Cantrell Primary and Nursery School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of leadership and management by ensuring that:
  • leaders and governors have an accurate and comprehensive understanding of the quality of education at the school so they can effectively plan, monitor and refine actions
  • the roles and responsibilities of the leadership team are fully developed, so that leaders have a positive impact on outcomes for pupils and governors are able to hold leaders robustly to account
  • senior leaders and subject leaders use information from their checks on teaching and learning rigorously to secure continued improvements in teaching and learning
  • senior leaders regularly evaluate their actions to ensure that they improve pupil outcomes
  • subject leaders are accountable for the achievement of all pupils in the subjects that they lead through the effective use of performance management
  • the governing body strengthens its capacity to hold leaders to account.
• Improve the quality of teaching and learning and outcomes for pupils by ensuring that:
  • teachers use school information about pupils’ progress to design tasks that meet the needs of pupils, particularly the most able
  • teachers use questioning effectively in their lessons to support pupils to develop their critical thinking skills and deepen their understanding
  • teachers consistently use the school’s marking and feedback policy to ensure that pupils learn from their mistakes, particularly in key stage 2.
• Improve the quality of personal development, behaviour and welfare by:
  • ensuring that pupils’ attendance improves to be at least in line with the national average
  • ensuring that pupils’ persistent absence, particularly for boys and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, improves to be at least in line with the national average. An external review of governance 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

• Senior leaders and the governing body do not use school information well enough so that they have an accurate and comprehensive view of the school’s quality of education. They do not analyse or evaluate pupils’ achievements rigorously enough so that they know the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Consequently, leaders and governors do not know well enough what aspects of teaching and learning are improving pupils’ achievements.
• Despite some strong leadership by the headteacher, other leadership roles within the school are underdeveloped. Consequently, leadership overall is not bringing improvements as quickly as it could.
• Senior leaders and subject leaders do not check on pupils’ progress well enough to ensure that there is continued progress in pupils’ achievement. Too much time passes between the checks on pupils’ learning. Consequently, changes in teaching and learning made by teachers to improve pupil outcomes are too slow or are not precise enough.
• Senior leaders do not evaluate their actions well enough to ensure that they are informed about the progress that pupils make. Despite analysing school information in detail, leaders are not clear about which actions are having the greatest impact on pupil outcomes and which actions are not working well. Consequently, there is a stalling of pupil progress.
• The governing body are not using performance management as well as they could to ensure that senior leaders and subject leaders perform their roles effectively. Senior leaders and subject leaders’ objectives are not as rigorous or as precise as they could be to ensure that they are held to account for pupil outcomes.
• The school’s marking and feedback policy is not used consistently in key stage 2. Consequently, leaders are unable to accurately assess the impact of teaching and learning on pupil outcomes.
• Teachers have received training to improve the quality of their teaching through the Transform Teaching Alliance. Subject leaders continue to attend local subject network meetings that keep leaders up to date with new ideas to improve teaching and learning. The subject leader for mathematics provides the school with a newsletter to update staff on new developments and ideas based on the network meeting.
• Leaders use the primary physical education (PE) and sport funding premium well. For example, the school employs an additional coach who teaches PE and provides professional development to staff. The pupils enjoy playing tournaments and playing a broad range of sports. Pupils know how to keep healthy and that it is an important aspect of a healthy lifestyle.
• Leaders use the additional funding that supports disadvantaged pupils effectively. There are a range of intervention groups and additional teaching classes to ensure that these pupils receive the support they need to make improved progress.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are monitored well. Individual behaviour plans are in place for pupils that require behaviour support and the school has implemented bespoke plans to support pupils’ individual medical needs. Staff receive specialist training where required, and this helps them to support pupils well.
• The curriculum is interesting and designed to inspire and excite the pupils. Visitors and trips bring learning to life for the pupils. The pupils enjoy the theme days and the broad range of visitors. For example, Year 1 pupils enjoyed a recent visit by the school nurse to learn about visits to the doctor, the hospital and the equipment that they may see.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and their understanding of British values are promoted well by staff. Through the curriculum, special events and visitors to the school, pupils experience a wide range of opportunities to learn about different faiths, cultures and traditions. For example, the school has many vibrant displays, one of which showed work about Hinduism and pupils’ understanding of faiths.

Governance of the school

• The governing body do not hold leaders to account as well as they could. The governing body minutes do not show enough challenge of leaders’ actions to improve pupil outcomes. The governing body do not visit the school regularly enough to check on the work of the school, such as the impact of the pupil premium funding and sport funding on pupil achievement. As a result, they do not have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and areas of weakness.
• The governing body are not clear about the impact of performance management on improving pupils’ outcomes. They do not have the information to hand to ensure that leaders’ and teachers’ pay progression is based on rigorous and challenging targets.
• An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how the governing body may be improved to strengthen the leadership capacity of the school.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The school is focused on ensuring that pupils feel safe, are nurtured and well cared for. As a result, pupils report that they feel safe and know who to go to should they have a concern. For example, pupils know the key adults in the school who are part of the safeguarding team.
• The school’s single central record of staff and visitor checks is kept effectively and meets requirements.
• Staff and governors have a clear understanding of safeguarding and have benefited from the training that has been delivered to support them. They understand their role and the procedures they must follow to keep pupils safe. The headteacher, who is the safeguarding leader, provides regular staff updates and ensures that all staff are confident in their role.
• Staff receive up-to-date training, which includes how to identify ways that pupils may be at risk from extremist views. Staff are fluent with the procedures to report any concerns about a pupil’s welfare.
• The school has a safeguarding team that meets weekly to discuss the needs of vulnerable pupils and actions required by the school and external agencies to ensure that pupils are safe.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Not all teachers use the school’s information about pupils’ progress well enough. Teachers do not design appropriate tasks well enough to ensure that pupils make the progress of which they are capable, particularly the most able pupils. For example, where teachers use information well, they design tasks that deepen pupils’ learning and build on pupils’ skill development. However, this is not consistent across all year groups and leads to variable progress across year groups, particularly in English.
• Not all teachers use questioning effectively in their lessons to support pupils to develop their thinking skills and deepen their understanding. Where questioning is used skilfully, pupils are able to apply their knowledge and extend their thinking skills in their learning.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well in lessons. Pupils’ current workbooks show that these pupils generally make good progress. Adults who support these pupils are effective in their role because they know the needs of the pupils.
• The teaching of reading is effective and phonics skills are taught well. Consequently, pupils read well for their age and have an interest in reading a broad range of books. Disadvantaged pupils are supported well and, where needed, they receive additional reading support. This is monitored carefully to ensure that pupils receive the appropriate reading support. Reading diaries show that pupils read often. Lower-attaining pupils apply their phonics skills well to new words.
• Teachers set homework in line with the school’s policy. A vibrant display in key stage 2 showed homework linked to a recent class book based on the ‘Midnight Fox’, which showed the pupils’ broad range of independent research skills.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils are keen to do well and enjoy achieving the ‘star of the week’ for good behaviour and positive attitudes to learning. Pupils’ achievements are celebrated in a weekly assembly.
• Pupils have opportunities to practise their personal, social and communication skills through their ‘helping hands’ roles as cloakroom monitors and being part of the school council. Pupils on the school council have organised fund-raising events such as colouring competitions and dress-up days.
• Pupils know the importance of friendship and the qualities required to be a good friend. This is evident at playtimes and lunchtimes when pupils play cooperatively.
• The school ensures that pupils know about how to keep safe on the internet through bright and informative displays that remind pupils about the key messages. Pupils know that they must not share personal information online.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils conduct themselves well during lessons, at playtimes and lunchtimes. They follow adults’ instructions and show good manners.
• Pupils say that they feel safe at school. They know who to go to should they have a concern. Pupils know the staff who are part of the safeguarding team and know that their teachers will respond to any concerns that they may have.
• The school is taking positive action to ensure that pupils’ attendance is maximised through the daily monitoring of absence. The two attendance officers support families so that they can improve pupils’ attendance. The attendance officers visit families daily to seek reasons for absence. The school has set up a text messaging service to support families with their daily routines so that they arrive at school on time.
• The school knows that improvements need to be made on achieving national expectations for attendance consistently and ensuring that levels of persistent absence are reduced for specific groups of pupils. Leaders have ensured that there is immediate action to address pupil absence and parents are contacted daily to seek reasons for pupil absence. The school is taking all possible steps to promote regular school attendance.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Children’s attainment in the early years is better than in the rest of the school. They are well prepared for Year 1. In 2016 the school was above the national expectation for the proportion of children achieving a good level of development. The school has also seen a rise in the proportion of children achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.
• In 2014 and 2015, the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in the phonics screening test at the end of Year 1 was below the national expectation and static for these two years. However, in 2016, the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard increased. It is slightly below the national expectation and the school is aware that consistent teaching is needed to ensure that the pupils make improved progress.
• Recent information published in 2016 shows that pupils in key stage 1 are well below the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. School information and work in pupils’ books shows that where teaching is consistent, pupils are making good progress.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well in lessons. Current workbooks show that these pupils are making good progress.
• The most able pupils are not always given the appropriate challenge to help them make the accelerated progress which they are capable of.
• The school has responded to the decline in pupils’ results by taking action to raise standards. In 2016, progress in reading, writing and mathematics was below average for disadvantaged pupils, boys and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Where teaching is consistent, these pupils do well.

Early years provision Good

• In 2016, from pupils’ low starting points, the proportion of pupils achieving a good level of development increased and was above national expectations. This is an improvement on two years previously when attainment was below the national expectations. Pupils are well prepared for Year 1.
• Leadership in the early years is effective. Leaders are ambitious and know the children well. Children enjoy their learning tasks because they are interesting and innovative. The environment is vibrant and an interesting place to learn.
• The early years team support children’s learning effectively through detailed assessments of children’s progress. These are checked regularly by the early years team so that they can ensure that all aspects of children’s learning are being met. The school has introduced a new online tracking system which can be shared with parents so that they can contribute to their child’s learning profile.
• Leaders in the early years use the additional funding for disadvantaged pupils effectively. They have improved the outdoor spaces and equipment so that pupils have a broad range of activities and learning experiences.
• Children’s workbooks and learning journeys show a broad range of activities. Staff keep accurate records of children’s development. Early years staff have frequent opportunities to check their judgements of children’s achievement at school cluster meetings. As a result, staff in the early years are able to plan activities in response to children’s needs.
• The school provides family workshops to support the seamless transition of children to the school’s Nursery through ‘Get Set for Nursery’ sessions. Parents are supported well by a comprehensive induction programme.
• Phonics and early reading skills are taught well in the early years. Pupils have daily activities linked to sounding out letters and words.

School details

Unique reference number 122413 Local authority Nottingham Inspection number 10023223 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 Maintained Age range of pupils 3 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 485 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sue Anthony Headteacher Debbie Weaver Telephone number 0115 915 5770 Website www.cantrell.nottingham.sch.uk Email address admin@cantrell.nottingham.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 18–19 October 2012

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The current headteacher was appointed in the spring of 2015.
• This is a larger than average primary school.
• 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.
• The proportion of pupils who are from minority ethnic groups and speak English as an additional language is below average.
• The school receives support from the Transform Teaching Alliance.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in all classes in the school. Some lessons were seen jointly with school leaders.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, senior and middle leaders. Two governors from the governing body were also interviewed.
• Inspectors scrutinised in detail a range of pupils’ books in a variety of subjects.
• Inspectors looked at a wide range of the school’s documentation, including the school’s evaluation of its own performance and development plan, information on pupils’ attainment and progress, behaviour, bullying and attendance records, safeguarding procedures, reviews of the pupil premium and sport funding and minutes of the governing body.
• Inspectors observed behaviour around the school, including at break and lunchtimes. They spoke formally to one group of pupils and informally with others around the school. One inspector listened to pupils reading.
• The 14 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, were considered. Inspectors spoke with parents before school and considered the nine responses from parents to the Ofsted free text service.
• The 39 responses to the pupil questionnaire and 11 responses to the staff questionnaire were also considered.

Inspection team

Emma Nuttall, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Ann Glynne-Jones Ofsted Inspector Linda Lyn-Cook Ofsted Inspector Clive Worrall Ofsted Inspector Michael Wilson Ofsted Inspector