Bury and Whitefield Jewish Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of leadership and management in the school by ensuring that:
  • subject leaders are developed to bring about more rapid improvements in teaching and learning in their areas of responsibility
  • leaders use assessment data in the early years to inform priorities for improvement
  • there is improved communication with parents so that concerns are dealt with in a positive manner.
• Improve the quality of pupils’ personal development and welfare, by:
  • acting on the concerns of parents and pupils to improve the quality of school meals
  • ensuring that the school’s work to promote British values and equalities is formally planned so as to promote greater consistency between year groups.
• Improve the pupils’ progress by enhancing the quality of teaching and learning in the school by ensuring that:
  • there are higher expectations for pupils’ learning in mathematics in key stage 1
  • tasks are more closely matched to pupils’ next steps in learning so that pupils of different abilities are appropriately challenged
  • there is a greater emphasis on developing pupils’ skills in science, geography and history
  • the standard of presentation in pupils’ work improves.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• Leadership and management require improvement because senior leaders have shouldered too many responsibilities in recent years, which has led to a slow rate of change in the school. Middle leadership is underdeveloped. Leaders and governors have already identified this as an issue. Consequently, there is a lack of consistently good progress evident in pupils’ work in mathematics, science, history and geography. Where progress is better, or improving, such as in pupils’ reading, this has been led by senior leaders.
• The headteacher has taken action to tackle some of the weakest teaching in the school. However, these actions have been too slow to eradicate the inconsistencies in teaching and learning and the variable progress made by pupils in different key stages and in different subjects.
• Although leaders have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses, some issues have not been acted upon swiftly enough. The recent improvements made to the teaching of phonics in key stage 1 and reading across the school are starting to show early signs of success. Leaders have ensured that staff have received professional development to develop pupils’ vocabulary. This has supported the development of current pupils’ reading and writing.
• Leaders are committed to ensuring that pupils experience a broad and balanced curriculum. However, the work in pupils’ books shows a lack of focus on teaching skills in science, history and geography. Inspectors found better evidence of development in pupils’ computing work and in the pupils’ PE.
• Leaders foster a culture of openness, respect and tolerance. The strong faith of leaders instils clear values in pupils. However, leaders’ promotion of British values and their promotion of equalities lack consistency and structure between year groups.
• Leaders foster positive relationships between pupils and staff. However, a lack of clear communication from leaders means that parents’ experience can be variable. The majority of parents are happy with the school but there is a minority of parents who raised concerns with inspectors on a number of issues.
• The leadership of provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is effective. Historically, there has been a disproportionally high number of pupils identified as having SEN and/or disabilities. Leaders now identify pupils’ needs correctly. Pupils receive more focused support in class and in small groups, where necessary, before being placed on the SEN register. Leaders use funding for these pupils appropriately to support their learning needs and to remove barriers to learning for pupils who have disabilities and/or medical conditions.
• Leaders use the PE and sport funding to provide a specialist coach to teach PE and provide development for staff. The result is that staff provide a range of extra-curricular clubs for pupils, including cross-country running, multi-skills and netball.
• Leaders have ensured that the promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is effective by ensuring that frequent visitors to school enhance pupils’ understanding of this aspect of the curriculum.

Governance of the school

• Recent changes to the governing body have ensured that there is a strong set of skills among governors from which to draw. Governors are setting an ambitious culture by looking to the future.
• Governors are aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the school’s provision. They understand that there is a need to address improvements at a more rapid pace to ensure that all aspects of the school are good.
• Governors ask relevant questions in their meetings. They challenge leaders about matters of finance and security especially.
• Governors have received training on a number of safeguarding issues and are well informed about potential risks to pupils.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Safeguarding is a strength of the school. Pupils say that the security around the school and the support that they get from staff makes them feel safe. They have a very good awareness of how to keep themselves safe, which is enhanced by visitors and trips, such as a recent trip to the local fire station by Year 6 pupils. Pupils also know the importance of not sharing information online in order to protect their own safety.
• Leaders ensure that there is a culture of vigilance at the school by posing safeguarding questions for staff to answer at staff meetings. Staff show an excellent awareness of the most up-to-date safeguarding legislation. They receive comprehensive training and regular updates.
• The record of checks made on the appointment of new staff is comprehensive.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• There is a wide variability in the quality of teaching across the school. Assessment information is not used to good effect to provide work that matches pupils’ next steps in learning in writing and mathematics. The work in pupils’ books is similar for different ability groups and does not provide sufficient challenge. Time in lessons is not used as productively as it could otherwise be due to this lack of challenge from teachers.
• In mathematics, pupils in key stage 1 make stilted progress because teachers’ expectations are not high enough. Pupils of all abilities repeat counting, addition and subtraction work that many were successful at by the end of the Reception Year. Pupils’ progress in mathematics is much more positive by the end of key stage 2 because teachers provide more opportunities for pupils to solve problems and apply reasoning.
• The work in pupils’ writing books shows steady progress throughout the school. However, common errors persist in pupils’ written work due to a lack on emphasis on correcting punctuation and spelling. Although teachers identify these mistakes, little is done to prevent these errors from reoccurring.
• Pupils are currently making good progress in reading, particularly in key stage 2. This is because teaching is effective and texts are matched well to pupils’ abilities. Pupils read with increasing fluency and expression as they progress throughout the school. Phonics is taught successfully. Younger pupils apply their phonics skills well to read unfamiliar words. Year 6 pupils’ workbooks show an effective promotion of pupils’ reading skills.
• Teaching is variable in a range of subjects. There is a lack of skills development in subjects other than English and mathematics. In science, teachers do not provide enough opportunities for pupils to develop and use their investigative skills. In history and geography, the work in pupils’ books shows that teaching does not consistently develop pupils’ understanding or skills across different year groups. The focus is on learning facts as opposed to enabling pupils’ understanding of these subjects. The history work in Year 4 stands as a notable exception. Here, work is consistently focused on pupils’ understanding of historical events and the motivations of historical figures.
• The presentation in pupils’ books requires improvement. Teachers do not insist on basic standards of presentation being met in writing, mathematics and across the curriculum. Inspectors found evidence that pupils’ presentation undermines the accuracy of their work.
• Where learning is most effective, teachers question pupils well and provide opportunities for pupils to discuss their own work. This leads to a rich vein of skills in pupils’ reasoning as they reflect on their own learning. This is evident in upper key stage 2 in both writing and mathematics, where pupils’ progress is notably better.
• The teaching of PE and computing are stronger because of the way in which they are led. Pupils make better progress in these subjects. The effective use of the PE and sport premium to employ a specialist coach ensures that pupils’ physical skills and fitness are taught well.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities show good progress from their starting points. This is because the leader for SEN ensures that the support for these pupils is matched to their needs.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils have positive attitudes and are confident and self-assured. They show respect for the opinions and views of others. The strong values promoted by leaders shine through in pupils’ responses.
• Pupils are aware of how to keep themselves safe from bullying. The pupils that inspectors spoke to say that bullying in the school is rare.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is developed though a range of trips and through visitors who come into the school.
• Pupils are aware of equality and of British values. Leaders have established a strong culture of respect and pupils value diversity and difference. Staff respond well to the experiences of pupils. Leaders have already identified that the school’s next step is to plan these areas across the school in more detail. Presently, there is a lack of consistency in the school’s approach to promoting these aspects of pupils’ learning across all year groups.
• Pupils know how to stay healthy. However, pupils agree with the concerns voiced by some parents about the quality of school meals. The majority of pupils in Year 6 feel that these could be described as ‘sloppy, malnutritious gloop’. Despite the recent actions of leaders, pupils feel that the quality of school meals is not improving. However, it is credit to staff that pupils can speak their minds and have confidence to do so.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils’ conduct at playtimes and when walking around the school is good. Pupils play well together and are well supervised at playtimes. There is no disruption to lessons, although some pupils can switch off at times because their work does not match their learning needs.
• Although pupils’ attendance is lower than the national average, this is improving. Leaders are aware of the reasons for absence and are diligent in chasing up absences when these can be avoided.
• Staff manage behaviour well. The logs of behaviour incidents show a low number and pupils agree that behaviour at the school is good. However, inspectors found that the school does not always communicate well with parents about how positive outcomes are achieved when, occasionally, things go wrong.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• The school’s published data for pupils at the end of key stage 2 shows that pupils’ progress in writing has been in the bottom 20% for the last two years. Reading progress in 2017 was also in the bottom 20%, while progress in mathematics was broadly average. Current pupils’ progress in reading is now better due to a focus on developing pupils’ vocabulary. This has also helped develop pupils’ writing, particularly in key stage 2.
• Attainment by the end of key stage 2 in 2017 for reading and writing at the expected and higher standards was broadly average. Mathematics attainment compared favourably to that in other schools nationally. At the end of key stage 1, attainment in all three subjects was broadly average.
• The proportion of pupils who met the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check was above average in 2017.
• The progress of pupils currently in the school in mathematics varies between key stages. In Years 1 and 2, pupils make slow progress. This contrasts with the good progress made by pupils in upper key stage 2. There is a lack of challenge across the school, particularly for the most able pupils. Progress for these pupils requires improvement.
• Inspectors found that the work in pupils’ writing books provided a more positive picture across the school than indicated by the published data. Progress is now steady across most years. However, there is a lack of challenge evident as pupils of different abilities are provided with the same work. As such, pupils are not challenged to reach the higher standards in writing.
• Inspectors heard a range of pupils read from a variety of abilities across the school. Progress overall is now good. This is due to leaders’ focus on developing pupils’ vocabulary. In key stage 1, pupils are confident when applying their phonics skills to read unfamiliar words. Some of the most able pupils are so adept at this that it does not alter the flow of their reading. In key stage 2, pupils read confidently with fluency and expression.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• The early years requires improvement because there are weaknesses in its leadership. Assessment information is not used to good effect to track children’s progress, or when analysing where improvements can be made. Children’s progress in their learning records is disjointed and there is little evidence that adults follow up the next steps that have been identified for children’s learning.
• Children enter the early years with skills generally typical for their age. By the end of their Reception Year, the proportion of children achieving a good level of development is broadly average and has remained similar over the last three years. Most make steady progress but few children exceed the early learning goals in mathematics and writing at the end of their Reception Year.
• Children are taught early reading, writing and mathematics in the Nursery and Reception class. However, the quality of teaching is inconsistent and there is a lack of challenge evident for children in their work. Opportunities to correct common errors are missed, for example in the orientation of letters and reversal of numbers.
• The environment is well resourced and teachers have ensured that the environment is attractive and welcoming for children. Relationships between children and adults are good. Staff ensure that children’s attitudes towards their learning are positive. Children’s behaviour is good and shows that they feel safe. Safeguarding in the early years is effective.
• Children’s personal development is promoted well. Children work well together by sharing and taking turns. Where children’s learning is most effective, teachers ask open-ended questions to promote independent thinking.
• Parents are positive about the experiences of their children in the early years. Regular information keeps them informed about their children’s progress.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 105352 Bury 10032800 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 Voluntary aided 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 167 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Harvey Jacobson Claire Simon 0161 766 2888 www.bwjps.org.uk BWJP@bury.gov.uk Date of previous inspection 27 March 2007

Information about this school

• The school is a smaller-than-average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is lower than the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is above that seen nationally.
• The vast majority of pupils are of a White British heritage and there are no pupils who speak English as an additional language.
• The school meets the current government floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching in each class, which included joint observations with the senior leaders.
• Inspectors examined a range of work from 42 different pupils, which was provided by the school. Inspectors looked at pupils’ work in mathematics, writing and from across the curriculum.
• Inspectors heard pupils read, both individually and during class activities.
• Inspectors spoke with pupils formally in groups and informally around school.
• Inspectors spoke with some parents at the start of the school day and responded to issues raised by a small number of parents during the course of the inspection.
• Inspectors made observations of pupils’ behaviour during lessons, at playtimes and when pupils were moving around the school.
• Meetings were held with governors, senior leaders, middle leaders and local authority representatives.
• Inspectors considered a range of documentation, including the school’s evaluation of its own performance and its areas for development.
• Inspectors looked at attendance and behaviour records.
• Inspectors reviewed safeguarding documentation and considered how this related to daily practice, as well as speaking with staff and pupils.

Inspection team

Steve Bentham, lead inspector Doreen Davenport John Shutt

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector