Worsley Bridge Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Further improve the way in which the leaders enhance their strategic role through:
  • a rigorous programme of formalised and personalised monitoring activities for teaching and learning
  • setting challenging targets, shared with all staff, to ensure that all pupils achieve well
  • continuing to promote good attendance and reduce the number of children who are persistently absent, especially pupils who are deemed to be vulnerable.
• Ensure that there is always a greater level of challenge and clear guidance for most-able pupils so that an increasing number are reaching higher standards in their learning.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher’s drive and ambition for the school are evident in the impact her changes have had over the past two years. All members of the leadership team have led the school effectively through a turbulent period and have ensured that it has improved in all areas since the school became an academy. Capacity to improve further is good.
• The headteacher and senior leaders regularly and thoroughly check data on pupils’ performance and observe lessons to see how well they are taught. The newly appointed middle leaders have not yet had enough opportunity to fully develop their skills in the observation of lessons to make precise judgments about the quality of teaching. Leaders now need to formalise and personalise the monitoring of teaching and learning as well as share their targets for pupils’ achievement with all staff.
• Good partnerships with other schools in the trust mean that staff have the opportunity to share good practice and bring new ideas back to the school. Close working with the local pre-schools means that starting school is not stressful for the children starting in the Reception classes.
• The local committee (governors) and senior leadership team have worked well to ensure added curriculum opportunities for the pupils, as well as providing greater professional development for the staff.
• Plans for the use of pupil premium funding for certain pupils are robust. These pupils receive high-quality intervention to support their social and emotional needs. Leaders have introduced focused individual support plans. Evidence gathered during the inspection shows that most disadvantaged pupils are making good academic progress from their various starting points.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school and embedded throughout the curriculum. The school engages with professionals such as the local police and fire service to enhance these aspects of the curriculum. Pupils respond positively about their understanding of how to stay safe as a result of these and many other visitors to the school.
• Parents are very positive about school life and most would recommend it to others. Typical comments from parents included: ‘The teacher knows my child well as an individual and I feel that this school enriches their life and broadens their horizons.’

Local Committee of the school (Governance)

• The local committee provides robust challenge and support for the school, based on accurate and well-scrutinised information. They have provided strategic leadership during a turbulent period since their formation when the school became an academy.
• The local committee have good systems for checking how well the school is doing. They understand what progress data show about pupils’ performance, and how it compares to other schools nationally. The local committee members visit regularly to see for themselves, and their findings are then reported to the rest of the local committee. Minutes of meetings show that the local committee ask challenging questions of the headteacher and are keen to ensure that all pupils who attend Worsley Bridge Primary achieve well.
• The local committee members ensure that procedures for child protection and safeguarding are all robust and that members carry out their statutory duties well. They make certain that targets for the headteacher and school as a whole are challenging yet realistic, which helps support the school’s upward trend.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders have ensured that there is an ethos of keeping pupils safe in school. Staff are well trained and are aware of any dangers posed to pupils. There is a culture of vigilance and all staff are aware of the action to take if they have a concern about a child. The school gives good attention to a range of risk assessments in order to keep both pupils and staff safe.
• Procedures are updated regularly. Staff know the pupils well and detailed records are kept about all safeguarding issues. The school works well with parents and outside agencies, including health and other professionals, to make sure pupils are supported effectively and kept safe. Appropriate checks are made on employees and visitors.
• Pupils told the inspectors that they feel safe and well cared for in school. They know who to speak to if they have a problem in school and are confident that adults will help them. As one parent said: ‘I am happy to leave my daughter under the care of the school as I know she is well cared for on all levels.’ This was also the case with the many parents who spoke to inspectors or who replied to the Ofsted online parent questionnaire.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teaching is characterised by strong, respectful relationships. Teachers know their pupils very well. Pupils told inspectors: ‘This is a nice, friendly school and the teachers help us to achieve well.’ Well-established routines in classrooms mean that little time is wasted as pupils move smoothly from one activity to another. Pupils are attentive, hardworking and eager to learn.
• Teaching is good overall because it enables pupils to make good progress and achieve well. Observation of teaching and learning, the impact on achievement and the school’s own evidence from the information that the school collects on pupil’s achievement and learning all confirm good teaching over time. Teachers now need to ensure that the most able pupils are provided with greater challenge so that they achieve a greater depth of learning.
• Teachers’ questioning and subject knowledge are strong, which helps to develop pupils’ learning effectively. They ask stimulating questions and plan exciting activities. They check for understanding but also help pupils to develop their thinking further. Pupils say that lessons are exciting and that they value the opportunity for practical experiences, such as educational visits or visitors brought into the school. In an effective modern foreign language lesson, pupils were learning how to introduce themselves in German. Through good questioning and dialogue, the teacher facilitated learning and extended the pupils’ understanding.
• Pupils with special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities progress well and are effectively supported. Other adults are mostly used effectively to move learning on. Teachers ensure that support staff assisting groups are aware of the learning expectations, and so progress for that group may be as good as for the others in the class.
• The teaching of phonics is good. The school’s well-planned approach is followed consistently by all staff, and pupils say they enjoy these sessions. Those observed had a good pace so that all pupils were fully involved all the time and made rapid progress. Pupils of all ages show an enjoyment for reading that is evident in the way they talk about their books.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• The school has established a strong positive ethos that pupils are proud of, and this is reflected in their positive attitudes in school. Pupils are very aware of how to be a successful learner and they work well together to support each other.
• Pupils are taught about keeping safe in and out of school. Many lessons, such as crossing the road, are practical, building on knowledge learned in the classroom. Pupils have a good understanding of how to stay safe and are aware of the different forms of bullying. They have an excellent understanding of how to stay safe on the internet.
• Pupils are proud of their work and are self-motivated learners who enjoy taking on new challenges and initiatives. Leaders ensure that there are many opportunities to recognise achievements and to celebrate success, for example through the popular reward system, recognition assemblies and the wall displays around school reflect their learning.
• Pupils have a very good understanding of British values and have opportunities to put the values into practice, for example by electing members of the school council. They are able to recite the fundamental British values with ease and can explain what each infer.
• Pupils meet with senior leaders to help develop improvements to school life. As one pupil stated: ‘Our voices are heard and the adults listen.’ Pupils have a clear understanding of right and wrong and teachers plan opportunities for them to discuss moral issues and dilemmas.
• Music is an enjoyable part of school life. During the inspection, pupils sang well and with enthusiasm. Pupils have plenty of opportunities to learn about and appreciate other cultures. Art from different countries is seen across the school. Pupils raise money regularly for a range of charities and pupils from different cultures get on well together at the school, sharing their different backgrounds.
• Teachers encourage pupils to be confident. Pupils are taught to be resilient in their learning. They are not afraid to try new things and tackle challenging work, and they are confident to try new ways of learning. Pupils who are less confident are provided with opportunity to participate in filmmaking. This involves collaborative planning with pupils from other year groups and includes an acting role. These films are screened to the whole school and are also shown at the British Film Institute Southbank. This has significantly contributed to shy pupils becoming more confident.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Parents and carers and pupils feel that behaviour is good.
• Pupils are courteous and polite, both with each other and adults alike, and generally have a positive attitude to learning, and disruption in lessons is uncommon. However, when these do occur, all adults consistently follow the school’s behaviour policy. In most lessons, though, pupils are fully engaged and eager to accept the challenges set by their teachers. They concentrate well and persevere with their work.
• Pupils know what bullying is and can give examples of why some people might be bullied. They say that bullying does not happen in their school because everyone cares for one another. However, pupils know that there is always someone they can speak to if bullying does happen.
• The school provides good support for children whose circumstances may make them vulnerable, and for their families. Pupils are well known and cared for, enabling all to feel safe. There are nurture groups at lunchtimes for children who find managing their behaviours difficult.
• There have been no reported incidents of bullying, racial abuse or exclusions. Older pupils play with and look after younger ones on the playground, and they say that they enjoy playing together. Pupils refer to the ‘consequences’ of any bad behaviour, and feel that these are fair and help everyone to behave well.
• The school’s leaders and managers have worked closely with parents to improve attendance. Although below average for a number of years, it has improved last year but still remains below average. Leaders take robust action to improve attendance where needed. Consequently, absence rates, including persistent absence, continue to fall. Leaders need to ensure that pupils’ attendance is monitored in detail for all groups of pupils, and any concerns about absences are followed up more quickly. This will ensure that pupils who are persistently absent are not disadvantaged because they miss too much school.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Children enter the school with skills that are broadly expected for their age and make good progress across all areas of learning in the early years foundation stage. They develop confidence, good communication skills and quickly become independent learners who clearly enjoy learning.
• Pupils made good progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of key stage 1 in 2018. The proportion of pupils who achieved good standards was an improvement compared to the outcomes for 2017. This is a result of leaders having addressed issues related to the performance of pupils in 2017. In addition, the support that underperforming pupils in key stage 1 receive is personalised and this ensures the gaps in their learning are reduced.
• Current evidence shows that pupils make consistently good progress in all year groups. Standards in English and mathematics in key stage 2 have risen over the last two years. By the time pupils leave in Year 6, they achieve well in both English and mathematics and, overall, their attainment is above the national average.
• The school has set up effective systems to identify individual pupils who are falling behind in their learning and to support them in catching up with their peers. Termly ‘progress’ meetings clearly monitor this progress and ensure that learning is as fast as it should be for pupils.
• The progress and attainment of pupils known to be eligible for pupil premium funding in Year 6 were below those of their peers in reading and mathematics in 2017. Following work with this group of pupils using the pupil premium funding performance has improved in 2018.
• This is as a result of additional staffing to support pupils in year groups that have previously underachieved.
• Pupils use their well-developed skills in a range of subjects and are always eager to link their English and mathematical skills into other areas of study.
• Equal opportunities for all permeate the whole school and so all pupils make good progress. Support for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is effective. Their needs are identified early and the progress that they make is checked regularly. Pupils at all levels exceed expectations against their peers nationally, and this is so for those who are supported at school action plus.

Early years provision Good

• Children join the school from varied backgrounds. All pupils start in Reception having attended different Nursery settings. Sound induction procedures and knowledgeable, sensitive staff enable smooth transitions into the school. This is particularly the case for younger children who may struggle emotionally in the first instance.
• In the early years foundation stage, teaching is effective and leads to good progress for the children. This is especially so in developing their confidence and their social and independent learning skills.
• Achievement in the early years foundation stage is good. While most children start school with skills expected for their age, a few have less well-developed skills, especially in reading and writing. Whatever their starting point, all pupils make good progress.
• The quality of provision in the early years mirrors that of the rest of the school. Children make good progress from their different starting points because the quality of leadership and teaching and learning is good.
• The curriculum in the early years meets the needs of children well. Relationships in the classroom are strong. Children feel safe and cooperate with each other well, considering they only were in attendance for 2 days at the time of inspection. Their behaviour is good because routines are well established and expectations are high.
• Parents are very positive about the early years provision. They appreciate how staff care for their children and the access that they have to leaders and teaching staff when needed. Parents feel that their children’s personal, social and emotional needs are well met because staff understand the developmental needs of young children very well. One parent commented: ‘My child has only just started at the school but I am extremely happy with what I have seen so far. Staff are friendly, approachable and supportive. My son is engaged and is transitioning well into reception class.’

School details

Unique reference number 142403 Local authority Bromley Inspection number 10053480 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Academy sponsor-led Age range of pupils 4 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 383 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Nina Newell Headteacher Rebecca Williams Telephone number 0208 650 2977 Website www.worsleybridge.bromley.sch.uk Email address admin@worsleybridge.bromley.sch.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• In January 2016, the school became a sponsored academy as part of the Nexus Education Schools Trust and the current headteacher and a local committee was appointed.
• Worsley Bridge Primary School is larger than average.
• The majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds, with pupils from any other White background forming the next sizeable ethnic group.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium is above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is above the national average. The proportion of pupils who have an education, health and care plan is below the national average.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching and learning in all classrooms, and observed intervention groups.
• School leaders took part in joint observations with inspectors and attended all inspection team meetings.
• Meetings were held with school leaders, teachers and groups of pupils. Inspectors met with two local committee members, including the chair of the local committee.
• The inspectors worked in partnership with the school’s senior leaders when analysing information about the school. The inspectors looked at pupils’ outcomes, the school’s evaluation of its own performance, minutes from governors’ meetings, the school development plan, and monitoring and evaluation records. Behaviour and attendance records and information relating to safeguarding were also checked.
• The inspectors walked around the school with pupils to find out more about their work from displays and extra-curricular activities. Inspectors interviewed groups of children from across the school to determine their views on behaviour and safety.
• Inspectors spent time in the playground at playtime, observed behaviour in the lunch halls, listened to pupils read and looked at work in pupils’ books, alongside senior leaders.
• Inspectors took into account the views of parents by analysing the 90 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, as well as speaking informally to parents during the inspection.

Inspection team

Danvir Visvanathan, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Julian Grenier Ofsted Inspector James Robinson Ofsted Inspector