Ferney Lee Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching, across the school, including in the early years, to raise the attainment and progress of all groups of pupils, by: ensuring that work for all ability groups is challenging and allows pupils to reach the highest possible standards, in particular in writing and mathematics giving pupils regular opportunities to practise their basic skills and reinforce them by applying them in a variety of ways across the curriculum ensuring that when teachers check pupils’ work, they use the information to plan learning, to provide pupils with next steps and to advise them on how to improve their work.
• Improve the conduct of pupils and their attitudes to learning by: ensuring that teachers and leaders work closely with pupils and their families to help them understand the importance of everyday attendance at school ensuring that pupils understand the need to present their work neatly and take pride in their learning working with pupils to understand how to manage their feelings and behaviour effectively, to reduce disruption to learning and serious behaviour incidents.
• Improve the quality of leadership and management by: using the information collated on pupils’ progress, attendance and behaviour to inform the actions needed to make the necessary improvements measuring the impact of actions and strategies put in place so that where adjustments are needed, these can be made to ensure that improvements come about providing governors with training so that they understand the information they are given and can appropriately question, challenge and hold leaders to account ensuring that the strategies in place to support groups of pupils, such as disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are having a positive impact on their achievement and behaviour. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and governance may be improved. An external review of the use of the pupil premium funding should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and governance may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Leaders have not always accurately monitored teaching, which means that where some has not been strong, training and support have not been provided to ensure that standards rise quickly. This has meant that pupils’ progress has slowed since the last inspection.
• Leaders collate a lot of information about pupils’ attendance, behaviour and progress. However, it is not always used to identify where there are concerns and, therefore, it does not inform actions to ensure that improvements are made rapidly. Very recently, this has started to change. Concerns are now recognised and actions have started to be put into place. In terms of behaviour, this is already having a positive impact, with far fewer serious incidents now apparent.
• The assessment system ensures that pupils’ attainment and progress at certain times of the year are tracked. However, within the system, the analysis is not always rigorous enough so that support can be provided where there is underachievement.
• Appraisal of teachers is undertaken. However, targets are not always responsive enough to the school’s and the teachers’ needs because the monitoring is not rigorous or accurate enough. Therefore, the appraisal does not support rapid improvements in teaching and pupils’ outcomes.
• The leadership of the provision for those pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is not effective. Not enough is done to ensure that these pupils make strong progress from their starting points. The identification of pupils’ needs is not always clear and this means there is not always enough information on how these pupils’ needs can be met in the classroom and around school.
• Pupil premium funding has not always been used well. Some of the extra support available through the funding is not having a positive impact on disadvantaged pupils’ outcomes.
• A significant amount of the funding the school receives for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and for disadvantaged pupils is spent on a range of support, including therapy work. However, they are not evaluated to identify how this is helping pupils. Where information is available, it is not clear that therapy has successfully supported pupils in terms of their attitudes to learning, their achievement or their ability to manage their own behaviour.
• The school has positive relationships with parents generally, although there are a small minority of parents who have concerns about the behaviour and progress of pupils. On the whole, parents feel their children are safe and happy and believe that staff are approachable and caring. However, the work that leaders have done with parents to promote better attendance has not yet had a positive impact.
• The leadership of behaviour requires improvement because the expectations of pupils’ everyday conduct and attitudes to learning have not been consistently high. As a result, there is a small number of pupils who have regularly been involved in serious incidents and in disrupting learning for others. The very recent changes to the behaviour system and heightened expectations have already resonated strongly with pupils, who have identified some real improvements in behaviour. This includes less disruption to learning.
• The curriculum does not always fully engage pupils, and this has contributed to disruptions in learning and to pupils not completing work to a high standard. This is not always the case, however, and in some classes, the curriculum supports strong progress and attitudes to learning.
• Until very recently, there have not been regular opportunities to develop pupils’ computer and coding skills. Since the start of term, equipment has been put in place to ensure that these skills improve. In addition, across all classes, there is a lack of regular opportunity for pupils to reinforce their writing and mathematics skills, which is slowing the progress of pupils.
• The school has a behaviour system which parents and pupils understand. This records minor disruptions as well as more serious incidents. However, the information gathered is not used well to support pupils to ensure that behaviour improves. This means that disruption can be regular in some classes, as pupils’ comments and records show. A small minority of parents also believe the behaviour systems in school do not support good behaviour. In addition, the system has not fully worked to prevent serious behaviour incidents, and exclusions are much higher than average.
• The opportunities for pupils to understand British values and to enhance their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development require improvement. Pupils learn about other faiths and ways of living, and demonstrate respectful attitudes to and interest in these differences. However, behaviour records show that despite the work on tolerance and respect, pupils do not always respect the school rules, or others in school, and as a result, this leads to some disruption to learning and at social times.
• The additional funding for sports has improved the opportunities that pupils have had to play a wider variety of sports during and after school, as well as in physical education (PE) lessons. These opportunities have further increased very recently with funding being used to pay for more equipment for pupils to use at playtime.
• Recently the local authority has worked with the school to appoint a new interim headteacher, who has made some significant changes and improvements in a relatively short space of time. Over the past 12 months, the local authority has made an accurate assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the school, and how improvements could be made.

Governance of the school

• Until recently, the governors have had an overgenerous view of the school and have not been robust enough in their challenge of leaders and of the information they receive. This is because they have not been properly trained to understand assessment information. Recent new appointments to the governing body have ensured that governors are now more aware of their training needs and how this will enhance their support for school leaders.
• The use of the pupil premium funding has not been rigorously checked by governors to ensure that it has had a positive impact. This has contributed to the funding not having a positive impact.
• Governors now understand the link between the pay progression of staff and the outcomes of pupils. However, this has not always been the case and pay progression has been recommended despite pupils’ outcomes which were not consistently strong.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The school has all the necessary policies in place to ensure that there are workable systems and procedures in place to keep pupils safe. These policies are regularly checked and updated. In addition, staff are regularly trained in all the necessary areas to ensure that they know how to keep pupils safe. Governors and other leaders also thoroughly check the broad range of information for employees to maintain safe practices in the school.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teaching, learning and assessment are not consistently good. This is seen in both key stages 1 and 2, where pupils do not always make strong progress in mathematics and writing.
• Where teaching is not good enough, it lacks challenge and teachers do not consistently have high enough expectations of what the pupils can do. Pupils do not have enough opportunities to work at the highest standards. As a result, attainment is below what is expected for many pupils.
• Teachers do not regularly assess what pupils can do in lessons. For example, questioning is not always strong enough to draw out what pupils do and do not fully understand. This lack of incisive checking means that teachers can plan activities which do not always closely meet the needs of pupils. This often leads to pupils working at a slow pace and not learning rapidly.
• Teachers do assess and check pupils’ books often and they provide pupils with feedback each time they do this. However, at times the information from these checks on work in books is not used by teachers to plan the next steps for the various groups. Again, this can lead to learning which lacks challenge and pace.
• The support from teaching assistants is variable. At times, these adults work with pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities or who are underachieving. There is some strong practice, which helps pupils to improve their learning and attitudes. Where this is the case, questioning is strong and teaching assistants elicit much information from pupils, helping the pupils to move their learning on rapidly. However, this is not always the case and there is practice where additional adults do not have a positive impact on pupils’ learning and this means that these pupils do not make good progress.
• Phonics is not always taught well and this inhibits some pupils’ progress in securing their phonics knowledge quickly, meaning that a lower than average proportion of pupils have secure phonics knowledge by the time they reach key stage 2.
• Where teaching is stronger, work is challenging and, as well as supporting rapid improvements and progress, pupils also behave very well. Pupils develop increasingly independent learning behaviours, working well in groups, with adults and on their own. Where this is the case, pupils are keen to try very challenging work provided by teachers. This can mean that pupils sometimes get things wrong but, due to strong verbal and written feedback, they understand how to correct and improve their work.
• Reading is a consistent strength of the school. Pupils of all ages and abilities demonstrate a real enthusiasm for reading and are given many opportunities to read widely and often, so that they know different authors and read increasingly challenging texts. In addition, teachers support pupils’ understanding of key reading skills, such as inference and deduction, so that pupils can gain much from their varied reading material and improve their capacity to read on their own.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.
• A minority of pupils are regularly poorly behaved and the school does not work successfully to ensure that their behaviour improves, so that they can be fully engaged in learning. The lack of improvement has also led to some pupils being repeatedly excluded for more serious behaviour incidents. This prevents them from being fully included in school life.
• The repeated poor behaviour on a minor level and the more serious behaviour can make other pupils feel upset that their learning is disrupted and, very occasionally, they can feel unsafe. Pupils report that very recently there have been visible improvements to behaviour in class and around school, about which they are very happy.
• Although there have been few opportunities to develop their technological skills, pupils do understand how to use the internet safely and know what to do if they are worried when using the internet.
• Bullying is rare and pupils report that when it does happen they know whom to tell and that adults deal with it effectively, so that it does not happen again.
• Parents believe their children are happy and safe in school. They also believe that adults are approachable and that they can tell them any concerns they may have and feel these are dealt with well.
• Pupils enjoy the school dinners and many choose them at lunchtime because they are tasty. The pupils say that the dinners are healthy and understand that this is important to maintain good health and fitness. They also understand that regular exercise is important and report that they have lots of chances to exercise at school at playtime, in PE lessons and in after-school clubs.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement due to weaknesses in pupils’ attitudes to learning, behaviour in lessons and higher than average absence rates.
• Pupils’ attendance is below average and not improving over time.
• Behaviour records show that pupils do not always conduct themselves well. This is apparent from the school’s behaviour records and the comments from pupils. Records also show that a small minority of pupils find it difficult to manage their behaviour and are regularly disruptive. This can lead to pupils being involved in more serious incidents.
• In learning, pupils can be well engaged. However, this is not consistently the case. At times, pupils can be off-task. In addition, when they receive feedback from teachers about how to improve their work, they do not always respond, meaning that learning opportunities have been lost, and this slows their progress. Where this is the case, it is because the curriculum and learning tasks are not engaging pupils’ interest or meeting their learning needs closely.
• Where behaviour is not good enough, teachers use the behaviour system to sanction the pupils. However, they do not work effectively to prevent restless or disengaged behaviour from occurring again, as records show.
• Pupils do not always show enough pride in their learning. Pupils do not do their best to present work neatly and often leave work incomplete, which is then not challenged by teachers.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Pupils do not consistently make good progress from their starting points. This is the case in both key stages 1 and 2 and for groups of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Because of slow progress, few pupils reach the expected standard for their age in writing and mathematics. In addition, very few pupils, including the most able pupils, reach a greater depth of learning in writing and mathematics. Outcomes in reading are stronger and progress is good in this area for most groups.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make slower progress in reading than pupils who have the same starting points. Additional support is not well enough focused to enable them to make more rapid progress across all subjects.
• The progress for the most able pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, is not always strong enough. This is because in some classes these pupils are not given work that challenges them and which allows them access to the highest levels of writing and mathematics. In reading, the most able pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, make stronger progress and do well across the school.
• When disadvantaged pupils move on to their next stage of learning, they are not always fully prepared because, like others in school, they do not make strong progress. This means that the funding the school receives for these pupils is not spent well, and where intervention is provided this is not always having a good impact on these pupils’ outcomes.
• The inconsistent quality of teaching in phonics means that phonics outcomes are not strong. In addition, it means that pupils in Year 2 are not always ready to spell and use more complex words as they move into key stage 2. In turn, this inhibits the standards that the different groups of pupils can reach in writing, because not enough writing is accurate.
• Pupils’ progress and attainment are tracked each half term and this can lead to some extra support being given to groups of pupils where necessary. However, where the support does not have a strong impact, teachers and leaders do not check this or make the necessary adjustments to improve the provision. This means that the differences between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils nationally have not diminished.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• On the whole, children arrive in Nursery and Reception with levels of development which are generally below what is expected for their age. From their starting points, children in the early years do not make good progress and therefore their lower levels of development persist into key stage 1.
• Teaching in Nursery is not strong enough and children’s needs are not always met closely enough. Assessment information is gathered but not used to plan activities which ensure that where there are gaps in development, these are filled.
• Teaching in Reception is much stronger and this helps children to make faster progress and to close some of the gaps in their learning. In Reception, adults closely consider assessment information which is accurately gathered from regular observations of what the children can and cannot do. It also comes from strong relationships with parents, who are encouraged to comment on their child’s development observed at home.
• In Reception, assessment information is used well to inform planning, and the learning environment in Reception is well set up to provide children with varied opportunities to develop their skills, including their reading, writing, number work, personal, social and emotional development, as well as their fine and gross motor skills. These opportunities support good progress in the children’s development.
• In Nursery, however, the setting is not as purposeful or responsive to children’s needs and the routines for children are not as strongly established. This means that children are not always positively engaged in learning.
• In Nursery, opportunities are missed to develop children’s language skills, which are particularly low on entry. This is not the case in Reception, where adults regularly question children and sit with them during snack time to encourage them to speak. This also supports children in developing their listening skills and encourages them to take turns when speaking.
• Routines in Reception are good and well established. Children understand that there are high expectations of them and respond positively. This means that children are well behaved and demonstrate strong attitudes to learning. They are keen to challenge themselves and try new activities.
• Children are safe in the early years and trust the adults. There are positive relationships between adults and children in both Nursery and Reception, and this means that when children get upset they go to adults for support.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 107478 Calderdale 10024044 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 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 202 Appropriate authority Chair Interim Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Local authority Rev. John Flood Jonathan Moss 01706 812412 www.ferneylee.calderdale.sch.uk admin@ferneylee.calderdale.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 19–20 March 2013

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• This is a smaller than average-sized primary school.
• The majority of pupils are White British.
• A higher than average proportion of pupils is disadvantaged.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above average.
• Children enter the school in Nursery on a part-time basis and move into Reception on a full-time basis.
• The school is organised into four single-year classes and four mixed-year classes.
• 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.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in a range of lessons and in books.
• Inspectors observed and spoke with pupils during lessons, at breaktime and at lunchtime. They also met formally with groups of pupils from Year 1 to Year 6.
• Inspectors heard pupils from Year 2 and Year 6 read.
• Meetings were held with senior and middle leaders. Meetings also took place with members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.
• Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at pupils’ work and a range of documents, including the school’s arrangements for safeguarding, performance management procedures and pupils’ attendance data. Inspectors also looked at information about pupils’ progress and attainment.
• Inspectors considered 18 parental responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire (Parent View). They also spoke with parents as they brought their children to school during the inspection.

Inspection team

Fiona McNally, lead inspector Janet Keefe Chris Cook

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector