Lyde Green Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve outcomes for pupils by ensuring that:
  • pupils’ progress in writing improves, particularly in their application of spelling strategies
  • the proportion of most-able pupils in key stage 1 working at the higher standard in mathematics increases
  • teachers provide challenge for the most able children in the Reception Year so that a greater proportion exceed the early learning goals in writing and mathematics.
• Improve leadership and management further by ensuring that leaders:
  • decrease the rates of absence of disadvantaged pupils
  • continue their work to reduce the number of pupils who regularly miss school.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The leaders in the multi-academy trust have successfully established an effective school. The recently appointed headteacher is building upon this start to ensure that pupils continue to benefit from a good quality of education.
• The headteacher has a clear vision for how the school serves its community. Through the school’s curriculum, pupils have good opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills across a wide range of subjects. This includes an enquiry-based approach to science and technology, which will be developed further with support from the neighbouring science park.
• Senior leaders have developed clear approaches to the teaching of reading and mathematics. Teachers apply these consistently. As a result, pupils make strong progress in these subjects.
• Leaders are accurate in their evaluation of the effectiveness of teaching, learning and assessment. Teachers value, and feel involved in, decisions about their professional development.
• The trust provides effective support to the school. Its decision to broker specialist support from another local trust means that leaders and teachers benefit from professional development and share good practice with many colleagues. A part of this work includes checking pupils’ assessments are correct with teachers from other schools. Consequently, teachers’ assessments about what pupils know, can do and understand are increasingly accurate.
• Leaders are effectively planning for the school’s future. Leaders acknowledge the need to put in place clear systems as the school continues to grow. They are doing this effectively, using the support of the trust.
• Leaders make effective use of the pupil premium to improve disadvantaged pupils’ academic progress. They identify pupils’ barriers to learning and have used the funding to raise pupils’ attainment and progress through an emphasis on high-quality teaching for all pupils. However, leaders’ actions to decrease absence rates of disadvantaged pupils have been less effective as absence rates for this group remain high.
• Leaders make good use of the PE and sports premium. Leaders use this to develop teachers’ confidence and skills in teaching physical education and to offer pupils a wide range of after-school sporting activities. Parents and carers state their satisfaction at the range of sporting activities offered by such a small school.
• Leaders make effective use of the additional funding they receive for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, including in its centre, the Access Centre, for pupils who have autistic spectrum conditions (ASC). Leaders skilfully adapt the curriculum, teaching and the learning environment. As a result, these pupils make good progress.

Governance of the school

• The local governing committee is highly committed and shares the headteacher’s vision for the school. Governors are aspirational for the school and the community it serves.
• Governors understand their delegated responsibilities and discharge them effectively. They know the school well. They seek detailed information and use it to accurately evaluate the school’s performance. Governors ask leaders challenging questions based on their in-depth understanding of the school.
• Governors evaluate their own strengths and areas for development well. They have a clear plan for how the local governing committee needs to develop as the school continues to grow. They have a clear strategy to ensure that they recruit the right skills and talents to the committee and maintain balanced representation from parents.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders have built a strong culture of safeguarding in the school. Staff understand their responsibilities well. Leaders ensure that staff receive appropriate training in a timely manner.
• Leaders carry out thorough recruitment checks to ensure that they only appoint adults who are suitable to work with children. They keep accurate records, which conform to requirements.
• Pupils know how to keep themselves safe at a level appropriate for their age. They know who to go to if they have any concerns. Pupils show a mature understanding and responsibility for their own safety.
• Pupils say that they feel safe in school. Pupils understand what bullying is and say that there is none. Parents’ feedback supports these views; they are overwhelmingly positive about the school’s work to safeguard children.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Strong relationships underpin teaching. Pupils feel secure in their learning. They are confident to contribute and try out new approaches. As an example, pupils are increasingly confident in using ambitious vocabulary in their writing.
• Teachers use questioning skilfully to check pupils’ understanding. This enables them to develop learning by adapting, reinforcing or reteaching key concepts as appropriate to the needs of individuals or small groups. As a result, pupils make good progress.
• The teaching of phonics is consistently strong. Teachers’ pronunciation of letters and sounds is precise and their modelling of early reading strategies effective. Teachers plan progression well, based on the needs of each pupil. As a result, pupils can decode familiar and new words, and apply their phonics knowledge in their reading.
• Teachers apply the school’s marking and assessment policy and make good use of timetabled feedback and improvement time for pupils. Consequently, pupils are increasingly aware of how to best improve their work and few errors persist over time.
• Teachers provide learning activities that are broadly matched to meet pupils’ emerging needs in mathematics. Teachers ensure that pupils become fluent in their use of numbers in a wide range of contexts and develop their ability to reason and solve problems. As a result, many pupils can explain clearly how they completed their calculations. However, teachers are not yet consistently challenging the most able pupils.
• Teachers set pupils a varied range of writing activities inspired by well-chosen class reading books. Teachers have high expectations for punctuation and grammar and support pupils well to improve these. Pupils write in a range of genres with increasing sophistication.
• Teachers support pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities well. They structure learning skilfully, based on a precise understanding of the needs of each pupil. Teachers closely monitor pupils’ progress and adapt work accordingly. Consequently, these pupils make good progress from their starting points.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils are confident when learning and when they interact with adults and each other. They work together well, supporting each other and talking to each other about their learning. Their work shows pride and care.
• Pupils take part in a wide range of sporting and fitness activities, both within the curriculum and in an extensive range of extra-curricular activities. This helps them to develop a positive attitude to their own health and fitness.
• Leaders promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. Pupils explore cultural and religious differences in a range of contexts through the school’s broad curriculum. A programme of visits from different faith groups further develops this, while school assemblies give pupils a chance to reflect on important themes.
• The school’s values are built into each term’s curriculum. Class reading books model each of the school’s values. Literacy and topic work relates to each book and the related value. For example, pupils have read ‘The squirrels that squabbled’ in class and are using it to learn about collaboration, one of the school’s values.
• Visitors to the school support the school’s work on promoting British values. For example, the local Member of Parliament’s visit coincided with the school council elections. He presented those elected with their school council badges.
• Topics and trips out of school help to develop pupils’ awareness of the environment, sustainability and the life cycle. Parents and employees from the neighbouring science park come in to talk about their jobs. This teaches children about the many different career and employment opportunities that are open to them.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils show positive behaviour in lessons, where they listen well, follow instructions and work hard on their learning. As a result, learning time is not lost.
• Pupils work well together. Equally, they ably select resources, such as mathematics learning aids. Pupils persist at their learning and are not distracted because a sense of calm, purposeful activity pervades classrooms.
• Pupils behave well around the school. The playground is a harmonious place where pupils play together well. They follow routines sensibly such as when entering assembly or getting their lunch. They are polite and show good manners.
• There have been no fixed-term or permanent exclusions since the school opened.
• Leaders have acted to improve pupils’ attendance. Overall, attendance is now broadly in line with the national average. School leaders are working with the families and this has been effective in raising attendance rates for some. However, too many disadvantaged pupils still do not attend as regularly as their classmates.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Pupils make strong progress from their different starting points because staff share high expectations of them.
• Pupils make good progress in phonics. The proportion of pupils who attain the required standard in the phonics screening check at the end of Year 1 is above the national average. The small proportion of pupils who did not reach expectations in the check in 2017 have caught up during Year 2. This is the result of well-planned phonics teaching which closely matches the needs of pupils.
• Teachers develop a love of reading in pupils. Class reading books help pupils to share their understanding and enjoyment of stories. They listen attentively when adults read to them. They show a strong ability to infer meaning and predict next events. Pupils read independently from a good range of books linked to the school’s phonics scheme. As their reading fluency grows, they choose more challenging books for themselves from a good range of texts in the school library.
• Pupils’ writing demonstrates their use of ambitious vocabulary and greater sophistication in their writing over time. They write for different audiences with growing effectiveness. Pupils further develop their extended writing in topic work. However, pupils’ application of spelling strategies in their writing is underdeveloped. As a result, pupils’ progress in writing is not as strong as seen in reading and mathematics.
• Pupils demonstrate confidence when applying their mathematical reasoning and problem-solving knowledge. They can explain the reasons for their solutions to problems, and prove that they are correct. The school’s own information shows that while the proportion of pupils working at expectations for their age is above average, too few most-able pupils are working at the higher standard.
• Pupils make good progress across the curriculum. They develop knowledge and skills across a broad range of subjects. For example, they show an understanding of ‘fair testing’ in science and chronology in history. Pupils write at length in their topic work, further developing their literacy skills.
• The small number of disadvantaged pupils make good progress in phonics. They attain above the average for non-disadvantaged pupils nationally. In writing and mathematics, these pupils make progress in line with their peers, though they are slightly behind them in reading.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, including those who attend the Access Centre, make good progress. Adults effectively adapt teaching to meet pupils’ specific needs.

Early years provision Good

• The early years provision gives children a positive start to schooling in a safe setting that is well led and organised. It is a welcoming and motivating place. Adults utilise resources well to meet the needs of children.
• Outcomes are good overall. The proportion of children reaching expected standards, the early learning goals, for reading, writing and mathematics is above average. However, the level of challenge for the most able children is not yet consistent. The proportion of children exceeding the expected level is below average in writing and mathematics.
• Leaders have a clear understanding of the strengths of the provision and its areas for further development. Teachers effectively track children’s progress. They use this information to adapt activities and focus support.
• Staff have high expectations for the social and emotional development of children. Teachers provide activities that engage and interest children. As a result, children develop their concentration on tasks and their confidence in their own abilities.
• The teaching of phonics is effective. Children use their phonics knowledge to help their spelling in independent writing. Children enjoy reading and listening to stories. They develop a love of books as a result. Their learning diaries and other work show strong progress in their literacy and number learning.
• Outcomes for disadvantaged children and children who have SEN and/or disabilities, including those in the Access Centre, are good. Adults accurately identify their needs and provide activities which promote learning so that children make good progress.
• Children behave well. They show strong self-control, working well on their own and with their classmates. They listen attentively to their teachers and follow instructions.
• Staff have created a safe place for children. Parents report that their children are safe and happy. They say that the school’s transition arrangements are effective, preparing children for when they start the Reception Year.
• The well-planned curriculum, good teaching and strong provision for welfare ensure that children are ready for key stage 1.

School details

Unique reference number 141513 Local authority South Gloucestershire Inspection number 10048331 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 4 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 124 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Ms Samantha Neagle Headteacher Mr Mark Jackson Telephone number 01454 823 150 Website www.lydegreen.org.uk Email address theschool@lydegreen.org.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• This is a below average-sized primary school. It opened in September 2015 and has pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2.
• It is part of the Castle School Education Trust, a multi-academy trust which operates seven schools in the region. The school receives part-time support from a seconded primary executive headteacher brokered by the trust from Olympus Academies Trust.
• The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is below average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is average.
• The school provides an area resource base for pupils who have autistic spectrum conditions called the Access Centre.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below the national average.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning across the range of subjects and age groups, and scrutinised a range of pupils’ written work. Some of the observations were conducted jointly with senior leaders.
• Inspectors looked at a range of documentation including minutes of governors’ meetings, development plans, analysis of pupils’ progress, attendance and behaviour data, safeguarding documents and the school’s review of its own performance.
• Inspectors held meetings with governors, the headteacher, senior and middle leaders and teachers.
• Children spoke to inspectors during various activities throughout the inspection.
• Inspectors took account of 63 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View. They considered the responses to the staff questionnaire.

Inspection team

Jeremy Law, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Patricia Dodds Ofsted Inspector