Moorlands Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve leadership and management, by:
  • putting in place swift and effective support for teaching that is not yet good
  • providing precise feedback to staff, so that they know exactly how to improve
  • ensuring that middle leaders have a more effective impact on improving pupils’ outcomes in their areas of responsibility
  • increasing the range of clubs and competitions for physical activity and sport.
• Improve the quality of teaching and boost pupils’ progress, by:
  • securing appropriate levels of challenge for pupils, especially the most able
  • making sure that letter formation and handwriting are taught effectively
  • matching pupils’ reading books appropriately to their ability and ensuring that weaker readers are heard reading more frequently by adults
  • ensuring that teaching assistants have an effective impact on pupils’ learning by providing high enough levels of challenge
  • developing all pupils’ reasoning skills in mathematics.
• Develop the quality of leadership and teaching in the early years, by:
  • making sure that activities and adult questioning provide children with appropriate levels of challenge
  • ensuring that leaders have a stronger understanding of the progress that children make, so that children who are not making sufficient progress receive appropriate support.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• The headteacher, who has been in post for just over a year, has guided the school through significant and unforeseen staff changes. Several leaders and teachers are new to post. These changes have been managed well. Since September, there is now a far more settled staff team. Managing this process has had an undoubtable impact on leaders’ time. However, despite these challenges, they remain determined and focused on improving the school.
• Leaders generally have an accurate view of the quality of education. Their self-evaluation is comprehensive and identifies the most important weaknesses in the school. Priorities identified in the school improvement plan are appropriate and positive early actions have been initiated. However, leaders’ actions are in the early stages, so it not yet possible to see full impact of this work on the quality of teaching.
• Weaker teaching in the school is not being addressed as effectively as it could be. Leaders carry out regular checks on the quality of learning in lessons and in pupils’ books. However, the quality of some of the feedback that teachers receive is not precise and does not give teachers clear enough next steps for improvement. It does not have sufficient emphasis on how teachers will be supported to make the necessary improvements.
• Several senior and middle leaders are new to post. They have a clear view of the strengths and priorities for their areas of responsibility but have not yet had time to demonstrate a deep impact on outcomes for pupils. The headteacher has arranged training courses for leaders, as well as instigating positive links with other local schools.
• Systems for assessing and analysing pupils’ progress have been implemented well by leaders. Teachers’ assessment has become more accurate. New staff are inducted well into these procedures and are refining the accuracy of their assessments. Leaders have made good use of an external adviser to sharpen the accuracy of assessment in Years 1 to 6. Use of assessment in the early years is not yet strong.
• The leadership of special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) has been through a period of transition. Identification procedures have been improved and staff have received training to help provide more effective support to pupils with SEND. Newly introduced interventions are having a positive effect.
• Leaders have worked closely with teachers to refine the curriculum. This has helped staff to develop a better understanding of the national curriculum requirements across different subjects. Sometimes, the depth of pupils’ learning varies across different subjects. This is due to the weaknesses in the quality of teaching. Pupils enjoy their music and religious education lessons. These positive experiences contribute well to pupils’ spiritual and cultural development. Pupils demonstrate tolerance of other faiths and beliefs.
• Pupil premium funding is generally used well to support disadvantaged pupils. For example, last academic year funding was used to put in place additional support for phonics in Year 1. As a result, disadvantaged pupils’ attainment in phonics improved considerably in 2018.
• The physical education and sport premium has had mixed success. Pupils spoke with great enthusiasm about the quality of teaching that they receive in gymnastics. A specialist gymnastics teacher works with staff to develop their practice. There is also a regular gymnastics club and opportunities to enter competitions in this sport. However, pupils rightly identify that there is not a broad enough range of sports clubs and competitions available.
• Staff are proud to work at the school and the majority feel that recent changes are positive. Several staff also commented that leaders and governors consider staff’s work–life balance when making decisions about school improvement.
• Inspectors had discussions with parents during the inspection and reviewed responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View. The majority of parents feel that their children are happy and safe at school.
• The headteacher has been provided with effective support from the local authority’s school improvement adviser. Visits are rigorous and provide a good balance of challenge and support.

Governance of the school

• The governing body has been transformed over the last year. Several new governors have been appointed, including the chair. Governors have a broad range of skills and experience. They use this to provide an effective blend of challenge and support.
• The new chair steers the governing body well. She has arranged training for governors and has put in place new procedures for school visits to ensure that governors have a deeper understanding of the school.
• A recent review of governance highlighted that governors have a good understanding of the school. During the inspection, this was evidenced to be the case. For example, governors were clear about where attainment is not high enough. The governing body is in a much stronger position to prevent a decline in the school’s effectiveness happening again.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders are rigorous in their approaches to keeping pupils safe. The designated safeguarding leads follow up concerns about pupils in a timely and effective way. They also escalate concerns appropriately by involving external agencies when necessary.
• Regular training and updates enable staff to have a secure understanding of their responsibilities. Concerns are reported quickly and risks are minimised. Staff are clear about the changes to new statutory guidance and important safeguarding risks such as child sexual exploitation.
• Pupils’ understanding of how to keep themselves safe is a strength of the school. Leaders and staff plan regular learning experiences for pupils, so that they are alert to danger and know how to respond. Pupils speak with confidence about safety. For example, pupils talked knowledgeably about safety in the home after going on a trip to a venue hosted by the Fire Service.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching is not consistently good across the school. Where teaching is weak, work is not well matched to pupils’ needs and there is not enough challenge for pupils, particularly the most able. Stronger teaching in the school is characterised by secure subject knowledge and a more effective level of challenge.
• The teaching of reading requires improvement. ‘Reading detectives’, the school’s new approach to teaching reading comprehension, is working well in some classes. Pupils in these classes enjoy reading challenging texts and using skills, such as prediction and inference, to demonstrate their understanding of the text. However, this approach does not work as effectively across all of the classes.
• Some pupils’ reading records show that they are not reading on a regular basis. Pupils’ reading books are sometimes either too easy or too hard for them. Furthermore, there is not a well-organised system to ensure that weaker readers read regularly enough with an adult in school. Consequently, some pupils’ reading fluency is not developing well.
• In mathematics teachers have received recent training to improve the teaching of reasoning skills but the impact of this training is yet to be seen on the quality of pupils’ work. Pupils’ books show that some pupils’ mathematical reasoning skills are not developing well.
• Teachers’ expectations for letter formation and handwriting are not high enough. There is not a consistent and accurate approach to teaching this across the school. Pupils who are taught well write confidently and efficiently. However, some pupils are not taught well and are picking up bad habits, which inhibits their progress.
• Phonics teaching is strong. Staff have good subject knowledge and pupils learn new sounds accurately. When pupils come across words that they cannot read, they confidently split words into sounds to help them read the words successfully.
• Teaching assistants have received some training and direction to help them have a deeper impact on pupils’ learning. Teaching assistants are proactive and have good relationships with pupils. However, sometimes they are not deployed to provide a high enough level of challenge to pupils.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• A key characteristic of pupils’ good personal development is their understanding of how to keep themselves safe. A range of activities and experiences enables pupils to learn about different risks. For example, visits from local police officers and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children help to deepen pupils’ understanding. Pupils are clear about how to stay safe on the internet and are aware of the different forms of bullying. Several pupils commented that bullying is rare and if it does happen, adults address it swiftly.
• Pupils’ emotional and social development is well supported. Good relationships exist between pupils and staff. Pupils treat one another with respect. On the playground a buddy system is very effective and enables younger pupils to receive support from the older pupils in school.
• The school’s values are well known by pupils. The ‘values ambassadors’ take their positions seriously and are positive role models to other pupils. Pupils commented to inspectors how important it is that people are treated equally and that difference is something to celebrate. They have tolerant and mature attitudes about the world.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils’ good conduct around the school is a noticeable strength. Pupils are courteous and friendly. They are often seen holding doors open for others and enjoy taking responsibility for different roles around school. The majority of pupils have positive attitudes to learning and behave well in class. Even when teaching falls below an acceptable standard, most pupils continue to focus on their learning. Behaviour at social times is also good.
• Systems for managing behaviour are clear and used consistently by most staff. Pupils are aware of the actions that will be taken by staff if pupils’ behaviour is not good enough. Pupils are also motivated by the different class rewards systems. They were unanimous in their view that behaviour has improved over the last year. Exclusions are very rare.
• Pupils’ absence is well managed by leaders. Clear and supportive follow-up procedures are in place where pupils’ attendance rate falls below an acceptable level. Overall absence rates are just below the national average. The proportion of pupils who are persistently absent has decreased slightly over the last few years.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• The school’s assessment information, coupled with the end-of-key-stage statutory data, demonstrates that attainment is not high enough in certain areas of the school. Work in books shows that pupils’ progress is also not strong enough.
• At the end of key stage 1 in 2018, the proportion of pupils attaining the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics was low when compared to the national average. Considering pupils’ starting points, this does not represent good progress on their journey through key stage 1. Attainment for reading was too low. Over a third of pupils did not achieve the expected standard in 2018.
• At the end of key stage 2 in 2018, pupils’ progress declined slightly in reading, writing and mathematics. However, progress was not significantly different to that in other schools nationally. Mathematics attainment has historically been high. However, in 2018 it declined and was low when compared to the national average. This decline is due to a lack of consistent challenge, particularly in developing pupils’ reasoning skills.
• Attainment in the grammar, punctuation and spelling test in key stage 2 in 2018 was high. The proportions of pupils attaining the expected and higher standard were above the national average.
• The level of challenge for the most able pupils in lessons is not good enough. As a result, not enough pupils are attaining standards that are above those expected for their age. This is particularly the case in key stage 1. At the end of key stage 2 in 2018, the proportion of pupils attaining the higher standards improved when compared to the proportions seen in 2017.
• The good phonics teaching in the school is leading to more positive outcomes. In 2018, the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check was above the national average.
• Due to the inconsistencies in the quality of teaching, the attainment and progress for disadvantaged pupils varies. Additional support for phonics was successful for this group of pupils in 2018. However, the school’s assessment information demonstrates that attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is too low for this group of pupils in some year groups.
• Outcomes in other subjects require further attention. Where teaching is good, pupils’ knowledge and understanding develop well across a range of subjects. However, this is not the case in every year group.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• Leadership and provision in the early years have gone through a period of transition. During the last academic year there were several personnel changes, including a change of Reception teacher and the appointment of a new early years leader. Furthermore, the playgroup moved location from off-site to a new building on-site. As a result, early years’ provision has been more settled.
• During this time of transition, aspects of provision have not been consistently good. In 2018 the proportion of children attaining a good level of development at the end of Reception was below the national average. A significant proportion of children entered Reception with skills below a typical level for their age. However, too many children did not make sufficient progress form their starting points.
• Sometimes, the activities across the early years do not extend and challenge children’s thinking as much as they should. This is also the case in relation to adults’ questioning. Staff’s questions do not always develop children’s thinking as well as they could. This impedes children’s progress.
• Staff are caring and attentive towards the children. As a result, children are settled and happy within the playgroup and in Reception. Staff take the time to understand children’s needs. For example, there is recognition that children’s language and communication is not as good as it could be. In response to this, the environment has been adapted to display a wide-range of vocabulary to help support children’s learning of new words.
• Phonics teaching is good in Reception. Staff use effective subject knowledge to help children learn new sounds. Children are starting to apply their understanding of sounds successfully into their writing. However, children do not receive the support that they need to form letters accurately and consistently.
• Children’s learning journeys demonstrate that they are covering a broad range of activities across the different areas of learning. Some areas of learning develop more effectively than others. For example, children receive regular opportunities to develop their artistic and creative skills. During the inspection, children enjoyed making their own diya pots out of clay to celebrate Diwali.
• The playgroup provides a nurturing and caring environment for children. Staff and children in the setting are gradually being integrated more effectively into the life of the school. Staff from the playgroup attend staff meetings and recently there has been a stronger focus on improving the teaching of phonics.
• Leaders carry out regular checks on the quality of teaching in the early years. As a result, they have a developing understanding of the strengths and priorities. Action plans are focused and are starting to successfully address some of the weaknesses. Leaders’ understanding and use of assessment information is not yet strong. There is not a clear enough view of the progress that children make across the early years. This prevents leaders from being able to put in place the necessary interventions to support those children who are not making sufficient progress.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 103908 Sandwell 10052855 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 Foundation 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 211 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Ellaine Benbow Kate Roberts 0121 5560352 www.moorlandsprimarysch.co.uk admin@moorlandsprimaryschool.org Date of previous inspection January 2018

Information about this school

• The school is an average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium funding is above the national average.
• A large majority of pupils come from a White British background.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND is below the national average.
• This section 5 inspection was scheduled in response to the section 8 short inspection that took place in January 2018.
• The headteacher started in post in the second half of the summer term 2017. The deputy headteacher and another senior leader started in post in the summer term of 2018. In the last 12 months, several new teachers have started at the school.
• Several new governors have been appointed to the governing body since September 2017. One of the longer-serving governors was appointed as chair last academic year.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors observed pupils’ learning in 18 lessons or parts of lessons. A number of these observations were undertaken jointly with senior leaders.
• The inspectors scrutinised work in pupils’ books and listened to pupils read. They met with two groups of pupils to gain their views of the school. The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour at social times and at the end of the school day, as well as in lessons.
• Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher and the deputy headteacher, as well as other middle leaders. The lead inspector met with four members of the local governing body. He also met with a school improvement adviser from the local authority.
• The inspectors looked at a range of documentation. These included assessments and records of pupils’ progress; the school’s checks and records relating to safeguarding, child protection and attendance; records of how teaching is monitored and the school’s improvement plans.
• Inspectors evaluated 10 responses from Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View. Inspectors also considered six free-text responses from parents. They also talked to parents at the start of the school day.

Inspection team

Matt Meckin, lead inspector Her Majesty's Inspector Michael Appleby Ofsted Inspector