Buswells Lodge Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the effectiveness of leadership, management and governance to drive more rapid improvement by ensuring that:
  • governors hold leaders effectively to account for the impact of additional funding to improve the progress and attainment of disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities
  • the governing body holds leaders effectively to account for the use of the primary physical education (PE) and sport funding to ensure that it has the maximum impact on improving pupils’ outcomes
  • leaders urgently implement the revised curriculum to ensure that it is broad and balanced and better meets pupils’ needs and interests.
• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment to enhance pupils’ progress by ensuring that teachers:
  • match work to pupils’ needs and have consistently high expectations for the quality of pupils’ work and what they can achieve
  • provide pupils with regular opportunities to practise and apply their English and mathematics skills, including in other subjects, to deepen their understanding
  • share the existing good practice in the school to raise their expectations of what pupils can achieve.
• Improve the effectiveness of the early years provision by ensuring that:
  • adults use assessment information more precisely to make certain that the curriculum meets children’s needs well and challenges them in all areas of learning
  • leaders develop the planning and quality of the environment and resources in the outdoor area so that they can be used effectively to support children’s learning and development. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved. An external review of the use of the pupil premium funding should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• The school is going through a period of change. A new headteacher was appointed at the end of August 2018. The governing body appointed a new chair at the same time. The headteacher and chair of the governing body have a good understanding of the strengths of the school and the areas needing improvement. They have begun to put appropriate and urgent actions in place but these are in the early stage of implementation.
• Since the previous inspection, the focus on raising standards across the school has not been precise. Leaders have not been rigorous enough in checking that approaches to improving teaching, learning and assessment have been consistently and effectively applied. The pace of improvement in reading, for example, has not been quick enough.
• Leaders have not ensured that the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is consistently good. The quality of pupils’ work and the progress they make are too variable in different subjects and across classes. Too many pupils do not make the progress or attain as highly as they should, particularly in reading.
• Leaders have not ensured that the pupil premium funding is used effectively to support disadvantaged pupils. Plans do not identify pupils’ barriers to learning accurately and do not precisely focus on improving pupils’ outcomes. Leaders have not closely evaluated their actions so they cannot be sure that the funding is having the maximum impact on improving pupils’ progress. Governors have not held leaders to account for its use.
• In the same way, leaders and governors are not sure that the primary PE and sport funding is used effectively. Leaders have not checked that their actions are having the best possible impact on pupils’ outcomes. Leaders have not reviewed the impact of the funding on, for example, sustaining and increasing pupils’ participation rates throughout the school.
• The coordinator for the provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities has strengthened school systems for identifying these pupils’ needs and putting into place appropriate provision and support. Nevertheless, leaders do not sharply analyse the impact of all additional provision and support to ensure that individual pupils are making continued positive progress. Consequently, leaders and governors cannot be certain that additional funding for these pupils is having the maximum impact.
• Leaders recently carried out a review of the curriculum to ensure that it is broad and balanced and meets pupils’ needs well. Leaders identified areas to improve and have adapted curriculum plans to better motivate and interest pupils in their learning. However, these plans have not yet been fully implemented and are in the early stages.
• In the past, senior leaders have not always enabled teachers to regularly access training and development to improve their practice. Existing good practice within the school has not been shared as well as it could be to effectively improve teaching and learning.
• Leaders promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and their understanding of fundamental British values well. For example, pupils take part in activities where they learn life skills, such as understanding how to manage money and think of the needs of others. As one pupil explained to an inspector: ‘We are all different and want different things but understand that we have to compromise to get the best for everyone.’ Pupils highly value the elected positions of responsibility they hold in school.
• Leaders have ensured that pupils who speak English as an additional language are well supported and make good progress. Multilingual teaching assistants work with pupils and give teachers appropriate advice. They provide additional support to pupils, parents and carers when needed.
• The new headteacher is determined to bring about swift improvements in the school. He has established a strong senior leadership team to drive improvements.
• The headteacher and the chair of the governing body have developed focused and appropriate plans to improve standards. For example, the headteacher has rapidly established effective systems for managing the performance of staff. Targets are sharply linked to pupils’ outcomes to effectively hold staff to account.

Governance of the school

• The governing body has recently gone through a period of change. An experienced governor was appointed as the new chair of the governing body in August 2018. The governing body is also in the process of appointing three new members. The new chair is ambitious for the school and shares the headteacher’s vision to improve outcomes for all pupils.
• The skills of governors have not been developed well enough. They have accepted information about pupils’ outcomes and the impact of actions to improve the school without effective challenge or support.
• To date, governors have not held leaders to account for the school’s use of the pupil premium funding, the funding to support pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities and the primary PE sport funding. They have not rigorously challenged leaders to demonstrate if additional funding is used well enough to accelerate pupils’ outcomes.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The new headteacher has provided all staff with relevant up-to-date training to safeguard pupils. There is a good culture of safeguarding throughout the school. Staff are knowledgeable about the school’s procedures for raising welfare or child protection concerns.
• Leaders ensure that the school’s employment checks are in place in line with statutory requirements.
• Adults in school are diligent in ensuring that pupils are safe. Records for safeguarding are well maintained and show that leaders are tenacious in following up concerns. Leaders work in partnership with external agencies, where necessary, to ensure the well-being of pupils.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching, learning and assessment across the school is inconsistent. Teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve are not consistently high enough. Some pupils do not progress and learn as well as they should.
• Teachers do not consistently match work well to pupils’ needs. Some teachers do not tackle pupils’ misconceptions and errors promptly enough. Too many pupils, including those who are disadvantaged and the most able, do not make the progress they should.
• Pupils do not practise and apply their writing and mathematics skills in other areas of the curriculum. Pupils repeat skills in similar contexts rather than use them in different ways to build on their skills and deepen their knowledge. This is one of the reasons pupils do not make the progress they should.
• Teachers do not consistently focus on developing pupils’ writing skills. Some pupils make less progress in writing because teachers do not provide opportunities for them to write at length to practise and apply their writing skills. The quality of pupils’ writing in other subjects is often lower than in their English books.
• The teaching of phonics is effective. The majority of pupils acquire a good knowledge of phonics. This supports them with their reading and writing. However, pupils who read their books to inspectors were mostly negative about their reading experiences and said that they did not read widely. Leaders acknowledge that improving reading is an ongoing priority for the school.
• The teaching of mathematics has improved across the school. Work in pupils’ books and inspectors’ observations of teaching show that teachers provide regular opportunities for pupils to solve problems and increasingly require them to explain their mathematical reasoning.
• Teachers and teaching assistants establish good relationships with pupils. They give pupils praise and encouragement, which has a positive effect on keeping pupils interested in their learning. Teachers deploy teaching assistants carefully in lessons, which has a good impact on pupils’ learning and progress.
• Teachers set homework in line with the school’s policy. This consolidates pupils’ learning well. Parents and pupils commented positively on the homework provided.
• Teachers and teaching assistants are enthusiastic and relationships are positive. Where teaching is most effective, teachers use their sound subject knowledge to ask questions and to clarify pupils’ understanding.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• The school has a calm friendly atmosphere. Relationships between pupils and staff are positive. Pupils are sociable and confident.
• Pupils are taught how to stay safe in range of situations, including when using social media and crossing the road. Pupils say they feel safe in school and that their teachers help them with any worries they may have.
• Pupils enjoy responsibility through their elected positions as members of the school council. Through these roles, they are involved in decision-making. For example, pupils took part in the costing and design of the new school library.
• Leaders effectively promote healthy lifestyles. Pupils were able to explain to inspectors the importance of staying healthy by eating well and exercising regularly. Pupils appreciate the additional lessons and clubs provided by Leicester City Football Club Community Trust, which also support their social and emotional well-being.
• Pupils are proud of their school and their appearance. Nevertheless, teachers do not teach pupils to consistently take pride in their work.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are courteous and polite. Their conduct around the school and in lessons is good.
• Pupils have a good understanding of school systems to support their behaviour. Parents who spoke with inspectors and the majority of parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, agreed that the school ensures that pupils are well behaved.
• Pupils understand the different forms bullying can take. They say that incidents of bullying or poor behaviour do sometimes occur, but staff deal with them fairly and effectively. Leaders’ records show that instances of bullying are rare and are handled appropriately, in line with the school’s behaviour policy.
• Pupils cooperate well in lessons and are confident in expressing their opinions. They work well together and show mutual respect. In some lessons, pupils lost concentration if their work was not well matched to their needs.
• Attendance is improving but remains below the national average. Leaders check attendance carefully and work with an educational welfare officer to support the families of pupils who have persistent absence. Leaders recognise that improving attendance is an ongoing priority.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2 in 2017 increased from 2016, but remained below the national average. The school’s own assessment information shared with inspectors suggests that the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standards in 2018 will be in line with 2017 and remain below national averages.
• In 2017, the progress pupils made in reading by the end of key stage 2 was well below average. The school’s own assessment information shows that the proportion of pupils who achieved the expected standard in 2018 will again be below the national average. This has been the case for the last three years. The school’s actions to improve reading across the school have not been effective enough.
• The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in mathematics by the end of key stage 2 has improved over recent years. However, in 2018, it is likely to decline slightly and remain below the national average. Scrutiny of pupils’ books by inspectors showed that, while teachers are setting age-appropriate tasks, some of these tasks are not always challenging enough for pupils to make good progress, particularly the middle-ability pupils.
• In writing, the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in 2018 at the end of key stage 2 is close to the national average. However, examples of pupils’ work show that some pupils do not make as much progress as they could. This is because teachers do not provide them with regular opportunities to practise and develop their skills in longer pieces of writing.
• At the end of key stage 1, the proportions of pupils achieving the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics have been below the national averages for the last two years. School assessment information indicates that, although improved, achievement in reading and writing is likely to remain below the national averages in 2018. The proportion of pupils achieving the standard in mathematics has increased and is likely to be in line with the national average.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils across the school is significantly higher than seen nationally. Current school information indicates that these pupils make similar progress from their starting points to their in-school peers, and sometimes less. However, by the end of key stage 2, too many disadvantaged pupils and their school peers are making less progress than other pupils nationally, particularly at the greater-depth and higher standards.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities do not make as much progress as they should, compared with other pupils in the school. Leaders do not sharply analyse the impact of additional support or ensure that pupils make the progress of which they are capable.
• Evidence of pupils’ work and outcomes in subjects other than English and mathematics is limited.
• The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check has improved over recent years. In 2018, the proportion increased further to be above the national average.
• Current school information indicates that pupils who speak English as an additional language make good progress from their starting points.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• Staff assess children’s starting points thoroughly and track children’s progress carefully. Most children enter the school with skills below those typical for their age and make good progress by the end of the Reception Year. However, adults’ assessments of these skills when children enter the school are not precisely analysed to create effective plans to accelerate the progress of different groups of children in different areas of learning.
• Some children, including boys and those who are disadvantaged, do not make the progress of which they are capable. In 2018, the proportion of children who gained a good level of development declined from the previous year and remains below the national average.
• Leadership of the early years requires improvement. Leaders have not ensured that the quality of teaching and learning across the early years is consistently good. Children, particularly the most able, are not challenged well enough to deepen and extend their understanding.
• The outdoor areas for the Nursery and Reception classes are poorly equipped and do not promote children’s learning effectively. Leaders do not plan the outdoor curriculum appropriately to meet children’s needs across the areas of learning.
• Children are enthusiastic learners. Adults provide children with a variety of activities to interest them in their learning. For example, during the inspection, children were learning about their bodies. Nursery children enthusiastically sang songs and followed adults’ instructions which required them to identify different parts of their body. Reception children played in the doctors’ role-play area and were supported by adults to use their writing skills to write labels for different parts of the human body.
• Parents who spoke with inspectors were positive about the start their children have made in the early years. Leaders have identified that, although parents do contribute to assessments of children’s learning and progress, this is an area for further development.
• Children in the Nursery Year make a good start to their education. They settle quickly into school life and are ready to learn. Adults support children very well and establish clear expectations for behaviour for learning. Children are happy in school and motivated to learn.
• Safeguarding arrangements in the early years are fit for purpose and regulations are met. Children are well cared for and kept safe.
• Staff have established positive relationships with and effective routines for children. Children cooperate with each other and behave well. They are excited to talk about and share their learning and achievements. They respond promptly to adults’ instructions and enjoy their learning.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 120040 Leicester City 10053079 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Community 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 462 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Lyn Wyeth Scott Fewster 01162 352 129 www.buswellslodge.leicester.sch.uk/ office@buswellslodge.leicester.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 26–27 February 2015

Information about this school

• The school has had recent changes to leadership. A new headteacher and a new chair of the governing body were appointed in August 2018.
• The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is above the national average.
• The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and of pupils who speak English as an additional language are above those seen nationally.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is above the national average.
• The school has received minimal support from the local authority.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching in all year groups. They observed the teaching of reading and listened to pupils reading. Inspectors talked to pupils about their school and looked at examples of pupils’ work.
• Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, other senior leaders and several middle leaders, including those for English and mathematics. The lead inspector met with members of the governing body and had a telephone conversation with a representative from the local authority.
• Inspectors spoke with parents informally at the start of the school day. They took account of the 26 responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View. There were no responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaires for staff or pupils.
• Inspectors looked at a range of documents, including: the school’s self-evaluation of current performance and plans for improvement; the school’s most recent information on the achievement and progress of pupils; information relating to the safeguarding of pupils; information about the behaviour management of pupils; information relating to the school’s use of the pupil premium funding and funding for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities; the school’s most recent information relating to the attendance of pupils; and minutes from meetings of the governing body.

Inspection team

Stephanie Innes-Taylor, lead inspector Elizabeth Mace Clive Worrall

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector