Moorland Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

In accordance with section 44(1) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• As a matter of urgency, improve the effectiveness of leadership and management, by:
  • raising expectations of what pupils are capable of achieving
  • ensuring that senior leaders and governors routinely check and analyse school performance, including the use of pupil premium funding
  • making sure that governors rigorously monitor the school’s safeguarding work
  • ensuring that effective strategic plans are developed to tackle weaknesses in teaching and learning, and to improve the behaviour of pupils.
• Rapidly improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, by:
  • ensuring that teaching is pitched accurately so that it is sufficiently challenging and meets the needs of all pupils
  • improving assessment procedures
  • raising expectations of what pupils are capable of achieving
  • ensuring that teachers’ subject knowledge is secure.
• Quickly improve outcomes for pupils, by:
  • accelerating the progress that pupils make so that they catch up from their low starting points
  • increasing the proportions of pupils who attain a high standard.
• Improve behaviour and attendance, by:
  • increasing rates of attendance and swiftly tackling incidents of persistent absence
  • ensuring that all adults robustly tackle the use of derogatory language
  • eliminating low-level disruption in classrooms. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved. An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved. The school may not appoint any newly qualified teachers.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

• Since the last inspection, standards in the school have declined significantly. Standards across key stages 1 and 2 are low and show little sign of improvement. The headteacher and governors have not taken sufficient steps to address this decline with any sense of urgency.
• Leaders have allowed a culture of low expectations to develop. Leaders are not ambitious enough about what their pupils are capable of achieving.
• The headteacher and senior leaders do not routinely check on standards in teaching and learning and they have not accurately evaluated the performance of the school. As a result, they do not have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses.
• Leaders do not know what they need to do to improve the school. They have not devised appropriate, robust plans to tackle underperformance and drive school improvement. Leaders have not given clear guidance to teachers on what they need to do to improve.
• Leaders do not effectively analyse assessment information regarding pupils’ attainment and progress. As a result, they do not have a secure understanding of how well pupils are achieving.
• Leaders do not know how well disadvantaged pupils or pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities are doing, because of ineffective assessment. Leaders are not making effective use of additional funding to accelerate progress for these pupils. As a result, these pupils are not making sufficient progress and their attainment remains low.
• Although the local authority has recently commissioned additional support for the school, this has not been put in place quickly enough to reverse the significant decline in standards.
• Leaders are inconsistent in their response to dealing with incidents of poor behaviour. They have not planned appropriate actions to improve behaviour in the school. Furthermore, their recording and reporting arrangements, particularly regarding incidents of derogatory language, bullying and racism, are not robust enough. Although pupils feel that leaders and teachers sometimes deal with these incidents well, they feel that at other times this is not the case.
• New leaders in the school bring passion and enthusiasm to their roles. They are committed to school improvement and have begun to implement some change. They have not been in place long enough, however, and they lack the experience needed to deliver the improvements that are required.
• Leaders have developed a curriculum that is broad and balanced. Learning is planned around topics that interest and engage pupils in their learning. For example, pupils in Year 6 showed great enthusiasm when learning science and history through their topic on the Titanic. One pupil said that ‘it really helped us to understand the past and the difficulties they faced’.
• Leaders promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. Pupils have opportunities to reflect on the wonder of the world during assemblies and to celebrate diversity through the curriculum. Pupils are developing a secure understanding of different world faiths through religious education.
• Fundamental British values are promoted through the school’s curriculum. For example, pupils have learned about democracy through their topic on the ancient Greeks and how this compares to the United Kingdom today. Other pupils, through their study of Gandhi, have developed an understanding of tolerance.

Governance of the school

• Governors do not have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. This is because they do not challenge the headteacher rigorously enough about the information that they are given. They too readily accept the reports that they are given without probing further to check the accuracy of information. As a result, standards have been allowed to decline for too long.
• Governors do not hold leaders to account for the spending of additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities. They do not check the impact of this spending on pupils’ attainment and progress. As a result, they are unaware of the poor outcomes for these pupils.
• Governors do not have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities, for example regarding the safeguarding of pupils. They have not been rigorous in checking that the school’s work is compliant, or what impact it is having.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Senior school leaders ensure a robust culture of safeguarding so that staff have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities.
• Senior school leaders have established effective policies and procedures for safeguarding, including staff recruitment. They ensure that referrals are made to outside agencies in a timely manner.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

• There are fundamental weaknesses in the quality of teaching and learning. Teachers’ assessment practices are not secure and they do not have an accurate understanding of pupils’ attainment. Current pupils’ attainment, including that of disadvantaged pupils, is low and they are not making the progress they need to in order to catch up.
• Teachers do not have high enough expectations of what pupils are capable of achieving. Work is often too easy because teaching is not planned effectively to meet the needs of pupils. The most able pupils are not sufficiently challenged and are therefore not achieving the standards of which they are capable.
• Teachers do not routinely check pupils’ understanding during lessons and through assessment. As a result, pupils’ misconceptions are not addressed quickly enough. Pupils continue to make the same mistakes over time and their progress slows.
• In some subjects, in particular in mathematics, teachers’ subject knowledge is not strong. As a result, the explanations that teachers give are, at times, unclear. This leads to pupils becoming confused and developing misconceptions.
• Teachers do not use questioning effectively to establish pupils’ understanding or to extend their thinking and deepen their understanding. As a result, pupils sometimes struggle to articulate their learning and have difficulties explaining their understanding.
• Teachers do not give pupils enough opportunities to write at length, in a range of styles and subjects. This means that pupils are not getting enough practice at using and applying their skills. As a result, too many pupils are not achieving the standard of which they are capable, and too few exceed expectations in writing.
• While in some lessons pupils engage in their learning with enthusiasm, this is inconsistent. Sometimes low-level disruption during lessons interrupts learning. Teachers are not consistent in managing this effectively.
• There are some examples of stronger practice in the school. Where this is the case, teachers are clear about their expectations and they develop pupils’ key skills and language well. Pupils are clear about their learning, they show increased levels of concentration and they reflect on their work.
• Some adults provide effective support for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. They model, encourage, and question pupils well. This enables pupils to practise and apply their skills, which moves their learning on.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement. Leaders ensure that support is put in place for vulnerable pupils, for example by providing nurture groups. They do not, however, ensure that this is planned carefully enough and it is not consistently monitored.
• Pupils reported that they generally feel safe. They did, however, share some concerns regarding how the school deals with bullying and the use of derogatory language. A small number of parents and carers shared these concerns.
• Relationships between adults and pupils are strong and nurturing. Pupils know who to talk to if they have a concern and are confident to do so.
• Through assemblies and personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, staff and pupils celebrate diversity. For example, school events and PSHE themes have raised pupils’ awareness of disability. This is helping to prepare them for life in modern Britain.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Pupils’ attitudes to learning are inconsistent. At times they are engaged in their learning and they display positive attitudes. At other times, however, too many pupils lack focus, engaging in low-level disruption. Sometimes teachers do not manage this behaviour effectively and consequently the pace of learning slows.
• Leaders and teachers do not deal with pupils’ use of derogatory language consistently. While it is taken seriously at times, pupils feel that sometimes it is not dealt with as well as it could be.
• Attendance is below the national average and is not improving, particularly for disadvantaged pupils. Levels of persistent absence are too high. While leaders have put in place actions to tackle this, not enough is currently being done to improve attendance.
• Pupils move around the school in a calm, orderly way. They conduct themselves well during assemblies and in the dining hall at lunchtime.
• Pupils are generally well behaved at playtimes and lunchtimes. They play well alongside one another, ensuring nobody is left out.

Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

• Leaders and teachers do not have high enough expectations of pupils. As a result, attainment of current pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, is low and pupils are making slow progress. This means that pupils are not catching up from their low starting points.
• The proportion of pupils who achieve the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 1 is well below national averages. Due to inadequate teaching in the school and the poor progress that pupils are making, this is not improving.
• Over the last three years the proportion of pupils who achieved the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check has been declining and is well below the national average. Leaders have not taken appropriate action to address this trend. As a result, standards in phonics are not improving.
• Pupils have developed an enjoyment of reading. Teachers do not, however, make effective use of assessment to ensure that pupils are sufficiently challenged with the texts that they are reading. As a result, pupils have not developed the strategies they require to tackle words and/or texts when faced with a challenge.
• Pupils are not given enough opportunities to use and apply their skills in extended pieces of writing. As a result, pupils’ progress in writing across the school is very weak.
• Teachers do not plan learning that is challenging enough for pupils. Their subject knowledge is not strong and they do not consistently address pupils’ misconceptions. As a result, too many pupils make slow progress in mathematics.
• The most able pupils are not sufficiently challenged in their learning and few achieve the standard of which they are capable. Leaders are not rigorously tracking how well the most able pupils are progressing. As a result, leaders are failing to take appropriate action to ensure that these pupils are challenged and achieving the standard of which they are capable.
• Pupils’ low attainment, and low expectations of leaders, mean that pupils are not ready for their next steps in education. One pupil in Year 6 said that she thought the school should be preparing them to be more ‘grown up’. They felt that going to secondary school was ‘going to be a major shock’.
• Some adults provide effective support for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. The positive relationships that they have established with pupils promote their confidence and their language skills. Leaders do not, however, make effective use of assessment to track the progress of these pupils and they do not know how well they are doing.

Early years provision Good

• The early years leader has a clear, ambitious vision and provides strong leadership. She has set high expectations for children and these are shared by the other adults working in the setting.
• The early years leader and other adults have established a well-resourced, enticing learning environment. They carefully plan a wide range of learning opportunities to develop the children’s knowledge and skills, and to promote their curiosity. As a result, children’s levels of engagement are high. They are excited by their learning and absorb themselves in their tasks.
• Adults make use of careful questioning and effective assessment. As a result, adults are quick to identify and address any misconceptions in children’s understanding.
• There are strong relationships at all levels within the early years setting. Adults engage well with children, questioning and engaging them in learning. Children play well alongside one another and are developing good social skills.
• The early years leader makes use of accurate assessment to track the progress that children are making. Adults use these assessments to ensure that children are targeted with the support they need to learn well. As a result, children make good progress from their low starting points.
• Routines are well established. Children behave well and know how to play safely. As a result, the setting is calm and safe.
• The early years leader and other adults have established effective partnerships with parents. Communications between home and school are good. The early years leader has created opportunities for parents to become more involved in their children’s learning, for example by opening the library to parents. Parents are very positive about the good start their children get in the early years.
• Although children make good progress during their time in early years, the proportion of pupils who achieved a good level of development in 2017 was below the national average.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 110361 Milton Keynes 10046304 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 maintained 2 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 227 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Miss Jemma-Jo May Mrs Juliet Jones 01908 678888 www.moorlandprimaryschool.co.uk office@moorlandprimaryschool.co.uk Date of previous inspection 21–22 September 2011

Information about this school

• Moorland Primary School is smaller than the average-sized primary school.
• At the time of the last inspection the school was an infant school. Since that time the school has expanded to become a primary school. This process was undertaken through a phased approach, with each academic year opening a new year group in key stage 2. The process was completed in September 2017 when the school opened its first Year 6 class.
• The early years incorporates a Nursery for two- to four-year-old children, and a Reception class for four- and five-year-old children.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is above the national average.
• The school provides a breakfast club on its site.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed pupils’ learning in 12 sessions across a range of subjects and year groups. Some sessions were observed jointly with senior leaders in the school. Inspectors looked at the quality of pupils’ work during lessons and through a focused analysis of work in books.
• Inspectors held meetings with senior leaders, middle leaders, designated safeguarding leads, staff, governors and a representative from the local authority.
• A wide range of documentation was reviewed, including information available on the school’s website and records relating to pupils’ attainment, progress, attendance and behaviour. Information on governance, including minutes of the governing body, was examined. The school’s self-evaluation summary, school development plan and supporting evidence were scrutinised.
• Inspectors spoke with parents during the inspection and considered the six responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online parent survey, including six free-text comments.
• Inspectors took into account the views of the eight pupils who completed Ofsted’s online survey.
• Inspectors took into account the views of the eight staff who completed Ofsted’s online survey.
• Inspectors listened to pupils read and spoke with pupils in lessons and around the school. They also met formally with groups of pupils.
• Pupils’ behaviour was observed during lessons, in assembly, around the school, during breakfast club, and during play, break and lunchtimes.
• Inspectors reviewed safeguarding records and the central record of recruitment checks on staff.

Inspection team

Leah Goulding, lead inspector Margaret Louisy

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector