Worsbrough Common Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment so that they are consistently good or better, and improve pupils’ outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics by ensuring that:
  • teachers have consistently high expectations of pupils’ outcomes and learning behaviour
  • pupils consistently receive high-quality explanations, questioning and demonstrations, which support their development of a deep understanding in English and mathematics
  • all pupils, particularly the most able, receive work which is sufficiently challenging in all subjects
  • pupils have suitable opportunities to develop their speaking and writing skills effectively
  • pupils have regular opportunities to develop their problem-solving and reasoning skills in mathematics
  • pupils, particularly lower-attaining pupils, develop early reading skills rapidly and the books they use to practise are matched precisely to their phonic knowledge
  • further improvements to pupils’ presentation and handwriting are extended across all subjects
  • children in the early years have suitable opportunities to consolidate and extend their learning and develop their independence.
• Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management, including of the early years, by ensuring that:
  • leaders, members of staff and pupils demonstrate consistently high expectations in relation to pupils’ learning and attendance
  • the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is consistently good or better
  • plans for improving the school are precise and focus tightly on gains in pupils’ outcomes
  • lines of responsibility in relation to governance are clear
  • those who hold responsibility for governance hold leaders to account effectively in relation to the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes
  • thorough and timely checks on, and evaluation of, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment are used to inform leaders’ next steps
  • senior and middle leaders receive further professional development to enable them to take responsibility for improvements in teaching, learning and assessment in all subjects
  • disadvantaged pupils make accelerated progress to catch up with other pupils nationally.
• Improve pupils’ rates of attendance by ensuring that:
  • pupils attend school regularly
  • the number of pupils who are regularly absent decreases rapidly. An external review of the school’s use of pupil premium funding 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

• Over time, a culture of low expectations has developed in the school. This has limited leaders’ and teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve. As a result, there has been a significant decline in standards. Current leaders are fully aware of the need to raise the bar significantly to enable pupils to fulfil their potential. They have halted this decline and have been successful in ensuring early improvements to the quality of teaching, learning and assessment.
• The school has experienced a period of turbulence, linked to changes in leadership and governance, and uncertainty about a move towards academisation. However, working with the local authority, a teaching school and the trust they intend to join, leaders have acted swiftly to engage support from national and specialist leaders of education. A new leadership structure has been introduced, which has brought an executive headteacher to the school who is due to take up post imminently. These strategic developments have been successful in ensuring that leadership capacity is sufficient to secure improvements in the school’s priority areas.
• The leadership team is mostly accurate in its evaluations of school’s current performance and in its subsequent identification of priorities. Leaders are determined to improve the education pupils receive and are unwavering in their positivity. As a result, the staff team is fully on board with implementing necessary changes, and staff morale is high. Over time, leaders’ plans for improvement have lacked precision and have not been tightly linked to pupils’ outcomes. Consequently, governors and leaders have not been able to hold members of staff to account effectively.
• A number of senior and middle leaders are new to their roles. They show suitable levels of expertise and enthusiasm. Many have already supported the professional development of colleagues, with a view to improving the quality of teaching in their area of responsibility. However, any checks they carry out in relation to the difference they make to pupils’ progress are not timely and often lack the focus and rigour needed.
• Over time, leaders have not tackled high rates of pupil absence with sufficient tenacity. Their evaluations of this aspect are overgenerous. Because of this, they do not take action quickly enough when pupils’ attendance begins to drop. Leaders have introduced rewards for high attendance. This has ensured that pupils understand that attending school is important. However, only slight improvements are evident, and attendance rates remain below average. Additionally, the proportion of pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils, who are regularly absent from school, is exceptionally high.
• Leaders have introduced new approaches to the teaching of reading, writing and mathematics. Through this, they have been effective in improving teaching and pupils’ outcomes in some year groups. Although this is heartening, leaders are clear that these approaches are not successfully embedded or effective in promoting strong progress for pupils across all year groups.
• A significant number of disadvantaged pupils benefit from targeted support from the pastoral team. This work focuses on raising pupils’ self-esteem and developing pupils’ ability to manage their own behaviour. As a result of this nurturing approach, pupils are able to avoid exclusion and can cope with learning in class with their peers. However, leaders have not been successful in accelerating disadvantaged pupils’ progress in all year groups. Consequently, their attainment lags behind that of other pupils nationally.
• Leaders have ensured that the curriculum is broad and balanced. However, the quality of teaching in some subjects does not always enable pupils to acquire appropriately complex knowledge, understanding and skills. For example, pupils are able to talk about the topics they have covered in history, geography and science but often do not demonstrate a sufficient depth of learning.
• Leaders have ensured that the primary physical education (PE) and sports funding is used well. Specialist coaches provide lessons for pupils and professional development for teachers. Leaders have checked that both of these aspects are of high quality. The funding also enables increasing numbers of pupils to benefit from participation in sporting tournaments and after-school clubs.
• Pupils have a wide range of opportunities for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. For example, pupils benefit from specialist music teaching and a variety of musical extra-curricular activities. Pupils express appreciation of singing in the school choir which has provided them with valuable experiences, such as performing at the Royal Albert Hall. Pupils’ cultural understanding is extended through a partnership with a school in France. Pupils enjoy learning from their French pen pals through emails and annual meetings.
• Leaders have systems in place to ensure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified and their learning supported. The expertise of external specialists is used to inform plans and targets for pupils. Teaching assistants are often deployed effectively to ensure that pupils can learn effectively alongside their peers. As is the case for other pupils in the school, the quality of teaching pupils with SEND receive is variable. Where teaching is effective, pupils make strong progress from their starting points.

Governance of the school

• Governors have low expectations of pupils’ outcomes and overgenerous views of the quality of teaching. Over time, leaders have not provided them with sufficient information regarding pupils’ progress, attainment and attendance. Because of this, governors have not been able to hold leaders to account for the school’s performance. The result has been a significant decline in the standard of education provided by the school.
• The school commissioned an external review of governance, which took place last academic year. Through this process, weaknesses in governance were identified. The implementation of the resulting improvement plan has not been effective in equipping governors with the expertise they need to ensure that improvements are secured. For this reason, the governing body is due to be disbanded and plans are in place for the introduction of an interim executive board.
• Governors have shown great commitment to the school and have given their time readily. They are passionate about providing the best education possible but have not had the required skills and knowledge to achieve this.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders have ensured that pupils’ welfare is promoted effectively. A skilled pastoral team provides essential support for pupils, which fosters their emotional and social development well.
• Pupils and families whose circumstances make them vulnerable are well supported. Parents and carers benefit from attendance at workshops and courses which are delivered by members of staff.
• The staff team receives regular training updates which ensure that they are clear about their responsibilities in keeping children safe. Designated staff make timely referrals to external agencies where needed and follow these referrals up with rigour. Records relating to child protection concerns are detailed and well maintained.
• Leaders ensure that checks are carried out on members of staff to ensure their suitability to work with children.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching across year groups and subjects is inconsistent. Teachers’ explanations, demonstrations and questioning sometimes show that they lack vital subject knowledge. Consequently, they are not always able to address pupils’ misconceptions swiftly or move pupils’ learning on appropriately. This hinders pupils’ progress.
• Teachers often have low expectations of what pupils can achieve. As a result, the tasks pupils, particularly the most able pupils, are given frequently lack a suitable level of challenge. In addition, teachers do not always approach lessons with enough urgency. Too often, lessons are characterised by extended transitions between activities and lost learning time. When this is the case, pupils’ attitudes to learning vary: some lose concentration and low-level disruption occurs.
• The inconsistencies seen in teachers’ expectations also result in variability in the care pupils take in their work. When teachers do not express and enforce high expectations of pupils’ presentation and the accuracy of their work, pupils sometimes take a lax approach to these aspects. Consequently, the work some pupils produce is not always their best.
• Despite leaders identifying pupils’ language development as a priority, the opportunities pupils have to develop their speaking skills in lessons are often limited. Teachers do plan for pupils’ vocabulary expansion through the texts and topics being studied. However, pupils spend too much time in lessons listening passively. They do not have sufficient opportunities for structured talk to enable them to develop their language skills effectively.
• The quality of teaching of phonics is particularly variable. Teachers have suitable subject knowledge and this ensures that they articulate sounds accurately. However, pupils have insufficient opportunities to observe and practise sounding out and blending of words. Additionally, the books pupils use to practise their early reading skills often contain words which they cannot decode. Faced with such words, pupils resort to trying to guess words using the pictures as clues. Adults place too much emphasis on pupils learning words and books by heart. This ineffective practice slows pupils’ progress and is particularly limiting for lower-attaining pupils.
• Recent professional development to support the teaching of reading has been effective in increasing the level of challenge in reading comprehension lessons in some year groups. Particularly in upper key stage 2, pupils are now taught skills at an appropriate depth, such as predicting events and analysing an author’s choice of words. Pupils are beginning to show increasing skill in explaining and justifying their responses to questions using evidence from a text. Leaders recognise that there is more work to do in embedding this stronger practice across all year groups.
• Pupils are enthused by their topics in wider curriculum subjects. This learning is often used as the purpose for their writing and this supports pupils’ motivation to write. Pupils’ books show that they are beginning to make stronger progress in developing writing skills. Teachers’ use of scaffolds for writing are leading to gains in pupils’ sentence construction, text organisation and handwriting. However, some pupils do not have frequent opportunities to practise their skills or to write at length. Teachers do not always address pupils’ errors, for example in spelling, and, therefore, pupils repeat their mistakes. Consequently, their progress is not as rapid as it could be.
• The teaching of mathematics is improving. For example, pupils are increasingly asked to perform more challenging calculations. Consequently, pupils are now making stronger progress than they did previously. However, in some year groups, teaching and learning lack challenge for all abilities. Teachers sometimes lack subject knowledge. As a result, their explanations are not always effective, and pupils’ misconceptions are not addressed swiftly. Additionally, pupils across year groups have too few opportunities to solve problems and develop their reasoning skills.
• The quality of teaching across wider curriculum subjects varies considerably. In modern foreign languages, music and PE lessons, pupils receive specialist teaching which is effective in supporting them to make rapid gains and learn in depth. However, in other subjects, teaching is not always effective in ensuring pupils develop suitably complex knowledge and skills.
• Teaching assistants often provide vital support for pupils with SEND which enables them to access learning in class with their peers. Like other pupils in school, pupils with SEND, including those attending the specialist resourced provision, receive teaching which varies in its effectiveness.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils benefit from holding a range of leadership roles, including being reading ambassadors, litter monitors and school radio hosts. As a result, they are confident and show high levels of maturity.
• Pupils appreciate the wide range of extra-curricular clubs available to them. Many pupils enjoy curriculum enhancements, such as film club, choir, orchestra, yoga club, gymnastics and construction club. A high number of pupils attend the school’s breakfast club.
• Relationships between adults and pupils are strong. Pupils say that they love their teachers and are proud to be a part of their school. Leaders place a heavy emphasis on nurturing pupils’ emotional well-being. The pastoral team is particularly successful in supporting vulnerable pupils to manage their behaviour in class and at breaktimes.
• Pupils are knowledgeable about how to stay safe in a range of situations. Pupils take on the role of ‘e-cadets’ and are effective in teaching their peers about how to avoid online risks. They use assemblies, workshops and the school radio to keep pupils well informed about e-safety.
• Pupils show respect for others and understand some aspects of diversity well. For example, learning about a range of faiths in religious education prepares them well for life in modern Britain. However, some pupils lack knowledge of aspects of equality. As a result, despite pupils’ intentions to be tolerant and respectful, they are not always equipped to fulfil this. Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Pupils do not always demonstrate positive attitudes to learning. When teachers have low expectations of pupils’ learning behaviour or when teaching does not meet their needs, pupils lack focus and sometimes distract others.
• Pupils’ rates of attendance are below average. Approximately one fifth of pupils are regularly absent from school. Last year and so far this year, disadvantaged pupils, in particular, have been negatively affected by being regular absentees. Although improvements are evident this academic year, these are not rapid enough.
• Pupils are polite and welcoming. They demonstrate their good manners by holding doors open for adults and introducing themselves to visitors. Their behaviour around school and at breaktimes is calm and orderly. Pupils contribute to an atmosphere in the school which they themselves describe as ‘caring and safe’.
• Pupils are clear in their view that incidents of bullying and derogatory language are very rare. This is further evidenced by leaders’ records relating to behaviour.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Over the last three years, outcomes for pupils at the end of key stage 2 have represented a significant decline in standards. Pupils’ attainment and progress, particularly in reading and mathematics, have been falling and in 2018 were considerably lower than those achieved by pupils nationally.
• The lack of challenge evidenced for more-able pupils has resulted in below-average proportions of pupils reaching the higher standards of learning at the end of key stages 1 and 2 for the last three years.
• This trend of underachievement was reflected in pupils’ English and mathematics outcomes in classes across key stages 1 and 2 at the end of last academic year. However, evidence in pupils’ work for this year indicates that pupils’ outcomes are now improving. Although pupils’ progress remains inconsistent across year groups and across subjects, pupils are now beginning to make stronger progress. The new approaches to teaching in these key subjects are resulting in increasing proportions of pupils reaching and exceeding the standards expected for their age.
• The proportion of pupils that reach the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check has fluctuated over the last four years. Following intensive, targeted support for Year 1 pupils in 2018, the proportion that reached the expected standard was in line with pupils nationally. Despite this, of the 35 pupils in Year 2 last year who were re-screened, only 15 met the expected standard. The remaining 20 pupils have moved to key stage 2 without the phonics skills they need.
• Leaders have focused on fostering pupils’ motivation to read. To this end, they have introduced a number of strategies, including attractive reading areas, whole-class story sharing and rewards for pupils reading widely and often. As a result, most pupils who spoke to inspectors expressed enjoyment of reading regularly.
• Similar to other pupils in school, disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND make variable progress which is linked to the quality of teaching they receive. Because of this, the proportion from both of these groups that reaches and exceeds the standard expected for their age is low in many year groups.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• Leaders are not always accurate in identifying the priorities for improvement in the early years. For example, leaders had not recognised that children’s attainment in writing was often the factor that restricted them from reaching a good level of development. Their evaluations of the effectiveness of teaching are not supported by rigorous assessments and analysis of children’s outcomes. As a result, they are not able to effect improvements systematically and rapidly.
• A significant proportion of children enter the early years with skills and knowledge which are below those typical for their age. Some of this group make accelerated progress to reach a good level of development. However, of the children who do arrive at the setting with age-appropriate skills and knowledge, few make rapid progress to exceed the standards expected for their age. This reflects progress rates which are variable.
• The quality of teaching in the early years is inconsistent. Teacher-led learning is often effective in extending children’s learning. However, too often, the activities on offer for child-initiated learning are not suitably challenging. Teachers sometimes show a lack of urgency for learning: transition times between activities are extended and learning time is not used efficiently.
• Adults have ensured that there is a wide range of opportunities for children to develop their fine motor skills. For example, children are enticed by activities involving use of scissors, tweezers, pens and glue. However, adults have not developed provision in the indoor or outdoor learning areas to consolidate and extend children’s reading, writing and number skills effectively.
• Adults often demonstrate skill in posing appropriate questions which stimulate children’s thinking and speaking. For example, adults successfully introduced mathematical language to an activity involving water and were effective in extending children’s learning about the capacity of containers. However, adults sometimes restrict children’s independence and creativity by taking too much control of their learning.
• In outdoor learning, tasks often have a purpose which enables children to develop their speaking, listening and social skills. For example, during the inspection, children were enjoying talking and working together on planting seeds. However, indoor activities often lack purpose and do not require children to speak. On these occasions, children are occupied but their learning is not extended.
• Children behave very well and cooperate effectively together in their learning. This is because adults have high expectations of their conduct and have put clear routines in place for children to follow. Where activities are matched appropriately to children’s needs, they are able to demonstrate sustained concentration.
• Parents have opportunities to share information with the school about their child’s development. Their relationships with adults in the setting are strong. Parents receive detailed information before their children start at the school and this supports children in settling well.
• Children are well cared for in the early years and the welfare requirements are met.

School details

Unique reference number 106576 Local authority Barnsley Inspection number 10052871 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 441 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Peter Doyle Headteacher Kate Ainley (acting headteacher) Telephone number 01226289989 Website www.worsbroughcblogs.net/ Email address kateainley@wcpsedu.org Date of previous inspection 23–24 November 2011

Information about this school

• Worsbrough Common Primary School is a larger-than-average-sized primary school. Since the last inspection, it has expanded in size and the number of pupils on the roll has doubled.
• The school has a nursery for children from the age of three. The school’s governing body also manages an on-site day care centre, which is inspected separately.
• The school’s breakfast club is attended by approximately 100 pupils each day.
• The school has a specialist resourced provision which caters for 10 pupils who have language and communication needs.
• At the time of the inspection, the acting headteacher and acting deputy headteacher had been in post for one week. An executive headteacher had been appointed and was due to take up her post in the week following the inspection.
• The school is in the process of joining the Hoyland Common Academy Trust. The trust, the local authority and the Tykes Teaching School are all involved in providing support for the school. This includes support from a national leader of education and a number of specialist leaders of education. The school also has four members of staff who are specialist leaders of education.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is almost double the national average.
• Although 11 different ethnic groups are represented in the school, most pupils are of White British heritage. Very few pupils speak English as an additional language.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND, including those with an education, health and care plan, is above average.
• The proportion of pupils who join and leave the school at times other than usual transition points is just above average.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning across the school in a range of subjects. Many of these observations were carried out jointly with leaders.
• Inspectors evaluated pupils’ work in books, spoke with them about their learning and listened to them read. They observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons, around the school and at play and lunchtimes. Inspectors gathered pupils’ opinions about the school through formal and informal discussions.
• Inspectors met with senior and middle leaders, a group of governors, a local authority representative, a national leader of education and a group of staff.
• Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation, the school’s improvement plans, minutes of governing body meetings, safeguarding documents and monitoring records of the quality of teaching and learning. Inspectors also viewed information relating to pupils’ outcomes, behaviour and attendance.
• Inspectors gathered the views of parents at the start and end of the school day. They also took account of the views of 55 parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire Parent View.

Inspection team

Karine Hendley, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Andrew Soutar Ofsted Inspector Mark Randall Ofsted Inspector