Moorside Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Embed the recently introduced systems for monitoring pupils’ achievement to enable teachers to identify precisely which pupils need additional support to make at least good progress across the curriculum.
• Strengthen middle leadership by ensuring that all subject leaders enact clear plans to improve teaching and outcomes in their areas.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The positive relationships between leaders, staff and pupils characterise the school and underpin the good progress that pupils make. As one parent said, ‘For such a big school there is still a family feel, with all members of staff and pupils supporting each other.’
• Leaders and governors are reflective and honest in their approach to evaluating what the school does well and where it needs to improve. This enables them to plan the right actions, for example to develop the provision for pupils who have SEN and or/disabilities.
• Leaders and governors are ambitious for pupils to reach their potential. They are committed to making sure that all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, have equal access to the curriculum and to a wide range of educational visits. As a result, outcomes are rising, including for disadvantaged pupils.
• Pupils of lower ability made progress in 2016 and 2017 that was too slow. Leaders admit that their aspirations for this group have not been as high as they should have been. Leaders have recently introduced new systems to monitor the progress of all pupils. These are helping teachers to identify more quickly those pupils who need extra support; standards for this group are therefore now beginning to rise.
• The headteacher and deputy headteacher have established a strong culture in which staff are encouraged to learn and develop professionally. Teachers and staff, including those new to the school, say that they feel supported by leaders. They are encouraged to develop new ideas and experiment with different ways of teaching.
• English and mathematics subject leaders use their expertise to improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in their subjects. They work with senior leaders to identify where there are gaps in pupils’ learning and where teaching needs to improve. Teachers value the support and training they receive and can explain how this has a positive impact on pupils’ learning.
• Senior leaders recognise that leadership of subjects beyond English and mathematics has, until recently, been limited to ensuring that all aspects of the curriculum are appropriately covered. As a result, leaders’ monitoring has not focused on the impact of teaching on pupils’ outcomes. Leaders have therefore taken steps to develop agreed standards of what pupils of different ages should be able to achieve in each subject throughout the school. The intention is that the introduction of clearer systems for tracking pupils’ progress will enable subject leaders to support teachers more effectively. However, this work is still at an early stage and needs further development in order to have more impact on pupils’ learning.
• Leaders have prioritised the development of a broad and balanced curriculum that reflects the needs and interests of their pupils. Topics are chosen that will capture pupils’ interests and, as a result, pupils are enthusiastic about learning. As well as a wide range of educational visits, pupils have opportunities to learn outdoors and to take part in camping and residential visits abroad. Pupils as young as those in Year 1, for example, go on a residential visit to learn what it is to be a ‘geographical explorer’ of the landscape.
• Foundation subjects such as geography, history, art and French provide opportunities for pupils to practise reading, writing and mathematics. The impact on pupils’ progress in these basic skills is evident in their books.
• Pupils develop spiritually, morally, socially and culturally and they have a strong awareness of fundamental British values. This is because leaders ensure that the curriculum includes opportunities to understand how democracy works and to discuss the importance of tolerance, respect and equality. Pupils learn about other faiths and cultures and undertake activities to raise funds for Fairtrade.
• Governors and leaders value the support that they buy from the local authority. Leaders also utilise opportunities to moderate pupils’ work and therefore check the accuracy of the school’s assessments. Representatives from the local authority agree with the school’s evaluation of its strengths and weaknesses.
• Parents and carers are strongly of the view that leaders manage the school well. One parent told an inspector that even during the school’s expansion in size, leaders had not lost their focus on teaching or caring for pupils.

Governance of the school

• Governors have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths as well as the priorities for improvement. This is because leaders make sure governors have appropriate information. Governors have now requested more frequent information about pupils’ achievement, so that they understand how pupils are progressing throughout the year.
• Minutes from governing body meetings show that governors ask challenging questions about how leaders spend the pupil premium grant and the extra funding for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. This enables governors to make sure that pupils benefit from these resources. Governors are committed to ensuring that no pupil is excluded from educational visits, including trips abroad, because of disadvantage.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Governors and leaders have established a culture of safeguarding in the school. There are clear systems for reporting concerns about the welfare of pupils; records show that leaders and staff follow these consistently.
• Governors and leaders keep clear and correct records of the clearances and checks that they make to ensure that employees and volunteers are suitable to work with children.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Pupils learn well because lessons are challenging and well organised. One pupil told an inspector, ‘Teachers work us hard – but they try to make it fun!’ Pupils understand what is expected of them. They settle quickly to learning, behave well and, as a result, very little learning time is lost.
• Teachers have strong subject knowledge. Their effective questioning encourages pupils to think more deeply and to develop their knowledge and skills further. Pupils are accustomed to putting forward their ideas orally and in writing. For example, in Year 5, pupils who were learning how to write persuasively used phrases like, ‘imagine a world where plastic waste takes over’.
• Teachers monitor work in lessons and use pupils’ answers to questions to check and assess their understanding. As a result, mistakes and misconceptions are usually addressed during the lesson or quickly afterwards. However, on very rare occasions, opportunities to check the understanding of the wider group are missed.
• Teachers use the opportunities presented by the broad curriculum to develop pupils’ reading, writing and communication skills and, where appropriate, mathematics. Pupils’ topic books show examples of poetry and longer pieces of writing, focusing on subjects such as the First World War or works of art. Consequently, pupils, including the disadvantaged and those who are most able, develop their skills in a range of ways and make strong progress.
• In mathematics, strong leadership has resulted in a consistent approach to the teaching of problem solving, reasoning and numeracy throughout the school. Teachers understand the standards required and are therefore able to assess pupils’ learning needs, including while lessons are taking place. They plan work that is challenging and this is evident in pupils’ books.
• Teachers provide pupils with work that encourages them to ask questions and to find things out for themselves. Pupils study photographs and images, for example, and put forward questions that will help them to find out more about what is going on. Teachers select topics that they know will interest pupils, and they make good use of the school’s facilities, including the outdoor environment, to enliven teaching. As a result, pupils remain focused and interested and develop positive attitudes to learning.
• Newly introduced systems help leaders to keep a closer track of the progress being made by individual pupils. These systems help leaders to carefully monitor the progress pupils make in English and mathematics. They also help leaders to track the progress of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities more effectively. These new systems are beginning to have an impact because they enable teachers to quickly identify which pupils are at risk of underachievement in English and mathematics. In turn, this helps teachers to provide more effective and timely additional support to those who need it most. These systems are therefore helping pupils to make faster progress. In particular, pupils of lower ability make better progress than in recent years. However, similar systems for tracking pupils’ progress in subjects beyond English and mathematics are in the early stages of their implementation. As a result, these systems have not had the same positive impact on teaching and outcomes as seen in English and mathematics.
• The teaching of phonics in key stage 1 is effective. Pupils learn new sounds and letters systematically and have opportunities daily to practise what they have learned. When they read, they use their growing phonic knowledge to help them to work out unfamiliar words. Consequently, pupils make good progress in reading and writing, including those who are less able or have SEN and/or disabilities.
• Parents who responded to Parent View agree that the school keeps them well informed about their children’s progress and that teaching in the school meets their children’s needs well.
• Teachers actively challenge stereotypes, especially in the world of work. They develop pupils’ understanding of what it is to be a geographer or a scientist, for example, and encourage all pupils to see themselves in these roles, regardless of gender or ability. Teachers promote equality of opportunity within lessons. For example, teachers plan lessons in Reception classes that they know will engage boys in writing as well as girls, by using stories that interest them.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Governors, leaders and teachers share a strong commitment to develop pupils’ resilience, self-esteem and enthusiasm for learning. Governors, leaders and teachers see this as key to pupils’ success in school.
• Pupils in Year 6 talk about how teachers encourage them to keep trying, to ‘stick at it’ and to take pride in their work. They are firmly of the view that this prepares them for the challenges of secondary school.
• Pupils discuss and debate important issues in lessons and are confident to express their opinions and to listen to each other. They are well used to using a ‘democratic approach’ to making decisions in class, and know that this reflects the values of modern Britain.
• Pupils have a well-developed understanding of the consequences of their actions. For example, they reflect upon their responsibility to the world around them and upon their impact on the environment. They talk about how different species of creature are suffering because of the actions taken by humans. They are proud of the actions they take in school in relation to conservation and recycling.
• Pupils feel safe in school and they know that any concerns they have will be dealt with quickly by teachers, who ‘sort it out’. They have a very strong understanding of the risks associated with communicating through social media and know how to keep themselves safe online.
• Pupils said that there is no racism, discriminatory language or derogatory use of words like ‘gay’. The school’s records bear this out.
• Pupils know how to keep themselves healthy through eating the right foods. They have particularly enjoyed activities focused on understanding the digestive system, sometimes in graphic detail. They take part in a wide range of physical activities including some provided through the use of the physical education (PE) and sports premium funding. Pupils also have access to a number of after-school clubs focused on fitness and well-being, such as multi-sports and football.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• Pupils’ behaviour in school is excellent and standards of behaviour have been maintained since the last inspection. Pupils, including the youngest, move around the large school site quietly and in an orderly fashion. They are polite to visitors and are proud to show them around their school.
• In lessons, pupils are keen to learn and they enjoy developing their own questions and lines of enquiry, so that they can find out more. On the very rare occasions where small numbers of younger pupils become a little overexcited, teachers quickly re-engage their interest and order is restored.
• Pupils talk about how teachers make learning fun and about how much they enjoy the educational visits that leaders provide for them. Parents were full of praise for pupils’ behaviour at the school.
• Attendance is close to or above national averages for almost all groups of pupils, including those who are disadvantaged. Pupils understand the importance of rules in relation to school attendance. Some pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities miss school more frequently for medical reasons. Leaders have put in place measures such as the ‘Well-being Café’ to ensure that parents can discuss any issues, including those related to attendance, in an informal environment.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Current pupils make good progress at Moorside. They make a strong start in the Reception classes and teachers in key stage 1 make sure that they provide appropriate support to those pupils who need to catch up. In Year 6, most pupils are well on track to reach at least the expected standards in English and mathematics. As a result, they will be well prepared for secondary school.
• Disadvantaged pupils throughout the school make progress across a range of subjects that is in line with that of their non-disadvantaged peers. This includes those who are more able, those who are of lower ability and those who have SEN and/or disabilities.
• Work in pupils’ books shows that they apply their skills across a range of cross-curricular work. The standard of English when writing about history, for example, is as high as it is in pupils’ English books. In their mathematics books, pupils show strong progress in problem solving and reasoning when writing reasoned explanations for their calculations and answers.
• Leaders’ actions to address the unexpected drop in standards in writing two years ago resulted in better progress in 2017 for all pupils except the disadvantaged and the least able. Leaders acknowledge that expectations for these pupils, especially the least able, have been too low in all subjects. They have now introduced a more rigorous system for monitoring progress during the school year, which has helped teachers to tailor their teaching to the needs of different pupils. These new systems help to ensure that teachers have high expectations of all pupils. As a result, outcomes in writing for disadvantaged pupils and those of lower ability are on the rise.
• The percentages of pupils who achieved at least the expected standard in Year 6 reading and mathematics tests were higher than the national averages in 2017. Furthermore, more pupils at Moorside reached the higher standards in reading than seen nationally.
• In key stage 1 in 2017, attainment in reading, writing and mathematics was similar to the national averages. The very small group of disadvantaged pupils attained at least as well as other pupils nationally. However, as in key stage 2, very few reached the higher standards. Information about current pupils, including work that inspectors saw in books, shows that progress is strong and that attainment is improving, including for the most able disadvantaged pupils.
• After a brief drop in 2016, attainment in the Year 1 phonics screening check was once again above the national average in 2017. Current pupils make good progress in phonics due to good teaching.
• Outcomes for the very small cohorts of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are variable depending upon their particular needs. Progress for pupils in key stage 2 improved in 2017 from the year before. Information gathered during the inspection shows that outcomes continue to improve for this group of pupils. Pupils who have hearing impairments make similar progress to that of other pupils.

Early years provision Good

• Leaders and managers analyse information about children’s learning and development and have an accurate picture of the strengths and weaknesses of the early years provision.
• Pupils start school at Moorside with skills that are typical of children their age. They make good progress and quickly learn important literacy and mathematical skills. Pupils make a good start to develop an understanding of phonics.
• The percentage of children who reached a good level of development at the end of the summer term in 2017 was uncharacteristically low and was below the national average. Children, particularly boys and those who joined the school midway through the school year, did not made good progress in their literacy skills. Leaders and the early years team took swift action to improve the way they use stories to captivate children’s interests and to encourage them to write. Information about current children in early years shows that this is working. A higher proportion of children are on track to reach a good level of development by the end of the school year.
• Parents speak very highly of the provision for children in the Reception classes. Classrooms are a rich source of letters, numbers and labels and the team has worked hard to make sure that this is reflected in the large area outdoors. Children have access to grass and natural areas, and they enjoy digging in the soil using the gardening equipment available.
• Leaders ensure that each child is allocated a key worker. This system enables children to feel safe and secure, especially when they start school. The safeguarding and welfare requirements of the early years foundation stage are met.
• Children learn about phonics in small groups, alongside others of similar ability. They listen carefully and respond to questions and instructions. Children derive great pleasure from making progress with their phonics and many take great pride in being able to demonstrate their skills to others. Children behave well in early years. However, some lose concentration and interest when they have to wait a long time to have their turn.
• Teachers support children’s transition into school from a range of nursery settings in the area. They visit or contact the settings to discuss children’s interests, strengths and weaknesses and to share other information.
• Teachers work with the school’s special needs coordinator to identify children whose development or learning needs extra support. Teachers also work with Year 1 teachers to ensure that appropriate information supports children’s transfer to Year 1 at the end of the Reception Year. As a result, children who left Reception last year without having achieved a good level of development are now catching up.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 119273 Lancashire 10037786 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 Community 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 520 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Elizabeth Cookson Roger Shone 01524 66516 www.moorside-pri.lancs.sch.uk office@moorside-pri.lancs.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 4–5 December 2013

Information about this school

• The school is much larger than average and has been expanding over the last three years. There are three classes in each year group from Reception to Year 3, and two in each year group for Years 4 to 6.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is lower than average.
• Most pupils are of White British heritage.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is lower than the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who receive support for SEN and/or disabilities is much lower than average.
• The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan or statement of special educational needs is slightly higher than average.
• The school has a special educational resource facility that caters for a small number of pupils who have a hearing impairment. 2017/18 is understood to be the final year for which the school will receive funding for this provision in its current format.
• The school meets the 2017 government’s floor standards. These are the minimum standards and rate of progress expected in reading, writing and mathematics of pupils in key stage 2.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in lessons.
• Meetings were held with senior and middle leaders, school staff and the chair of the governing body. The lead inspector also spoke with a representative from the local authority.
• Inspectors spoke informally to pupils in lessons, during breaks and at lunchtimes. Inspectors also spoke formally to groups of pupils.
• Inspectors scrutinised pupils’ work during lessons and work produced over time in a range of their books. They also listened to a selection of pupils from Years 1 to 6 reading.
• Inspectors observed the work of the school and looked at the latest school performance information showing the progress current pupils make.
• Other documentation scrutinised included plans for school improvement, safeguarding information, behaviour logs, attendance records and minutes of governing body meetings.
• Inspectors took account of 119 responses from parents to the free-text service and 122 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View). They considered 17 responses to the staff questionnaire.

Inspection team

Mavis Smith, lead inspector Kevin Ward Mark Quinn

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector