Clitheroe Brookside Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Increase the effectiveness of leaders, including governors, by:
  • eliminating the inconsistencies in the quality of teaching
  • closely monitoring the opportunities for pupils to develop English and mathematics skills across the wider curriculum.
• Improve the consistency and quality of teaching, learning and assessment in order to improve pupils’ outcomes by:
  • raising teachers’ expectations of all groups of pupils and thereby accelerating pupils’ progress, ensuring that pupils’ writing is of a consistently high standard
  • providing more opportunities for mental calculations, problem solving and reasoning work in mathematics
  • providing opportunities to extend and challenge the most able pupils.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Leadership and management are not good because outcomes for pupils require improvement and the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inconsistent across the school. As a result, pupils’ progress and attainment are too variable at the end of key stage 2, including for the most able pupils.
• There has been a period of unavoidable turbulence in staffing since the previous inspection. Senior leaders and governors have been hampered in their endeavour to provide more stability in staffing. Leaders have had to cope with difficult situations, for example staff giving back word having previously accepted a position within the school. This has been compounded by staff illness and other leave and has had a particularly negative impact on outcomes for pupils in key stage 2.
• Senior leaders, including the governing body, have an accurate view of the strengths of the school and areas for improvement. However, their judgement of the school’s overall effectiveness is too generous. Given the challenges that leaders and managers face, the headteacher has wisely instigated the support of the local authority to provide expertise in staffing and the management of finances. This support is in its infancy and therefore too early to show impact.
• The absence of core subject leaders has resulted in too many leadership responsibilities for both the headteacher and the deputy headteacher. Senior leaders ensure a whole-school approach to the teaching of reading, writing and mathematics.
• Arrangements for performance management are effective. Leaders and governors challenge underperformance and reward staff for meeting targets linked to the priorities in the school improvement plan.
• A broad and balanced curriculum is in place. Leaders ensure that topic work is enhanced by trips and visitors to the school, which pupils clearly enjoy and appreciate. Teachers ensure that music and sport play an integral role in the life of the school and these experiences broaden pupils’ horizons.
• Leaders ensure that the pupil premium funding is used to benefit disadvantaged pupils. There are specific interventions to support learning and to enable this group of pupils to participate in a range of opportunities in and out of school. During the last academic year, the progress of disadvantaged pupils across all year groups was similar to that of other pupils in the school but lower than other pupils nationally.
• The progress of pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities requires improvement. The new leader of this area is using additional funding well to implement individual education pathways related to the specific needs of pupils, with bespoke support from teachers and teaching assistants. When needed, the school sources external professional support from a wide range of agencies with whom staff work effectively, particularly with those pupils with very complex needs.
• Leaders use the specialist funding for physical education and sport to build pupils’ confidence and teamwork. For example, there are coaching sessions from sport specialists who work with pupils and also develop the skills of staff.

Governance of the school

• Governors are clearly aware of the need for stability, both in staffing and in finance. They fully support the headteacher’s decision to broker support from the local authority to improve and monitor the quality of teaching, learning and assessment.
• The local authority is also working with the governors and senior leaders to implement plans to move from a deficit budget over a three-year period.
• Governors bring a great deal of commitment and a breadth of skills to provide the necessary support and challenge for senior leaders. For example, the chair of governors was successful in a bid to receive external funding to improve the outdoor areas of the school.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• There is a strong culture of safeguarding at Clitheroe Brookside. The school provides a safe and caring environment for pupils. Leaders have put measures in place to ensure that all pupils stay safe.
• Leaders ensure that staff have received up-to-date safeguarding and ‘Prevent’ duty training. Members of staff are aware of the safeguarding procedures employed in the school. Records are well maintained. Governors effectively fulfil their safeguarding responsibilities.
• All statutory checks are in place to ensure the suitability of adults working in school. The site is secure and appropriate checks are made on visitors when they arrive at the school. Pupils spoken to during the inspection said that they felt safe and this view was shared by parents and carers who spoke to inspectors.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching and learning is inconsistent across the school and across subjects. This is most evident in key stage 2 where there has been considerable turbulence in staffing. As a result, pupils have not made consistently good progress by the time they leave school and current pupils have some gaps in their learning.
• Improving the teaching of writing is a priority for the school. There are now regular sessions to improve spellings and punctuation. However, in some key stage 2 classes, pupils spent too long copying sentences from the board rather than also using their knowledge to write their own. It was evident from pupils’ books that some pupils had previously mastered using clauses in their writing but were having to repeat this work with the rest of the class rather than being challenged with harder work. Topic work provides pupils with additional opportunities to write at length. However, teachers’ expectations of the quality of writing expected from pupils are inconsistent across different year groups and subjects.
• The teaching of mathematics is variable. Some teachers do not use assessment to accurately pitch work to the ability of the pupils, and so pupils do not make the progress of which they are capable. The most able pupils are not stretched enough and the progress pupils make when problem solving is slow because pupils lack the ability to calculate mentally with confidence.
• In all subjects, teaching does not consistently provide pupils, especially the most able, with enough challenge to achieve work of the highest standard. There is often a lack of challenge or depth. Others find work too hard because of gaps in their knowledge.
• Pupils do not have enough opportunity to develop their literacy and numeracy skills across the whole curriculum in every year group. Through scrutiny of pupils’ work, it is evident that the expectations of teachers varied in terms of the quality of pupils’ work. Also, on occasion, teachers had been too generous in their assessment of pupils’ writing.
• The teaching of phonics is generally strong. Teachers and teaching assistants have good subject knowledge and consistently consolidate previous learning while providing challenge with new learning.
• Leaders ensure that reading has a high profile in school. Developing pupils’ fluency in reading has been a strength over time, particularly in key stage 1. New books have recently been purchased to engage girls and boys alike. Year 2 pupils who read to the inspectors demonstrated their ability to work out unfamiliar words. They demonstrated fluency in reading and clearly understood what they had read by retelling parts of the story in their own words.
• Skilled teaching assistants provide a valuable resource. In some classes where there have been several teachers during the year, they have provided stability for pupils. They know pupils well and support individuals and small groups with bespoke interventions.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• The inspectors spoke both informally and in meetings to pupils who demonstrated a good understanding of different forms of bullying. Pupils are adamant that bullying is rare in this school but have confidence that if they had any concerns there are adults to whom they can turn. Teachers ensure that pupils are very clear about the dangers of making friends using the internet.
• Pupils demonstrated tolerance towards people who have different cultures and beliefs to their own. Teachers ensure that pupils’ horizons are broadened through a range of trips and visits beyond their local environment.
• Parents told inspectors that ‘pupils’ pastoral care is excellent’. Records show that those pupils who have more complex needs are supported well. The relatively new special educational needs coordinator works well with external agencies to provide bespoke support for pupils who have social and emotional needs.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils are polite and courteous towards each other, staff and visitors to the school. The chair of the governing body was extremely proud to tell me how the behaviour of Clitheroe Brookside pupils shone when they recently performed in the choir at King George’s Hall, Blackburn. This was reiterated by parents, who felt that the choir ‘deserves a special mention; it’s a great experience for children’.
• Most of the time, most pupils behave well. They listen attentively, work productively and there is an active ‘buzz’ as pupils engage in a range of activities. For some individual pupils, for whom good behaviour is difficult, the school works well with outside agencies to provide specialist and successful support.
• The vast majority of pupils attend regularly and attendance is in line with the national average. Staff have been successful in reducing the number of persistent absences, which is lower than the national average.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Outcomes require improvement because the progress that pupils make during key stage 2 is not consistently good. This is primarily because of the lack of continuity in teaching and learning due to significant changes in staffing since the previous inspection. Parents expressed their concerns about the lack of consistency in staffing, particularly in upper key stage 2, and the impact that this might have on pupils’ education. Inspectors, senior leaders and governors share their concerns.
• The progress that pupils have made across key stage 2 since the previous inspection has been inconsistent. At the end of Year 6, the proportion reaching the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics has usually been higher than the national average. This was not the case in 2017 when only half the pupils in Year 6 reached the expected standards. The progress that pupils made in reading, writing and mathematics in 2015 and 2017 was significantly lower than the national average.
• Other than a dip in 2016, the proportion of Year 1 pupils reaching the expected standard in phonics has been consistently higher than the national average since the previous inspection. This is a reflection of how well teachers and teaching assistants engage the younger pupils in phonics sessions.
• Since the previous inspection, the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 1 has been consistently higher than the national average. Attainment in reading in 2017 was in the highest 10% of schools nationally.
• Since the previous inspection, Year 6 pupils’ achievement in spelling, punctuation and grammar tests has improved. In 2017, the proportion reaching the expected standard was close to the national average.
• Over time, too few of the most able pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, reach the standards that they should for their age and ability. Leaders agree that there is more to do to ensure that these pupils gain greater depth in their learning.
• Scrutiny of disadvantaged pupils’ work in their books, listening to them read and evaluating case studies show that these pupils are beginning to catch up in their learning even if some disadvantaged pupils also have complex needs.
• Some pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities have shown that their progress is improving.

Early years provision Good

• Leadership and teaching in the early years are of a good quality. As a result, the proportion of children reaching a good level of development by the end of Reception has been consistently higher than the national average in recent years.
• Leaders accurately assess and track children’s attainment and progress and this has enabled them to revise the curriculum to plug any gaps in children’s understanding. The curriculum is broad and balanced and based strongly on children’s interests and extending their experiences. Leaders have a very good overview of the assessment data and of children and their families.
• The early years managers ensure that the classrooms and outdoor areas are well resourced and have a good range of equipment to inspire children to explore, play and learn. Children choose areas and equipment to use and they work well with others to extend their imagination.
• Staff effectively plan activities to develop the imagination of children. Each child has a learning journal and staff diligently record activities in which each child has been engaged and milestones in progress reached.
• Staff make phonics fun and this is closely linked to the development of writing. Having read ‘The Gingerbread Man’ to the children, staff helped children to make their own gingerbread men, with children using role play in the indoor and outdoor kitchen areas. Adults encouraged children to talk about the ingredients and the steps to make the biscuits. The children then used their phonics knowledge to write simple sentences linked to the story and good progress was made by girls and boys alike.
• Behaviour is good. Excellent transition arrangements with the on-site Nursery class and other nurseries prior to starting school lead to children settling extremely well into school life and routines. During the inspection, it was clear to see how happy the children are to come to school and this was reflected in conversations with parents.
• Welfare requirements are met. The provision is well staffed. It is a safe environment and all statutory school policies are in place, ensuring that pupils are safe and feel safe.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 119321 Lancashire 10045168 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Voluntary aided 5 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 184 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Barbara Booth Beverley Allan 01200 425564 www.brookside.lancs.sch.uk head@brookside.lancs.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 2–3 April 2014

Information about this school

• The vast majority of pupils are White British.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is lower than the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is lower than the national average.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum requirement for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors observed teaching and learning in all classes. Several sessions were observed jointly with the headteacher.
• The inspectors listened to pupils read and held formal and informal discussions with pupils.
• Pupils’ work in their books and tracking records were scrutinised with senior leaders.
• Inspectors held meetings with senior leaders, members of the governing body, a representative from the local authority and the special educational needs coordinators.
• The 28 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, were taken into account. Consideration was given to free-text responses from 27 parents and inspectors met with parents at the school gates to seek their views. Inspectors considered eight staff questionnaires. There were no responses to the pupils’ questionnaire.
• The inspectors examined a range of documents. These included the school’s development plans and self-evaluation documents, pupils’ tracking information, subject leaders’ documents, minutes of the governing body meetings, safeguarding documentation, and various records relating to pupils’ behaviour and attendance.

Inspection team

Naomi Taylor, lead inspector Stephen Rigby Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector