Rolleston Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve leadership and management by:
  • leaders using assessment information carefully to identify areas for improvement
  • leaders carefully monitoring the implementation of the school’s strategies to ensure that they are used consistently by all staff
  • leaders holding teachers to account and providing them with effective feedback to help them to improve their practice
  • precisely monitoring the support for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils to ensure that these pupils make better progress
  • middle leaders using assessment information strategically to evaluate the impact of their actions on pupils’ progress.
• Improve the quality of teaching and learning by:
  • ensuring that teachers use assessment information carefully to set tasks that match all pupils’ needs
  • ensuring that teachers’ expectations of what pupils should be able to achieve are high enough, including pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils
  • teachers having high expectations of pupils’ handwriting and standards of presentation
  • all staff using correct grammar and vocabulary when communicating with pupils.
• Improve pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare by:
  • ensuring that all staff consistently apply the school’s behaviour policy
  • continuing to reduce the number of incidents of unacceptable behaviour
  • developing pupils’ characteristics of effective learners.
• Improve the quality of education in the early years by ensuring that:
  • staff have high expectations of what children in the early years can achieve to enable them to make strong progress
  • adults are skilled enough to develop children’s knowledge and to provide challenge. 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 fund should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

• The actions of leaders are sometimes reactive and there is not a strategic enough view of the areas for development. Leaders have not used assessment information successfully to recognise areas for development until they became a significant concern.
• Leaders have collected a wealth of information about pupils’ attainment and behaviour. However, they are not using this information effectively to recognise patterns and trends. This information is not being used sharply enough by leaders to raise standards.
• The senior leadership team has implemented actions to bring about improvements. However, senior leaders have not been rigorous enough in ensuring that whole-school approaches have been adopted and used consistently by all staff. This has led to an unrealistic view of the quality of teaching across the school.
• Leaders have not been effective in holding staff to account. Actions following whole-school monitoring activities have not focused sharply enough on the areas for development. Leaders have rightly identified what is going well but have not sufficiently highlighted weaker practice or tackled these aspects swiftly enough.
• While subject leaders have comprehensive plans in place for improvement, many of these have not had time to impact on the progress that pupils are making. Subject leaders are not using assessment information strategically enough to evaluate the effectiveness of their actions.
• The leader for the provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities has recently taken on this responsibility. She has not yet established a plan for improvement or had time to evaluate the impact of the support provided for pupils on the progress that they make.
• Leaders have not evaluated carefully enough the impact of pupil premium funding on the progress that these pupils are making. Plans to support these pupils are similar from year to year, yet leaders are unable to demonstrate how effective actions have been on raising attainment for individual pupils. Plans to support pupil premium pupils are generic and are not specific enough to support their individual needs.
• The local authority has provided the school’s leaders with advice and support to help bring about improvements. Their evaluation of the school’s effectiveness has been accurate in identifying the school’s priorities. Occasionally, advice provided has been contradictory, which has hindered leaders’ ability to drive improvements.
• Leaders are not prepared to compromise on ensuring that pupils experience a wide and diverse curriculum. In all year groups, pupils have opportunities to learn about historical events, geographical locations, different cultures and religions, music, dance and drama. Leaders have ensured that the resources provided for pupils to learn across the curriculum are relevant and of high quality. For example, when learning about the Ancient Egyptians, pupils handled artefacts to help them learn more about how the Egyptians lived.
• Leaders are determined to provide pupils with opportunities that they may not encounter elsewhere. They regularly organise experiences that will broaden pupils’ horizons, such as trips to experience live performance at the local theatre, joining the choir, playing an instrument, or developing their media skills using green-screen technology. The teaching of the arts is central to the good development of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education.
• The school’s core values provide pupils with a secure understanding of what it means to be a British citizen. Throughout the school day, pupils were observed demonstrating these values. In the school’s ‘kindness garden’, pupils are quoted saying what being a good person means. These exemplified British values, with one saying, ‘When someone is cold, give them your coat and be kind and helpful and play with them.’

Governance of the school

• Governors have begun to challenge leaders about how well pupils are performing. While leaders have provided them with assessment information, governors have not had an accurate understanding of what the data is showing and have been unable to challenge effectively.
• Governors have limited understanding of the impact of the pupil premium fund or funding for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. Governors have not challenged leaders effectively to know whether the school’s actions have affected the progress that these pupils make.
• Governors take their responsibility to monitor safeguarding very seriously. They have excellent links with the local community and are fully aware of the local context and the issues that some pupils and families face. They are supportive of the school’s work to inspire pupils with experiences they may not typically encounter.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The designated safeguarding lead has a secure overview of safeguarding. There is a significant proportion of vulnerable pupils and families, or pupils and families who require additional support. The safeguarding team works well to establish good relationships with families to ensure that pupils attend school and that their needs are met.
• The safeguarding team meets regularly to share information about pupils. Members work well together to ensure that incidents are followed up swiftly. The designated safeguarding leader is active in seeking additional support for pupils, while also working hard with families to keep them involved with the school and to access the support available.
• Staff are determined in their approach to safeguarding pupils. They fully understand their responsibility to refer concerns promptly. Staff receive regular training in safeguarding. Leaders have established strong processes and procedures which all staff follow. The designated safeguarding leader has provided safeguarding packs for staff, ensuring that they always have the information they need to hand.
• The family support worker, who also works at the local children’s centre, works closely with families. The school’s ‘stop bugging me’ strategy supports pupils to seek help when they need to and to share their worries.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching, learning and the use of assessment across the school are inconsistent. While strategies for improvement have been put in place, leaders have not ensured that these are embedded across the school.
• Sometimes, teachers are not using information about what pupils can already do to set tasks that meet their needs. Teaching focuses too much on the middle-ability pupils. Teachers do not respond to the needs of all pupils.
• Teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve are sometimes too low. Teachers do not routinely provide pupils with sufficient challenge to enable them to make as much progress as they are capable of.
• In mathematics, pupils sometimes complete tasks that are too hard or too easy for them. Sometimes teachers do not provide pupils with the appropriate support or resources they need to make progress. Conversely, teachers do not challenge some pupils well enough to enable them to make as much progress as they should. Teachers are not using the school’s ‘golden challenge’ approach consistently across the school.
• Sometimes pupils’ reading books do not closely match their abilities. Some pupils try to read books that are too hard and not well matched to their stage of phonic development. Some pupils’ books are too easy and provide little effective challenge to help them improve their reading skills.
• Some adults do not use correct grammar or vocabulary when communicating with pupils.
• Teachers’ expectations of pupils’ presentation and handwriting are sometimes too low. Teachers are not implementing the school’s handwriting policy consistently.
• Teachers do not routinely provide pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities with tasks that match their ability or stage of learning well. Occasionally, staff assigned to support these pupils are not skilled enough to fully meet pupils’ needs.
• Some teaching is highly effective. Teachers challenge pupils to think about the problem they are studying. They adjust their teaching to support pupils’ needs, whether this be to provide further input when pupils do not understand or to provide challenge when they need to be moved on to the next task. These teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve.
• Teachers provide pupils with many opportunities to learn across the curriculum. Teachers use resources well in the wider curriculum to provide pupils with visual examples to help them learn. Teachers use trips and visitors to enhance the curriculum for pupils, including visits to the Harry Potter studios, the Attenborough arboretum, and the Sea Life centre.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development requires improvement.
• Pupils’ attitudes to learning are variable. Where teaching is more effective, pupils concentrate well. However, where teachers do not target pupils’ needs, they do not participate well. Sometimes teachers do not notice this quickly, and pupils drift off from their learning.
• Pupils do not habitually demonstrate the characteristics of effective learners. Sometimes they are not motivated to seek out the next task or to ask for help when they are stuck.
• Pupils know the different forms of bullying, including cyber bullying. They say that occasionally bullying happens at school. When this does happen, they know to report concerns to an adult, who will rectify the problem.
• Teachers have ensured that pupils understand how to keep themselves safe in and out of school. Pupils have a good understanding of the dangers in the community and, throughout the year, assemblies focus on specific dangers. For instance, pupils had recently been told how to keep themselves safe when ‘trick or treating’ and during Bonfire Night.
• Pupils are encouraged to be philanthropic and participate in community groups. These include the ‘HERO’ group to promote regular attendance, ‘SNAG’ to encourage good nutrition, ‘SAFE’ champions who make sure that pupils know how to stay safe and the ‘Green Gang Eco group’ which looks after the school’s allotment and green spaces.
• Pupils’ physical and emotional well-being is developed well. There are many sporting clubs that pupils can join during the school day. Adults encourage pupils to be active at break and lunchtime through the many activities that are on offer.
• School assemblies promote the school’s values. Inspectors observed teachers celebrating pupils’ hard work and effort. Pupils value and respect the messages presented in assemblies and listen carefully. They are proud to celebrate each other’s achievements, as well as sharing these with invited parents and grandparents.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Pupils say that sometimes behaviour is not as good as it could be. Some pupils are over-exuberant and they occasionally push each other when playing games. Pupils say that teachers deal with these incidents well.
• Some adults’ expectations of pupils’ behaviour are not high enough. They do not apply the behaviour policy consistently when behaviour falls below the school’s expectations. Some supervising adults do not respond quickly enough to minor incidents of poor behaviour.
• The school’s behaviour logs show that there are a small number of incidents of unacceptable behaviour. Leaders work with parents and pupils to help pupils manage their behaviour, and the number of incidents is decreasing.
• Leaders have revised the behaviour policy to make the expectations of pupils’ behaviour clear to parents and pupils. Leaders use ‘restorative justice’ to help pupils understand the impact of their behaviour on themselves and others. This, coupled with pupils’ understanding of the school’s behaviour expectations, is helping pupils to make the right decisions and to be self-disciplined.
• Leaders have worked with parents to ensure that they understand how crucial regular attendance at school is. The attendance manager is rigorous in monitoring the attendance of pupils and is quick to take action when attendance falls below the school’s minimum standard.
• To ensure that pupils attend school regularly and are well prepared for learning, school staff run a walking bus to collect pupils on the way to school. Leaders have established links with a local company to provide breakfast for pupils. Almost a quarter of pupils attend the school’s breakfast club.
• The proportion of pupils who are persistently absent has improved and is now below the national average. Average attendance rates have improved and are now close to the national average.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• The proportion of pupils who achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics rose in 2018. However, it has been below the national average for the past four years. Pupils in key stage 2 are not making as much progress as pupils nationally do.
• In key stage 2, pupils’ work books and reading books show that sometimes teachers are not providing pupils with appropriate challenge, and some pupils do not make as much progress as they are capable of.
• The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard at the end of key stage 1 in reading, writing and mathematics has improved and in 2018 was similar to the national average. However, pupils’ workbooks show that some pupils are not provided with appropriate challenge for them to make as much progress as they are capable of. Teacher expectations of what pupils can achieve is sometimes not high enough.
• Disadvantaged pupils are not making as much progress as other pupils nationally. Leaders have not analysed the support provided for these pupils carefully enough to fully understand the impact of funding on the progress that individual pupils are making. Support provided is not sharp enough to meet the needs of all disadvantaged pupils, including the most able disadvantaged pupils.
• The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in the phonics screening check has improved and is now slightly above the national average. Early years provision Requires improvement

• The early years leader has a secure understanding of the areas for development. However, she has not acted swiftly enough to tackle some of these weaknesses.
• Many children join Reception with skills below those typical for their age. Approximately half of these children attend the school’s Nursery provision. While children who have attended the Nursery are prepared well socially and emotionally, other skills are not developed as well to prepare them for Reception.
• Sometimes teachers do not plan adult-led tasks well enough to support children’s learning. Sometimes the vocabulary used by adults is not precise enough, which leads to confusion, for example when adults use both ‘tall’ and ‘long’ when describing an object’s height.
• Throughout the early years there are few opportunities to develop children’s number and letter recognition other than during adult-led activities. Children do not have enough opportunities to practise their knowledge of numbers or sounds. Some adults do not pronounce phonic sounds accurately.
• Some adults are not skilled enough to develop children’s learning. They do not have the vocabulary or skills to readily challenge children to think or problem solve. Sometimes adult talk does not help to develop children’s learning further.
• The expectations of what children can achieve are sometimes not high enough. Teachers are not challenging children who are ready to move on with their learning.
• The environment is organised well, and the different areas of the early years curriculum are well covered. Resources are appropriate to meet the needs of the curriculum. Planning takes account of children’s interests, such as basing learning themes around superheroes and dinosaurs.
• Children respond well to routines and settle well. They understand the expectations and can make choices about the activities available. Adults ensure that children become independent and can manage themselves. Children can put on their own coats and prepare for the end of the school day independently.
• An increasing number of parents are involved with their children’s learning journey. Leaders are providing opportunities for parents to learn more about what their children do while at school. Initial home visits and transition visits to the Nursery or Reception help children to settle well.
• The proportion of children who achieve a good level of development by the end of the early years is below the national average. However, this has been rising for the past three years.

School details

Unique reference number 134305 Local authority Leicester Inspection number 10047644 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Maintained Age range of pupils 3 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 442 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Karen Lambert Headteacher Dwayne Toon Telephone number 0116 278 2300 Website www.rolleston.leicester.sch.uk Email address mailto:office@rolleston.leicestershire.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 5–6 November 2014

Information about this school

• The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is well above the national average at approximately 50%.
• The school is situated in an area of high deprivation.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is well above the national average.
• The school provides a breakfast club for approximately a quarter of its pupils.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors observed learning in a number of lessons, some of which were observed jointly with the headteacher. Visits to classes to look at learning were carried out with the deputy headteachers and the leader of the early years. They observed the teaching of early reading skills and listened to pupils read. The inspectors also talked with pupils about their school and looked at examples of pupils’ work to gain a view of the impact of teaching over time.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, deputy headteachers, middle leaders, teachers, support staff and representatives of the governing body. The inspectors also spoke with the local authority adviser.
• The inspectors spoke with parents informally and considered the 86 responses to the online parent questionnaire, Parent View.
• The inspectors looked at a range of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation and plans for improvement, the most recent information on the achievement and progress of pupils, information relating to the safeguarding of pupils and the most recent data relating to the attendance of pupils.
• The inspectors considered the range and quality of information provided on the school’s website.

Inspection team

Helen Williams, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Linda Lyn-Cook Ofsted Inspector Ged Philbin Ofsted Inspector