Skelton Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

In accordance with section 44(1) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Urgently improve the systems to keep pupils safe by:
  • ensuring all staff are made aware of their safeguarding responsibilities, knowing where, when and how to record their concerns correctly
  • re-training safeguarding leaders so that they fully understand the process of identifying possible risks, responding appropriately to concerns and keeping detailed and accurate documentation
  • keeping all confidential records secure and information about each child in one place, where a complete picture of information is available to provide the best support and care required
  • implementing rigorous systems to ensure that designated safeguarding leaders have a clear and well-defined area of responsibility
  • identifying one key person who has overall responsibility for the safety of all pupils, and giving this individual time to complete the role effectively
  • creating an overview of concerns, showing how many incidents have been recorded and what the outcomes have been
  • liaising with relevant agencies in line with current legislation
  • ensuring that safeguarding policies detail clear protocols which are strictly adhered to and identify staff responsibilities.
• Improve governance so that governors understand their legal responsibilities.
• Further strengthen the curriculum by:
  • ensuring that work in subjects other than English and mathematics is challenging and is of the same high standard
  • ensuring that pupils are taught about other cultures and have a clear understanding of British values.
• Ensure that the most able pupils are identified, particularly those who are disadvantaged, and that they make at least the same rate of progress as other pupils in the school and other pupils nationally. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

• Leadership and management are inadequate because leaders at all levels are failing to safeguard the pupils in their care. When pupils tell adults they are not safe, appropriate action is not being taken to ensure their safety. This is because leaders do not recognise the seriousness of the disclosures, and are therefore not carrying out their duty of care to protect children.
• Too many safeguarding leaders are dealing with the information and assuming that appropriate action has been taken by someone else. Information is being recorded by teachers, but responses made by safeguarding leaders show that they do not understand the symptoms of abuse. When notes are kept, they are not dated, detailed or accurate. Consequently, some children are at risk of further harm because no one is taking an overview of the number of serious concerns.
• Information provided at monthly audits is not accurate and is not recorded in enough depth. The designated safeguarding officer does not ensure that proper procedures have been followed. When reports show that outside agencies have been contacted, incorrect details are recorded.
• The school safeguarding policy does not set out well-defined lines of accountability so that the designated safeguarding officer can quality assure the process. Overall responsibility is lacking. As a result, too many opportunities to support vulnerable pupils are missed.
• Governors are failing in their duty to ensure that all safeguarding procedures are effective and designated leaders are carrying out their responsibilities. Their appointment of a safeguarding consultant has led to appropriate safeguarding procedures when appointing staff, but has failed to uncover the ongoing mismanagement of leaders’ responses to disclosures.
• The headteacher and deputy headteacher work well together. Their management of teaching, learning and assessment is a strength of the school. They have successfully created a strong culture of high expectations and reflective practice. As a result, outcomes for pupils are improving rapidly.
• The leadership of assessment is particularly strong. Teachers understand where accelerated progress needs to be made and where their teaching is successful. Middle leaders ensure that findings from regular assessment meetings are shared with their team and acted on. As a result, progress is at least good across the school and in some classes has been outstanding.
• Middle leaders demonstrate energy and passion because they are involved in finding solutions to barriers for learning. They are knowledgeable about how pupils learn and use research findings to help them improve teaching across each year group.
• Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the work the school does. They value the wealth of support provided for pupils, particularly those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Parents feel that leaders listen to them. A minority of parents felt that communication could be improved, particularly in relation to changing dates for events at late notice. Leaders have responded to these criticisms by setting a calendar of dates for the year.
• Support for newly qualified teachers and those with less experience is strong. Regular professional development opportunities are provided to meet ongoing needs. Staff teams are regularly changed so that the strongest teachers can support others, and this enables teachers to learn from each other. Teachers are accountable within their team and this is because middle leaders take responsibility for the performance of the whole team. As a result of innovative changes, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good and improving.
• The pupil premium funding has a positive impact on outcomes and attainment; progress for disadvantaged pupils is at least good. The focus on ensuring that the least able pupils reach the expected standard shows significant impact.
• The sport premium has a positive impact on improved access to a wide range of sporting activities. There is a clear plan of how to spend the extra funding, which includes training two sports apprentices so that the positive work carried out by sports specialists is sustainable. Pupils enjoy a wide range of after-school clubs and the popular running club provides opportunities for parents to become involved.
• The curriculum is well planned and pupils study a wide range of interesting topics. The quality of art across the school shows that pupils are developing age-appropriate skills. In science, there is a lack of challenge and pupils are not working at the higher levels seen in mathematics. Presentation in topic books is generally neat, but skills are not applied across the curriculum, particularly punctuation skills. Music is a key strength; pupils sing joyfully and enthusiastically. They participate in a variety of community events.

Governance of the school

• The governance of the school is inadequate because governors do not ensure that their policies for keeping children safe are being adhered to.
• The website does not provide parents with the information they need to keep informed about the policies or outcomes of the school. Information has not been regularly updated or checked, and consequently is out of date and does not give parents the useful facts they need when choosing a school.
• Most governors are relatively new in post and are still learning what their role entails. They do not carry out their legal responsibilities because they are unsure what is required.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.
• Pupils are not kept safe because leaders do not follow practices and procedures. Some information is being recorded falsely, and where outside agencies have been involved, the information is not recorded in enough detail.
• Practices and procedures to ensure that relevant checks have been made on staff at the school are strong. Leaders have put secure systems in place to ensure that safe recruitment is in place and all required information is kept on the single central record.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good because teachers constantly evaluate their own practice to help them improve how they teach and to improve outcomes. Self-review is built into the monitoring timetable, and honest dialogue helps teachers to understand what they do well, and what they need to improve.
• Where teaching is particularly strong in upper key stage 2, teachers use high-level questioning techniques to challenge pupils’ thinking, reasoning and problem solving. Teachers display good subject knowledge, particularly in mathematics. They use every available opportunity to move the learning forward. Children are constantly asked to prove things themselves and apply their knowledge using problem solving. In the best examples, pupils were able to apply their prior knowledge to deepen their understanding.
• The teaching of early reading skills is a key strength of the school. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make particularly good progress. Work is well matched to their needs and they are given reading books which enable them to apply their phonics skills. Teaching assistants are used effectively to work with small groups. Challenge for the most able is less effective because the books are not as well matched to their ability.
• The assessment system is well developed, giving a clear picture of strengths and weaknesses in each year group. Teachers use the information well to target individuals and groups who need to make accelerated progress. Along with a strong link to performance management, this is focusing teachers’ efforts in improving outcomes. Individual tracking in the back of pupils’ workbooks highlights where pupils are making progress and what they need to focus on. Consequently, pupils make at least good progress.
• In key stage 2, marking gives valuable feedback and the strong use of self-assessment and self-correcting helps pupils to learn from their mistakes. However, in key stage 1, marking is not as strong, and teachers’ own spelling and grammar in written comments is sometimes inaccurate. Some parents have also noticed this in homework sent home.
• The pace of learning is appropriate and pupils take delight when teachers acknowledge that they are achieving well. Positive relationships between adults and pupils create a happy learning environment where pupils feel safe to take risks and are confident learners. Teachers are responsive to the needs of their pupils. They give enough time for pupils to think, yet the pace of learning is still rapid. The positive learning experience pupils receive enables them to make at least good progress.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is inadequate because safeguarding arrangements are not effective in ensuring that appropriate responses are made to keep children safe.
• The nurture room provides a safe and welcoming place to support the most vulnerable pupils. Leaders ensure that provision is well staffed and that pupils receive a calm and positive start to the day. This helps them settle into classroom routines in the morning. The care, guidance and support they receive is a key strength.
• Pupils who are new to the school are particularly well cared for and say they liked the school straightaway because it was easy to make friends.
• Pupil voice is a key strength of the school. Pupils feel listened to and are able to approach staff because relationships are strong. There are many opportunities for pupils to become involved in leadership roles, and this is helping them become responsible citizens.
• Pupils have a limited knowledge of wider culture and the diverse society we live in, and some stereotypical views were expressed. However, pupils showed they were tolerant of different groups, and the debating society’s recent referendum debate showed that they are beginning to have some understanding of political issues. Work on British values has not been well developed.
• Pupils enjoy a wide range of visits and visitors throughout the year. Key stage 2 pupils take advantage of the many opportunities to go on residential visits, which are heavily subsidised for pupils who are disadvantaged.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good because pupils understand how to apply themselves to their learning and show positive attitudes to each other and adults. They wear their uniform with pride and are proud to belong to the school.
• There are very few incidents of bullying recorded on the school’s system. Pupils say that bullying is very rare, and most parents agree. Pupils are taught how to behave from an early age. Work about respecting the rights of others is strong.
• Effective behaviour systems are well embedded across the school. Pupils are polite and play cooperatively; they know the playground rules and stick to them. On some occasions play can be boisterous, but teachers follow the behaviour policy. Teachers give clear expectations of behaviour.
• On occasions, when pupils need to be restrained and/or excluded, information is recorded and outcomes noted. However, this procedure could be further strengthened by ensuring that the information is signed off by the staff involved, and the headteacher.
• Pupils are very happy at the school. They enjoy learning, they like their teachers and feel their friends look after them. Leaders and teachers are proud of the positive ethos they have created; learning is calm and orderly. Parents know their children are happy and praise the work of the school in supporting their children.
• Attendance has remained stubbornly lower than the national average for the last two years, particularly for pupils who are disadvantaged and have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders can identify particular families who are being supported by the family support worker and are being monitored by the educational welfare officer. Attendance remains lower than the national average, but there has been a significant reduction in the percentage of pupils who are recorded as persistently absent.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Outcomes for pupils are good and improving.
• Assessment information for current pupils across the school shows that pupils are making at least good progress. Pupils’ workbooks show that work is appropriate and is well matched to the needs of individuals, particularly those who are struggling to catch up, and those who have identified special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Progress across key stage 1 shows recent improvements. Most pupils are now making at least expected progress. This is because leaders analyse what they have done that works and have changed the way key stage 1 is organised. Higher expectations are reflected in outcomes at the end of Year 2, which were checked by the local authority.
• Accelerated progress in phonics across the early years and key stage 1 is resulting in most pupils reaching the required standard by the end of Year 1. A much smaller number of pupils now enter key stage 2 without having reached the required standard, because the teaching of phonics is now more systematic.
• Disadvantaged pupils make at least good progress and internal analysis shows that more disadvantaged pupils are making better progress. As most of the pupils who are identified as having special educational needs and/or disabilities are also disadvantaged, the progress of this group is particularly strong. Progress is less strong for the most able disadvantaged pupils across upper key stage 2.

