Thurlby Community Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

In accordance with section 44(2) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances reasonably be expected to perform.

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve leadership and management, including governance, by:
  • ensuring that senior leaders’ and governors’ plans for improvement fully address what needs to be done to rapidly improve the quality of provision and leadership
  • developing the skills of middle leaders so that they can improve the quality of teaching and outcomes in their areas of responsibility
  • urgently introducing a clear approach for checking that the interventions and support provided for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities are having an impact, acting swiftly to make changes if they are not
  • ensuring that leaders evaluate the impact of the use of the pupil premium funding so they can allocate future funding to where it will make most difference for the pupils
  • improving the skills of governors and implementing a clear strategy for them to hold leaders fully to account.
• Eliminate inconsistencies in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, thereby improving outcomes for pupils, by ensuring that:
  • the recently introduced approach to assessment is fully embedded so leaders are able to check the progress pupils are making and act swiftly if this slows
  • teachers make effective use of assessment to plan and adapt lessons, providing appropriate levels of challenge and support so that pupils of all abilities achieve the standards they should
  • teachers and teaching assistants make effective use of questioning to develop pupils’ understanding and maximise their progress
  • teachers insist on the same standards of pupils’ writing across all subjects
  • teachers ensure that pupils develop their mathematical skills through problem solving and reasoning.
• Improve pupils’ rates of attendance, including for those who are disadvantaged, by working more extensively with parents and carers and pupils to raise the importance of attending school daily.
• Improve the provision in the early years by:
  • ensuring the leaders’ plans for improvement consider more fully what needs to be done to improve outcomes for children
  • improving the use of the outdoor space so that it promotes children’s learning effectively
  • leaders making sure that adults make better use of assessment to plan learning that is more closely matched to children’s stages of 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 school’s 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 Inadequate

• In May 2018, Ofsted undertook a short inspection of the school. The inspector recommended several actions that needed to be taken. Some of these related to actions that leaders had previously been directed to address, either by Ofsted at the full inspection in October 2013, or by the local authority. Leaders and governors have not demonstrated the capacity to bring about, and sustain, improvements over time. There has been a period of decline at the school.
• The headteacher and governors do not have a sufficiently accurate view of the school in order to enable them to plan for improvements well enough.
• Leaders have not evaluated well enough the use of the pupil premium funding. They are not certain which aspects of the funding are having the most impact on improving outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. They have not considered carefully, when allocating the funding, the barriers to learning that disadvantaged pupils must overcome in order to achieve well.
• Although teachers have benefited from some training and from recently forged links with a local school, leaders have not checked thoroughly enough that new initiatives have been implemented fully over time. This means that some improvements to the quality of teaching have not been sustained.
• Until very recently, senior leaders’ arrangements for checking the quality of teaching were not thorough enough. The headteacher has recently drawn up a more detailed approach to monitoring, but it is too early to judge if this will have the desired impact.
• Leaders of English and mathematics are relatively new to post. They demonstrate an understanding of what they need to do to improve the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes in their subjects. Nevertheless, this has not yet secured good progress for pupils, especially in writing and mathematics.
• Leaders of most other subjects have not been effective in their roles. Senior leaders have not provided them with sufficient training nor time to fulfil their responsibilities well. They have undertaken some actions, such as checking that the national curriculum is fully covered and purchasing resources. They express a real desire to be effective in their roles but they have lacked the necessary support from senior leaders and governors to do so.
• Leaders are keen for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities to do well. The coordinator with oversight of the provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities (SENCo) engages well with parents and make effective use of external agencies to provide useful training for staff and support for pupils. While leaders undertake some monitoring of the support provided for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, they have not checked carefully enough that the support to promote pupils’ progress is having the desired impact.
• The primary physical education and sport funding is used well to provide teachers with training, and for pupils to participate in sports. The leader with responsibility for the funding keeps a careful check on pupils’ rates of participation and takes action to ensure that as many pupils as possible benefit from the opportunities on offer.
• Leaders promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. Pupils learn about a range of religions and cultures. They take responsibility for undertaking roles around school, such as helping the younger pupils at lunchtime. Pupils raise funds for charities and learn to play a musical instrument.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced. Pupils’ books and displays around school show that they study a range of subjects. A range of opportunities are afforded to the pupils, such as residential trips and visits to local points of interest that will support the pupils’ learning, such as Lincoln castle.
• Pupils have a good understanding of British values. They show respect for people whose beliefs or lifestyles may be different from their own. Pupils have the chance to learn about democracy by, for example, visiting the Houses of Parliament. They are being well prepared for life in modern Britain.
• The vast majority of parents, who expressed a view, spoke highly of the school.

Governance of the school

• Governors have been too willing to take at face value what leaders tell them. They have had no rigorous strategy in place to check the work of the school, ask pertinent questions or hold leaders fully to account.
• Governors have recently undertaken some training to help them understand published assessment information. This has given them a greater understanding of outcomes for pupils. They have used this to challenge the headteacher and better understand the standards pupils achieve.
• There are early signs that, with the correct training and support, governors have the capacity to improve. They demonstrate a determination to do so and to improve the quality of provision at the school.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders ensure that all the appropriate vetting checks take place when adults start to work or volunteer at the school.
• Leaders ensure that staff receive the necessary training and know how to raise a concern about a pupil’s welfare, should one arise.
• The school site is shared with a community hall. The headteacher commissioned an independent health and safety check in May 2018. He has acted on all the recommendations that he reasonably could have since that time. This includes employing additional staff, purchasing two-way radios to improve communication and reminding pupils regularly about safety. Pupils say they feel safe in the school. They understand clearly about the boundary and say that they adhere to the rules, about which they are regularly reminded.
• Governors have recently introduced a leaflet providing information about safeguarding for visitors.
• Teachers ensure that pupils learn how to keep themselves safe. Pupils understand how regular fire drills ensure that they are safe in the unlikely event of a fire. Pupils speak clearly about the potential dangers of using the internet and know how to keep themselves safe when they use modern technology.
• Pupils say bullying is very rare. They are confident that, if they had any worries, a trusted adult in school would help them. They enjoy the anti-bullying weeks in which they participate.
• Minor administrative issues relating to the recently updated safeguarding policy were addressed during the inspection.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is not consistently good across the school.
• Teachers do not use assessment well to plan lessons that build on what pupils already know and can do. They do not use assessment during lessons to deepen pupils’ understanding of the concepts taught. Pupils told inspectors that they would like work that is more challenging for them.
• Occasionally, teachers do not make effective use of time in lessons. When this happens, a few pupils lose concentration.
• Pupils’ books show that the opportunities they have to practise their writing across a range of subjects is inconsistent. In some classes, teachers insist pupils write well and at length across the curriculum, but this is not consistent across the school.
• Pupils’ mathematics books show that too often teachers do not provide pupils with the appropriate levels of challenge. Teachers do not provide pupils with many opportunities to use reasoning skills to solve mathematical problems in a way that will broaden their understanding.
• Teachers have strong subject knowledge and use it to good effect to explain new concepts and ideas. Teachers use the correct vocabulary when talking with pupils in a range of subjects and they ensure that pupils do the same.
• Where teaching promotes effective learning, teachers have high expectations of what pupils will achieve Teachers successfully relate the learning or the activities to ideas that have previously been taught, so pupils can make links across their lessons and build upon what they already know and understand.
• On some occasions, teaching assistants provide effective support for those pupils who find learning more difficult, but this is not consistent across the school. Pupils are not afraid to have a go and make a mistake, safe in the knowledge that the adults, and their peers, will be supportive. Relationships between staff and pupils are warm and nurturing.
• Reading is taught well. Leaders have provided teachers with training to implement the school’s chosen scheme for teaching phonics. Adults use questions well to probe pupils’ answers and develop their understanding of what they read.
• Teachers provide pupils with homework in line with the school’s policy.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Most pupils are keen learners and demonstrate good attitudes to learning. Pupils’ books are generally neat and well kept, showing they have pride in their work.
• Pupils who responded to the online survey, and those with whom inspectors spoke, unanimously said they enjoy school. Every parent who responded to the online survey Parent View said their child is well cared for at the school.
• Pupils demonstrate a clear understanding of how to keep themselves healthy through a balanced diet and exercise.
• Pupils enjoy the range of trips and the residential visit on offer. They represent their school at a range of sporting activities and they told inspectors they are proud to do so.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Despite the efforts of senior leaders, the attendance of pupils has been stubbornly below the national average for five years. The attendance of disadvantaged pupils is even lower still. The persistent absence of this group of pupils was above the national average in both 2016 and 2017.
• Pupils behave well in class and around the school. Only rarely do they become fidgety or chatty. This happens when adults’ expectations of behaviour drop below the usually high level or when the teacher does not make effective use of time in the lessons.
• The school is orderly. Pupils move around school sensibly. During breaktimes, pupils generally play well together, but a very few are not careful enough with the new playground equipment provided. Pupils are well supervised, and adults are watchful to ensure that they are respectful, for example, by reminding pupils to apologise for accidently knocking into someone else. At the end of playtime and lunchtime, pupils line up sensibly and come back into school without fuss.
• Pupils are polite to adults and their peers alike. They told inspectors that pupils at Thurlby are kind.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Pupils’ progress has declined since the school’s previous inspection. By the end of Year 6 in 2017, the progress that pupils made in reading was in the bottom 10% of schools nationally. In the same year, the progress that pupils made in writing and mathematics was below that seen nationally.
• Disadvantaged pupils do not make the progress that the school leaders expect them to make in all subjects. Published information for 2017 and provisional information for 2018 indicates that no disadvantaged pupils attained the higher standard in reading, writing or mathematics in either year.
• The most able pupils are not challenged consistently well to deepen their skills across all subjects or classes. They do not make consistently good progress, especially in writing. The proportion of pupils achieving the higher standard in writing by the end of Year 6 has been below the national average for three consecutive years.
• By the end of 2017, the proportion of pupils who attained the expected standard in reading and writing at the end of key stage 2 was broadly in line with the national average and just below the average in mathematics. Unconfirmed information for 2018 indicates that the proportion of pupils attaining the expected standard in reading and writing is in line with that seen nationally but fell in mathematics from 2017 to be further below the national average.
• By the end of key stage 1 in both 2016 and 2017, pupils attained well in reading, with more pupils reaching both the expected and greater death in reading than was seen nationally in both years. The proportion of pupils attaining the expected standard in writing and mathematics rose from that seen in 2016 so that more pupils attained this standard in 2017. The proportion of pupils reaching the higher standard in writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 1 in 2017 was below the national average.
• Over recent years, the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check has been above the national average. This fell significantly in 2018. Leaders have identified the precise reason why and have already taken steps to ensure that these pupils are well placed to build on their current skills as they start Year 2.
• The headteacher recognised during the last academic year that the assessment system the school had been using was not fit for purpose and he introduced a new system. Senior leaders have ensured that the new system contains all the necessary information for teachers at be able to track pupils’ progress in greater detail this year. It is far too early to judge the effectiveness of the new system.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• The leadership of the early years requires improvement. Leaders have not planned for improvements with sufficient precision. The plans focus almost exclusively on improving assessment. There are other aspects of the provision, not included in the formal planning, that leaders recognise need to be improved, such as the use of the outdoor area.
• Leaders introduced a new assessment system for the early years this term. At the time of the inspection, the assessments had been completed but adults in the early years were not yet using what they know about what children can do to plan effectively enough for their learning.
• At this very early stage of the term, adults provide children with a range of learning activities, both indoors and out, to promote learning and to help them settle into school life. These include activities to promote physical development, independence and children’s curiosity and imagination.
• The teacher and teaching assistants provide children with some useful support to promote learning. However, they do not consistently shape their questions and interactions with children well enough to ensure that they benefit fully from the learning activities on offer.
• The teaching assistants provide effective support for children who have SEN and/or disabilities.
• Adults in the early years forge strong relationships with parents. They provide parents with useful information before children start school and during the school year, for example about the teaching of phonics, to help to include parents in their child’s school life.
• Leaders ensure that a member of staff visits the pre-school settings before children start school to enable them to build a picture of each child, and understand what they know and can do. As with other aspects of assessment, adults are not using this information well enough at this time of year to ensure that children get off to a swift start with their learning.
• Adults have forged warm and trusting relationships with children at this early stage of their school life. Children behave well. They cooperate well with their classmates in their learning.
• Adults in the early years engage well with external agencies, such as the speech and language therapist, to provide support for those children who need it.
• There are no breaches of statutory welfare requirements.
• By the end of the early years, the proportion of children achieving a good level of development is just below that seen nationally. Although children make progress from their starting points, too many children are not as well prepared for Year 1 as they could be.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 120390 Lincolnshire 10055210 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 5 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 199 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Jane Hayball Graham Clegg 01778423311 www.thurlby.lincs.sch.uk/ bridget.pengelly@thurlby.lincs.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 9 May 2018

Information about this school

• Thurlby Community Primary School is slightly smaller than the average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium funding is below average.
• The majority of pupils are of White British heritage.
• A small proportion of pupils speak English as an additional language.
• The proportion of pupils supported by an education, health and care plan is broadly average. The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/ or disabilities has been broadly average but is rising.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, the SENCo, early years leader and three other middle leaders. They spoke informally with midday supervisors.
• Inspectors spoke formally with two groups of pupils, and informally with pupils in class. They observed pupils in assembly, and during playtime and lunchtime.
• Inspectors held a meeting with four members of the governing body, including the chair. A telephone conversation was held with a representative of the local authority.
• Inspectors considered the views of parents through the 39 responses and 38 free-text responses to the online survey Parent View. Inspectors spoke with parents as they brought their children to school. Inspectors also reviewed the school’s own parental surveys leaders had conducted.
• Inspectors considered the view of pupils and staff through their respective online survey.
• Inspectors observed the learning taking place in 12 lessons, sometimes alongside senior leaders.
• A range of pupils’ books were examined, representing all classes and a range of subjects. Inspectors listened to two pupils reading.
• Inspectors also scrutinised a range of school documentation, including the school’s own self-evaluation, action plans, external advisers’ reports, minutes of governing body meetings and information about pupils’ progress. A range of documentation relating to the safeguarding of pupils was also examined.

Inspection team

Di Mullan, lead inspector Rebecca King Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector