Fell Dyke Community Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that:
  • the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is consistently good or better in all year groups and in a wide range of subjects
  • expectations of what pupils can achieve are raised, particularly for the most able pupils
  • staff build on recently introduced strategies to ensure a strong curriculum for writing across the school
  • governors monitor the progress of disadvantaged pupils and hold leaders to account for their outcomes
  • governors monitor pupils’ attendance rates using the correct national comparative data and hold leaders to account for rapidly improving pupils’ attendance and decreasing the amount of persistent absence
  • leaders, including those new to their role, embed the relatively recently introduced changes to teaching and the curriculum in their areas of responsibility.
• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment so that it leads to improved outcomes for pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, by ensuring that:
  • teachers use assessment information to plan work which closely meets the learning needs of all pupils, including the most able
  • teachers use questioning to good effect to deepen and extend pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills
  • phonics teaching is well planned and tailored to the needs of pupils so that a higher proportion learn to read with fluency.
• Improve the quality of the early years provision further by ensuring that:
  • adults have higher expectations of what children should achieve across the Reception Year
  • teachers use assessment information well to plan activities in the Reception Year that build on what children already know and can do, so that children make consistently strong progress, particularly in reading, writing, mathematics and their understanding of the world
  • a higher proportion of children reach the good level of development by the end of the Reception Year and are well prepared for Year 1.
• Improve pupils’ behaviour by:
  • improving pupils’ overall attendance to at least in line with the national average
  • reducing the number of pupils who are persistently absent from school
  • reducing the instances of derogatory name-calling at playtimes and lunchtime.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Following the last inspection, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, and outcomes for pupils, declined. Leaders did not get to grips quickly enough with changes to the national curriculum and assessment, therefore leaders were slow to reverse this decline. Significant turbulence in leadership, governance and staffing contributed to the challenges which have resulted in a change to the overall effectiveness of the school.
• Current leaders, including some who are new to their roles, have embarked upon a concerted programme of change. They have tackled some of the weakest aspects of teaching. This has led to improvements in outcomes, particularly in the proportion of pupils who reach the expected standards at the end of key stage 2 in reading and mathematics. However, leaders themselves have identified that outcomes for pupils are inconsistent across the school. For example, pupils’ achievement in writing has been a concern over time and is only recently beginning to improve. Similarly, the attainment and progress of the most able pupils requires improvement.
• Leaders’ recent monitoring of the quality of teaching, learning and assessment has led to some improvements. Teachers have embraced the changes to the curriculum, for example in mathematics, and have accessed a range of professional development opportunities to update their knowledge and skills. While improvements have been made to many aspects of the curriculum and teaching, some changes are relatively recent and are not consistently embedded across the school.
• The special educational needs coordinator has a broad overview of provision and outcomes for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils are monitored carefully, using clear and individualised learning plans.
• While leaders are taking some appropriate action to address the above-average rates of pupils’ absence, leaders and governors have an over-positive view of this aspect of the school’s work. Leaders and governors have been monitoring persistent absence incorrectly and, consequently, have not realised the extent of the issue.
• The additional funding for physical education (PE) and sport has been used effectively. Pupils access a wide range of sporting activities and after-school clubs. An increased number of pupils have participated in sporting competitions and festivals. A range of professional athletes have attended the school annually to provide inspirational talks and workshops for pupils.
• The local authority has provided additional support to the school during a period of turbulence in staffing and leadership. This has included a range of officers working with leaders and staff to monitor and improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. Leaders speak positively about the benefits of this support.
• Leaders have ensured that the curriculum includes a wide range of subjects and is planned to enthuse and engage pupils. Leaders are in the process of redesigning the curriculum to focus on deepening pupils’ knowledge and developing skills. All staff have embraced the changes so far and some improvements to the wider curriculum are apparent in some areas. Pupils are particularly enthusiastic about their learning in science, PE and art. The artwork around the school reflects the high-quality teaching in art. However, leaders’ own monitoring accurately reflects that progress in other aspects of the curriculum, for example in modern foreign languages and history, is not consistently strong.
• Leaders promote spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. They place a high priority on being ‘an inclusive school’. Leaders promote rights and responsibilities for example, through the promotion of the United Nations Charter of the Rights of the Child. Although pupils talk confidently about these aspects of the curriculum and most show respect and tolerance, there have been instances where some pupils have been disrespectful about other pupils’ appearance, race or religion. Pupils express concerns about this derogatory name-calling.
• Most parents and carers who spoke to inspectors to during the inspection have a positive view of the school. They are appreciative of the care and support that their children receive. A small number of parents shared concerns about the negative behaviour of pupils. However, parents are confident that staff will deal with any issues they raise. A small number of parents are unhappy with the school’s approach to homework. Many parents speak highly of the wide variety of activities and events that involve parents. As a result, attendance at events for parents is high, including in the early years, for example parents’ evenings, workshops and family learning events.

Governance of the school

• Governors are committed to their roles. They attend meetings regularly. They undertake audits of their skills on a regular basis and use the findings to appoint new governors or delegate areas of responsibility appropriately. Following a period of instability and change in governance, there is now a full complement of governors, who have clear roles and responsibilities.
• Governors recognise that previously leaders were not challenged well enough. Governors have now compiled a system to measure the success of school improvement actions. While this has been successful in challenging some aspects of the school’s performance, at times the challenge is not focused well enough to improve outcomes for pupils. For example, governors have not had high enough expectations for the attendance of disadvantaged pupils.
• Governors know how the pupil premium funding has been used and they check to see if the spending of the funding is improving standards for disadvantaged pupils. Governors recognise that the things leaders have put in place are starting to improve the progress that disadvantaged pupils make in reading and mathematics. However, governors’ challenge to leaders has not altered the progress that disadvantaged pupils make in writing, which has declined over time. Outcomes for this group of pupils across the school are below the national average by the end of key stages 1 and 2 and are variable across the school.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Clear systems are in place for raising concerns and making referrals, and staff understand how to follow this system. Induction procedures for staff who are new to the school are detailed and effective. Safer recruitment processes and pre-employment checks are checked in conjunction with the local authority.
• Leaders have ensured appropriate and relevant training for staff and governors so that they are up to date and vigilant in spotting any signs that pupils may be at risk of harm. This includes recent training on child criminal exploitation and ‘county lines’ because leaders have identified this as a risk which may affect pupils in the local area.
• Safeguarding records are of high quality and reflect designated safeguarding leaders’ commitment to keeping the most vulnerable children safe.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching is not consistently good across the school. There have been several staffing changes since the last inspection. New approaches to teaching, introduced by the current leadership team, have shown some success, particularly in helping more pupils to reach the expected standard for their age, but there remains variability in the quality of teaching, especially in writing across the school.
• The quality of teachers’ questioning is inconsistent across the school. In some classes, questioning is securely deepening pupils’ understanding of what they are learning. In other classes, teachers’ questions do not address pupils’ misconceptions swiftly or move pupils’ learning on appropriately.
• Teachers and teaching assistants forge strong relationships with pupils. Pupils say that they enjoy learning. Exciting content in lessons motivates and interests the pupils so that they are keen to do well.
• Teachers and other adults provide additional support for pupils with SEND, those who need to catch up to the expected standard and those pupils who are disadvantaged. However, while this is successfully helping some pupils to make better progress, the progress of pupils with SEND and those who are disadvantaged, remains variable.
• The teaching of phonics requires improvement. Teachers have some relevant subject knowledge and they articulate sounds accurately for pupils to replicate. However, tasks are not well planned to enable pupils, particularly low-attaining pupils, to develop recall of letters and the sounds that they represent. As a result, leaders have identified that pupils’ progress across key stage 2 is limited by their lack of reading fluency, which impedes their ability to understand and quickly analyse texts.
• Work in pupils’ books, which was scrutinised by inspectors, shows that teachers’ expectations are variable. Recent work to improve teachers’ understanding of the national expected standard for each year group is beginning to bear fruit. Further training is planned for staff, including to ensure that they fully understand what pupils must learn to secure the higher standards of attainment. Too often, the tasks set for pupils do not match their ability well enough: the work provided for the most able pupils does not challenge them to achieve at the higher standards, and the lower ability pupils are sometimes provided with work which is too hard for them.
• The teaching of writing requires improvement. Following the appointment of a new leader for English this academic year, training and coaching has helped teachers to plan more appropriate sequences of lessons to help pupils to make good progress. In some classes, pupils have a better understanding of the purpose of their writing and the intended audience. However, these changes are recent and are not fully embedded across the school. Additionally, teachers do not ensure that pupils consistently apply the knowledge they have gained from spelling, grammar and punctuation tasks in their extended writing.
• Improvements to the teaching of mathematics have enabled more pupils to reach the expected standard for their age in key stages 1 and 2 over the past two years. Increased opportunities to develop number skills have given pupils more confidence and accuracy in basic calculations. Nevertheless, opportunities for pupils to apply their knowledge through problem-solving tasks are limited and so fewer pupils than nationally reach the higher standard of attainment in this subject.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Leaders prioritise support for pupils’ emotional well-being. The family support worker focuses sharply on helping pupils so that they are better prepared to access learning. The nurture group, which runs at lunchtime, provides a safe and calm environment for pupils who need support for their feelings or emotions. Pupils say that they enjoy playing board games and participating in crafts during this time.
• Pupils enjoy the wide range of extra-curricular activities available to them. For example, pupils value attending breakfast club, residential visits and a range of clubs held at lunchtime or after school. Pupils develop leadership skills through roles such as classroom monitors, e-cadets and school councillors. Pupils are proud to have been chosen and carry out their roles responsibly.
• Pupils are confident and friendly. They are respectful to adults in the classroom, at lunchtime and to visitors. The school promotes British values and pupils are aware of the importance of people showing tolerance and being respectful. A small proportion of pupils still have difficulty in accomplishing this.
• Pupils say that they feel safe in school and are taught how to keep themselves safe. Pupils demonstrated a good awareness about staying safe when they are online. For example, they could provide several examples to inspectors of safe and unsafe practice when playing online games or using the internet.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• Pupils’ rates of attendance have been below average over time and continue to decline. The proportion of pupils who are regularly absent from school is much higher than the national average. Despite leaders’ range of actions to improve this issue, overall absence rates are not improving. The attendance rates of a small number of vulnerable pupils have improved due to successful actions taken by leaders.
• Most pupils behave well and conduct themselves in an orderly way around school. The proportion of pupils who receive fixed-term exclusions for inappropriate behaviour is broadly in line with the national average. A small number of pupils expressed concerns to inspectors that behaviour in classrooms was not always as good as it should be, but that staff dealt with this. Pupils also shared experiences of other pupils using inappropriate language or calling them hurtful names. This was sometimes linked to the colour of their skin or their religion. Records checked during the inspection show that leaders’ recordings of these incidents are accurate and timely. Leaders follow up incidents with restorative work across the curriculum and with individual pupils.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Following the previous inspection there was a sharp decline in attainment and progress from above the national averages to well below. Although leaders were slow to reverse this decline their actions have resulted in some improvements in outcomes by the end of key stage 2 over time. Variability across subjects, year groups and key stages remain and, therefore, outcomes require improvement.
• In 2018, the proportion of Year 6 pupils reaching the expected standards in reading and English, grammar, punctuation and spelling, improved to be in line with the national average. Over time, pupils’ overall attainment in mathematics at the end of Year 6 has improved, but remains below the national average. The proportion of pupils attaining the expected standard at the end of Year 6 in reading, writing and mathematics combined, although improved over time, remained below the national average in 2018. This means that almost half of pupils were not well prepared for their secondary education. Pupils’ attainment in writing has declined over the past three years to be below the national average in 2018 at the end of Year 6. The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard at the end of key stage 1 in writing has been well below the national average for the past three years.
• The proportion of Year 6 pupils attaining the higher standards in all subjects has been below the national average for the past three years. The proportion of pupils attaining a greater depth of knowledge by the end of key stage 1 has been variable over time and in 2018 it was below the national average in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Current pupils’ progress across key stage 2 indicates an improving trend in reading and mathematics, but the school’s own assessment information reflects that there are still variabilities in progress and attainment between year groups, particularly in writing. Work in current pupils’ books confirms that pupils’ progress is variable across different subjects and year groups. In particular, the most able pupils do not make consistently strong progress because the work set does not challenge them well enough.
• In 2018, the progress that disadvantaged pupils made across key stage 2 in reading and mathematics was in line with the national average. Progress in writing declined over time to be below average. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils in Year 2 reaching the expected standard was below the national average in all subjects, and particularly low in writing, over time. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils attaining greater depth of knowledge in all subjects was below the national average in 2018. Progress for current disadvantaged pupils across the school is variable.
• Attainment for pupils with SEND at the end of key stages 1 and 2 is below the national average in all subjects. Pupils’ progress in writing and mathematics is below average, but average in reading. Progress for current pupils with SEND across the school is improving but requires improvement in writing.
• The proportion of the pupils reaching the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check has fluctuated over the past four years. In 2017 and 2018 it was close to the national average. However, the current progress of pupils in phonics is variable because the teaching of phonics is not well matched to pupils’ needs.

Early years provision

• Many children join the school with skills that are lower than those typically seen for their age. Children make good progress during their time in the Nursery, but children’s progress across the Reception Year is more variable. This includes in a range of areas of learning, for example writing, number and children’s understanding of the world. While the proportion of children reaching the good level of development at the end of the Reception Year has increased over time, it remains below the national average. More than a third of children were not well prepared for learning in Year 1 in 2018.

Requires improvement

• The learning environment, both indoors and outside, is well resourced. Adults plan activities, linked to a theme, which interest children and capture their imagination. This helps children to sustain their concentration for extended periods of time. Throughout the early years, adults accurately assess children’s attainment. However, the extent to which this information is used to match tasks to children’s learning needs is variable.
• Children’s records of achievement known as ‘learning journeys’ and their work in books show that, in the Nursery Year, adults have high expectations of what children can achieve, building well on what they can already do. For example, during the inspection children were helped to write about a ‘safari’ theme. The teacher encouraged some children, appropriately, to experiment with meaningful marks, but demanded more of others who were supported to write simple sentences. Children were exceptionally proud and keen to share their work with an inspector.
• In the Reception Year, children’s ‘learning journeys’ and work in books show that adults do not consistently take sufficient account of what children already know and can do. The extent to which adults make effective use of assessment to plan activities which build on children’s prior learning is variable. Instead, for example in number work, children are asked to complete simple tasks that they can already do and so such tasks do not enable them to make strong progress in their learning. Leaders are now taking action to develop the curriculum for mathematics by accessing support from the regional mathematics hub.
• Phonics teaching requires improvement. Adults plan activities which encourage children to take an active part in the session. However, tasks are not consistently well designed to target the aspects of phonics that children need to develop. Boys, in particular, are not making sufficiently strong progress to catch up to the standard expected for their age at the end of the Reception Year.
• Relationships between adults and children are very positive. Children cooperate well with each other and enjoy working together. The firm foundations that are established during their time in Nursery ensure that they have positive attitudes to learning.
• Leaders have ensured that arrangements to support children’s transition into Nursery and Reception are effective. In particular, close attention is paid to exploring the needs of children with SEND to ensure that they settle quickly and receive the support they need.
• There are suitable opportunities for parents to engage with their children’s learning in the early years, including opportunities to ‘stay and play’ and to access sessions supported by the family learning service. Parents say that this helps them to know how to help their children learn at home.
• Leaders have ensured that the early years welfare requirements are met.
• A middle leader holds responsibility for the early years and is supported by an assistant headteacher. While they have a shared understanding of the aspects of the early years that need to be improved, there are differences in their evaluation of the quality of teaching and the progress made by children. This limits the effectiveness of leaders in reaching accurate conclusions about the quality of the early years and the areas for further development.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 108379 Gateshead 10008211 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 Gender of pupils Number of pupils on the school roll 3 to 11 Mixed 318 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Richard Marshall Headteacher Kate Savage Telephone number 0191 433 4111 Website www.felldykeprimary.org Email address felldykecommunityprimaryschool@gateshead.gov.uk Date of previous inspection 16–17 January 2013

Information about this school

• The school is a slightly larger than average-sized primary school with a nursery on site.
• Most pupils are White British. The remainder come from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below the national average.
• Two thirds of pupils are disadvantaged and receive support from pupil premium funding. This is almost three times the national average.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND receiving support is above average.
• The school runs a breakfast club on site.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching and learning in all key stages. Inspectors were accompanied to many of these sessions by the school’s senior leaders. The quality of pupils’ work in a wide range of subjects and across the school was also scrutinised.
• Inspectors observed behaviour in lessons, at breaktimes, in and around the school and in the dining hall.
• The lead inspector spoke to members of the governing body and the school improvement partner from the local authority.
• Inspectors met with several parents on both inspection days.
• Inspectors listened to some pupils read in key stages 1 and 2 and observed the teaching of phonics in Reception and Years 1 and 2.
• Inspectors met with groups of pupils to listen to their views about the school. The views of other pupils were gathered during lessons and at lunchtime.
• A range of documentation was examined, including a summary of the school’s self-evaluation, the school development plan, safeguarding information, behaviour logs, attendance documentation, pupil premium documents, sports premium documents, the school’s assessment information and governing body meeting minutes.

Inspection team

Alison Aitchison, lead inspector Claire Brown Michael Wardle

Her Majesty’s Inspector Senior Her Majesty’s Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector