Henry Whipple Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve teaching so that pupils make faster progress, particularly in reading and mathematics, by all teachers
  • raising their expectations of what pupils can achieve
  • ensuring that they set work that is sufficiently challenging, especially for the most able pupils
  • consistently applying the school’s policy on feedback on pupils’ work
  • giving clear explanations of tasks so that pupils know what they have to do.
• Improve the quality of the leadership of English and mathematics by:
  • providing training in the moderation of assessment so that leaders can ensure teachers’ assessments are accurate
  • making more rigorous checks on the quality of teaching and providing support where it is needed
  • involving subject leaders fully in using assessment data to identify where pupils are underachieving and in providing additional support where it is needed.
• Extend the school’s work with parents to involve more of them in supporting their children’s learning and attendance.
• Ensure that governors are trained to understand and interpret information about the attainment and progress of different groups of pupils so they are able to hold leaders to account more closely.
• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in the early years by ensuring that the outdoor areas are used as effectively as those inside the school building.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• The headteacher and deputy headteacher have a clear vision for school improvement. They are aspirational for all pupils and have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Senior leaders have not held middle leaders to account closely enough, however, to ensure that improvements have been rapid enough.
• Leadership of English and mathematics requires improvement. Leaders do not check provision closely enough so the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in these subjects is not consistently good across the school. Subject leaders do not track pupils’ attainment and progress robustly enough to identify correctly pupils who require additional support. Therefore, pupils do not make enough progress in English and mathematics.
• Subject leaders have not ensured that teachers accurately assess pupils’ work. This has resulted in the school having too generous a view of pupil progress. Teachers’ assessments of pupils’ work in Year 6 in 2016 did not accurately identify pupils in need of additional support. As a result, pupils’ performance in external tests was significantly weaker than predicted.
• Leadership of the provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities requires improvement. Middle leaders rely too heavily on the headteacher and deputy headteacher to keep track of pupils’ attendance and progress. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities do not make as much progress as they should.
• Leaders carefully account for the allocation of additional funding such as that for disadvantaged pupils and the primary physical education (PE) and sport funding. Leaders are aware of the need to refine the strategy for spending pupil premium funding so that it brings about more rapid progress for disadvantaged pupils.
• Leaders have ensured that the curriculum is broad and balanced. Pupils study a wide range of subjects and the curriculum is further enriched through ‘learning away’ opportunities. Pupils benefit greatly from these activities, which extend their experiences and learning.
• Leaders have implemented a whole-school strategy to develop pupils’ writing skills by providing opportunities for extended writing in a variety of subjects. While this has communicated higher expectations to pupils, leaders are aware of the need for even greater challenge to ensure that pupils make faster progress in their writing.
• Leaders have developed very good working relationships with parents and have ensured that parents have become more involved in their children’s learning. For example, parents are invited into the school for a variety of activities, such as participating in ‘learning together’ sessions, attending information events and joining school assemblies to celebrate their children’s successes. Leaders are keen to develop relationships with more parents to help them support their children’s progress.
• Leaders have ensured that pupils’ attendance remains a priority. For example, they have appointed an attendance officer who works closely with pupils who find it difficult to attend school regularly. The importance of good attendance is frequently highlighted in assemblies and in classes. Attendance has improved and continues to do so. The proportion of pupils who are persistently absent has reduced.
• Senior leaders have identified the use of teaching assistants as an area for development. They have undertaken significant work to improve the effectiveness of teaching assistants since the last inspection. ‘Teaching partners’ work in close collaboration with class teachers, in both the planning and delivery of lessons.
• Leaders ensure that all staff consistently promote fundamental British values. Pupils’ behaviour reflects their understanding of these values. Activities and processes in school further reflect these positive attitudes, such as the democratic election of school ambassadors.

Governance of the school

• Governors are committed to the school and share the headteacher’s aspirations for pupil success, but they do not have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. This means that the governing body’s evaluation of pupils’ attainment and progress is too generous. Governors do not have enough knowledge and understanding of assessment information to be able to hold leaders to account closely enough.
• Governors bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the school and are keen to support school improvement. They offer appropriate challenge in their areas of expertise. Governors recognise that they would benefit from additional training in areas where they lack knowledge and experience.
• Governors have a good understanding of the school’s context, which enables them to understand the challenges related to school improvement.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. School leaders have established a culture of shared responsibility for the safeguarding and well-being of all pupils in the school. Staff have a detailed understanding of individual children, which supports their ability to ensure the safety of all. Children are placed at the heart of all they do.
• School leaders ensure that all staff receive appropriate and regular training. As a result, staff are knowledgeable about current wider safeguarding issues such as sexting and child sexual exploitation.
• School leaders are tenacious in following up safeguarding concerns in a timely and appropriate fashion. Records are detailed and well maintained.
• School leaders have developed effective working relationships with parents and carers to make sure that all pupils are supported and feel safe. Parents value the support that is provided.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inconsistent across year groups and within subjects.
• Teachers do not have high enough expectations of what pupils are already able to achieve. Learning time is wasted because pupils are expected to complete work that is too easy for them or spend time on activities that have little value. Many pupils, particularly the most able, are not moved on to sufficiently challenging work quickly enough. Inspectors saw many lessons where the pace of the lesson was too slow to allow pupils to make rapid progress.
• Teachers do not plan sufficiently for the needs of individual pupils. As school leaders recognise, there is too much ‘teaching to the middle’. The most able pupils are not sufficiently challenged, which limits their progress. In some lessons, the least able pupils are not sufficiently supported.
• Although school leaders are reviewing the school’s feedback policy, teachers are not currently applying it consistently. Where it is used well, pupils respond to teachers’ feedback on their work, which supports their progress. However, inspectors saw examples where teachers’ comments were unhelpful or confusing, and pupils were unable to use this feedback to support their learning.
• There has been a focus on developing pupils’ speaking skills, and lessons are planned to provide opportunities for pupils to practise speaking in a variety of ways. This works well where teachers allow pupils the time to develop their responses. In some lessons, however, teachers dominate discussions or are too quick to move on to their next question, which means that pupils are unable to develop extended, thoughtful responses.
• Teachers’ explanations are not always clear enough, which means that pupils do not always understand what they have to do, or have the means to do it well.
• ‘Teaching partners’ work closely with teachers in the planning of lessons. Inspectors noted many lessons where teaching partners were providing good support to pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Inspectors observed some examples of strong teaching, particularly in a number of subjects in Year 2. In these lessons, questioning was targeted at individual pupils, enabling them to develop their reasoning skills and make good progress.
• Many lessons make use of engaging resources and ideas to enthuse and motivate pupils. For example, pupils in Year 2 were using the story of ‘The Gruffalo’ as a stimulus to their work on food chains in science lessons.
• Teachers set homework, in line with the school policy, which is appropriate for the age and stage of pupils. Activities are varied and highly valuable to pupils’ progress. Pupils say that they enjoy this work and parents report that such activities are valuable and support their children’s learning.
• Much work has been undertaken to encourage pupils to read widely and actively, particularly at home. Inspectors listened to a number of pupils read and spoke with them about their reading habits.
• These pupils were keen to share their reading; the most able read with flair and fluency and the less able were able to use their phonic skills to work out unfamiliar words. All pupils maintain a reading record and those who read regularly make good progress.
• Very good use is made of ‘learning away’ activities. For example, pupils in Year 1 were reflecting on a visit to the sea-life centre, using their experiences to develop their writing skills. All pupils were excitedly developing their writing because they were keen to describe what they had seen during their visit.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. All staff work hard to develop pupils’ self-esteem and pupils are confident and happy. Pupils are very proud of their school.
• Relationships between staff and pupils are positive. Pupils feel supported and understand that all staff want them to become successful individuals.
• Pupils value their education. They recognise that school leaders have high expectations and make a determined effort to meet them.
• The lunchtime ‘family service’ arrangement, where pupils are seated in mixed-age groups, is highly effective in developing pupils’ social skills. Pupils value the opportunities that they have to socialise with pupils from other age groups and classes. The headteacher’s participation supports pupils’ understanding of equality and contributes to the community atmosphere created within the school.
• Pupils’ welfare is of high priority. Staff know individual pupils well and are quick to respond where they have concerns.
• Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe. For example, pupils with whom inspectors spoke were clear about using the internet safely and also knew what they should do if they were concerned.
• Pupils are extremely tolerant of diversity and demonstrate respect, both in their views and behaviour. Pupils report that incidents of bullying are extremely rare but are confident that it would be dealt with quickly and effectively, should it occur.
• School leaders promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well, providing a wide range of enriching activities. Pupils are reflective about their behaviours and attitudes.
• School leaders have ensured that pupils are given opportunities to hold positions of responsibility. Pupils with whom inspectors spoke are proud to take on roles such as pupil ambassadors, digital leaders and attendance monitors.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. They conduct themselves well, both in lessons and around the school. There are clearly established rules and expectations, which pupils understand and respect. This results in a positive atmosphere where pupils are happy and feel safe.
• Attendance for all pupils is slightly below the national average. Disadvantaged pupils’ attendance is well below the national average. However, the considerable work that school leaders have undertaken is having a positive impact and attendance has improved since the last inspection and continues to do so. The proportion of pupils who are persistently absent has declined considerably and is now close to the national average.
• Most pupils understand the importance of attending school regularly. Pupils with whom inspectors spoke explained that they have attendance targets and they are keen to achieve them. They appreciate and value the rewards that they receive for attending regularly.
• School leaders work hard to support pupils’ behaviour in school and exclusions are extremely rare.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Pupils’ standards by the end of key stage 2 have declined since the last inspection and their progress has been slower.
• Pupils’ skills and knowledge when they enter the school are below those typical for their age and they do not make fast enough progress to catch up. Pupils do not make enough progress in reading and mathematics by the time they leave the school. Their overall progress is below that of all pupils nationally. Disadvantaged pupils make significantly less progress than other pupils nationally.
• In 2016, pupils’ progress in reading and mathematics at the end of Year 6 was significantly below the national average. Disadvantaged pupils made particularly slow progress in reading.
• In 2016, pupils in Year 6 who have special educational needs and/or disabilities made significantly less progress than other pupils in reading and mathematics.
• The school’s assessment information indicates that current pupils are making more rapid progress than previously. Inspectors did not see evidence of this in pupils’ books or in lessons, however, to show that their progress is accelerating quickly enough.
• At the end key stage 1, the proportion of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, reaching the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics in 2016 was below the national average. However, school leaders are able to demonstrate that pupils who have attended the school since the start of the key stage make better progress than those who joined the school later.
• The proportions of pupils meeting the expected standard in phonics by the end of Year 1 and by the end of Year 2 are below the national averages. School leaders judge the teaching of phonics to have improved and inspectors noted strong teaching of phonics during the inspection.
• Pupils’ progress in writing is stronger than in reading and mathematics. In 2016, progress in writing for pupils in Year 6 was above the national average for all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils.

Early years provision Good

• Since the last inspection there has been significant improvement in the quality of provision in the early years setting, which is a strength of the school.
• The early years leader is knowledgeable and aspirational for all children. This means that children have a positive start to their time in school.
• The proportion of children reaching a good level of development is now above the national average. Children are well prepared to begin Year 1 by the time they leave the early years setting. The early years leader judges that outcomes for children will improve further this year.
• The early years leader has a good understanding of the setting’s strengths and clear plans are in place to sustain the recent improvement.
• Children are assessed on entry and appropriate support is put in place to ensure that gaps in children’s development are remedied. Formal assessment takes place regularly and activities are designed to ensure that children’s needs are met.
• The early years leader has ensured that additional funding is used to improve rates of progress of disadvantaged children, for example by providing opportunities for children to use musical instruments to develop their interaction and social skills, and extra support to develop their understanding of phonics.
• The quality of teaching in the early years setting is good, particularly in the indoor spaces. Inspectors observed effective teaching of phonics, where a range of activities were well planned. Children are encouraged to transfer their skills across different activities. For example, children were observed enthusiastically exploring ‘The Hungry Caterpillar’, incorporating their reading, mathematics and speaking and listening skills.
• Teachers’ use of questioning is highly effective in the early years setting. Questions are targeted at individual children and follow-up questions support children in developing their reasoning and explanation skills.
• Teachers encourage children to take appropriate risks in a safely managed way, which supports their development.
• Children cooperate well. For example, they told inspectors that they ‘need to work together and share’. They are thoughtful and kind to one another. Pupils are given positions of responsibility, which they value and take seriously. For example, one child told an inspector, ‘I am an eco-warrior.’
• Children are fully involved in the whole-school ‘family service’ dining arrangements at lunchtime. Their inclusion is very effective in developing their social skills and confidence.
• Safeguarding is effective. Staff know individual children well and clear processes are in place to ensure children’s safety and well-being.
• The headteacher and the early years staff have developed very positive relationships with parents. Parents regularly participate in activities in school, which has a positive impact on their children’s learning. For example, parents are invited to stay with their children as they arrive in the mornings to share reading time together. Parents with whom inspectors spoke were appreciative of the opportunities available to support their children’s progress. Parents were extremely positive about every aspect of the early years provision.
• The outdoor area provides a variety of opportunities for children’s physical development, and children were observed enjoying these facilities throughout the inspection. Too much time is given to unstructured play, however, as the headteacher recognises. Teachers do not give enough direction to support children’s development beyond the physical during these extended periods.

School details

Unique reference number 131017 Local authority Nottingham Inspection number 10023191 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 Community Age range of pupils 3 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 233 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Daniel Harvey Headteacher Cari Burgess Telephone number 0115 915 5723 Website www.henrywhipple.co.uk/ Email address admin@henrywhipple.nottingham.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 12–13 February 2013

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school is an average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is considerably higher than the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is average.
• The proportion of pupils who join the school mid-way through their education is higher than the national average.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set out the minimum expectations for attainment and progress at the end of Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in every class, jointly with senior leaders on several occasions.
• Discussions were held with senior and middle leaders, members of the governing body, pupils, parents and a representative from the local authority.
• Inspectors looked at pupils’ work in lessons and a large sample of pupils’ books.
• Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons, at playtime and lunchtime and during a whole-school assembly.
• Inspectors scrutinised a wide range of documents including school improvement plans, the school’s self-evaluation, minutes of meetings of the governing body, information about the attainment and progress of all pupils and records relating to behaviour and safeguarding.
• Inspectors considered the three ‘free text’ responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, and the school’s own survey of parental views. Inspectors also considered the 13 responses from staff to Ofsted’s questionnaire.

Inspection team

Deborah Mosley, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Tracey Ydlibi Ofsted Inspector Christine Lethbridge Ofsted Inspector