An inspector spoke with representatives of the trust, including the chief executive officer. An inspector also met with members of the local governing body, including the chair of governors.  Inspectors spoke with a selection of parents at the start of the school day.  Inspectors checked the schools’ safeguarding documentation and behaviour

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information.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour throughout the school day, including during lesson visits and breaktimes. During lunchtimes and breaktimes, inspectors spoke to a selection of staff who were supervising pupils as they played.  Inspectors met with groups of pupils to hear their opinions of behaviour in school.  The inspectors considered the responses that were received through Ofsted’s Parent View questionnaire, including free text responses. Inspectors also reviewed the responses that were received through the Ofsted staff questionnaire and pupil questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Chris Pearce, lead inspector Her Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Cathy Lee Ofsted Inspector 28 and 29 June 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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