Eastburn Junior and Infant School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Enable pupils to reach higher standards in writing by ensuring that: lessons build on the skills that pupils need to learn there is a consistent approach to the correcting of pupils’ spelling pupils’ written work is tidy and well presented younger pupils form their letters correctly when handwriting.
• Improve the quality of provision in the early years by: raising teachers’ expectations planning suitable activities which challenge children’s thinking providing purposeful tasks to develop the skills that children need to learn using the outside provision to develop all areas of children’s learning.
• Strengthen leadership and management by: developing the skills and expertise of subject leaders so that they can take effective action to improve provision and outcomes in their areas of responsibility ensuring that the progress of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is measured accurately and rigorously monitored so that these pupils make good progress.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• The appointment of the executive headteacher, ably supported by the head of school, has already had a positive impact. Together, they have instilled a sense of urgency in improving outcomes for pupils, setting high expectations for the quality of teaching and conveying a clear vision for the school.
• They have accurately identified the strengths and weaknesses of the school and have quickly set about the task of ensuring that the quality of teaching is consistently good. The school’s development plan provides a clear path of action. However, the recent management of budget constraints has impeded their ability to make all the necessary changes to bring about rapid improvement, particularly in the teaching of writing.
• Support for those pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities has been focused on providing pastoral care. Insufficient attention has been given to evaluating the impact of support on pupils’ progress. As a result, these pupils do not make good progress from their starting points.
• New subject leaders are bringing a sense of energy to the school with ideas for improvement. A lack of experience means that their enthusiasm does not always result in effective action because they do not yet have a clear view of the impact of changes they have introduced to improve the quality of teaching.
• The new leadership has brought in a sharp focus on the management of teacher performance. Targets are securely linked to pupils’ progress and attainment. Some support for weaker teaching is making a positive difference. In other cases, teachers have struggled to meet higher expectations. Improvements have not been fast enough to ensure that pupils are getting the high-quality teaching they deserve.
• The school provides before- and after-school care to a number of pupils. While this is a convenient facility for parents, the environment and activities provided for these pupils at the start and end of the day lack stimulation and interest. Senior leaders and governors have recognised this and have plans for improvement.
• Leaders have devised a clear strategy for the use of the pupil premium funding to provide support for disadvantaged pupils, some of whom have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Senior leaders regularly monitor how well these pupils are doing to ensure that these groups of pupils catch up.
• The new executive headteacher has quickly gained the confidence of parents, many of whom recognise that changes needed to be made. Parents have a positive view of the school’s leadership and management as well as its caring ethos.
• The school’s curriculum provides enjoyment and enrichment. Pupils have particularly enjoyed some of the history topics. They talk about visits, for example to Cliffe Castle, and the archaeologist who brought in a replica of a Roman helmet. This helped bring the subject to life and secure pupils’ understanding of this historical period.
• Classrooms are well organised and provide an attractive environment for pupils to work. Displays are used effectively to provide a good learning resource for pupils during lessons.
• The senior leadership team have had a sharp focus on improving pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to learning. As a result, behaviour is managed well by nearly all teachers. Pupils’ attitudes to learning are improving as they develop an understanding of how to be effective learners and persevere when necessary. As one pupil stated, ‘I didn’t really realise the importance of my education until now.’ A small minority of pupils have challenging behaviour; they are generally well supported through the school’s nurture unit.
• Primary school sports funding is used well to improve the skills of teachers to deliver good-quality physical education lessons. The use of coaches to provide specialist support has raised the profile of sport and healthy lifestyles. Pupils are keen to compete in cross country, cricket and football.
• Assemblies and lessons help develop the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils. Pupils welcome others who come to school from other countries and whose culture is different to their own. Pupils with little or no spoken English settle quickly and adapt well in school because of the support they receive.
• Pupils’ understanding of British values of tolerance and mutual respect was clearly demonstrated in the presence of the lead inspector. Pupils hotly debated the plight of Mexicans in America who face deportation and the situation in Syria. Pupils could make links between the similarities of these situations with the persecution of the Jews in the second world war, something they had learned in their history lessons.

Governance of the school

• The governors’ adoption of a new leadership model with an executive headteacher and head of school has been beneficial in bringing an urgent focus on school improvement.
• Some governors are new to post, with high levels of expertise and ‘fresh eyes’ to evaluate the effectiveness of the school. Their monitoring is focused on specific areas of the school’s plans for improvement and they are not afraid to challenge senior leaders when identifying improvements that need to be made.
• They have recently had to manage a whole-staff restructure and budget constraints. This has distracted them from accelerating the speed of some of the necessary improvements to the quality of teaching so that all teachers are as good as the best in the school.
• Governors are well informed because they are provided with high-quality information from senior leaders about pupil achievement and they monitor the school’s work through their visits. They scrutinise the use of pupil premium funding to ensure that disadvantaged pupils achieve well. They have been less robust about ensuring that those pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress.
• Governors understand that the progress that pupils make should be the main driver when awarding pay increases and have ensured that this is the case. They have challenged underperformance where teaching has not been good enough. They are providing support where it is required to ensure that the quality of teaching is good throughout the school.
• Governors are fully conversant with their statutory duties for safeguarding, ensuring that staff are recruited with careful consideration.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The monitoring of pupils’ behaviour is comprehensive and thoroughly analysed. This has resulted in a reduction of poor behaviour and the successful reintegration of pupils from the school’s nurture unit.
• The school follows correct procedures to ensure that pupils are safe. Appropriate action is taken when necessary, and staff refer to and communicate with outside agencies and concerns are followed up.
• Teachers are aware of the school’s procedures for safeguarding. The school’s website includes guidance on safeguarding but it is in three different documents and not easily accessible for parents.
• All members of staff are checked for their suitability to work with children before they are recruited. A record of these checks is maintained in accordance with regulations.
• Pupils say that they feel safe and talked to inspectors about the adults they would turn to if they were worried. The school carries out a range of risk assessments to keep pupils and staff safe.
• Rates of attendance are good. The school has taken effective actions to improve the attendance and reduce persistent absence of some vulnerable pupils.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teaching across the school is inconsistent. The school’s response to improving the teaching of writing has lacked cohesion. Teachers’ expectations of spelling, handwriting and presentation vary and this is reflected in pupils’ work. This means that progress in different classes is variable.
• There is no whole-school approach to the teaching of handwriting. Younger pupils sometimes form their letters incorrectly and this is not always addressed by teachers. The books of older pupils show that by the time they reach the top of the school many pupils have developed their own legible style of handwriting.
• The teaching of writing is in the process of being reviewed but lessons are not planned to provide a clear sequence of learning. This makes it difficult for pupils to build on skills they have learned and improve the quality of their writing.
• Teachers often expect pupils to complete short exercises to practise a skill. It is only recently that pupils have had good opportunities to apply these skills in lengthier pieces of writing in English lessons as well as in other subjects.
• The teaching of mathematics is good and pupils make good progress because work is pitched at the right level. Pupils have good opportunities for further extension by selecting ‘chilli challenges’ and in lessons they are keen to do this by applying their mathematical understanding to tackling word problems.
• The needs of higher-ability pupils are well met in reading and mathematics. The teaching of writing to this group of pupils is improving as more is expected from pupils in terms of the quality and quantity of their work.
• The needs of pupils who have high levels of special educational needs and/or disabilities are generally well met through the nurture unit and the deployment of teaching assistants. Pupils who have social and emotional needs are effectively managed by staff. However, too little attention has been focused on the progress these pupils make in lessons when compared to other pupils. Provision for this group is not consistent in every class and so their progress overall is too slow. Teachers give pupils good opportunities to look back at mistakes they have made or improve their work. Pupils’ books showed that when they did this it helped them gain a secure understanding and they made good progress.
• The teaching of phonics is effective in ensuring that pupils have grasped basic letters and the sounds they represent. Pupils are moved on quickly to learn more complex letter combinations and this means that most pupils make good progress. Some less-able pupils are taught phonics in groups, where work is well structured and engages their interest. Consequently these pupils also make good progress in phonics.
• Some curriculum subjects are taught through class topics. The good teaching of geography and history results in pupils’ good understanding of basic geographical and historical concepts. They can present their work in a range of ways, including using graphs, charts and written reports. Pupils have enjoyed a range of scientific topics and have shown that they can record the findings of their experiments. Pupils are given good opportunities to use a range of materials in art. However, there is insufficient coverage of religious education in some classes.

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 say that they feel safe in school. Input through lessons, and visitors to school talking about staying safe, mean that pupils have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe in a variety of situations.
• Pupils have a well-developed awareness of the risks of using the internet and social media. They told the lead inspector about the risks of cyber bullying and what they would do to prevent it. Pupils say that bullying has happened in school before but that staff now deal with it. Pupils have a good understanding of different types of bullying, including bullying related to race and gender, and they understand the impact on victims.
• The school provides good opportunities for pupils to take responsibility in roles such as the school council. They are keen to achieve ‘Powerful learner of the week’ and gain house points to try to win the house cup.
• The school’s ethos promotes effective reflection on faith, culture and personal choices, and assembly themes actively challenge stereotyping. Pupils demonstrate a reflective understanding of British values, which prepares them well for life in modern Britain.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• The school’s expectation that pupils take responsibility for their own learning is starting to have an impact in developing their positive attitudes, sustaining concentration and showing resilience when lessons are more of a challenge.
• Some older pupils were honest in sharing with the lead inspector that behaviour in class is not always good, a view shared by senior leaders. However, pupils feel that changes recently introduced to help them improve their attitudes to learning are starting to make a positive difference.
• Pupils are enthusiastic about many of the subjects they learn, including mathematics and writing. Even so, sometimes they lack pride in their work and do not present it to a high standard.
• Pupils are confident and well mannered. Most pupils listen well to the adults and their peers, and generally show respect for the views of others. They play cooperatively in the playground and move around the school in an orderly way.
• Overall, the attendance of pupils is good. Some pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities have had poor attendance in the past but this is now improving. ..

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• At the end of key stage 2, standards in mathematics and reading are broadly the same as the national average and pupils make similar progress to others nationally with the same starting points. In writing, pupils do not make good progress from their starting points. The teaching of writing has not been consistent and there is no clear school policy or practice on how this should be done.
• At the end of key stage 1, standards in reading, writing and mathematics are broadly in line with the national average. However, not enough pupils achieve greater depth in their learning. This is particularly surprising bearing in mind that they start school in the early years with skills and understanding typical for their age.
• The most-able pupils make good progress and achieve well in reading by the end of both key stages. Achievement for this group in mathematics is good by the time they reach the end of key stage 2. Pupils’ work in books shows that the younger most-able pupils in key stage 1 are also achieving well in mathematics. Achievement in writing, however, is not good.
• The provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities in all parts of the school still lacks proper cohesion and oversight. This is impeding the progress for this group of pupils. Their achievement, particularly in mathematics and writing, is variable and by the end of key stage 2 the progress they have made from their starting points when compared to other pupils is poor.
• Achievement of the disadvantaged pupils reflects the progress made by other pupils. They make progress in line with similar pupils nationally in reading and mathematics but their progress in writing is weaker.
• The number of pupils achieving the expected standard in phonics at the end of year 1 has been broadly in line with the national average for the last three years because the teaching of phonics is securely established in key stage 1.
• Pupils enjoy reading. They understand how the library is used. Younger pupils use their phonics well to decode words and can talk about what they are reading. Older pupils are proficient in using texts to retrieve information and infer what might happen in a series of events. They accurately record their responses in comprehension lessons.
• Pupils achieve well in art, history and geography because the teaching of these subjects is good. Achievement in science is good. Pupils have a broad knowledge of scientific topics and can explain their findings and reasons for them when carrying out experiments. However, discussions with pupils as well as scrutiny of their work in topic books all show pupils have a limited understanding about different religions.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• Children enter the early years at stages typical for their age. Teachers’ expectations of the youngest children are too low and there is a lack of challenge in the activities that children are given to do. As a result, children do not make good progress from their starting points.
• Provision in the early years is not good enough. Pupils have had little or no access to an outside area. This has had an impact on the progress of all pupils, especially boys, who lag behind girls in reading, writing and mathematics.
• A lack of rigour in focusing learning, for example to improve writing, means that children are not doing as well as they could. Opportunities to deepen children’s understanding are not exploited. Consequently, the progress of some of the most able pupils is too slow.
• Although staff know the children well, assessment is not used effectively to plan purposeful activities. Children occupy themselves with a range of things put out for them to do but these do not necessarily develop the skills they need to learn.
• The teaching of phonics to this age group lacks rigour. Children’s mistakes are not picked up, so incorrect spellings are reinforced. Staff do not always correctly pronounce the sounds that letters make, which further impedes pupils’ ability to spell accurately.
• The head of school, who now leads the early years, has put in place support and professional development to improve the quality of teaching and provision for this age group. However, the impact has not been swift enough to provide the youngest children with the high-quality provision to which they are entitled.
• Routines are well established throughout the early years and children’s behaviour is good. They are confident and cooperate well with each other and the adults. They are beginning to understand how to keep safe and healthy.
• The welfare and safety of the youngest children are given the correct priority in the early years. Staff respond to children’s personal needs and health and safety requirements are met. The unit is a safe place for children.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 107274 Bradford 10023867 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 Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Community 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 204 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Executive Headteacher Head of School Telephone number Website Email address Katy Walsh Bryan Harrison Jo Waterhouse 01535 653293

www.eastburn.bradford.sch.uk office@eastburn.bradford.sch.uk

Date of previous inspection 6–7 February 2013

Information about this school

• This is a smaller than average-sized primary school.
• The majority of pupils are White British and speak English as their first language.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium is below average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above average.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of information on its website.

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Information about this inspection

• The inspection was converted from a section 8 short inspection to a section 5 full inspection. On the second day, the lead inspector was joined by a team of two more inspectors.
• The inspectors visited lessons in all classrooms, some accompanied by the executive headteacher and the head of school. In addition, the inspectors observed small groups of pupils being taught.
• The inspectors scrutinised pupils’ work, listened to pupils read and spoke to pupils about their enjoyment of school and their opinions of behaviour and safety.
• The inspectors held discussions with staff and governors.
• Many school documents were considered as part of the evidence. These included the school’s self-evaluation, the school development plan, behaviour and attendance records, governing body documents and documents relating to the monitoring of teachers’ performance.
• Sixty-six parents submitted responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. Parents’ written comments were also considered by the inspection team. Inspectors spoke to several parents in the playground.

Inspection team

Karen Heath, lead inspector Lesley Bowyer James Reid

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector