Springfield Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Leaders and governors should further strengthen outcomes for pupils by:
  • ensuring that teaching is always well matched to the needs of the most able pupils, particularly in key stage 1.
  • making sure that the curriculum fully develops and enhances pupils’ skills in English and mathematics across a wide range of subjects.
• Improve further the attendance of pupils, particularly those who are persistently absent.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• The headteacher’s and leaders’ absolute determination to improve standards and outcomes for pupils shines through all that they do. Together with governors, leaders have been highly successful in raising the quality of teaching learning and assessment since the academy opened. This means that pupils, including the most able, are making good progress from their different starting points.
• Teachers, and other staff, greatly appreciate the opportunities they have to develop their work through the professional development and support the school offers. They are deeply committed to improving their practice. This is because of the strong culture of reflection and purpose that leaders have generated. Teachers at an early point in their careers greatly value the support and encouragement they receive.
• Staff who were at the school at the time it became an academy say the school has improved enormously since then. They say that achieving the best outcomes for pupils is at the centre of decisions the school makes. Staff, and parents, speak of the uncompromising, but supportive, leadership provided by the headteacher and deputy head teacher. Parents describe the headteacher as, ‘friendly, approachable and passionate about the school’ and an ‘excellent role model for pupils, well respected by children and staff’.
• Middle leaders, including newly appointed phase leaders, greatly value the highly effective mentoring and support they receive from the headteacher and senior leaders. They say that this coaching has given them the confidence to challenge staff and raise standards in the areas they are responsible for, such as for disadvantaged pupils and for physical education and sport.
• Leaders use the school’s assessment programmes to accurately and quickly identify pupils who may be at risk of falling behind with their learning. The headteacher, leaders and governors use systems for the appraisal of teachers’ performance robustly and resolutely to challenge teachers and hold them to account for the progress of pupils. In turn, leaders and governors are rigorously challenged by the trust on the outcomes that pupils achieve.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make good, sometimes exceptional, progress from their starting points because their needs are identified clearly and supported effectively. Leaders know these pupils extremely well and monitor their progress in detail. Parents of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities speak very highly of the support the school has given them, saying that the school, ‘couldn’t do more’ to support their child.
• The additional funding for disadvantaged pupils is well spent. There has been substantial improvement in the outcomes of disadvantaged pupils at each key stage in the last three years. Across year groups, disadvantaged pupils currently in the school, including those who are amongst the most able, are making good progress. Leaders have a sound rationale for the allocation of funds. They have a highly accurate view of the barriers to learning of disadvantaged pupils and are quick to make changes to the support that disadvantaged pupils receive so that they can make strong progress.
• The sports premium additional funding is spent well. An aim is that all pupils engage in some exercise every day. To encourage this, there are fitness and dance activities at break and lunchtimes and a wide variety of extra-curricular sports clubs. Pupils who do not routinely take part in a sporting activity are specifically invited to join an early morning sports club before school. Pupils on the school’s sports council take a part in deciding which sports activities the school offers. As a result, the participation rate of pupils has increased and many pupils now take part in at least one sports club. Recently the school received a gold award for its sporting involvement.
• The school prepares pupils very well to become responsible citizens in modern British society. Pupils see democracy in action through the work of the pupil parliaments and sports council. Pupils are very confident that their voices will be heard and taken to into account by leaders at this school. The ethos and shared understanding of adults and pupils is that discrimination will not be tolerated.
• The new curriculum has captured the imagination of both adults and pupils. Teachers are eager to plan and deliver the curriculum and pupils are enthusiastic about the learning it generates. Many parents comment on the impact the curriculum is now having on their children’s enjoyment and passion for learning. However, while early signs are promising, the curriculum has not been in place long enough for its impact to show in improving further the outcomes pupils achieve at the end of each key stage.

Governance of the school

• Governors are intensely ambitious for the school and its pupils. They rigorously challenge school leaders about the progress and outcomes that pupils achieve. They pay particular attention to the progress made by disadvantaged pupils and use their detailed knowledge to ask school leaders probing questions and so hold them to account rigorously for the outcomes of disadvantaged pupils.
• Governors have a highly accurate understanding of the strengths of the school and areas where development is needed. Through their visits to the school, governors gather first hand the evidence they use to challenge school leaders. They are not afraid to ask the headteacher for any further evidence they need. Governors have received much valuable support and challenge themselves from the multi-academy trust of which the school is a part.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Keeping children safe is at the heart of the work of the headteacher and leaders. Their evident commitment and drive to ensure children are safe has created a culture where staff know that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. All staff receive regular training in safeguarding and have a clear understanding of what to do if they have a concern about a pupil. The school works highly effectively with outside agencies, and with parents, to support pupils and their families. Parents speak very highly of the support they receive, from the family support worker in particular.
• High-quality record-keeping means that leaders for safeguarding can robustly and tenaciously challenge outside agencies in their quest to make sure that vulnerable pupils are kept safe. The school’s systems make sure that staff are recruited safely and undergo a thorough induction process which places emphasis on the culture of safeguarding that the school promotes.
• All staff and governors have taken part in training to help them protect pupils from radicalisation and extremism. Staff are quick to challenge any extremist views.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Leaders and governors have been uncompromising in their drive to improve the quality of teaching. Regular and accurate monitoring means that leaders, particularly the headteacher and deputy headteacher, have a very clear view of the strengths of teaching and areas to develop further.
• The skilful coaching and mentoring by leaders and the professional development that teachers receive has built a culture where teaching staff are keen to reflect on and improve their practice.
• Teachers use their strong subject knowledge to help pupils extend their understanding. For example, in science in Year 6, pupils were helped to use their researching skills to find out about the components of blood by the teacher’s skilful questioning and direction. Similarly, in Year 4 classes, teachers’ effective questioning helped pupils understand well what it was like to undergo surgery without anaesthetic in early Victorian times.
• Teachers know pupils’ learning needs well. They assess the progress pupils make in lessons and adapt their planning and teaching quickly in the light of their findings. Teachers make effective use of assessment to rapidly identify pupils who may be at risk of falling behind. Strategies are put in place that help them catch up briskly.
• The individual barriers to learning of disadvantaged pupils, including those who are the most able disadvantaged, are identified clearly and strategies put in place which support them. This means that disadvantaged pupils are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The feedback that teachers give pupils about their work is in line with the school’s assessment policy and focuses clearly on what pupils need to do to improve their work. Where practice is strongest, it is clear that pupils act quickly on the feedback they receive. Where practice is less strong, adults do not always check if pupils are following up on the comments they receive.
• Pupils are committed to improving their work. They have a strong understanding of the school’s system of self-assessment. They support each other in their learning and know that making mistakes can help them to learn better.
• Effective teaching of phonics means that pupils of all abilities can use their phonic knowledge to help them read unfamiliar words. This helps all pupils, including the most able and least able pupils, to read well.
• Teachers make good use of the school’s additional adults to support the progress of pupils. Additional adults strike a good balance between scaffolding and supporting pupils and encouraging independence. Pupils say that adults will give them help, ‘but they won’t do it for us’.
• Teachers challenge the most able pupils well, including those who are the most able disadvantaged pupils. Where learning is at its strongest, for example during Year 5 mathematics and Year 6 English, there is a thirst for learning which includes both adults and pupils in a joint enterprise. However, sometimes in key stage 1, tasks are less well matched to the needs of the most able pupils, particularly in phonics and mathematics.
• Pupils say that one of the reasons they find the new curriculum motivating is that it gives them the chance to learn about and explore a skill or theme in some depth before they move onto something different. They say this helps them to master new skills more securely. Opportunities for pupils to deepen and extend the skills they learn in English and mathematics to other subjects are increasing. However, there is still work to be done in increasing the opportunities pupils have to practise their skills in subjects such as art, music and design technology in particular.
• The skills pupils gain in reading, writing and mathematics are preparing them well for the next stage in their education. Parents comment on the strong start their children make to secondary education. As one said, ‘My child has had an exceptional primary education at this school which has given him the confidence to move onto his secondary school with ease.’
• Parents are firmly of the view that their children are taught well and enjoy learning. Parents say their children talk excitedly about their learning at home. Parents say that they are ‘delighted’ that their children are being ‘challenged and inspired to achieve’.
• Parents are overwhelmingly of the view that their children are making good progress at the school. They have regular opportunities to visit classrooms to share their child’s work with them. However, some say that they would like to know more about their child’s progress before parent consultation meetings so that they could be better informed to discuss this with teachers.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding. Pupils are confident and self-assured learners. Their excellent attitudes to learning have a strong impact on the progress they make. Pupils take pride in themselves, their work and their school.
• Pupils across all year groups demonstrate highly positive attitudes to learning. They speak accurately and with enthusiasm about their work, particularly in English and mathematics. They are committed to improving their work, and older pupils understand why their learning is important to help them fulfil their aspirations for the future.
• Pupils, parents and staff all feel strongly that pupils are safe at school. As one said, ‘I would not want my daughter to go anywhere else, and neither would she.’
• The school prepares pupils very well to become active citizens in modern Britain. Pupils are keen to get involved with the opportunities they have to influence the life of their school. For example, pupils who are members of the school pupil parliament for teaching and learning told inspectors how they checked on handwriting in each class and wrote to the headteacher about it.
• The excellent relationships between pupils and adults, and between pupils themselves, means that pupils are very confident that their views will be listened to and know exactly who to talk to if they ever have a concern. They say that bullying is very uncommon and are sure that it would be dealt with firmly and swiftly by adults.
• Pupils have a clear understanding of how to stay safe online and what to do if they were to experience cyber bullying. They also appreciate the importance of making choices that mean that they have a healthy lifestyle. A recent visit by the school’s pupil parliament for well-being to a local supermarket led to pupils representing an assembly to the whole school on how to choose a healthy snack. Parliament members were seen to be modelling this on the playground.
• Parents appreciate the support given to their children and speak highly of the support they receive for themselves and their families, in particular the staff who work in inclusion and family support. Parents new to the school, sometimes from around the world, speak highly of the support the school has given them and their children.
• The school’s provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is threaded through the curriculum. An example is work of Year 5 pupils on prejudiced bullying due to facial disfigurement. This stemmed from the reading of a class text and generated a thought-provoking discussion where pupils demonstrated maturity and consideration for the views of others.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Throughout the school pupils live up to the very high expectations placed on them by staff. Pupils behave extremely well when moving around the school, for example at breaktimes and lunchtime and within lessons. Inspectors did not see any behaviour which was less than exemplary during the course of the inspection. Pupils, parents and staff all strongly say that pupils behave very well at school.
• During lessons pupils respond quickly to the instructions of adults and thoughtfully to the needs of other pupils. Occasions where pupils are distracted are rare. This is because the work their teachers give them is interesting and matched well to pupils’ learning needs.
• Pupils take their responsibilities around the school very seriously, for example by providing role models for younger pupils, by leading dance and fitness activities at playtimes, in opportunities to join the school’s 2 pupil parliaments or by being a house captain, sports captain or prefect. Pupils say that everyone, adults and children, cares for each other at this school. Pupils who have joined the school from other places say how welcome they have been made to feel by both pupils and staff.
• Pupils understand and appreciate the many reward systems the school has in place that help them to behave well. The careful support of adults means that pupils who have in the past had challenging behaviour are not now at risk of exclusion.
• Pupils enjoy and value their education. Their attendance has improved so that it is in line with national figures. The attendance of disadvantaged pupils is currently very close to that of other pupils in the school. This is because of leaders’ relentless focus on helping disadvantaged pupils and their families overcome barriers to attendance. However, while rates of persistent absence are declining, there is more work to be done to improve the attendance of the small number of pupils who are absent most often.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Pupils currently at the school are making good progress from a wide range of starting points. Many, including the most able, those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils, are exceeding the progress expected of them.
• Scrutiny of pupils’ work, observations in lessons and talking with pupils about their work show that the progress pupils make has increased over time, particularly in English, mathematics and science.
• The most able pupils, including the most able disadvantaged pupils, are challenged well to extend their learning and are making good progress. Many, particularly in key stage 2, display a passion for their learning in reading, writing and mathematics and relish opportunities which challenge them to better. However, in key stage 1, a few of the most able pupils could be challenged to make even better progress. This is particularly the case in their mathematics and phonics work.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are making good progress from their starting points, particularly in reading and mathematics. This is because their needs are accurately identified and they receive effective support from leaders, teachers and other adults.
• At key stage 2 pupils’ attainment has been rising over time. In 2015 the proportion of pupils who achieved the expected level or above in the combined measure of reading, writing and mathematics was above the national level.
• At key stage 2 in 2016, more pupils achieved the expected standard or above in reading, writing and mathematics than was the case nationally. The number of pupils who achieved highly in reading, writing and mathematics was also above the national level.
• In 2016 the progress that pupils made by the end of key stage 2 was slightly better than that of pupils nationally in mathematics. In reading and writing their progress was in line with that of pupils nationally.
• The progress of disadvantaged pupils has improved. At the end of key stage 2 their progress in reading was slightly better than that of other pupils nationally. In writing and mathematics their progress was a little less than other pupils nationally. However, scrutiny of pupils’ work showed that they had made good progress from a range of starting points.
• At key stage 1, pupils’ attainment has been rising over time. In 2015, the proportion of pupils who achieved the expected level was higher than pupils nationally in reading and mathematics and equal to pupils nationally in writing. In 2016, in key stage 1, more pupils than nationally reached the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Pupils read fluently and well relative to their age and development. Phonics is taught well. The number of pupils reaching the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics check has been above the national level for the last 2 years. By the end of Year 2 almost every pupil has reached the expected level in this check. The school takes care to continue to teach phonics in Year 3 and Year 4 and as a result pupils’ spelling across key stage 2 is improving.
• Leaders, teachers and other adults ensure that pupils who join the school in Year 3 make a smooth transition into the school from their infant schools. As a result, many are already making brisk progress. Parents comment on the quality of their children’s transition into school at Year 3 and the progress they are making already.
• In the early years standards have risen so that the percentage of children who reach a good level of development is in line with the national average.
• Parents are overwhelmingly of the view that their children are making good progress and being well taught at the school.

Early years provision Good

• In the early years standards have risen over time. For the last three years the number of children reaching a good level of development at the end of their Reception Year has been in line with the national average. The progress children make in the early years prepares them well for the learning they will meet in Year 1.
• School leaders, including the leader of early years, have an accurate view of the strengths and weaknesses of the provision. They provide effective professional development for staff who work in the Reception class, for example in questioning skills and assessment, so that they can develop their practice further.
• Children enter the early years with skills just below those typical for their age. Teachers use assessment accurately to identify those who may need additional help and plan support for them, which means that these children catch up quickly.
• Children in the early years show positive attitudes to learning and are making good progress because teachers’ careful planning has created interesting starting points for them to explore their learning. In the outdoor learning environment there are activities for children to investigate in all the areas of learning which help them to develop the skills they need for successful learning across the curriculum. For example, in the outdoor area, children were able to maintain their concentration for some time in digging for the giant’s golden treasure and were then well supported by an adult to extend their number skills by counting the golden coins they found.
• Teachers and other adults in the early years know children’s learning needs well. They carefully craft activities to address specific skills. For example, an activity wrapping presents of different sizes and shapes in Santa’s grotto with sticky tape helped children to refine their fine motor skills effectively.
• As a result of learning opportunities that are well matched to their needs, different groups of children, including the most able and least able children, and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, are making good progress. The progress that boys make has risen over time. However, boys still reach a good level of development in slightly lower numbers than girls.
• Children in the Reception Year receive a solid grounding in phonics. The adults around them model good practice for children to hear and see. Children use their phonic knowledge to help their writing, for example when writing Christmas cards and lists for Santa. The start that children make to phonics in the early years contributes to the higher than national proportion of pupils who reach the standard of the phonics screening check in Year 1.
• Disadvantaged children currently in the early years, including the most able of them, are making good progress. Over time, fewer disadvantaged children than other children have reached a good level of development at the end of the early years. However, in 2016, the proportion of disadvantaged pupils who reached a good level of development has risen sharply and is much closer to both their other classmates and pupils nationally.
• The positive behaviour of children and their strong relationships with the adults around them show the confidence and safety they already feel at school. Their parents agree, feeling strongly that their children are safe, happy and well looked after at school. Safeguarding is effective.
• Parents can contribute to the assessment of their child’s learning through regular meetings with staff. However, work to enable them to contribute to the school’s online assessment system is at an early stage.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 140350 Surrey 10019855 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Academy sponsor-led Age range of pupils Gender of pupils 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 438 Appropriate authority Academy trust Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Robin Cayley Bethan Smith 01932 782815 www.springfieldsch.org info@springfield.surrey.sch.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school complies with DfE guidance on what academies should publish.
• Springfield Primary School is larger than the average-sized primary school. Additional pupils join the school in Year 3 from a number of infant schools.
• The school became an academy in the GLF Trust in December 2013. The predecessor school was judged to be inadequate in May 2012.
• The majority of pupils are of White British backgrounds.
• The proportion of pupils for whom English is an additional language is slightly lower than the national average.
• The number of pupils supported by the pupil premium funding is slightly lower than the national average.
• The proportion of pupils receiving support for their special educational needs and/or disabilities is above the national average.

Information about this inspection

• Pupils’ learning was observed in 33 sessions or part sessions, almost all jointly with the headteacher and a senior leader. The work of pupils in all year groups was scrutinised. Many pupils were spoken to about their work during lessons and informally at breaktimes and around the school. Inspectors listened to pupils from a range of year groups read and met with groups of pupils to gather views about their experiences of school.
• Discussions were held with the headteacher and other leaders, governors and representatives of the GLF Trust. A meeting was held with members of the school staff to gather their views.
• Inspectors took account of the 71 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and 58 comments. Discussions were held as parents dropped off and collected their children at the school.
• A range of documentation was considered, including information on pupils’ attainment and progress, the school’s improvement planning, records of the monitoring of teaching and information on the management of teachers’ performance. Procedures for the safeguarding of pupils, including information relating to attendance, behaviour and the exclusion of pupils, were examined.

Inspection team

Sarah O’Donnell, lead inspector Linda Phillips Teresa Davies

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector