Broadwood Primary School

Broadwood Primary School Inspection report

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108468 Unique Reference Number Newcastle upon Tyne Local Authority 309697 Inspection number 27 °28 March 2008 Inspection dates Maureen Bennett Reporting inspector

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

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Primary Type of school Community School category 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 252 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Gilliam Hedley Chair Mr Marcus Tinsley Headteacher 1 November 2003 Date of previous school inspection Broadwood Road School address Denton Burn Newcastle upon Tyne Tyne and Wear NE15 7TB 0191 2741684 Telephone number 0191 2747992 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 27 °28 March 2008 Inspection dates 309697 Inspection number .

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is an average sized primary school which serves a community where there is high deprivation. Amalgamation with the adjoining nursery and infant school and the assimilation of pupils following the closure of a neighbouring school resulted in a significant rise in pupil numbers. Subsequently, however, numbers fell as a result of reorganisation in the local area. Half of the pupils receive free school meals. A well above average proportion of pupils have learning difficulties and/or disabilities. There is a unit for nine pupils with hearing impairment (ARC) attached to the school. These pupils all have statements of special educational need and are supported both in the unit and the school. The vast majority of pupils are of White British origin, although a few pupils are of Asian or Black-African origin. The school holds a range of awards including Healthy Schools status.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 12 Inspection Report: Broadwood Primary School, 27 °28 March 2008

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Grade: 3

Successful action has been taken recently to improve the school’s leadership and management, which are now satisfactory. Over time, there has not been enough concentration on improving pupils’ standards of attainment, leading to weaker performance. The new and enthusiastic senior leadership team has now begun to address these concerns and this is leading to satisfactory effectiveness. However, most measures are new and many not yet fully established. In addition, some aspects of leadership and management require improvement. Strategies for monitoring teaching are not well enough established and the school does not have a clear enough view of strengths and weaknesses in teaching to deploy staff effectively. The role of coordinators beyond the core subjects is insufficiently developed and as a result they are unable to lead their areas effectively and support staff to further improve satisfactory teaching.

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Grade: 3

Although there has been satisfactory overall improvement since the last inspection, systems for tracking pupils’ progress are not used well enough. Pupils’ overall achievement is satisfactory. Children’s levels of development are well below those expected of their age when they join the Nursery class, where they make good progress. There are particular strengths in their personal development as a result of effective teaching and a strong emphasis on promoting independence. However, this rate of progress is not sustained in the Reception class, where there is insufficient attention to meeting the needs of individual children. By the time pupils start in Year 1, their attainment has improved but remains below that expected for their age. By the time they leave the school, the standards pupils attain remain well below average. The school’s results in the national tests and assessments have varied over time from well below average to below average. This is largely as a result of the

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Grade: 3

differences in abilities of the different groups of pupils from year to year and the effect of high numbers who join or leave the school part way through Key Stage 2. Care, guidance and support are satisfactory overall; however the pastoral care of pupils in the school is good. This good care and support enable pupils to feel safe and secure in school and contribute to pupils’ good personal development. Pupils develop good attitudes, behave well and form secure relationships with others. They enjoy school and most attend regularly. Attendance is improving because of the rigorous monitoring systems but a small number of families persistently fail to send their children to school. The academic guidance provided for pupils is weaker. This is because the school does not make enough use of its assessment systems to identify individuals and groups who are not making enough progress. Pupils’ targets for improvement are not yet linked well enough to their specific learning needs.

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Grade: 3

Teachers have good relationships with their pupils and manage behaviour well. Teaching is satisfactory overall and sometimes good, which is now leading to satisfactory achievement through the school. Recent improvements to teaching include a new common approach to planning lessons which enables teachers to plan learning more thoroughly. Teachers in some lessons use effective and creative approaches to help pupils to learn and gain independence. This is not consistent through the school, however, and many teachers rely on worksheets that are not sufficiently adapted to meet the needs of pupils with different ability levels. The school’s systems for tracking pupils’ progress are not used effectively by teachers to plan work to match individuals’ needs. This particularly affects the progress of the more able pupils, whose work often lacks sufficient challenge. There are inconsistencies in the ways marking is used to show

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Grade: 3

pupils how to improve. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make satisfactory progress and are well supported through programmes which meet their needs. Pupils with 4 of 12 Inspection Report: Broadwood Primary School, 27 °28 March 2008 statements of special educational need, who attend the ARC, achieve well as a result of good support in the unit and in the school. Pupils from ethnic minorities make good progress and sometimes achieve above national expectations. The curriculum for the core subjects of English, mathematics and science is satisfactory. There are indications that literacy is improving as a result of strategies in place for example ‘Big Write’, a specific approach to learning adopted across the school. In science there are insufficient opportunities for pupils to engage in independent learning and there is overuse of worksheets. The good range of additional activities, including sport and music, enrich pupils' experiences.

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Grade: 3

The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage is satisfactory. Provision is good in the Nursery but is weaker in Reception. Children make a very good start in Nursery and progress well in all areas of the curriculum and outstandingly well in personal development. This is due to the very effective partnerships between staff, the stimulating activities provided, the well balanced curriculum and the strong emphasis on children making their own choices. Progress slows in Reception. Staff are not deployed effectively enough to support children with different learning needs, there is not enough interesting and challenging independent learning and not enough time spent in outdoor learning. Leadership and management are satisfactory. Staff in both classes care and support children well.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve the monitoring of teaching and learning.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure teachers make good use of assessment data to plan challenging tasks for pupils of different abilities, especially the more able. ■ Improve Reception provision.

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What the school should do to improve further

A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Grade: 3

Overall achievement is satisfactory. Children enter the school with standards that are well below the expected level, with particular difficulties in speech and language. They make good progress in the Foundation Stage, although progress in the Nursery is better than in Reception. By the time children join Year 1, their standards are below the expected level for their age. Pupils make satisfactory progress in Key Stage 1 and standards are below average by the end of Year 2. National data show that standards by the end of Year 6 vary from year to year from well below average to below average. This results from the wide variation of ability in each year group. The high proportion of pupils joining and leaving the school during Years 3 to 6 also contributes to the variation in standards at the end of Key Stage 2. Scrutiny of pupils’ recent work and observation of lessons show that although standards for this year group are well

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Grade: 3

below average the pupils have made satisfactory progress. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make satisfactory progress and new arrangements for literacy and numeracy in Years 5 and 6 are improving their achievement. Pupils with statements of special educational need who are supported in the ARC and in school make good progress in relation to their 5 of 12 Inspection Report: Broadwood Primary School, 27 °28 March 2008 targets. Progress of more able pupils is inconsistent because they are not always challenged enough in their work. Pupils from minority ethnic groups are well supported and make good progress, often exceeding the level expected for their age.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ moral, social and cultural development is good and their spiritual development is satisfactory. The school places a strong and effective emphasis on moral and social development; pupils clearly know the difference between right and wrong. They get on well with each other, develop good relationships, and show respect for the different cultures represented in the school. They show good understanding of the wider world through involvement in fundraising. Pupils’ spiritual development is weaker because the school pays less attention to directly promoting this in lessons and assemblies. Pupils are polite, well mannered and their behaviour is good. They are friendly towards visitors and say they enjoy school. Pupils take a wide range of opportunities for regular physical exercise and show they have a clear understanding of how to eat healthily and stay safe. Pupils feel safe because they are cared for well, they know how

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Grade: 2

to access help and they do not feel troubled in school. Pupils are encouraged to express their views through the school council which meets regularly and pupils have been involved in decision-making about improvements to the school environment. They are developing satisfactory skills to prepare them for their future lives by working collaboratively in different teams and gaining information and communication technology (ICT) skills through good support by specialist staff. Attendance is improving and most pupils attend regularly but a small number of families persistently fail to send their children to school.

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Grade: 3

Teachers have good relationships with their pupils and, as a result, pupils are eager to learn and are attentive. Teachers plan the content of their lessons thoroughly, making good use of the school’s new systems. However, planning is not always sufficiently adapted to meet the needs of pupils with different abilities, especially the most able. This is because there is insufficient use of assessment data to track progress and set targets. While some teachers’ marking gives pupils useful written guidance on how to improve, this is not consistent throughout the school. Much marking is little more than praise for effort or comment about what has been achieved. Some teachers, particularly in the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 2, make learning fun, giving pupils inspirational opportunities to experience poetry or research in ICT. When teachers use creative approaches which support independent learning, learning

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Grade: 3

is good. However, lessons too often lack such approaches and rely too heavily on the use of worksheets. Pupils with learning needs usually receive good support. Teaching and learning in the ARC is good both in the unit and in the main school, allowing these pupils to make good progress.

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Grade: 3

Inspectors judge the curriculum as satisfactory. This differs from the school’s judgement of good. Recent revisions have been introduced and appropriate priority has been given to literacy 6 of 12 Inspection Report: Broadwood Primary School, 27 °28 March 2008 and numeracy. The systems have been well thought through and the new senior management team and most teachers are committed to making them work. Changes in the literacy curriculum, the introduction of ‘Big Write’, a specific approach to learning in literacy adopted across the school, and new library resources, for example, are in their early stages but are beginning to raise standards. In science there are too few opportunities for practical work and this slows the pace of learning. Additional support, through special programmes for pupils whose progress is slower, is working well and is beginning to improve achievement. The use of visits and visitors,

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Grade: 3

including specialists in ICT, physical education and music, enhance learning. This is a strong feature of the school. There is a good range of out of school clubs which are taken up well by pupils and include sport and choir. The curriculum for ARC pupils is good.

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Grade: 3

The pastoral care of pupils is good and is a strength of the school. Pupils report that they feel safe at school and parents are confident that their children are well cared for. There are secure arrangements for ensuring pupils' health and safety and for safeguarding pupils. Issues such as bullying and friendships are addressed well though the use of social and emotional resources and circle time. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those for whom English is an additional language, receive good support and this enables them to make good progress. The school is less effective at providing academic guidance to pupils. Systems for assessing and tracking pupils’ progress are not always used well enough to support, challenge or guide individual pupils. Pupils report that they know their English targets and some pupils also know their targets in mathematics. However, the targets set are not always linked closely enough to

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Grade: 3

Although leadership and management are satisfactory, it is clear that there was insufficient concentration on raising standards in past years. This has resulted in the school performing significantly less well than expected. Recent action has begun to halt this position and is improving provision, reflected in the overall satisfactory learning seen during the inspection. The headteacher has ensured that staff morale is high and all staff are working together to review present practices. There have been some significant recent improvements such as an agreed planning proforma and the introduction of the ‘Big Write’ strategy for improving writing. Whilst these are still at an early stage, they are already beginning to improve achievement and raise standards. A new and enthusiastic senior management team is improving systems for self-evaluation. Senior leaders and core coordinators are beginning to focus on more rigorous

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Grade: 3

monitoring of performance in order to evaluate teaching and learning accurately, with support from the local authority. This has resulted in improvements in the expertise within the leadership team but the deployment of staff does not always make best use of strengths and available resources. Monitoring of teaching and learning, for example, has not enabled inconsistencies in teaching to be identified. The role of coordinators in foundation subjects is not well enough developed to give a clear view of standards or to help them improve satisfactory teaching. Although there is a wealth of assessment data, systems are not used to their full potential to identify pupils who may not be achieving as well as they could. Governors are involved in the 7 of 12 Inspection Report: Broadwood Primary School, 27 °28 March 2008 life of the school and meet their statutory responsibilities. However, they do not have sufficient

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Grade: 3

information to offer greater challenge and support to the school in raising standards. Inspection report:Broadwood Primary School, 27 °28 March 20086 of 12Document reference number: HMI 250701 September 2007Inspection report:Broadwood Primary School, 27°28 March 20084 of 12Document reference number: HMI 250701 September 2007 Inspection report:Broadwood Primary School, 27°28 March 20089 of 12Any complaints about the inspection or the report should be made following the procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. Inspection judgements Overall effectiveness Achievement and standards Personal development and well-being The quality of provision Leadership and management 8 of 12 Inspection Report: Broadwood Primary School, 27 °28 March 2008 .

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Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 9 of 12 Inspection Report: Broadwood Primary School, 27 °28 March 2008

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Inspection judgements

School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 3 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 3 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

3 How well do learners achieve? 3 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 3 How well learners enjoy their education 3 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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and interests of learners?

3 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 10 of 12 Inspection Report: Broadwood Primary School, 27 °28 March 2008

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education 3 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 4 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 11 of 12 Inspection Report: Broadwood Primary School, 27 °28 March 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Letter to pupils explaining the findings of 31 March 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Broadwood Primary School, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE15 7TB Thank you for making us so welcome in your school and for answering all of our questions. Yours is a satisfactory school and there are some things which are good. We were impressed with the way you behaved both in school and in the playground. You are all so polite and well mannered and you try to do your best in lessons. You are learning about how to live healthy lives through eating lots of fruit and vegetables, drinking water and taking lots of exercise. It is very clear that you are really enjoying all of the activities in school and the after-school clubs. You understand what you need to do to keep safe. We were impressed with your school council. They have done lots of things already to make your school better. Your teachers are working hard to make your curriculum interesting and to help you to improve in reading and writing.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

We were impressed by the work that you are doing in ‘Big Write’. The governors are keen to make your school a better place for you to learn. However, there are some important aspects of your school that need to be improved. We have asked the adults to keep a better check on how lessons are going and on how well you are making progress in reading, writing and mathematics so that the work they plan for you can be even better. You need to reach higher standards in these subjects. We have also asked that your school looks at the way in which some of the younger children are supported so that they can learn more quickly. We hope that you will help to make your school an even better place by continuing to try your best and making sure that you continue to work hard in all of your lessons. Yours sincerely Maureen Bennett and the team Lead inspector 12 of 12 Inspection Report: Broadwood Primary School, 27 °28 March 2008

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