Early years provision Inadequate

• The provision for the early years is inadequate because the school’s safeguarding procedures are not effective.
• The early years leader can correctly identify strengths and areas for improvement. Staff undertake training regularly, which is helping them to continue to improve their practice. Learning journals show recent improvements and now include next steps so that parents know how to help their children at home. Staffing changes are ensuring that strengths are shared across both Nursery and Reception, which is having a positive impact in both year groups.
• Most children make good progress across the early years, particularly those who have identified special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who need to catch up. Progress is not as strong for the most able because they are not identified early enough or provided with enough challenging activities. Very recent improvements to tracking and assessment procedures are already tracking these children more closely to ensure they make accelerated progress.
• Parents are happy with the transition arrangements into the Nursery and Reception. Adults know the children well and relationships are extremely positive. As a result, children are happy and becoming confident learners and enjoying well-established routines.
• Adults intervene well to support the learning and really focus on supporting children who have identified needs. The use of ‘blast’ is developing an early enjoyment of stories and is backed up in the classroom with a strong focus on rhymes and songs to support language development. Occasionally, the most able children are not as well supported and are often left to work by themselves. Progress is stronger for children who enter the Nursery at below national expectations.
• The outdoor environment has limited resources and further opportunities to extend reading and writing provision are being missed.

School details

Unique reference number 140319 Local authority Redcar and Cleveland Inspection number 10019287 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 Academy converter Age range of pupils 3 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 629 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Louise Willis-Keeler Headteacher Sarah Walker Telephone number 01287 650 689 Website www.skeltonprimaryschool.co.uk/ Email address office@skeltonPrimaryschool.co.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• The school does not comply with DfE guidance on what academies should publish about admission arrangements, examination and assessment results, pupil premium, sports funding, special educational needs, charging and remissions and the school curriculum.
• The school does not meet requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school has expanded rapidly over the last three years and is much larger than the average primary school. The proportion of pupils who are eligible for free school meals is higher than that seen nationally. Nearly all pupils are of White British heritage. The percentage of pupils who have identified special educational needs and/or disabilities is above that seen nationally.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed most classes at least once. Some lessons were observed jointly with senior and middle leaders.
• Samples of books and topic work were scrutinised from across the school. Inspectors also looked at the current pupils’ work in their books in English and mathematics.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, senior and middle leaders, and representatives from the governing body, including the chair of the governing body.
• Inspectors scrutinised a wide range of documentation and looked at safeguarding procedures.
• Inspectors took account of the 78 responses to Parent View and read the online comments available.
• Forty-four responses to the staff questionnaire were received and analysed.
• No responses were received from the pupil questionnaire, so inspectors interviewed groups of pupils. Behaviour was observed at breaktimes, lunchtimes, in the breakfast club and around school.

Inspection team

Janet Lunn, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Tracy Millard Ofsted Inspector Karen Holmes Ofsted Inspector Lucie Stephenson Ofsted Inspector Diane Buckle Ofsted Inspector