Robert Bakewell Primary School and Community Centre Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve leadership and management by ensuring that:

leaders monitor the quality of teaching and learning and follow up identified priorities and weaknesses swiftly all subject leaders monitor and evaluate the impact of their actions accurately to ensure that outcomes for pupils improve

leaders evaluate assessment information rigorously, sharing it with teachers to support improvements in pupils’ achievement.

• Improve the quality of teaching and learning, particularly in key stages 1 and 2, to improve progress and attainment by ensuring that all teachers: use increasingly secure subject knowledge to set work that is consistently well matched to all pupils’ abilities, so that they can develop their skills, knowledge and understanding, particularly in mathematics have high expectations for all pupils, particularly the most able, by providing activities that consistently challenge them so that they can develop their skills quickly, especially in reading and mathematics use questioning skills effectively to deepen pupils’ understanding so that they make greater progress, particularly in mathematics and reading check pupils’ understanding during lessons so that pupils make good progress across a range of subjects.
• Improve pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare by ensuring that pupils’ attendance improves so that it is at least in line with national averages.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Senior leaders do not monitor teaching and learning well enough. Improvements in teaching and learning are not swift enough because there is a lack of precision in the priorities identified. Feedback to teachers by senior leaders is not precise enough and does not support improvements in teaching and learning, particularly the progress of groups of pupils.
• Subject leaders do not monitor regularly or evaluate their actions well enough. They focus too much upon the actions taken rather than evaluating their impact. Consequently, the progress of pupils is not as fast as it could be, particularly in reading and mathematics.
• Leaders do not organise, share and evaluate assessment information rigorously enough. There is not a shared understanding among leaders and teachers of how to use this information to improve the outcomes for pupils. Assessment information is not used as well as it could be to inform improved practice in teaching and learning.
• The pupil premium funding is used well to impact on disadvantaged pupils’ progress. For example, the early years has a full-time practitioner to support children’s learning and play in the outdoor area. Funding is well placed to support disadvantaged pupils in practising their reading skills regularly.
• The provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is effective because adults support their needs well. Adults understand the pupils’ difficulties and have positive relationships with them.
• Performance management is used effectively to address teacher underperformance. Teachers’ targets that are set by the headteacher in discussion with the teacher are appropriate and monitored closely. There is an end-of-year review which clearly shows the link between the targets set and how they impact on pupils’ outcomes.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced and caters well for the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural skills. Pupils enjoy their learning because it is fun and interesting. For example, pupils have enjoyed learning about the Victorians and have made clay tiles in the style of William Morris. Pupils spoke enthusiastically to inspectors about the range of events and trips organised to support the curriculum.
• Leaders use the additional funding from the physical education and sport premium to increase participation rates. The school has recently had success in local primary school tournaments, as well as county events. Pupils are also able to access lunchtime and after-school sports clubs as a result of this funding.
• Parents value the positive partnership that they have with staff at the school. They feel reassured that staff take the time to understand their children’s needs. Parents feel listened to and valued. One parent commented that she has received ‘excellent support’ for her child.
• The school receives support from the Loughborough Primary Academy Partnership. This support is helping leaders to monitor and evaluate pupils’ work among a cluster of schools to ensure that there is accuracy and consistency.

Governance of the school

• Governors, all of whom are also trustees, are ambitious for the school. They are led by the chair of the governing body, who has a good understanding of the roles and responsibilities of governors in driving and shaping school improvement. They understand that there is more work to be done for pupils’ outcomes to improve.
• The governing body has undertaken an audit of skills to identify and address the areas of expertise needed to further improve the impact of governors on developing the school in the future. A governor has also attended a governor leadership development programme to enhance the skills of the governing body further.
• Members of the trust have held senior leaders to account for any staff underperformance. They closely monitor staff performance and challenge the headteacher over the awarding of pay increases.
• Governors monitor pupils’ outcomes and offer both challenge and support to senior leaders when it is appropriate to do so. They understand their responsibilities in managing and overseeing the school’s finances, the use of additional government funding, and the challenges that come with acting as trustees for a standalone academy.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The school’s single central record of staff and visitor checks is kept in order and meets requirements.
• Staff and governors have a clear understanding of safeguarding. Leaders respond swiftly to concerns and record all actions taken. The school’s careful monitoring of pupils’ welfare ensures that pupils’ needs are constantly reviewed.
• Leaders work closely with external agencies to ensure that pupils’ welfare needs are met. Leaders are tenacious in their approach to the management of pupils’ welfare. They meet with parents and carers regularly to support the ongoing needs of pupils.
• All staff understand their role in safeguarding pupils and know the procedures for reporting any concerns. These are dealt with astutely by the headteacher.
• The school manages a complex caseload of safeguarding concerns and uses the expertise of a welfare worker to support the school and its families.
• School risk assessments are in place and pupils are knowledgeable about how to keep safe in school, online and in the local community.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teaching across key stages 1 and 2 is inconsistent. Not all teachers have well-developed subject knowledge. They do not give clear explanations of concepts, particularly in mathematics, and work is not matched closely enough to pupils’ ability. Therefore, pupils do not have opportunities to develop their skills, knowledge and understanding as well as they could.
• Teachers do not have high enough expectations of what all pupils can achieve, particularly the most able. Particularly in key stage 2, the most able pupils often receive work of a similar nature to previous learning and they are not challenged to deepen their understanding. Consequently, the most able pupils, particularly in reading and mathematics, are not making as much progress as they could in lessons.
• Not all teachers are consistently skilful in the use of questioning and therefore cannot gauge how well pupils have understood the tasks they have been set. Questions are not used to probe and help pupils deepen their understanding, particularly in reading and mathematics. As a result, teachers do not have the information that they need from pupils to inform their planning of the next steps in pupils’ learning.
• Not all teachers check pupils’ understanding in lessons consistently well. Teachers do not respond to pupils’ misconceptions well enough because they are not checking pupils’ learning throughout the lesson. Pupils, especially the most able, do not develop their skills as quickly as they could. This is because misconceptions have not been dealt with.
• Where teaching is strongest, teachers know their subject and their pupils well. For example, in a Year 1 phonics lesson, the teacher gave precise explanations of spelling patterns. She quickly identified pupils’ misconceptions and intervened promptly to ensure that pupils understood how to write their sounds correctly. Disadvantaged and lower attaining pupils made particularly good progress in this lesson as a result of swift teacher intervention.
• Pupils apply their phonics skills well in their reading, particularly in key stage 1. Disadvantaged pupils and lower attaining pupils receive good support from adults, whereby they can regularly practise their reading skills. Adults support pupils in blending their sounds and using a range of skills to understand the text.
• The school has recently introduced lessons specifically focused on reading activities from Year 2. In these lessons, pupils are becoming more adept at using their summarising and comprehension skills so that they can read texts with greater understanding and fluency. The older pupils who have a deeper understanding of texts are in classes where the teacher makes links with reading within other subjects. For example, in the Years 5 and 6 class, using his understanding from a previous English lesson, a pupil spoke avidly about a book character’s historic experience as a child during Victorian times.
• Leaders have implemented daily phonics and reading sessions with a teaching practitioner for all disadvantaged pupils and lower attaining pupils. This gives pupils the opportunity to practise their phonics and reading skills to make greater progress in reading. The most able pupils read well and understand the importance of reading.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils take pride in their school, their appearance and work. Pupils are well supported by staff who constantly praise pupils for their good conduct around the school.
• Pupils know how to keep themselves safe. They report that bullying is rare and have confidence in staff to sort out any problems that may arise. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe online.
• The morning and after-school clubs are well attended. Pupils enjoy the range of enrichment activities. Pupils can play sports in the after-school clubs and they have recently experienced great success in local sports tournaments. The school’s football team has represented the school at county level with great success.
• Leaders ensure that spiritual, moral, social and cultural aspects of the curriculum are well planned. Pupils enjoy learning about other cultures, such as special customs linked to rites of passage. They regularly receive opportunities to learn about other faiths. The school invited leaders from a range of faiths to explore their beliefs and customs. Pupils had the opportunity to ask questions to the ‘panel of faiths’ and to explore a range of religions in a unique way.
• Pupils told inspectors how lessons helped them to think deeply about moral issues. One pupil spoke maturely about the class book based on a young Victorian boy who faced the dilemma of leaving the workhouse. Pupils appreciate learning about a range of topics and challenging each other’s viewpoints.
• Pupils are developing into resilient and persistent learners. This enables them to face challenges in their learning in a positive way. For example, a teacher provided a pupil with a prompt card which gave him guidelines to follow when he finds an activity difficult.
• Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. They know the relevance of respect and tolerance in their daily lives. Recently, pupils enjoyed a trip to the Palace of Westminster and learned about the importance of democracy and the right to vote. Pupils value their roles as house captains, school counsellors and environmental representatives.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils have positive attitudes to learning and there is little low-level disruption in classes.
• Where there is poor behaviour, leaders ensure that incidents are recorded and followed up swiftly. Leaders regularly communicate with parents to celebrate their child’s positive behaviour, and seek their support when there are concerns.
• In 2016, attendance is broadly in line with the national average. The headteacher is monitoring and evaluating actions to deal with weak attendance closely. She continues to raise the profile of attendance and she regularly discusses with the pupils the importance of coming to school every day.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Pupils’ progress is inconsistent over time. From their starting points, not all pupils make as much progress as they should. Since the previous inspection, pupils’ progress in reading and mathematics by the end of key stage 2 has been below the national average.
• The most able pupils are not always challenged enough to help them make the accelerated progress of which they are capable in reading and mathematics.
• Children typically enter the early years at levels of development that are below those seen nationally. During this time, they make progress that is often outstanding and are well equipped to enter the next stage of their education.
• The proportion of pupils meeting the expected standard in the phonics screening check at the end of Year 1 has risen since the school became an academy in 2013. In 2016, the school was above the national expectation in phonics achievement. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils achieving the expected standard has increased and is now in line with that of other pupils nationally.
• Pupils continue to make progress during their time in key stage 1. Published information for 2016 shows that the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard for their age in reading, writing and mathematics is in line with national expectations by the time they leave key stage 1.
• Pupils’ progress slows in key stage 2, particularly in reading and mathematics, and for the most able. As a result, by the end of key stage 2, pupils’ attainment in reading, writing and mathematics remains broadly in line with the national average.
• Current work in books shows that pupils’ progress remains strongest in writing. Pupils are given time to write for extended periods and teachers’ feedback is more incisive than for reading and mathematics. Opportunities for pupils to use and apply their mathematical skills, particularly in key stage 2, are limited.
• Over time, the difference between the attainment for disadvantaged pupils and non-disadvantaged pupils nationally is diminishing. The difference is much smaller in mathematics and has closed completely in writing. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make stronger progress in writing and reading than in mathematics.

Early years provision Outstanding

• Children make outstanding progress from their starting points in the early years. The proportion of children achieving a good level of development has significantly increased year on year. Published information shows that the proportion of children in the early years achieving a good level of development in 2015 was below the national average. In 2016, the proportion of children who achieved a good level of development increased and is now in line with the national average.
• Leadership of the early years is highly effective. Leaders demonstrate a commitment to providing a high standard of provision in the early years. There is an uncompromising focus on raising standards. The early years staff are a highly motivated team and have a relentless drive for continued improvement.
• Teachers and staff continually review how to improve the provision in the early years. They act swiftly to make adjustments to the curriculum to ensure that they meet the needs of every child, as well as preparing them for Year 1. Teachers monitor children’s learning closely and assess progress accurately. Children readily select and focus on tasks for extended periods of time because they enjoy their learning.
• The early years environment is vibrant and stimulating. Children are highly motivated to learn because adults in the early years plan activities that carefully meet their needs and interests. For example, children were excited to show the inspector how they write their names on the playground surface using brushes and colourful paints. Children practise a broad range of skills because of the well-thought-out activities on offer.
• Children work cooperatively with adults and their classmates. The curriculum supports the development of children’s social skills well. For example, children enjoy playing together and happily share activities. One child eagerly showed an inspector where they like to read in the outdoor space with their friend. The early years nurtures the development of children’s academic, personal and social skills effectively.
• Safeguarding is effective in the early years. There are positive relationships between staff and children. Children follow instructions quickly and show care towards each other.
• Disadvantaged children are supported well in the early years as a result of a dedicated practitioner who works with teachers to support the learning of children in the outdoor space. This group of children makes good progress in the early years because of a broad range of rich and interesting activities in the outdoor space that complements the activities in the classroom. Disadvantaged children are monitored closely to ensure that they make good progress in reading through regular reading sessions.
• Staff invite parents and carers to share in their children’s learning through special theme days. For example, children have enjoyed sharing their work with their parents and carers at Diwali and recently went on an autumn walk with their families. Parents and carers receive regular feedback regarding their children’s progress. Home school books provide opportunities for families and the school to report any issues or activities.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 140476 Leicestershire 10019115 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Academy converter 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 303 Appropriate authority Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Academy trust David Freer Nicola Parkinson 01509 231646 www.robertbakewell.leics.sch.uk office@robertbakewell.leics.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 30–31 January 2013

Information about this school

• 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.
• The school has experienced an increase in pupil numbers over the past three years.
• The school converted to a standalone academy in December 2013. It is supported within a cluster of schools called the Loughborough Primary Academy Partnership.
• The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and/or who speak English as an additional language are broadly average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above average.
• The proportion of pupils who are eligible for free school meals is above average.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in all classes in the school. Some lessons were seen jointly with the headteacher.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, senior and middle leaders and representatives from the governing body, including the vice-chair of the governing body.
• Inspectors scrutinised in detail a range of pupils’ books.
• Inspectors looked at a wide range of the school’s documentation, including: the evaluation of its own performance and the development plan; information on pupils’ attainment and progress, behaviour and bullying; attendance records; safeguarding procedures; reviews of the pupil premium and sport funding; and minutes of governing body meetings.
• Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour around the school, including at break- and lunchtimes. They spoke formally to a group of pupils in Year 6 and informally with others around the school. One inspector listened to pupils reading.
• There were nine responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire. Inspectors spoke with parents before school and considered the six responses from parents to the Ofsted free-text service. There were no responses to the pupil survey.

Inspection team

Emma Nuttall, lead inspector Becky Ellers Anne White Dorothy Martin

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector