Outwood Primary Academy Darfield Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Further improve the provision for reading across the school by:
  • ensuring that all pupils have ready access to reading books which match their phonics knowledge and abilities closely
  • delivering daily and bespoke phonics input for the small number of key stage 2 pupils who do not achieve the phonics standard by the end of key stage 1
  • providing a greater selection of reading materials for pupils, especially the most able.
• Work in partnership with parents to further increase the proportion of pupils who attend school, on time, every day.
• Increase the proportion of children who reach a good level of development by the end of the early years by:
  • ensuring that teachers and teaching assistants have the highest expectations of all children
  • implementing procedures to check that teachers’ assessments of children’s skills and abilities on entry to the early years are accurate
  • making sure girls and disadvantaged children are challenged and supported well
  • developing the outdoor environment for learning further so that children’s learning and progress are as well supported outdoors as they are indoors.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• Extremely effective leadership has led to rapid improvements in all aspects of school life, including outcomes for pupils, since the school became a member of the OGAT family of schools in May 2016. The current leadership team of associate principal, associate executive principal and chief executive principal lead with strength, determination and vision. They are relentless and uncompromising in their pursuit of excellence.
• Senior leaders check on all aspects of the school’s work incisively and often. As a result, their plans for improvement focus, quite correctly, on the key areas of attendance, reading and the early years outdoor environment.
• Parents are highly appreciative of leaders’ successful efforts to establish a stable complement of teachers. Staff morale is very high in school. Teachers appreciate the collaborative teams in which they work, the training they receive and the opportunities they have to liaise with colleagues from other trust schools. They appreciate leaders’ successful efforts to make sure their work/life balance is not compromised.
• Subject leadership is strong. Actions taken by the leaders for English and mathematics have led to substantial improvements in pupils’ achievement in key stages 1 and 2, especially in writing and mathematics. Leaders’ plans to improve pupils’ outcomes in phonics and reading further are detailed and incisive.
• Foundation subject leadership is effective. Foundation subject leaders’ plans for their subjects are sharply focused on improving outcomes for pupils by developing assessment even further. These middle leaders use their allocated time wisely to develop their subjects further.
• The provision for pupils with SEND has improved markedly over the last 30 months. Impressive leadership from the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) is ensuring that pupils’ needs are identified early, their parents are involved fully and any barriers to learning are addressed increasingly successfully.
• The government’s additional funding for disadvantaged pupils is spent exceptionally well to ensure that most pupils meet, and some pupils exceed, the standards expected for their age. The school’s assessment information shows that the proportions of disadvantaged pupils meeting and exceeding the standard expected for their age is increasing termly. Improvement is, therefore, continuous and rapid.
• The subject leader for physical education (PE) has an admirable knowledge of the impact of the additional funding for PE and sport in primary schools. He has identified and met gaps in the school’s provision. As a result, the range of sporting activities available has increased together with the number of pupils taking part in competitive sport.
• Cross-curricular links and opportunities are identified and exploited exceedingly well. The curriculum is broad and balanced and prepares pupils well for life in secondary school and beyond. The formal curriculum is supported well by a range of extra-curricular activities. A parent told the inspection team, ‘After- and before-school and dinner-time clubs are there to support and help my children to be the best that they can be.’
• Leaders make sure that all pupils are knowledgeable about fundamental British values. Pupils have an in-depth knowledge of parliamentary democracy through the systems adopted in the school. They really enjoy and benefit from being their classmates’ representatives as members of parliament. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is strong. Leaders are developing pupils’ cultural awareness very well, using the opportunities provided by the increasing number of ethnic minority families within the school community.

Governance of the school

• All governors work in accordance with OGAT’s scheme of delegation. Lines of accountability are very clear. Executive and non-executive governors have an insightful knowledge of the school’s strengths, areas for improvement and the very rapid rate of the school’s progress. They evaluate teaching accurately as being ‘never less than good’ and have challenged leaders to improve reading, attendance and the early years outdoor environment further.
• Governors at a local level, members of the academy council, know the school’s strengths and areas for development. They act in accordance with trustees’ vision, policies and priorities, quality assure some aspects of the school’s work and develop effective links with the local community and employers. Their work, for example their input regarding attendance awards, has had a positive impact on pupils’ outcomes.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The school’s safer recruitment procedures and records are fully compliant with the government’s requirements.
• All staff and governors attend safeguarding and child protection training on a regular basis. They know about such issues as ‘county lines’. All, including staff new to the school who experience excellent induction, fully understand how to keep children safe in education.
• The designated leaders for safeguarding keep detailed records of the actions taken to support vulnerable pupils. They work cooperatively with a wide range of external agencies to ensure that pupils are safe and protected.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers use their subject knowledge well to plan engaging activities for pupils. Staff give clear explanations and ask meaningful questions, especially in writing and mathematics. As a result, pupils are engaged in their learning, want to succeed and make good and sometimes outstanding progress.
• Both teachers and teaching assistants assess pupils’ understanding constantly within lessons. The school’s curriculum for mathematics is delivered particularly effectively. Pupils who find it difficult to master important concepts receive immediate additional support so that they do not fall behind. This is helping to reduce the proportion of pupils working below the standard expected for their age in mathematics.
• Teachers and teaching assistants in upper key stage 2 work successfully to deliver the curriculum for Years 5 and 6. They address any gaps in pupils’ knowledge, skills and abilities which have arisen due to historical weaknesses in the quality of teaching.
• Phonics is taught well in key stage 1. Teachers and teaching assistants know individual pupils’ strengths and areas for development well. As a result, teaching is usually closely aligned to pupils’ needs. On occasion, some lower-ability pupils are given books that are too difficult for them to read. In key stage 2, as correctly identified by senior leaders, provision for the very small number of pupils who did not achieve the standard in the Year 1 and Year 2 phonics screening checks requires further development. There are not enough books in the school’s library for the most able pupils. These pupils cannot challenge themselves because they have already read all of the available books.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils are honoured to attend Outwood Primary Academy Darfield. They are very proud to wear their purple school uniform. They are confident and self-assured in and around school. Pupils appreciate the efforts of the adults to improve their experience of education over the past 30 months.
• Leaders’ work to ensure that pupils know how to stay safe has been extremely successful. Pupils know how to work and play safely online. They know not to divulge any personal information. Pupils have a deep understanding of the different forms of bullying. They told the inspectors that bullying is not accepted at their school.
• Pupils take on roles and responsibilities eagerly and with aplomb. For example, they organise the music and technology during collective worship. Pupils are kind to each other and to adults, including visitors, holding doors open as a matter of course.
• Parents recognise the school’s positive impact on their children’s mental health. One, echoing the views of many, wrote, ‘This is an amazing school and my daughter is so happy here.’

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• The number of fixed-term exclusions, although still above the national average, reduced dramatically in the 2017/18 academic year. This trend has continued during the first term of the current academic year. Similarly, the number of behaviour incidents, including racist incidents and bullying incidents, has reduced notably.
• Systems and procedures to record pupils who arrive late for school are well established. Any patterns in lateness are identified and addressed with parents and carers. Consequently, the vast majority of pupils arrive punctually for school.
• Pupils generally conduct themselves well in school. They know which behaviours are acceptable and which are not. However, on occasion, a small minority of older pupils disrupt other pupils’ learning in lessons. For example, during the inspection, a group of pupils indulged in a conversation about a computer game during an English lesson. They were off-task and disturbed other pupils’ learning.
• Leaders’ actions to improve pupils’ attendance and reduce the proportion who are persistently absent have had some success. The attendance of pupils of statutory school age is now broadly average; it has almost reached the national benchmark. However, despite leaders’ initiatives, some pupils still do not attend school every day. Too many parents take their children out of school for unauthorised holidays during term time. Attendance remains a key area for development for the school.

Outcomes for pupils

• Outcomes are good and are improving rapidly.

Good

• Key stage 1 pupils’ attainment at the end of the 2017/18 academic year, at both the expected and higher standard, is above national benchmarks in reading, writing and mathematics. Overall, pupils make above average progress from their starting points at the end of the early years.
• Similarly, key stage 2 pupils’ attainment at the end of the 2017/18 academic year is above the combined reading, writing and mathematics national average at both the expected and higher standard, for all pupils. These pupils, and the 2016/17 cohort, made above average progress from their starting points in writing and mathematics and average progress in reading.
• Disadvantaged pupils, pupils with SEND and those who speak EAL are making good progress from their starting points in reading, writing and mathematics this term.
• Currently, pupils across key stages 1 and 2 are making good progress from their starting points in English, mathematics and the foundation subjects.
• The proportion of pupils who achieve the standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check has risen from 33% to 90%, and above the national average, since the end of the 2015/16 academic year. However, the very small number of pupils who do not achieve the phonics standard by the end of key stage 1 do not acquire phonics knowledge and skills rapidly in Years 3 and 4. This limits their ability to access the curriculum in key stage 2.

Early years provision Good

• The quality of teaching is good in the early years. Adults provide for children’s emotional needs very well indeed.
• Leaders, teachers and support staff have very effective relationships with the children and the children’s parents and carers in the early years. Two-way communication between school and home is well established and fruitful.
• Overall, children make good progress from their individual starting points in the early years. However, fewer girls and fewer disadvantaged children than the proportions seen nationally reach a good level of development. Leaders have adapted the provision well this year, to accelerate the progress of both groups of children.
• Teachers and teaching assistants promote children’s phonics well through daily teaching sessions. Children love reading. During the inspection, a child sat in the reading area in the Nursery class and read a book for over 10 minutes.
• Children behave very well in the early years. They do not flit between activities but sustain their concentration for extended periods of time. Children are extremely polite and well-mannered. For example, a child wanted to access online learning and said to the teacher, ‘Excuse me, could you put something on the computer for me?’
• Although adults know the children well, they do not use their on-entry assessments incisively to plan activities which are closely matched to their needs. Teachers’ expectations of children are sometimes too low. As a result, a small minority of children are not fully prepared for the increased demands of the Year 1 curriculum.
• The early years environment is safe, secure and welcoming. Children often skip into school in anticipation of the day ahead. The atmosphere is joyful and children develop a thirst for learning. Leaders’ plans for improvement correctly include improving the early years outdoor environment further so that children learn as well outdoors as they do indoors.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 143940 Barnsley 10084116 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 Academy sponsor-led 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 229 Appropriate authority Chair Executive Principal Principal Telephone number Website Email address Board of trustees David Earnshaw Jane Clayton Donna Burnett 01226 753048 www.darfield.outwood.com admin@darfield.outwood.com Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• The school is a sponsored academy. It became one of 31 schools in the Outwood Grange Academies Trust on 1 May 2016.
• The trustees of OGAT are the school’s accountable body and carry out a strategic role. Members of the school’s academy council carry out the trustees’ vision, policies and priorities, provide internal quality assurance and develop links with the local community and employers.
• The associate principal is responsible for the day-to-day running of the school and is supported by the associate executive principal who, in turn, is supported by the chief executive principal. The chief executive principal reports to OGAT’s executive board.
• The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND receiving support is below average. The proportion who have an education, health and care plan is in line with that usually found.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils, those eligible for support through the pupil premium funding, is above the national average.
• Most pupils, approximately four-fifths, speak English as their first language.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed lessons across a range of subjects in the early years and key stages 1 and 2. Some observations were carried out jointly with the associate principal and the associate executive principal.
• During visits to lessons, inspectors spoke with pupils and looked at their work to find out more about how well they are learning.
• The lead inspector held a discussion with OGAT’s chief executive officer, by telephone and face to face, and met with members of the academy council and one of OGAT’s non-executive board members.
• Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school. Formal meetings were held with a group of pupils from Years 1, 2 and 3, a group from Years 3, 4 and 6, a group of disadvantaged pupils and a group of pupils with SEND. The lead inspector took note of the 96 responses made by pupils to Ofsted’s online questionnaire.
• OGAT’s directors of English, mathematics and the early years supported the school’s middle leaders during the inspection.
• Discussions were also held with the associate principal, associative executive principal, chief executive principal, assistant principal and the early years leader, the SENCo, the safeguarding and attendance officer, core and foundation subject leaders, teachers and support staff.
• The lead inspector took note of the 19 responses made by staff to Ofsted’s online questionnaire and the results of the school’s most recent survey of the views of staff.
• The lead inspector read with pupils from Years 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6.
• Members of the team observed the work of the school more broadly and looked at a range of documentation. This included policies, leaders’ evaluation of the school’s effectiveness, the school’s improvement plans, pupils’ assessment information, safeguarding records and information about pupils’ attendance, attainment and progress.
• Inspectors took account of the 57 responses, including nine free-text responses, to Ofsted’s Parent View survey, alongside the school’s most recent parental survey. Team members also talked to parents at the beginning and end of the school day. The lead inspector considered one letter from a parent received during the inspection.
• An inspector evaluated the support plans for the small number of pupils with SEND, checked the extent to which plans are put in place in lessons and talked to some of these pupils’ parents by telephone.

Inspection team

Belita Scott, lead inspector Chris Cook Her Majesty’s Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector