Warren Primary Academy Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and raise standards by ensuring that:
  • teachers use assessment information and plan tasks carefully to meet the needs of all pupils
  • teachers’ expectations of what pupils should achieve are high, including for disadvantaged pupils
  • teachers have a secure understanding of what they want pupils to learn when planning tasks
  • teachers have strong subject knowledge to enable them to teach subjects across the curriculum effectively.
• Improve pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare by:
  • ensuring that all staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour, and apply the school’s behaviour policy consistently
  • reducing the number of incidents of unacceptable behaviour
  • developing pupils’ resilience to enable them to be effective learners
  • reducing persistent absence.
• Improve leadership and management by:
  • ensuring that the support for pupils who are eligible for pupil premium is used to full effect so that they make strong progress
  • continue to develop improved and effective communication with parents.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The school has been through a period of significant change and turbulence. The new leadership team has been in place since September 2018. Leaders have high ambitions for the school and an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. They have quickly established a culture of trust and staff work well together as a team. Leaders lead by example and staff share their high expectations.
• During the 2017/18 academic year, many staff left the school. The acting headteacher and the trust took steps to ensure that staffing was stable for September 2018. Close collaboration between the trust, acting headteacher and the new headteacher has enabled them to implement improvements quickly and halt the decline in standards.
• Changes of staff and disruption to the leadership contributed to a decline in the consistency and quality of teaching. Many of the teaching staff are in the first few years of their careers. Leaders have identified the individual needs of these staff. Leaders and the trust provide bespoke training and support to provide teachers with the guidance they need to develop their skills rapidly. Leaders use the stronger teachers in the school, and at other schools in the trust to demonstrate good practice and high expectations.
• Leaders have acted quickly to put in place strategies to support teachers to plan for the needs of pupils and raise expectations. All teachers are using these strategies to differing degrees of success. It is clear from scrutiny of pupils’ workbooks, inspectors’ visits to classrooms and leaders’ monitoring records that the quality of teaching is improving rapidly.
• The leader for pupils with SEND has a comprehensive understanding of the needs of these pupils. Leaders monitor the support provided for pupils closely and staff working with these pupils have a good understanding of their needs. These pupils make strong progress.
• Senior leaders have assigned subject leader responsibilities to teachers and are providing leadership training to help them to develop their roles. Leaders have identified the need to establish middle leadership roles. However, they have rightly decided to focus on developing teaching skills before adding additional responsibilities. Succession plans are in place to develop future leaders.
• The PE and sport premium is used well. Sports coaches work alongside teachers to develop their sports teaching skills and increase the fitness and engagement of pupils. Staff champion sport and the importance of physical exercise. Sport mentors coach pupils at break and lunchtimes as well as working individually to develop pupils’ skills and self-esteem.
• Staff develop pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) education well across the school. Through involvement with the trust’s award for SMSC, pupils consider a different value every week in assemblies and during class discussion. Each class is involved with fund raising and supports a charity of their choice. Pupils learn about British values through the election of the school council, taking on responsibilities, and learning about tolerance and diversity.
• The school’s curriculum is designed to develop pupils’ knowledge in all subjects. Pupils have a wide range of opportunities to learn about significant events in history, geography skills and different faiths and cultures.
• Until recently, the progress of disadvantaged pupils has not been given a high enough priority. There has not been a sharp focus on closing the gaps in pupils’ learning. Since September 2018 the leadership team have carefully monitored the progress and attainment of these pupils. Teachers now have a greater understanding of disadvantaged pupils’ needs, and leaders are holding teachers to account for the progress they make.
• Due to changes and disruption in the leadership of the school and changes off staff, parents have become disillusioned with the work of the school. Leaders have worked hard to rebuild confidence, and many parents feel that the school is improving. However, some parents feel there are still unresolved issues particularly about incidents of poor behaviour and the quality of education pupils receive. Leaders are working closely with these parents to address their concerns.

Governance of the school

• The trust are ambitious for the school to improve and acted quickly when they became aware of falling standards at the school. Their monitoring of the school’s performance has accurately identified the areas of weakness. Trust directors work closely with school leaders to bring about improvements, providing both support and challenge. Their support has enabled the new leadership team to quickly put in place the systems and processes needed to bring improvement. They have helped to create a culture where staff have high ambitions for all pupils.
• The members of the local advisory board have a good understanding of the school. They have ensured that leaders consider the views of parents and the local community and have helped to rebuild trust with many parents. They are ambitious for the school to improve rapidly, and are providing support to leaders when appropriate.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders have ensured that systems and processes for recording safeguarding information are detailed, accurate and closely monitored. Leaders seek support from the local authority or other agencies when required. Where cases do not meet the local authority threshold for involvement leaders use the expertise of the school’s family support worker.
• The school’s staff have a secure understanding of their need to safeguard pupils. As well as being aware of the procedures for passing on concerns, they are aware that it is their responsibility to be alert to any signs of abuse, no matter how small.
• Leaders frequently provide update training for staff to help them have a wide understanding of the dangers that pupils may face. For example, staff have recently received additional training in recognising and supporting pupils who experience online grooming.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Many of the teaching staff have joined the school in the last 18 months. Due to the changes in leadership, many teachers did not receive effective induction and training in the school’s approaches to teaching and learning. This contributed to a decline in the quality of teaching and learning.
• Sometimes, teachers do not use assessment information well enough to set tasks that build on what pupils can already do. They do not always adapt their planning to ensure that teaching matches pupils’ next steps in learning. Sometimes, tasks can be too easy, or too hard for some pupils.
• The expectation of what pupils should be able to achieve is sometimes too low. Some tasks do not encourage pupils to think hard or make them enthusiastic and keen to learn.
• Teachers are not always clear about what they want pupils to learn. Sometimes they focus too much on what pupils will do, and not enough on what they want them to learn. In addition, they are not precise enough when communicating with pupils, and some pupils are unclear about what they need to do.
• The subject knowledge of some teachers is not secure enough to enable them to move pupils on with their learning. Sometimes they do not respond quickly enough to pupils’ misconceptions to enable them to make strong progress.
• The teaching of mathematics, across the school, has been developed to provide pupils with greater challenge depending on their understanding. Teachers identify what pupils need to do next to develop their learning. However, this approach is not used consistently. For example, some pupils complete work that they have already demonstrated they can do and do not make as much progress as they should.
• In writing, teachers provide pupils with differing amounts of challenge to enable them to develop their skills. Pupils transfer grammar, spelling and punctuation knowledge to their extended pieces of writing. Sometimes, teachers are not consistent in setting tasks for pupils which help them to achieve their next steps in learning. Some teachers do not rectify the common mistakes made by the pupils and, consequently, they repeat the same errors.
• Teachers develop pupils’ phonic knowledge systematically, which enables them to decode unfamiliar words well. Pupils use their phonic knowledge when spelling new words. Teachers assess pupils’ phonic knowledge carefully and plan for pupils’ next steps. However, once pupils can decode texts, sometimes teachers’ expectations of what pupils should achieve are too low. Pupils sometimes spend too much time on the retrieval of information and comprehension, and not enough on other reading skills of inference and deduction.
• Teachers who have a more-established understanding of the school’s approaches to teaching and learning plan tasks that challenge all pupils. They use the school’s systems and strategies well to determine what pupils know and what they need to do next. These teachers have high expectations and ensure that the tasks they set make pupils think and successfully move their learning forward.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.
• Some pupils do not have positive attitudes to learning. When they encounter problems that are unfamiliar to them, they lack the resilience or determination to tackle the task. Sometimes, when tasks set do not meet the needs of pupils, they become distracted from their learning and do not make as much progress as they are capable of.
• Pupils learn how to live healthy lifestyles. They know that regular exercise and healthy foods will help them to stay fit and healthy. However, staff do not reinforce this during the school day. For example, staff do not consistently ensure that pupils make healthy choices or that packed lunches promote healthy lifestyles.
• Staff work with pupils to develop their self-esteem. Programmes such as yoga therapy and sport mentors are used to help pupils understand and achieve success. Staff encourage pupils to transfer these skills of perseverance and determination into their work.
• Pupils know the risks they may face when using the internet. As well as recognising dangers, teachers empower pupils not to feel ashamed or afraid, but to be confident to pass on incidents or concerns immediately.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• Rates of attendance are below the national average. The proportion of pupils who are persistently absent has been increasing and is now above the national average. More families have taken holiday in term time, which has had an impact on the school’s attendance rates.
• Since September, leaders have been persistent in their response to falling attendance. School staff work closely with families to reinforce the need for good attendance. The attendance of most pupils identified as persistently absent has improved significantly over the past term.
• The behaviour of a few pupils sometimes falls below the school’s high standards. Leaders have provided targeted support for these pupils to help them manage their behaviour. While the number of events has decreased, there are still incidents of verbal abuse towards other pupils or disruptive behaviour.
• The school’s records show that the few incidents of bullying are monitored carefully. The school’s staff are aware of who vulnerable pupils are and have put in place measures to resolve problems and support all pupils involved. However, some parents and pupils perceive that there are still incidents of bullying at the school. Leaders are working with parents and pupils to address any ongoing concerns.
• Pupils are polite, welcoming and chatty. They take pride in their work, which is presented well. They are eager to talk with visitors about their learning and enjoying sharing their work. During break and lunchtimes the vast majority of pupils play well together and use the many playground activities available to them. Pupils respect the views of others.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Outcomes for pupils at the end of key stage 2 have been high, however, due to inconsistent teaching and assessment procedures standards fell significantly in 2018. The proportion of pupils leaving the school well prepared for the next stage in their education was well below the national average.
• The school’s own assessment information shows that pupils are currently making stronger progress than they did last year. Nevertheless, due to gaps in knowledge, and inconsistent teaching in the past, several pupils are not making as much progress as they should.
• Pupils’ workbooks show that pupils make inconsistent progress. Where teaching is stronger, pupils make strong progress. However, where teachers do not have high enough expectations, or tasks do not meet pupils’ needs, they are not making as much progress as they could.
• In key stage 1, pupils make secure progress from their starting points at the end of the early years. The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics is consistently similar to or above the national average.
• Across the school disadvantaged pupils do not make as much progress as their peers. End-of-key stage assessments for the last two years indicate that the support these pupils receive has not been effective in raising their attainment. The support that current pupils receive is better targeted to meet the specific needs of these pupils. However, these actions are too new to evaluate fully their impact on attainment.
• Through closely targeted and monitored support, pupils with SEND make secure progress. Short-term targets ensure that pupils receive the help they need to achieve well.
• The teaching of phonics and early reading skills consistently provides pupils with the skills they need when beginning to learn how to read. The proportion of pupils who achieve the expected standard in the phonics screening check is consistently above or similar to the national average.

Early years provision Good

• Leaders have established a strong ethos and a clear philosophy. They work closely with the trust to continually improve the provision for children in the early years. Activities are carefully planned to take account of what children can already do and their next steps in learning.
• Teachers ensure that children understand what they need to achieve and provide them with the resources to help them make strong progress. For example, when writing part of a story, the teacher encouraged children to use different sentence starters, and to make sure that sentences linked together to move the story forward. Children knew that their writing should include full stops, capital letters and finger spaces.
• The Nursery leader is ambitious for the standards children will achieve. Adults support children well to practise writing their name, and when ready they are taught the first phonics sounds. This enables children to make a flying start when they join the Reception class.
• Teachers’ high expectations for pupils are evident throughout the setting. Adults act as good role models for children. They are actively involved in role play and develop pupils thinking when they are playing. Children choose activities independently and demonstrate perseverance, determination and concentration when completing them.
• Adults establish clear routines and expectations in the Nursery classroom. Children are polite to each other, wait their turn and are respectful. These expectations are then built upon in the Reception class, where children become increasingly independent.
• Most children leave the early years well prepared for the next stage of their education. Where children have not achieved all the early learning goals or a good level of development, teachers work closely with Year 1 staff to plan tasks that will ensure that they close any gaps in their learning.
• Through individual assessment and analysis, staff identify the needs of children with SEND or those who are disadvantaged. Teachers plan activities to help these children to catch up with the others in the class. Leaders work closely with external agencies when their assistance is required.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 137443 Nottingham 10086762 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 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 241 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Headteacher Mark Blois Paul Tibble Telephone number 01159 153760 Website Email address www.warrenacademy.co.uk admin@warrenacademy.co.uk Date of previous inspection 15–16 January 2013

Information about this school

• The school is part of the L.E.A.D. Academy Trust. The powers of governance lie with the trustees of the L.E.A.D Trust. The trustee has appointed a committee known as the local governing body. The trustees delegate some of their powers to the local advisory board.
• Since the last inspection there have been a significant change in staffing, with many teachers and the school’s leadership team new to the school.
• Approximately one third of pupils are eligible for free school meals
• The proportion of pupils with SEN and/or disabilities is above the national average.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors observed learning in a number of lessons, some of which were observed jointly with the headteacher. 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 headteacher, subject leaders, early years leader, teachers and representatives from the L.E.A.D. trust and the local advisory board.
• The inspectors spoke with parents informally and considered the 33 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 Caroline Poole Roary Pownall Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector