Goosnargh Whitechapel Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Enhance the leadership and management of the school, by building on the effective work of subject leaders responsible for English, mathematics, computing and science to ensure that other subjects receive the same good-quality leadership to promote learning.
• Ensure that governors diligently check that the curriculum information they share with parents and carers on the school’s website reflects the enhancements in operation in school.
• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, by ensuring that:
  • teachers more effectively share their high expectations of what most-able pupils can do, particularly in writing
  • teachers, including those in early years, provide pupils with more opportunities to develop their knowledge and understanding at greater depth.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher, although relatively new to the school, has a clear, insightful and accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses which she shares with senior leaders, staff and governors. Senior leaders work closely with staff and governors and have an aspirational vision for improvement. Their effective use of performance management, and the well-considered appointments and appropriate training, ensure that staff are knowledgeable and well equipped to promote good-quality learning.
• Leaders’ planning for school improvement is clear and effective. It includes priorities based on detailed evaluation of the school. These include enhancing the challenge for pupils to ensure greater proportions develop their knowledge and understanding of subjects at greater depth, particularly in writing.
• The leadership of subjects in the school is good. Senior leaders have taken on the mantle of leadership for English and mathematics to ensure improvement in these subjects. The leadership of computing and science is also good. Here, subject leaders carefully monitor and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses in their subject. Subject leaders keep up to date and informed about developments in their subjects and use this to inform their planning. However, due to the small size of the school, the number of staff available to become subject leaders is limited. Leaders make best use of the good capacity for subject leadership in the staff by prioritising specific subjects, including those mentioned above and geography and history. As a result, the impact of leadership on promoting improvement in other subjects is more limited.
• Leaders demonstrate a secure understanding of the barriers to learning faced by pupils. Leaders’ effective use of the pupil premium funding ensures that disadvantaged pupils achieve well. Actions are carefully considered on an individual basis and include specific support to help pupils develop their literacy skills to help them access the curriculum. Additional support enables pupils to attend frequently and access wider learning opportunities, such as musical and educational visits that further enrich disadvantaged pupils’ education.
• Leaders’ good use of the additional primary school physical education (PE) and sport funding has resulted in high levels of pupil participation in sports and in their adoption of healthy lifestyles. Leaders use the additional funding effectively to provide a rich diet of sporting opportunities, including dance sessions provided by specialist teachers, tennis, gymnastics and additional swimming sessions that help ensure pupils’ safety in water. The school makes good use of its excellent outdoor sports facilities, such as a large multi-use, all-weather sports area, and its links with the community to encourage pupils’ participation in sport. For example, the school uses the neighbouring village hall for indoor PE, and the community’s bowling green for its annual pupil–pensioner bowling competition.
• Leaders place pupils’ welfare and well-being at the heart of all they do. Leaders ensure that pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding is carefully and strongly nurtured in this caring school. As a result, pupils say that they feel valued and safe. This is particularly evident in the way pupils respect and care for each other and adults. For example, older pupils promote and model harmonious play between genders and the different year groups in the playground. All pupils are treated with understanding and respect. Leaders promote equality strongly and effectively.
• The school’s curriculum is broad, balanced and carefully designed to meet the needs of pupils. The curriculum equips pupils well for their next stages of education by ensuring that pupils systematically develop their knowledge and skills in subjects. British values are woven carefully into the curriculum subject, and as a result, pupils have a deep awareness of democracy, the rule of law and equality. Pupils confidently explained to the inspector the differences between a monarchy and a presidential system and were able to explain how Parliament is responsible for making laws in this country.
• Leaders currently do not receive any additional funding for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The leader with responsibility for special educational needs, the headteacher, ensures that support is carefully planned, well-organised and effective. As a result, pupils who find some aspects of learning or development more difficult make good progress. Parents are kept well informed about their children’s progress.
• Parents are well informed about life in school and their children’s progress through regular newsletters, an easily accessible website and reports and information events. The parents who spoke with the inspector overwhelmingly support the school and recognise the considerable improvements that recent changes to senior leadership have brought about.

Governance of the school

• The governance of the school is effective. Governors accept that they have developed their roles since the last inspection because of the support and guidance given to them by the new headteacher. As a result, they have a clear understanding of their role and responsibilities.
• Many governors possess professional skills and use them well to hold leaders to account for the impact of their actions. They have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses because they have effectively implemented the training they have received to check on the school’s progress and measure the success of leaders’ actions.
• Governors share leaders’ vision and commitment. They know their school well because of the quality of the information they receive from leaders, including subject leaders. Their regular and purposeful visits to the school allow them to check the accuracy of the information they receive.
• Governors have a thorough understanding of the school’s policy for managing performance, including its link to teachers’ pay, and ensure that it is robustly applied.
• Governors have not ensured that they have checked that the details of information published for parents on the school’s website are up to date and accurate. As a result, the information published about the contents of the school curriculum does not reflect the improvements that have been implemented by leaders in school.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The governing body ensures that the school meets all the statutory requirements for safeguarding, including those relating to early years. These include checking on the suitability of adults to work with pupils in school and the provision of appropriate filtering and monitoring of the school’s internet connection.
• The welfare and safeguarding of pupils lie at the heart of this school. Well-trained and vigilant staff have up-to-date knowledge because of the high-quality and frequent training they receive, including that relating to online safety. Leaders and staff work closely together and diligently apply their skills to keep pupils safe.
• Leaders ensure that records are meticulously kept and fit for purpose. They respond effectively to any concerns about pupils’ well-being, including sharing information with families and appropriate authorities to ensure that pupils are safe and protected from external risks and threats.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers and well-trained teaching assistants have good subject knowledge in a wide range of subjects, including English, mathematics and science. Pupils are increasingly inspired to learn through interesting and challenging activities that allow them to explore new ideas and apply their skills in interesting ways. For example, pupils were challenged to use their knowledge of the properties of common chemicals such as vinegar, salt and sand to hypothesise the outcomes of an experiment to see which substance melted ice most quickly.
• Teachers make good use of homework to extend learning further beyond the school day. Frequent, literacy and numeracy homework that is supplemented by a ‘chilli challenge’ promotes learning in other subjects. Pupils relish these challenges. They recognise how teachers use these and other classroom activities to help them to develop their resilience, as they learn from the mistakes that they make.
• Reading and writing are taught well and with increasing complexity across the school. As a result, pupils become articulate and fluent readers and systematically develop effective skills in writing. Pupils are increasing their confidence in their use of more complex vocabulary and grammar because of the quality of teaching they receive. Writing activities are frequently linked to other subjects, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural education and history. For example, pupils applied their studies of classical literature to perform in a local Shakespeare festival, and on other occasions wrote at length about the suffrage of women during the early 20th century. Teachers seize opportunities that give pupils the chance to write about real events. For example, pupils linked their studies of space in science to the compilation of fact booklets about a chosen genre in English. However, sometimes teaching does not provide sufficient challenge for pupils to develop their knowledge and understanding in greater depth.
• Mathematics teaching systematically develops pupils’ knowledge of a wide range of mathematical concepts. Work in pupils’ books shows that some teachers increasingly make effective use of additional learning challenges, such as mathematical investigation to develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding at greater depth. For example, during one activity, pupils were challenged to identify pathways through number mazes using a series of calculations to successfully navigate their way and achieve the expected numerical outcome. However, these improvements in the practice of the teaching of mathematics are not fully embedded across all year groups. Consequently, some most-able pupils do not routinely receive the challenge they need to develop their understanding at greater depth.
• Teachers and teaching assistants typically have high expectations of their pupils. They are typically adept at using questioning effectively to guide learning and to check pupils’ understanding. They habitually encourage pupils to consolidate their understanding of a concept by explaining the reason for their answer. However, on some occasions, teachers do not clearly articulate and explain their expectations. This is particularly the case for most-able pupils where, at times, expectations are not clearly enough explained to ensure that pupils develop their knowledge and understanding at greater depth.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding. Personal development and welfare are key strengths of this school and the foundation from which pupils thrive. Pupils develop a strong thirst for learning that prepares them well for their next stages of education and learning.
• Pupils have a deep understanding of equality and diversity because these are woven into the curriculum. For example, work in pupils’ books shows that they have a secure understanding of the importance of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King in the development of racial equality and the struggle of women in securing the vote in the early 20th century. Pupils confidently explained to the inspector information arising from their experiences of different faiths, including Islam and Judaism.
• The school has excellent relationships with outside agencies. Leaders are proactive in seeking additional advice and guidance when appropriate to protect pupils from harm. This includes some considerable work with experts from the local authority and national organisations to upskill staff, pupils and parents about the safe use of online technology and the internet.
• A wide range of cultural experiences, including Zulu dancing and participation in large community events, including regional musical concerts and those to commemorate the centenary of the Armistice, contributes strongly to pupils’ personal, social, moral and cultural education alongside their academic achievement.
• Leaders value and safely promote local community traditions, such as Maypole dancing and ‘pancaking’. A wide range of clubs and additional activities allow pupils to develop personal interests and useful skills that ensure they leave well equipped to be positive contributors to society. Other activities develop pupils’ awareness of nature and the arts. These include the participation in performances of Shakespeare’s plays, knitting woollen poppies, the organisation of charity fund-raising events, and cultivation of the garden area, often watched by neighbouring calves, who are extremely interested in the proceedings.
• Pupils develop their leadership skills through the many and varied roles of responsibility they undertake. School councillors are elected annually following democratic election campaigns that include the production and presentation of individual manifestos. Pupil librarians ensure the smooth running of the school library, including helping to choose additions to its catalogue of books, and ‘assistant caretakers’ are diligent in ensuring that the playground is safe and tidy, and that cardboard waste is correctly recycled.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• Pupils’ conduct around the school is impeccable. They are polite and courteous to visitors, members of staff and each other. Pupils show great respect for each other. For example, when talking to the inspector, older pupils listened to and valued the views and participation of younger members of the group.
• Playtimes see pupils from age groups across the school playing collaboratively and harmoniously together. Boys and girls play happily together and older pupils frequently help younger pupils to play and welcome them into their games. Pupils engage in a wide range of variations on traditional games such as ‘Mario tag’, and skipping in a safe and well-supervised environment.
• Pupils say that they love coming to school and they rarely miss a day. Consequently, attendance is well above the national average.
• Very few pupils are persistently absent. When this does occur, leaders’ effective actions ensure that their attendance swiftly improves. Leaders monitor attendance diligently. They carefully tailor their actions to meet the needs of individual pupils and their family’s circumstances. Analysis of attendance data shows that this frequently has had a considerable impact on their attendance.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Detailed analysis of the school’s own and national assessment information shows that pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, make effective progress from their starting points. Results for the assessments at the end of key stage 2 for the last three years show that pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics is in line with national averages. However, the progress across year groups in writing is more limited than that in reading and mathematics.
• Children have a secure foundation for their learning in early years, upon which they build effectively in key stage 1.
• Nearly all pupils achieved the expected standards in the assessments at the end of key stage 1 and key stage 2. However, the number of pupils who developed their knowledge and understanding at greater depth, to attain the highest standards in the end of key stage assessments in reading, writing and mathematics, was more limited.
• Phonics is taught well in school. As a result, pupils quickly become fluent readers. Those that read to the inspector were able to identify favourite authors and give reasons for their choices. Pupils confidently apply their phonics knowledge to help them successfully attempt unfamiliar words.
• Work in pupils’ books shows that leaders’ actions to increase the levels of challenge in work are having a positive impact on improving pupils’ depth of knowledge and understanding. Pupils now write at length with more confident use of more complex grammatical structures across a wide range of different genres. In mathematics, better quality teaching now ensures that most-able pupils now receive more frequent opportunities to explore and apply different strategies to investigate mathematical concepts. As a result, pupils’ progress and attainment in reading, writing and mathematics are improving. However, the full impact of these actions is not yet evident in the proportion of pupils attaining the highest standards in the outcomes of the end of key stage assessments.
• Pupils make effective progress in a wide range of other curriculum subject because of the quality of teaching they receive. Increasingly, pupils now receive better opportunities to study subjects in more depth, particularly in geography, science and history.

Early years provision Good

• The leadership and management of early years are good. Leaders have a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses. They have a clear vision for improvement that they share effectively with teaching assistants and the headteacher, who teaches part time in the department.
• Early years children share a class with those pupils who are in Year 1. Good organisation ensures that early years children do not miss out on the early years foundation stage curriculum, and they benefit from close working with their older peers.
• Children settle quickly into the Reception/Year 1 class because of high-quality transition arrangements with home and local Nursery providers. Children visit frequently during the summer term before they start, and the effective use of ‘partners’ that are from the school year above helps children to settle quickly to school routines and their learning when they begin in Reception.
• Early years leaders use the information they get from visits of Nursery children effectively to inform their planning and to sow the seeds of learning by providing fun and interesting induction activities.
• Children are polite and courteous. They are keen to learn and play, and collaborate well together. Children swiftly develop their inquisitiveness and social skills. This was exemplified in the collaborative work that early years children undertook to safely construct a working bird hide, using playground equipment and other materials. Children are eager to share their learning and welcome the opportunity to confidently tell visitors about their activities such as bird watching.
• Parents are actively involved in their children’s learning because of the well-established, high-quality relationships with early years staff. These positive relationships ensure that parents can easily find out about their children’s next steps in learning and share any concerns they might have. Parents frequently visit school to work alongside their children, for example on Christmas craft afternoons and curriculum events. These events provide excellent opportunities, in addition to day-to-day contact for teachers and other adults, to discuss children’s needs and celebrate their achievements. Parents who spoke with inspectors were overwhelmingly positive about the impact the department has on their children’s education.
• Children are kept safe because well-trained and vigilant staff implement the school’s safeguarding policies with rigour and act quickly to deal with any concerns. Children receive the appropriate support they need to thrive, make good progress and behave well. Leaders ensure that all welfare regulations are met. The environment, including the outdoor learning spaces, is secure and safe.
• The quality of teaching is good. Highly skilled teachers and teaching assistants frequently use questioning well to probe and develop children’s understanding. They make good use of the well-resourced outdoor provision to promote learning by providing exciting and challenging activities for children. For example, during continuous provision, early years children were captivated by their study of wild birds visiting the feeding station. A vigilant and knowledgeable teaching assistant used this interest well to check and record in detail children’s knowledge and understanding of the world around them, including children’s use of a key to identify different birds.
• Phonics is taught well by well-trained and knowledgeable staff. As a result, children make good progress and quickly become confident readers who apply their phonics knowledge well to attempt unfamiliar words. However, the progress children make in writing is not as strong. Leaders are aware of this and have implemented appropriate actions to develop children’s writing skills. However, the impact of these actions has not yet been fully realised.
• Nearly all children begin early years with levels of development that are typical for their age. They build on their foundations of knowledge to make good progress from their starting points, particularly in the areas of learning related to social and emotional development. The proportion of children who achieve a good level of development by the time they leave early years is typically in line with the national average and is continuing to increase because of the good teaching they receive. However, the proportion of children who exceed the early learning goals is below the national average, particularly in writing.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 119154 Lancashire 10090530 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 Maintained 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 84 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Alan Roberts Nicola Noblett 01995 640364 www.whitechapel.lancsngfl.ac.uk head@whitechapel.lancs.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 11–12 November 2009

Information about this school

• Goosnargh Whitechapel Primary School is smaller than the average-sized rural primary school. The overwhelming majority of pupils are White British.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium funding is much lower than average.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND is much lower than average.
• There have been considerable changes in staffing, including in senior leadership and governance, since the last inspection.

Information about this inspection

• The inspector observed a range of learning activities and looked at pupils’ work. He listened to pupils reading and talked with them about their lessons and school life.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, and a range of subject leaders. The inspector spoke with representatives of the governing body, including the chair, and met with the school councillors and other pupils who hold positions of responsibility. The inspector also had a telephone conversation with the local authority officer who works with the school.
• The inspector scrutinised documentation relating to pupils’ attainment and progress. He also scrutinised documentation relating to school management, including the arrangements to ensure that pupils are kept safe.
• The inspector spoke with parents at the start to the school day and with staff.

Inspection team

John Nixon, lead inspector

Her Majesty’s Inspector