Lake View Primary and Nursery School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching and outcomes for all pupils in reading and writing and, particularly, in mathematics, in Years 1 to 6, by ensuring that:
  • teachers’ assessments are used more effectively to plan activities that take account of pupils’ different abilities so that all pupils stay focused and learn well
  • the most able pupils are sufficiently challenged in all lessons
  • teachers’ questioning allows pupils to articulate their thinking and extend their learning.
• Improve the provision in the early years, by:
  • ensuring that information collected on children’s performance is rigorously analysed so that areas to improve are identified and focused on
  • providing children with activities and resources that capture their interest, especially that of boys.
• Improve personal development, behaviour and welfare, by:
  • ensuring that behavioural incidents are analysed to identify patterns and trends.
• Improve leadership and management, by:
  • checking teaching and learning rigorously so that the remaining weaknesses are identified and successfully acted upon
  • ensuring that governors make full use of the pupil performance information they receive throughout the school so that they can hold school leaders more closely to account.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Leaders and managers, including governors, have not yet succeeded in improving the rate of pupils’ progress through the school so that pupils attain the standards they are capable of by the time they leave Year 6.
• The monitoring of teaching, learning and assessment, by the headteacher and senior leaders, has addressed some weaknesses in teaching. However, some weaknesses remain. This affects the learning and progress of all pupil groups. Consequently, pupils’ progress in the early years and across Years 1 to 6 is uneven.
• Leaders, including governors, check information about pupils’ performance. They have not consistently used the information well enough to ensure that all pupils make the progress of which they are capable in reading, writing and mathematics. Some pupils do better than others.
• Although most parents are happy with the progress their children are making, a small minority think that their children’s progress could be better.
• Since the previous inspection, improvements have been made. For example, a higher proportion of children are now achieving a good level of development at the end of the Reception Year. In addition, the proportion of pupils who are reaching the national figure in the Year 1 phonics screening assessment is above average.
• The performance management system for teachers is closely linked with their professional development and pay structure. Teachers spoke of having many opportunities recently to develop their expertise, for example in mathematics or taking part in online courses in their own time. It is too early after training to see an impact on pupils’ outcomes.
• The curriculum offers pupils a range of opportunities in many areas. In Years 1 to 6, topic books clearly show that subjects other than reading, writing and mathematics are also high profile. For example, pupils in Year 2 learn about castles in history. In science lessons, teachers cover solids, liquids and gases with Years 4 and 5. Pupils’ work is usually well presented and pupils have many opportunities to write across a range of subjects.
• In the early years, children’s learning journeys clearly show that children have many opportunities to take part in activities that focus on all areas of learning.
• The personal, social and health education programme focuses highly on developing independent learning skills. In classes where activities were well-matched to pupils’ abilities, pupils were observed learning well while showing good independence. The curriculum promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and British values effectively. This has been maintained since the previous inspection. During an assembly, for instance, democracy was discussed in terms of the school council elections and pupils were given opportunities to reflect on their own experiences. Selected pupils responded positively to the responsibility they were given as they presented awards to others.
• Additional funding, such as the primary physical education and sport funding allows pupils many opportunities to take part in sporting activities, some being competitive. Teachers have received advice and support from specialists. Resources, particularly for gymnastics, have enhanced the physical education provision. Pupils in Year 2 were observed learning safely in a physical education lesson. Clear teaching points enabled pupils to learn effectively as they focused on their movements. Pupils say they enjoy the sporting opportunities that are offered.
• Pupil premium funding is used to support the promotion of pupils’ social, cultural and academic skills by offering wider, sometimes out of school, activities such as visits to the theatre and learning to play musical instruments. School performance information is analysed to check on the progress that pupils who receive this funding make. Their progress is variable as they make good progress in some classes but not in others.

Governance of the school

• Governors know the school’s main strengths and areas for improvement. They receive information about the pupils’ progress. They are aware that there are inconsistencies in the progress that some groups of pupils make. However, there is scope for governors to check more closely that leaders are ensuring all pupils are making the progress of which they are capable.
• Governors are aware of systems that are in place and understand, for example, that performance management is linked teachers’ pay structure.
• Governors are aware of how additional government funding is spent and the impact it has on pupils’ social and academic needs. They know that this information is presented on the school’s website for parents to see. Governors are knowledgeable about the importance of holding the school to account regarding spending.
• Governors are well informed of how the school is doing through visits into school, open days, copies of pupils’ performance information and the reports which they receive. They appreciate the way pupils’ performance information is now presented to them in a more straightforward format.
• Governors confidently support and challenge the school. For example, when the recent new initiative ‘talk for writing’ was introduced, the initial impact was low and governors challenged the school as to why this was so.
• Safeguarding
• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Minor issues identified at the start of the inspection have been successfully addressed.
• Governors are involved in updating policies, including those related to safeguarding. They, along with school leaders, have systems in place that enable all staff to keep up to date with new policies and information about safeguarding. All staff have appropriate safeguarding training so that they are aware of their safeguarding responsibilities.
• Through regular health and safety checks, governors and school leaders ensure that pupils work and play in an environment that is safe and secure. Almost all parents do not have concerns regarding the safety of their children.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teaching, learning and assessment are variable from class to class and subject to subject. Pupils in Years 1 to Year 6 do not consistently learn effectively. Teachers generally demonstrate good subject knowledge. However, in some lessons pupils waste learning time and become off task when activities are not accurately matched to their needs. This affects the learning of all pupil groups, including disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Teachers spend too long consolidating skills and knowledge that pupils already have. The most able pupils do not move on quickly enough to work that they have to try hard to do. Ongoing assessment by teachers, as lessons progress, is not always rigorous enough to move learning on at a swift pace. Pupils stated, during discussions with inspectors, that the activities they were given were sometimes not challenging enough.
• At times, when pupils work alongside the teacher, they learn well. However, the rest of the class do not always make the same rapid gains in their learning because they are not sufficiently checked by the teacher and become off task.
• Ongoing assessment was used skilfully by a teacher in a mathematics lesson, where learning moved at a very fast pace. All pupils were extremely well focused because activities were planned to meet pupils’ needs. Challenging activities were also available so pupils of all abilities stayed focused. Learning was constantly checked so nobody wasted time. The classroom was buzzing with learning and at the end of the lesson pupils did not want to put their mathematics books away because they were enjoying their learning so much!
• When learning is consistently good, questioning by teachers allows pupils to articulate their thinking as they reinforce and extend their learning. However, this is not consistent in all classes or across all subject areas.
• Inspection evidence shows that not all pupils learn well, particularly in mathematics but also in reading and writing. Weaknesses in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment affect learning for all pupil groups, including disadvantaged pupils and those identified as having special educational needs.
• Pupils’ previous work shows that teachers’ marking often supports learning well. Good examples were observed of comments being not only supportive but also informative. This is an improvement since the previous inspection.
• Pupils of all ages spoke of enjoying reading. Books are promoted well across the school. From an early age, children were observed selecting books and telling the story by following the pictures. Older pupils in key stage 2 were observed reading texts and using their knowledge of letters and sounds to identify challenging words.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.
• Pupils say that the school building and the grounds are secure and they have confidence in the adults who support them. They say that they feel safe and know to speak with an adult if they have a concern. Relationships between adults and pupils are positive. Almost every pupil said that there was an adult in the school they would talk to.
• There are a number of opportunities in the curriculum for pupils to learn how to keep themselves safe, for example learning about e-safety and developing an understanding of the dangers of drug misuse. Through science lessons, pupils learn how to stay healthy and the tuck shop only sells healthy snacks. Pupils speak knowledgeably about safety and about the different types of bullying they may come across.
• The curriculum promotes pupils’ spiritual, social, moral and cultural development well. This has been maintained since the previous inspection. For example, stories in English promote a variety of cultures. Year 4 pupils listened to a story about Indian culture and then completed activities relating to it. All pupils have opportunities to reflect on beliefs and their own experiences, particularly during assemblies.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• Behaviour is variable and not consistently good throughout the school.
• Pupils’ attitudes to learning are usually positive. However, when teachers present activities that are not challenging enough and expectations are not made clear, pupils become off task and learning slows. This happens in many lessons. As a result, at times disruption to learning is apparent.
• As they move around the school, pupils of all ages are sensible and courteous towards their peers and adults. Behaviour in the playground is good and pupils play well together. Pupils spoken to said that if incidents of poor behaviour such as bullying happened they would tell their teacher.
• Pupils are usually helpful and kind towards each other. For example, a group in Year 6 proudly spoke of help they had received from their classmates during a mathematics lesson when they were rounding numbers to 10,000. However, not all pupils think that behaviour is good. Some pupils stated that some pupils’ naughty behaviour spoils their learning sometimes.
• The school’s behaviour log shows good communication between home and school. Appropriate actions and sanctions are evident for inappropriate behaviour. School strategies encourage pupils to think and take responsibility for their actions when they fill in a ‘thinking’ sheet. Exclusions from school are rare.
• Incidents of behaviour that are less than good are recorded appropriately. A small number of parents feel that bullying is not dealt with effectively. Leaders do not undertake an analysis of behaviour incidents to look for patterns and trends.
• Attendance for 2015/2016 is above average. Due to the senior leaders promoting good attendance and carefully analysing and monitoring attendance information, the number of persistent absentees has decreased.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• School performance information for the academic year 2015/2016 shows that pupils’ attainment at the end of Year 6 was below the national average in reading, writing and maths and above the national average in English grammar, punctuation and spelling. This cohort made less than good progress overall in reading, writing and mathematics.
• School performance information over time for current pupils, during the academic year 2015/2016, shows that progress varied in all year groups. Progress for the current Years 2 to 5 was generally good in reading and writing but not consistently good in mathematics. The current Year 6 made less that good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The school’s analysis of the performance of pupil groups in 2015/2016 shows that despite additional funding, progress was not consistently good for some disadvantaged pupils and some pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Throughout the school, weaknesses in teaching affect the progress of all pupil groups. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress when they are taught well and receive appropriate interventions. The needs of disadvantaged pupils are known by their teachers and these pupils make good progress when their individual needs are successfully focused on.
• The most able pupils are not consistently challenged. This limits the progress that this pupil group makes as they move through the school, particularly in mathematics. Recent school performance information shows that this group makes better progress in developing the skills, knowledge and understanding associated with English grammar, punctuation and spelling than other subjects.
• The proportion of pupils who reached the national average in the phonics screening test in Year 1 was above the national figure in 2016, which was an improvement on the previous year. Pupils’ work in books in Year 2 shows that progress is generally good in writing.
• A scrutiny of pupils’ topic books shows that all pupils in Years 1 to 6 have good opportunities to develop their skills in the topics they cover, for example in history and science.
• The physical education programme is enhanced with additional funding which is used to offer pupils many sporting activities. This allows pupils to develop skills and knowledge in a wide variety of sports.
• Outcomes are not consistently good for all pupils. As a result, when they leave not all pupils are adequately prepared for their next school.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• Although leaders have information from assessments of children’s performance, they do not analyse it well enough to check on the children who are not making enough progress. In addition, they do not use this information to establish a clear improvement plan to identify how children’s progress could be improved. In relation to children’s starting points, progress is not good enough in Reception.
• Children in the Nursery get off to a good start. They come to school happily and are keen to learn. Teachers plan activities effectively to match their ages and stages. They learn well because as adults interact they pick up on children’s interests and needs. Children were seen excitedly collecting bugs in jars. An adult immediately noticed this and started to involve the group in a discussion about what they had found. Learning was good because the children were interested to learn and the adult did not miss the exciting moment.
• In Reception, school performance information shows that children enter the Reception class with attainment that is broadly typical for their ages. Children were observed confidently choosing activities that were planned to suit their ages and needs. They played and learned amicably alongside each other or in small groups.
• The percentage of children in the early years who reached a good level of development improved in 2016 when compared with the previous year. School performance information shows that children generally leave Reception with levels broadly typical for their ages.
• Although activities provided in Reception often capture children’s interests, adults do not always reinforce and extend children’s learning effectively, which slows learning.
• Children quickly understand and take part in daily classroom routines. For example, children confidently help themselves to their snack and drink. They name the fruits and drinks they choose. However, teachers do not always monitor these routines effectively. Not all children, for example, washed their hands before sitting down and eating their snack. Learning was limited because adults did not focus effectively on the importance of eating healthily or make enough reference to why hands should be clean before eating.
• A large group of boys played amicably together as they made a track for trains to move along. Learning was minimal because adults did not interact with this group. As a result, many opportunities to reinforce and develop learning in all areas were missed.
• A few girls took part in activities that focused on reading and writing. However, adults interacted briefly and contributed little to learning. Although children have many opportunities to write or sit and look at books, few boys choose these activities. Adults are not addressing the gender issue that is apparent in previous Reception performance information.
• At times, adults are not vigilant enough and allow children to leave items on the floor – making the classroom hazardous for both children and adults. Children and adults walk over items instead of picking them up.
• In both Nursery and Reception, relationships between adults and children are positive. Children confidently go and ask adults for assistance if they require it. The early years curriculum is suitable for the children’s ages and stages of development.
• Behaviour is good in both Nursery and Reception, as children play and learn inside and out. The children are inquisitive and when asked they enjoyed speaking about what they were learning. They quickly learn the difference between the expected behaviour for the outside area and that expected for inside.
• Currently, no children have been identified with special educational needs and/or disabilities. So far this academic year, very few children are identified as disadvantaged.
• Children are adequately prepared for Year 1. Parents with children in the Nursery and Reception who were spoken to during the inspection said that they were pleased with the provision their children received.

School details

Unique reference number 122674 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 10019558 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 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 188 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Heidi Warnes Sally Warrington 01623 401404 www.lakeviewprimary.org office@lakeview.notts.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 3–4 December 2014

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.
• Children in the Nursery are offered part-time or full-time places although most children attend full-time.
• Most pupils are from White British families. The remainder have a number of different ethnic backgrounds.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below average.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils who are eligible for the pupil premium is above average.
• Very few pupils speak English as an additional language or are at the early stages of learning English.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress by the end of Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors observed learning in 15 parts of lessons taught by nine teachers. The headteacher observed six lessons with the lead inspector.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, senior leaders, two governors, pupils and a few parents.
• Many documents were looked at by the inspectors, including safeguarding documents, the school’s self-evaluation and school improvement plans, pupils’ work, and children’s learning journeys from Reception.
• The responses of parents were considered through short discussions during the inspection, along with the scrutiny of 15 responses on Parent View, the online survey.

Inspection team

Nina Bee, lead inspector Caroline Evans Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector