Winsford High Street Community Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Further develop leadership and management in the school by enabling new middle leaders to be more influential in improving teaching and learning in their areas of responsibility.
• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by ensuring that:
  • there is greater consistency between year groups, especially in lower key stage 2, so teaching matches the very best in the school
  • tasks are more closely matched to pupils’ next steps in learning to appropriately challenge pupils of all abilities, including in the early years.
• Improve governance by ensuring that governors have a more precise understanding of how the use of the pupil premium funding makes a difference to the outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Leaders and governors have negotiated their way through a significant period of change since the last inspection. The extensive building work and high rate of staff turnover have been well managed, due to the distribution of leadership among an effective and extended leadership team. The school’s track record of developing the skills of staff can be seen in the composition of this team, several of whom started at the school as newly qualified teachers. This is a school that is successful in ‘growing their own’ leaders.
• Leaders and governors use the school’s performance information to clearly identify the school’s strengths and weaknesses. As such, they have a good understanding of how to improve the school. The findings of the inspection marry with leaders’ own view of the school’s performance.
• Leaders use effectively the pupil premium funding in meeting pupils’ social, emotional and mental health needs, and in providing support to help disadvantaged pupils to narrow the gap between their achievement and that of other pupils nationally. As a result, disadvantaged pupils make good progress in their learning.
• The additional funding for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities impacts well on these pupils’ progress. This is due to the effective support they receive in their learning from highly effective teaching assistants and the care they receive for wider medical, personal and social needs.
• Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. Their awareness of equality is exceptional. This represents the headteacher’s clear commitment to raising aspirations for pupils in all areas of their education. Pupils are well equipped for the next stages of their education and for their future lives.
• Middle leaders have mapped effectively the curriculum to meet the demands of the new national curriculum. There is some variation in the interpretation of schemes of work, as shown in some pupils’ books. Leaders are aware that in some year groups and in some subjects, there is more work to be done to ensure that teaching and learning are more consistent across the school. However, the quality of teaching and learning is never less than good.
• The organisation of curriculum teams supports leaders who are new to role, especially teachers who have recently qualified. These teams meet regularly. Staff feel valued, motivated and supported by leaders because of the guidance and training they receive. However, senior leaders agree the role of new leaders in monitoring the effectiveness of teaching and learning in their areas of responsibility is underdeveloped.

Governance of the school

• Governors are proud of the school’s inclusive and welcoming ethos. They see the new building as befitting leaders’ aspirations for pupils. Governors are committed to improving pupils’ outcomes, both academically and in their personal and social development.
• Governors question and challenge senior leaders well. They also support staff to equip them with the resources that they need. Nothing is too much trouble if it helps pupils to progress.
• When taking a strategic view, governors are sometimes too involved to dispassionately evaluate the progress of disadvantaged pupils. This affects their ability to articulate, in detail, the effectiveness of the use of the pupil premium funding. Governors know the effect is positive, but cannot clearly say what aspects of the funding are making the most difference to pupils’ outcomes.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders’ awareness of safeguarding is excellent. This is communicated effectively to all staff. Training and continual updates ensure that safeguarding is of a high priority. Leaders identify areas of particular risk to pupils. They are effective in creating a strong and vigilant safeguarding culture across the school.
• Pupils have a thorough awareness of how to keep themselves safe, including when online, because of the comprehensive information they receive. The actions of staff to rectify rare instances of bullying give pupils confidence in the adults in school. Pupils feel that they can approach staff with any worries they may have.
• Leaders work effectively with parents and outside agencies to ensure that pupils are safe and supported.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Pupils enjoy their learning. They work with positive attitudes because of the excellent relationships they have with staff.
• Lessons across the school are purposeful and pupils focus well on the tasks they are given. Older pupils manage their own learning, such as in their highly successful reciprocal reading, where pupils challenge each other to learn new and interesting words. The competition between pupils drives them to achieve well.
• In mathematics, pupils solve a wide range of problems. Pupils in Year 6 apply their mathematical reasoning skills to explain their answers well. This success is filtering down into other year groups, for example in Year 1, where pupils are encouraged to write down how they know what time it is by recognising the position of hands on a clock.
• Highly effective teaching assistants have a positive impact on pupils’ learning. They question and support pupils in order to further their progress across the curriculum.
• When reading, pupils progress from low starting points in key stage 1 to read fluently and expressively, with good comprehension, by the end of Year 6. This is because the texts they read are well matched to pupils’ abilities. Younger pupils apply their phonics skills effectively to read unfamiliar words.
• Adults’ questioning of pupils is highly effective in probing pupils’ thinking and promoting pupils to think carefully about their learning.
• Older pupils value the homework they receive. They see this as reinforcement of their learning and as good preparation for secondary school.
• The organisation of staff pairs newly qualified and recently qualified members of staff with more experienced colleagues. This nurtures the development of those who are at the early stages of their career.
• Teachers work effectively with other agencies to provide for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. Their needs are correctly and swiftly identified. Pupils are integrated well because of the effective support they receive. Teachers continually assess pupils to inform flexible programmes which adapt to pupils’ needs.
• Although never less than good, there is variation in the quality of teaching, particularly in lower key stage 2, where the interpretation of curricular plans is not always consistent in promoting pupils’ depth of learning in their topic work.
• The best learning takes place when tasks are based on pupils’ prior learning to extend their understanding further. Here, learning is targeted and progressive. However, this is not consistently applied, such as in lower key stage 2, where pupils do not have the opportunity to consolidate their learning before being moved on to more difficult content. In these instances, some common errors can persist longer than they otherwise should, for example, in the use of punctuation in their writing.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils feel that they can approach staff with any worries they may have. This is vital for those who come from complex backgrounds. Pupils enthuse about the support they receive for their emotional well-being from the family support worker. They describe how she ‘builds you back up’ following any personal issues they have faced. The result is that pupils are confident and resilient.
• The headteacher has been instrumental in working in partnership with other local schools to raise pupils’ aspirations. His commitment to improve the lives of pupils is shared by leaders, staff and governors alike. The oldest pupils are articulate, reflective and open. They have pride in their school and a strong sense of belonging. By the time they reach Year 6, they demonstrate excellent learning characteristics and support each other’s learning.
• Pupils understand how important it is to accept people as individuals and they explain how ‘everyone is treated the same’. They are mature and have a clear awareness of issues such as disability awareness and transgender issues. They understand how pupils in their classes differ from each other and are accepting of each other’s needs.
• The range of residential visits on offer for pupils starts in Year 1. These promote pupils’ teamwork and physical well-being. One parent who responded to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, wrote ‘school provides a fantastic all round experience for all children, with lots of opportunities for pupils’.
• Pupils say bullying is rare and behaviour of this type is acted upon swiftly and decisively by staff.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils’ conduct in and around the school is good. Lessons are typically focused and pupils concentrate well. Where rare instances of low-level disruption do occur, this is swiftly and expertly dealt with by staff.
• Leaders keep track of pupils’ behaviour and pupils agree staff deal well with any problems. They say behaviour in and around school is good because of the support adults provide.
• Although attendance is just below the national average, leaders make every effort to reduce absence and improve punctuality in every way they can. There are hard-won improvements evident in the reduction of persistent absence of some pupils.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• From low starting points on entry, pupils currently make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. They progress well in subjects across the curriculum. There is some slight variation in the gains pupils make between subjects, for example, in geography and history in lower key stage 2. However, this is never less than good.
• Disadvantaged pupils make good progress because of the way in which additional funding is arranged to provide these pupils with additional and targeted support for their learning.
• In Year 1, the proportion of pupils who achieve the expected standard in the phonics check has been improving over the last three years and is now broadly average.
• In their reading, pupils progress well from very low starting points to become fluent and expressive readers by the time they leave school. The school fosters a love of reading and pupils are enthusiastic about some of the texts that they read.
• In key stage 1, standards are improving but are lower than those seen nationally. However, the work in pupils’ books shows that they make good progress in reading and writing from low starting points.
• Due to the effective support that they receive, the progress of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is good. The targeted use of resources and support is successful in catering for these pupils’ needs.
• Pupils leave key stage 2 with personal and academic skills that prepare them well for the next steps in their education.

Early years provision Good

• The early years is led well. Leaders are aware that the movement of the reception classes to the new building during the 2017 summer term impacted negatively on children’s attainment. Leaders’ analysis of the provision shows that many children narrowly missed out on achieving a good level of development. However, these results are not a typical reflection of the effective quality of teaching or the good progress children make.
• The early years leader has promoted well the professional development of staff. This is most recently evident in the Reception Year, where she has coached and supported teachers and teaching assistants to develop their skills. As such, adults consistently question children well to develop their learning, particularly in their writing and number work.
• Since the previous inspection, leaders have established highly effective nursery provision so that the needs of children can be met at the earliest stage of their education. Many children enter the Nursery Year with skills below those typical for their age. Leaders and governors target additional support for children’s language development from the point of entry. This intensive support is raising the levels of development for children transferring to the school’s Reception classes.
• Around half of the children entering the Reception Year come from the school’s Nursery and they make a flying start. The proportion of these children that achieve a good level of development by the end of their Reception Year was above the national average in 2017. For other children, there is a heavy emphasis on developing their attitudes to learning, so they become curious and inquisitive learners. This enables these children to make good progress in all aspects of their learning.
• There has been a concerted and successful effort by leaders to focus on developing children’s reading and writing skills. There is evidence of their improved skills in children’s learning journeys and in teachers’ assessments of their capabilities. Children enjoy and are involved in the available range of opportunities to learn. Activities change focus with each topic so that they are fresh and interesting.
• Teaching in the early years is effective. There is no time wasted and no opportunity to learn is passed up. Although the Reception classes’ outdoor area has been left underdeveloped because of the unanticipated overspend on the recent building works, teachers ensure that focused tasks extend children’s learning. Highly effective teaching assistants support children’s learning and progress. However, sometimes tasks in the Reception classes do not provide the challenges to stretch children’s thinking far enough because tasks are not matched well enough to children’s prior learning.
• Leaders effectively use additional funding, including the early years pupil premium. They are adept at meeting the needs of those children in receipt of this funding through support such as speech and language therapy to enhance children’s verbal communication skills.
• Children have a clear understanding of the expectations for their behaviour and move between activities safely and purposefully. They conduct themselves well at all times and work well together. They are motivated and active learners whose confidence and relationships with adults show they feel safe. All of the early years welfare requirements are met. Parents feel their children are safe at school and are overwhelmingly positive about the early years provision.

Inspection report: Winsford High Street Community Primary School, 6–7 December 2017

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School details

Unique reference number 111057 Local authority Cheshire West and Chester Inspection number 10032407 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 Community 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 466 and 43 children in Nursery Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Mr Mike Whitaker Mr Mark Joule 01606 592643 www.highstreet.cheshire.sch.uk head@highstreet.cheshire.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 13–14 January 2013

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school has extended its provision since the previous inspection to include a Nursery.
• The school’s capacity has been increased following extensive building work.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is lower than the national average and is declining.
• The pupils at the school are predominantly from White British backgrounds.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is below the national average. The proportion of pupils who have an education, health and care plan or statement of special educational needs is slightly above the national average.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics at the end of Year 6.
• The school operates a before-school breakfast club from 7.50am and an after-school club which runs until 5.50pm.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching and learning in each class, which included joint observations with the headteacher.
• Inspectors examined a range of pupils’ work in mathematics, writing and from across the curriculum.
• Inspectors heard individual pupils read from key stage 1 and key stage 2, and during lessons.
• Inspectors spoke with pupils formally in groups and informally around the school.
• Inspectors took account of the views of 50 parents who responded to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View.
• Inspectors took account of 21 pupils who completed the pupils’ survey and 39 staff who completed the staff survey.
• Inspectors made observations of pupils’ behaviour during lessons, at lunchtimes and when pupils were moving around the school.
• Meetings were held with governors, senior leaders and middle leaders.
• 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, considered how this related to daily practice and spoke with staff and pupils.

Inspection team

Steve Bentham, lead inspector Ann Dimeck John Daley Michael Gaskill Liz Kelly

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector