John Randall Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management, by:
  • further developing the skills of senior and middle leaders so that they can have a greater impact in driving improvements across the school
  • strengthening the role of the governing body so that they can provide an even greater level of challenge in order to hold leaders to account for pupils’ achievement.
• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment to increase the progress that all pupils, particularly boys and disadvantaged pupils, make, by:
  • further embedding the improvements that leaders have made to teaching
  • ensuring that teachers plan learning that builds upon what pupils can already do
  • making sure that the most able pupils are consistently challenged
  • ensuring that the teaching of phonics enables pupils to acquire phonics skills more rapidly and successfully apply these skills to their reading and writing
  • improving pupils’ reading comprehension skills so that pupils have a deep understanding of the texts that they are reading.
• Improve early years provision by:
  • improving the quality of teaching so that more children reach a good level of development and are ready for Year 1
  • ensuring that activities meet the needs of and interest boys so that they make the progress of which they are capable.
  • further develop the outdoor area so that it supports children’s learning in all areas of the curriculum. An external review of the school’s use of pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• The headteacher is tenacious in her drive to improve the effectiveness of the school and is ambitious for the success of every pupil. She has high expectations of staff and governors and is not afraid to tackle underperformance. As a result, pupils’ outcomes and the quality of teaching are showing signs of improvement.
• The headteacher ensures that leaders, including those who have temporary senior leadership roles, receive appropriate professional development. They are beginning to have an impact in driving improvements, but this work has yet to be fully embedded within the school.
• Leaders’ evaluation of the school is accurate. They know the strengths of the school and the areas that need improving. Whole-school development plans have a tight focus on improving pupils’ progress, achieving consistency in the quality of teaching and developing an effective senior and middle leadership team. The headteacher has sought high-quality support and training from the local teaching school. For example, teachers now have secure subject knowledge in mathematics and English. However, many teachers do not use this knowledge well enough to ensure that pupils are making the progress of which they are capable.
• There is a clear and organised approach to monitoring the quality of teaching. This includes opportunities to observe in lessons, talk to pupils and look at their books. Leaders provide feedback about the strengths and areas for improvement. However, there are still inconsistencies in the provision across the school.
• Staff, including recently qualified teachers, speak highly of the support that they receive. They say that the headteacher has a high expectation of them and ensures that they receive training that reflects their personal development. Additionally, teachers value the informal support they get with planning and sharing of good practice from all leaders.
• Over time, disadvantaged pupils have achieved less well than other pupils, particularly in key stage 2. Leaders, including governors, have an accurate understanding of the barriers that disadvantaged pupils face. Current school assessment information shows that disadvantaged pupils do make progress from their starting points. However, disadvantaged pupils’ progress is not strong enough to reduce the differences in attainment between them and other pupils.
• The physical education (PE) and sport premium funding is spent well. Specialist coaches deliver some PE lessons and they train staff to deliver the subject effectively. Additionally, pupils benefit from a wide range of after-school clubs, including orienteering, football and gymnastics. Pupils spoke enthusiastically about competitions they have been involved in with local schools. As a result, more pupils are participating in a wider range of sports.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced. Pupils are beginning to apply their reading, writing and mathematics skills in a range of subjects, but this is inconsistent across the school. Pupils told inspectors that they enjoyed the variety of learning experiences that the school provides for them. This includes the residential visit to an outdoor activity centre in Wales and the opportunity to learn to play the ukulele. Pupils particularly enjoy science lessons because of the opportunities to conduct practical investigations.
• The leader for provision for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities knows the pupils and their individual needs well. Pupils’ progress is tracked and the leader is able to identify when progress slips below that which the school expects. Leaders are aware that this group of pupils have made slow progress in the past and is taking appropriate action to address this. This includes training for teaching assistants who are delivering interventions. As a result, rates of progress are starting to improve for this group of pupils.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding is developing well. Pupils are knowledgeable about and have respect for different world religions. They have an age- appropriate understanding of what is happening in the news both in the United Kingdom and further afield. Pupils told inspectors that they use strategies that they have learned in school to manage their own behaviour and to get along with others. The curriculum makes links to fundamental British values, particularly democracy and the rule of law.
• Most parents are positive about the school, including some parents who moved their children from another school and are pleased at how well they have settled. A small number of parents had concerns about bullying. School records show that leaders do take this seriously. Pupils told inspectors that there was little bullying in school and they had confidence in adults to deal with it if it happened.

Governance of the school

• Until this academic year, governors did not have a thorough understanding of the overall effectiveness of the school. Over time, they did not check the performance information provided by senior leaders with enough rigour. Therefore, they were unaware that the quality of teaching and learning was not good enough.
• Governors now have an accurate understanding of the strengths and areas for improvement of the school. This is because they check for themselves what leaders have told them. Governors make visits to school, where they work alongside leaders to carry out monitoring activities including visits to lessons, talking to pupils and looking at pupils’ work. However, this work needs further development so that they can challenge and hold leaders and managers to account more effectively.
• Governors share the headteacher’s drive and ambition to improve the school. They attend appropriate training, for example on analysing assessment information, to ensure that they can effectively challenge and support leaders.
• Governors understand their responsibilities for keeping children safe at school. They attend child protection training alongside school staff and conduct checks of recruitment procedures. Governors place priority on the health and well-being of pupils and check that the curriculum reflects this.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• All members of staff receive relevant child protection training to ensure that they have a good understanding of signs of abuse. There is a shared understanding that safeguarding is a priority. Staff know how to report any concerns they have and do so promptly.
• Leaders, including the learning mentor, work effectively with a range of external agencies and professional services to keep pupils safe. Child protection records are well organised and stored securely. The learning mentor has built strong relationships with families. Pupils and their parents appreciate her support.
• The single central record of staff is well managed and regularly checked by senior leaders and governors. All staff and visitors undertake appropriate checks before entering the school.
• The school’s curriculum promotes pupils’ learning about how to stay safe. For example, pupils are knowledgeable about how to stay safe online. Pupils are aware of the dangers that strangers can pose and they know that it is important to talk to someone if they are worried about anything. Pupils have confidence in the staff to look after them.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching across the school is variable. There is not enough good teaching to ensure that pupils make good progress and reach the standards of which they are capable.
• Leaders have an accurate overview of the quality of teaching. They ensure that professional development targets the identified areas for improvement. As a result, teaching is improving but the improvements are not yet embedded consistently across the school.
• Teachers know the starting points of the pupils in their class. Leaders track pupils’ progress carefully and half-termly meetings with teachers focus on individual pupils and how to address underperformance. In some classes, for example Year 2 and Year 6, teachers plan tasks that are well matched to pupils’ different needs. This is enabling more pupils to reach the age-related expectations at the end of each key stage. However, not enough teachers make effective use of their knowledge of what pupils can already do. In some classes, teachers expect pupils to complete work that they find too easy and there is evidence in books that shows that some pupils make repeated mistakes.
• Most teachers have good subject knowledge. They use this to plan lessons that have an appropriate pitch for the majority of pupils they teach. For example, in English lessons, teachers ensure that pupils have an understanding of the features of different types of writing. Pupils in Year 4 were able to explain why their writing was persuasive. In Year 6, pupils were highly engaged in producing a balanced argument linked to the entertainment value of a circus. Pupils’ books show that they are beginning to develop sound editing skills. However, books also show that in some classes pupils repeat mistakes linked to spelling and use of punctuation. Additionally, in some classes, there are limited opportunities to write extended pieces and tasks are overly structured. This limits the amount of progress that some pupils can make.
• The teaching of phonics requires improvement. Teachers do not consistently check that they are building upon pupils’ prior knowledge. The pace of learning is slow for many pupils. This is because some lesson time is wasted while pupils wait to move on to the next task. Additionally, in some phonics lessons, pupils do not have the opportunity to apply their skills, for example through writing. This limits the progress that pupils make.
• Pupils in key stage 2 are beginning to develop effective reading comprehension skills. In some classes, pupils are less competent at showing their understanding of the texts they read because of a lack of focus on this important skill in the past. Teachers share appropriate texts with pupils and pupils are starting to gain an understanding of authors and genres. However, teacher expectation of the most able pupils is not high enough. Consequently, this group of pupils do not make the progress of which they are capable.
• Leaders have provided effective training for teaching mathematics. Most teachers have good subject knowledge and they use this to plan lessons that meet the needs of the majority of pupils in the class. In some classes, the tasks planned for the most able pupils are appropriate and there are a variety of opportunities for pupils to solve problems and reason about their work. However, in too many classes pupils do not move on quickly enough. For example, pupils have to wait to have their work checked before they can get on to the next task. This limits the amount of progress that pupils make.
• The effectiveness of teaching assistants is variable across the school. Some support staff promote independence, have good questioning skills and have a sound understanding of how pupils learn. However, on occasion, teaching assistants provide too much support for pupils who do not have the opportunity to tackle tasks or solve problems for themselves. This means that the class teacher does not have an accurate understanding of what pupils, particularly the least able, can do, in order to plan tasks to move their learning on.
• Relationships are positive throughout the school. Pupils listen carefully to their teachers and they enjoy working with one another. Teachers and support staff provide a good model for pupils to follow.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils told inspectors that they feel safe in school. They feel well cared for and say that they can ask adults for help if they need to. Pupils value opportunities to talk to the headteacher and to the learning mentor. Pupils know the difference between bullying and falling out. They told inspectors that there have been a few incidents of bullying but that adults dealt with them.
• Pupils enjoy attending the breakfast club. Staff promote healthy living through food choices and physical activities on offer. Relationships between staff and pupils are warm and respectful.
• Pupils appreciate the Year 6 residential visit to an outdoor activity centre in Wales. They told inspectors that it gives them opportunities to ‘learn how to work as a team’. Pupils enjoy the opportunities they have to take on responsibilities, including school council membership, being an e-safety mentor or being a safeguarding mentor. Pupils wear lanyards proudly in order to advertise their roles, so that other pupils know who to approach if they need advice.
• Many pupils take pride in their work. Some pupils do not take enough care with the presentation of their work. This is a result of low expectations from adults.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils welcome visitors to the school. They are polite, well mannered and confident. Pupils understand the behaviour system and say that most pupils behave well. Pupils told inspectors that anyone would be welcome at the school, regardless of any differences they had.
• Pupils’ conduct around the school is very good. They are considerate and respectful of one another and adults. There are few disruptions to learning in most classes. Occasionally, where teachers do not match learning well enough to pupils’ needs, they become disinterested and do not focus on the task as well as they should. Pupils play well together at breaktime. They are ready for learning as soon as they return to class.
• Leaders monitor absence carefully. They intervene quickly if there is a decline in individual pupils’ attendance. Overall absence rates are in line with the national average. The proportion of pupils who are persistently absent is below the national average.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Over time, there has been a steady decline in the rates of progress made by pupils in key stage 2. In 2017, pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics was well below the national average. Over the last two years, the standards reached by pupils at the end of key stage 2 have been below national averages in all three subjects.
• Leaders now track pupils’ progress carefully. Current assessment information shows that not enough pupils across the school are making sufficient progress. This means that many pupils do not reach the standards of which they are capable. However, the most recent assessment of pupils in Year 2 and Year 6 shows a significant increase in the proportion of pupils working at the standards expected for their age.
• In the past disadvantaged pupils’ attainment and progress has been lower than that of other pupils. Information about current pupils shows that in some year groups the differences are diminishing. However, this improvement is inconsistent and in some year groups, disadvantaged pupils attain significantly less well than other pupils.
• The proportion of pupils who achieve the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check has been below national average for the last three years. Leaders have provided training for teachers to improve their knowledge and skills. However, inconsistencies in the quality of teaching of phonics remain.
• Pupils’ English and mathematics books show that pupils have made progress since the start of the academic year. However, progress in some classes is slower than it could be, because teachers do not move them on quickly enough. For example, in mathematics pupils complete work that is too easy or tasks that are a repetition of something pupils have shown they can already do. Pupils’ progress in writing, in some classes, is limited because pupils continue to repeat basic errors in spelling and punctuation.
• Not enough of the most able pupils make strong progress in a range of subjects across the curriculum. This is because teachers do not provide an appropriate level of challenge. Consequently, some of the most able pupils do not reach the standards of which they are capable. The headteacher models high expectations of what pupils can achieve, and as a result, teachers are beginning to raise their expectations. In the current Year 6 a significantly higher proportion of pupils than in the last two years are working at the higher standard, particularly in reading and writing.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make variable rates of progress. Some pupils who benefit from specific interventions make strong progress towards achievement of the targets that are set for them, but this is inconsistent. Not enough of the pupils in this group make sufficient progress in order to reduce differences in attainment between them and their peers.
• Pupils develop skills and knowledge appropriate to their age in science. Pupils’ books and assessment information show that the proportions of pupils working at the age- related expectations for their age is close to the proportions nationally at the end of key stages 1 and 2.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• The majority of children enter the early years with skills and abilities which are below those typical for their age. Over time, children have not made good enough progress from their starting points. Consequently, the proportion of pupils achieving a good level of development has been below the national average since the last inspection. Boys achieve significantly less well than girls do. This year there is an improvement in the proportion of boys achieving a good level of development but the difference between boys and girls remains wide.
• The quality of teaching is variable. Some adults engage children in conversations that develop communication skills and widen vocabulary. However, adults in the early years do not consistently ensure that activities build upon what children can already do. This slows children’s progress.
• The leadership of early years is currently being developed. Since starting in September the headteacher has provided tailored support for the early years leader. Together they have made significant changes to the environment, the curriculum and children’s learning journeys. Adults now analyse assessment information in more depth. They know which pupils are not making enough progress. As a result, the quality of teaching is improving. Adults are beginning to have higher expectations of what children can do and there is a slight increase this year in the proportion of children achieving a good level of development.
• The indoor environment is stimulating and well resourced. There are clear links to the current topics. For example, the role-play area, a garden centre, promotes speaking and listening, mathematics and fine motor skills through the use of gardening tools. Resources are of a high quality and promote reading, writing and mathematics. However, learning opportunities outside are more limited. There are few links made with reading, writing or mathematics. Children do not engage with activities on offer, because resources are not of a similar quality to indoors. This limits the progress children can make.
• Relationships are warm and nurturing. Children enjoy coming to school where they work, play and share well with one another. Behaviour is managed well. Children understand the routines and know what is expected of them.
• Adults value the contribution of parents. There are daily opportunities for parents to talk to adults about their children. Additionally, many parents share evidence of what their children do at home through emails and photographs. Adults in the early years provide reading workshops for parents to help them when they read with their children at home.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective. Leaders ensure that all welfare requirements of the early years foundation stage are met. Children are well cared for. For example, during the hot weather adults encourage children to wear hats and sunglasses.

School details

Unique reference number 123445 Local authority Telford & Wrekin Inspection number 10047404 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 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 248 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Mrs Trish McLachlan Ms Stephanie Gaskell Telephone number 01952 388390 Website Email address http://johnrandallprimary.co.uk a2176@taw.org.uk Date of previous inspection 28–29 November 2013

Information about this school

• John Randall Primary School is a smaller than average primary school.
• The large majority of pupils are White British.
• The proportion of pupils who are supported by the pupil premium is significantly above average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is above average. The proportion of pupils who have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is significantly above average.
• A new headteacher was appointed to the school in September 2017. The deputy headteacher is no longer working at the school. This role is being covered by a middle leader who has stepped up temporarily to cover the deputy headteacher’s role.
• In 2017, the school did not meet the current government floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ achievement and progress.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching and learning in all year groups. Some of the observations were carried out jointly with the headteacher and the acting deputy headteacher
• Inspectors met with pupils, heard pupils from key stage 1 and key stage 2 read and observed pupils at breaktimes and lunchtimes.
• Inspectors met with the senior leadership team members and the leaders of provision for special educational needs. The lead inspector also met with the chair of governors and had a separate meeting with a consultant working as the school improvement partner.
• Inspectors scrutinised pupils’ work from a variety of subjects alongside school leaders.
• Inspectors looked at documentation including the school’s self-evaluation and improvement plans. Inspectors also considered information about pupils’ progress, behaviour, attendance and safety.
• Inspectors spoke to a number of parents before school and took account of the 10 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, and five texts made by parents. Additionally, inspectors took account of the 18 views expressed by members of staff to Ofsted’s online survey.

Inspection team

Jo Evans, lead inspector Linda Brown Kirsty Foulkes

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector