Mowmacre Hill Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve teaching by making sure that teachers consistently:
  • motivate a positive response so that pupils are fully engaged and take a real interest in their learning
  • have high expectations of the quality of work in pupils’ books
  • enable pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities to accelerate their learning in lessons.
• Improve outcomes for pupils, by:
  • establishing a consistent approach to the teaching of reading and helping pupils to understand and interpret what they read
  • adopting a whole-school approach to the teaching of handwriting
  • ensuring that pupils use what they learn about grammar, punctuation and spelling in their writing
  • providing more opportunities in mathematics for lower-ability pupils to fully grasp concepts and for the most able pupils to work at greater depth.
• Improve leadership and management, by:
  • considering ways to foster greater engagement with parents and thereby promote good attendance
  • further developing the role of subject leaders, and those responsible for the provision of special educational needs, in improving the quality of teaching
  • ensuring that the new behaviour systems improve behaviour throughout the school and are fully understood by pupils, staff and parents.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Leadership requires improvement because there has been some fluctuation in how quickly the school has moved forward. Leadership and staff changes have slowed plans to improve the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement.
• Subject leaders, and those responsible for the provision for special educational needs, are not fully involved in evaluating the quality of teaching and identifying what needs to improve.
• The school’s overall attendance is below average. Some pupils persist in staying away from school frequently. Concerted efforts by staff and leaders have resulted in improvements for individuals and year groups. However, there is room for wider engagement with parents to help them to see the link between good attendance and their children’s achievements.
• The new headteacher is building quickly upon the school’s positive ethos and enabling teaching and pupils’ attitudes to continue to improve. He provides staff with guidance on how to do their jobs well and is strengthening leadership roles. Leaders set realistic targets for improvement and work systematically towards them.
• The headteacher’s new behaviour systems ensure a consistent approach to rewards and sanctions. Extra support for those pupils who find it difficult to behave well is already having a positive effect on improving the behaviour of individuals.
• The headteacher, together with leaders, is improving lines of communication with parents and seeking wider ways for them to be involved more fully in their children’s learning, including in the early years.
• During a time of considerable change at the school, the academy trust has provided effective support and ensured the smooth transition of the new headteacher. The trust offers relevant training and professional development for staff. It enables them to share expertise with others. Staff check pupils’ work across schools to ensure that their assessments are accurate.
• Leaders give all pupils an equal opportunity to succeed. They track how well individuals and groups of pupils are doing and provide extra support for those who need it. The pupil premium funding supports eligible pupils in their personal well-being and academic achievement to help them to keep up with their classmates.
• The curriculum is broad. Subjects are linked together effectively in topics. Leaders’ evaluation of the effectiveness of the curriculum has resulted in improvements, for example, in mathematics, phonics and science.
• The curriculum promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development suitably through a range of music and sports activities, trips and visits. Older pupils say they enjoy being involved in team-building activities which promote their social skills.
• Pupils learn about key British institutions and important figures, such as Charles Darwin. They learn about other cultures and faiths. Pupils’ involvement in the school council and a pupils’ parliament instils values of democracy and fairness, helping to prepare them for life in modern Britain.
• Leaders use the sports funding effectively to provide sports clubs and to develop teachers’ skills in teaching physical education lessons. Sports activities are popular with pupils. Those offered at lunchtimes are helping to engage pupils and to improve behaviour.
• The additional funding for special educational needs is used effectively. It provides extra resources and adult support which meet pupils' needs and enables them to become successful learners.

Governance of the school

• Governance is effective in helping the school to improve.
• Members of the advisory board are supportive of the school’s work. They, together with the academy’s trustees, have helped to see the school through a difficult time of transition.
• Members of the advisory board check information about pupils’ progress and ask challenging questions. They meet with leaders to keep themselves informed of curriculum changes, for example in mathematics.
• A careful track is kept of how the pupil premium funding is spent and the effect it has on improving outcomes for eligible pupils. Both the advisory board and the trustees analyse the effectiveness of spending.
• Members of the board know the school well and recognise the barriers to learning that some pupils may encounter. The board maintains links with parents. Board members instigate incentives to improve punctuality and attendance such as installing hand sanitisers, to reduce the risk of infection and offering bagels when children arrive in the morning.
• The academy’s trustees check the performance of the headteacher and set challenging targets. Trustees are responsible for decisions about teachers’ pay and appointments. They review the quality of the school’s work and set rigorous priorities for improvement. They oversee the school’s safeguarding policies and procedures to ensure that they are fit for purpose.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders ensure that staff receive regular training and updates to help them to understand how to keep children safe. Vetting procedures for adults who work with children are robust.
• There are effective and well-maintained systems for recording child protection concerns. There are good links with external agencies and leaders show perseverance in following up any concerns they may have.
• A particular strength is the work carried out with pupils and families whose circumstances make them more vulnerable. Good lines of communication ensure that prompt action is taken should any worries over pupils’ welfare arise.
• Leaders are aware of the risks that pupils may face outside of school. They make sure that the curriculum addresses safety issues such as extremism to help pupils to keep themselves safe. The community police force and the school’s nurse contribute to pupils’ learning about the potential risks presented by drug abuse and anti-social behaviour.
• Bullying, behaviour and racist incidents are recorded thoroughly and followed up. The curriculum addresses anti-bullying and internet safety to help pupils to deal with any issues that may arise, including when using social media. The school’s records show that the number of incidents and exclusions from school are reducing due to improved behaviour management systems.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• There are inconsistencies in the quality of teaching which affect the amount of progress that pupils make. Tasks set by teachers do not consistently motivate learning. There is variation in teachers’ expectations of pupils’ responses and the quality of their work.
• The teaching of reading is inconsistent. There are differences between classes in how often pupils read and how well their comprehension skills are developed.
• There is an inconsistent approach to the teaching of handwriting which leads to variation in how well pupils present their work.
• Improvements in writing are not as rapid as they might be because teachers do not expect pupils to use what they know about grammar, punctuation and spelling systematically when they write.
• In mathematics, tasks do not provide enough opportunity for lower-ability pupils to practise their skills. The most able pupils, who grasp concepts quickly, are not sufficiently challenged to deepen their understanding by applying what they know.
• In some lessons, pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities do not receive the task or resources they need to build quickly upon the good gains that they make when they work in smaller support groups.
• Pupils make the best progress when they are motivated by the tasks that teachers provide. For example, during the inspection pupils in Year 2 wrote descriptively about a popular pirate story. They planned their writing and identified a plot and characters. The most able pupils enjoyed the challenge of adding adverbs to their writing.
• The teaching of phonics is consistent as a result of staff training and a systematic approach. Teachers make good links between phonics, reading and writing.
• Staff promote an enjoyment of reading. They link stories well to topics. For example, pupils in Year 6 talked knowledgeably about a story they were reading in class, linked to their learning about the second world war.
• Teachers, including in the early years, establish positive relationships with pupils and help them to celebrate their achievements. Teaching assistants work well in class with a range of abilities. Teachers make sure that pupils know what they are learning about and what they should achieve by the end of lessons. They check pupils’ understanding and correct any misconceptions.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement because pupils’ pride in their work and the amount of effort they make are not well developed. As a result, some do not work as hard as they could, apply themselves quickly and take a real interest in their learning.
• Pupils say that they feel safe in school. They know about the different forms of bullying, including when using technology and the internet. The school’s logs show that incidents of bullying are reducing. Pupils and parents express confidence in the headteacher’s actions to promote pupils’ welfare, safety and good behaviour.
• Pupils take on responsibility and like to help each other. Older pupils willingly help younger ones at lunchtimes. Pupils value their friendships. They say that they enjoy the trips to experience new places and understand people from backgrounds different to their own.
• Good support promotes pupils’ emotional development and well-being to enable them to become successful learners and to participate in the curriculum fully.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement because some pupils are not sufficiently motivated by their teachers to maintain their interest. As a result, pupils’ attention is not sustained which affects how well they behave and the amount of progress they make.
• Pupils spoken to during the inspection agreed that there are improvements but that behaviour is still variable, including on the playground, and that they would like it to improve even more.
• Most pupils, including children in the early years, behave well and classrooms are calm and orderly. Generally, pupils listen to their teachers and respond well to a range of adults, including in the well-run breakfast club.
• Pupils say that they like school. They like to receive rewards for good attendance and know that it is important to come to school regularly. The number of pupils attending the breakfast club has increased, with a positive effect on improving punctuality.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Outcomes for pupils require improvement because pupils do not make enough good progress to reach the standards expected for their age by the time they leave the school. The good start children make in the early years is not sufficiently well built upon and there is variation in how well groups of pupils achieve from class to class.
• In 2016, the standards reached by pupils in Year 6 were well below average in reading, writing and mathematics. This is because these pupils experienced underachievement due to staff changes and an unsettled period during their time in Year 6. The pupils who are currently in Year 6 are making accelerated progress and are better prepared for their move to secondary education than Year 6 pupils previously.
• The most able pupils, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, make at least the expected progress in reading and writing. In mathematics, by the end of Year 6 in 2016, they reached the expected standards but the proportion who reached the higher levels was below that of similar pupils nationally. This is because work in mathematics does not sufficiently challenge the most able to think and work at greater depth.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make variable rates of progress in line with their classmates. They make the best progress when they are supported to work in smaller groups and when tasks and resources are suitably matched to their needs and abilities.
• Pupils from minority ethnic groups make similar progress to their peers. Those who speak English as an additional language, including those who arrive with little or no English, make rapid gains and often make better progress than their peers.
• The school’s information shows that disadvantaged pupils make the same rates of progress as their classmates, and in some instances, they do better. This is because well-targeted support is accelerating their progress and diminishing any differences in performance between them and their classmates. Standards are improving but there is some way to go to ensure that these pupils do as well as pupils nationally.

Early years provision Good

• Good leadership ensures strong teamwork between staff and a consistent approach to teaching. Staff use information about children’s learning well to form a view of children’s progress. They modify the curriculum to suit children’s interests and abilities to help children to achieve well.
• Good teaching provides interesting tasks which motivate learning well. For example, during the inspection reception-aged children were learning about money and care for animals during their role play in the ‘pet shop’. The outside areas promote children’s physical development and nurture curiosity and discovery.
• Staff create language-rich environments with plenty of opportunities for children to speak, listen and extend their vocabulary. Children make good progress in learning about phonics because this is taught frequently.
• The early years classes are busy places where children engage happily because staff nurture a positive response to learning. They promote personal development well by helping children to understand how to get on with each other. Children choose tasks independently and share resources and spaces safely. There are suitable systems to ensure that children are kept safe.
• Children start in the early years with communication, reading and writing skills that are lower than those typically expected for their age. They achieve well in these and other areas because of good teaching. Although their attainment is lower than typically expected by the end of the early years, it is improving strongly year on year. This means that children are increasingly well prepared for their learning in Year 1.
• Outside expertise and external agencies are used effectively to help children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Additional funding is used well to diminish any differences in performance between disadvantaged children and others. There are good daily links with parents but leaders are seeking ways to involve parents more fully in their children’s learning.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 141137 Leicester 10026423 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 Academy sponsor-led 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 384 Appropriate authority The advisory board Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Jenny Day Matthew Peet 0116 2356350 www.mowmacrehillprimary.org office@dsatmowmacrehill.org Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.
• The majority of pupils are of a White background.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is well above average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above average.
• The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is above average, as is the proportion who speak English as an additional language.
• The school became an academy in September 2014 and is part of the Discovery Schools Academies Trust.
• The current headteacher worked with the previous headteacher during a transitional period and took up post as the permanent headteacher in January 2017.
• In this school, governance is led by an advisory board which includes members of the academy trust.
• In 2016, the school met the government’s floor standard, which sets the minimum expectation for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The early years provision provides for children of nursery age who attend for morning or afternoon sessions and for children of reception age who attend full time. Currently, there is no provision for two-year-olds.
• The school provides a daily breakfast club.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school complies with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish.
• Since becoming an academy, the school has experienced significant staff and leadership changes.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed 16 lessons and one assembly. Three lesson observations were carried out jointly with the headteacher. In all, 15 members of staff were seen teaching.
• Inspectors looked at samples of work from all age groups. They talked to pupils about their work during lessons and listened to pupils read. Inspectors also held meetings with groups of pupils.
• Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour around the school and at playtimes and lunchtimes. Inspectors also visited the breakfast club and observed extra-curricular activities after school.
• Inspectors spoke to members of the advisory board, representatives of the academy trust, school leaders and staff.
• There were too few responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, to analyse the results. However, inspectors took account of parents’ written comments and an inspector spoke to parents at the start of the school day.
• Inspectors analysed 22 responses to the questionnaire submitted by school staff.
• Inspectors observed the school’s work. They looked at progress and attendance information. The inspectors looked at school improvement plans and evidence of the monitoring of teaching. They also scrutinised documentation relating to safeguarding.

Inspection team

Viv McTiffen, lead inspector Rebecca King Claire Stylianides Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector