Gomersal St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching and so improve outcomes and behaviour in lessons so they become at least good by:
  • ensuring that teachers stretch the most able by giving them work that challenges them to achieve their best
  • using assessment information more sharply to identify the next steps in pupils’ learning
  • using the pupil premium more effectively so that disadvantaged pupils make faster progress, particularly in mathematics
  • improving teachers’ understanding of how to get the best out of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Improve leadership and management, including governance, so they become good by ensuring that:
  • middle leaders have more of a role to play in leading and managing key aspects of the school
  • governors have a better understanding of how to challenge the school on the achievement of key groups of pupils, such as the most able and disadvantaged
  • the additional funding provided by the pupil premium and funding for special educational needs and/or disabilities have a positive impact on the achievement of those pupils
  • self-evaluation is more accurate and rigorous so that the pace of improvement is faster than it has been over the past three years.
• Improve outcomes for children in the early years by ensuring that assessments are used effectively so that the next steps in children’s learning are clear. An external review of governance 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

• School leaders and governors have been generous in their self-evaluation of the school. This has led to slow improvement over time. The local authority has arranged for support to be largely provided from a cluster of schools. While this arrangement is effective in helping staff share expertise, it has not been rigorous in helping the school to improve quickly or for leaders and governors to be challenged on the accuracy of their self-evaluation.
• The headteacher and deputy headteacher lead all aspects of the school, with the deputy headteacher having a large teaching commitment. This means that the role of middle leadership has not been developed to enable them to lead key aspects of the school, such as the early years.
• As a result of a recent review of the pupil premium, leaders have a growing awareness of how the pupil premium funding can be used to raise achievement for disadvantaged pupils. However, this is not yet having a significant impact on raising standards.
• The additional funding for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is not yet used to its full potential. This area of the school’s work is improving, but new systems for tracking pupils’ progress and documenting their needs have yet to have an impact on raising achievement for these pupils.
• The physical education (PE) and sport premium for primary schools is used effectively to train staff so that this important part of the school’s work can continue when the funding ceases.
• The curriculum has improved so that pupils gain a range of skills across subjects. A good menu of extra-curricular activities, including trips and visits, enhances the curriculum well. A well-planned programme of assemblies with a weekly theme supports pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and prepares them well for life in a modern, multicultural Britain.
• Performance management has become more rigorous as a result of teachers now being held more to account for the progress of pupils. Leaders have devised a good programme of training to help improve teachers’ skills.

Governance of the school

• Governors are now beginning to ask questions about pupils’ progress, but their understanding of achievement data remains limited. This means that the challenge they offer to school leaders is at present limited.
• Too much time is spent in governing body meetings discussing policies and peripheral matters. This is at the expense of discussing the quality of teaching and the achievement of different groups of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and the most able.
• The governing body provides appropriate oversight of safeguarding in the school, ensuring that policies are up to date.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The school complies with all current government guidelines for the safeguarding of pupils. This is checked regularly by governors. All policies are up to date and known by staff.
• Leaders work well with outside agencies to make sure that those pupils who are particularly vulnerable are safe and secure.
• The checks made on staff who are new to post meet requirements.
• All staff, including lunchtime supervisors, receive high-quality training on recognising any potential signs of risk. Staff know what to do should they have any concerns.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teaching varies in quality across the school. This inconsistency in the quality of teaching is a key reason why outcomes at the end of Year 6 are not where they should be.
• Teaching assistants vary in how much support they give pupils. Some support is effective, but at other times, teaching assistants over-support pupils, which prevents pupils from being independent.
• Assessments are regularly made to see what pupils can and cannot yet do. However, this information is not used sharply enough to ensure that the work that is planned for pupils is neither too difficult nor too easy.
• Teachers do not plan sufficiently demanding work for the most able. Too often in lessons, the most able wait for others to catch up or spend time completing simple, low-level tasks. Teachers do not stretch these pupils by asking for fuller, more complete answers that develop their vocabulary and speaking skills.
• Teachers put much effort into giving pupils written feedback in line with the school policy. Pupils respond to the feedback, but this sometimes involves them doing more of the same work that they did previously rather than deepening their skills, knowledge and understanding.
• Teachers’ understanding of how to get the best out of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is improving as a result of recent training they have received. However, much remains to be done to ensure that these pupils make the progress of which they are capable.
• In some classes, pupils make faster progress because assessment information is used sharply to plan challenging work for pupils. In these classes, behaviour is often exemplary as pupils apply themselves enthusiastically to their work. Teaching across the school is beginning to improve as this good practice is shared more widely across the school.

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 have a good understanding of different faiths and cultures. In one lesson, pupils spoke knowledgeably about the Koran. Pupils spoke to an inspector about how they had learned about the lives of refugees.
• Pupils have a particularly good understanding of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues for their age and are able to discuss such topics sensibly and thoughtfully.
• Pupils feel safe and secure in school. Some said that they had experienced bullying, but that it had been ‘nipped in the bud’ quickly so that it did not recur.
• Pupils are well aware of how to stay safe when using the internet and their mobile phones.
• The Christian ethos is promoted well in the school and understood by all pupils. Pupils take part in a ‘worship committee’, which includes members of the public and staff. They plan liturgical activities in school and raise funds for charity.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• In too many lessons, pupils do not concentrate well or apply themselves well to their work. This is because the work in lessons does not stimulate or interest them. Pupils are slow to respond to teachers’ requests, which sometimes results in teachers shouting in class.
• This is not the case in all lessons. Where the pace of lessons is swift and where pupils are challenged, they enjoy their work and consequently, their behaviour is exemplary.
• Around the school, pupils wear their uniform proudly; they behave sensibly in the corridors and outside. Pupils are polite to each other and to adults. At lunchtime, pupils show good table manners.
• Attendance is broadly average for different groups of pupils. Pupils are punctual to school in the morning.
• Most parents who responded to the online questionnaire (Parent View) said that they were happy with behaviour in the school.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Since the last inspection, standards fell sharply as staff struggled with the transition from a first school to a full primary school and the related demands of key stage 2. Between 2013 and 2015 therefore, pupils’ progress was in the lowest 9% nationally. In 2016, pupils in Year 6 made faster rates of progress in reading and writing but not in mathematics.
• For pupils currently in Year 6, there are further signs of improvement in all subjects, including mathematics. However, the inconsistency in the quality of teaching over time means that any recent improvements have not been sufficient to ensure that pupils have made good progress over time.
• The proportion of pupils who reach the required national standard in the phonics screening check at the end of Year 1 has risen sharply as a result of better teaching of phonics. However, because of inconsistencies in teaching, this has not resulted in significantly improved reading test results at the end of Year 2.
• The progress that pupils make in writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 1 is below that of pupils nationally with the same starting points at the end of Reception.
• The most able do not make the progress of which they are capable. Their spelling and use of punctuation and grammar are not as strong as they should be because teaching over time has not developed their skills in these areas sufficiently. Similarly, their mathematical skills have not been developed well over time.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities do not make good progress because, over time, their needs have not been analysed well. Some continue to struggle with reading, writing and mathematics. However, there are early signs of these pupils making stronger progress as a result of more rigorous monitoring of their progress and better teaching.
• In 2016, disadvantaged pupils and the most able disadvantaged made weak progress. Comparing their progress with that of others nationally, there are diminishing differences in reading and writing, but not in mathematics.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• Children in the early years do not make good progress. This is as a result of teaching that is inconsistent in quality and also because the systems to assess children’s progress are not strong in moving pupils on quickly.
• Adults working with children are not able to pinpoint children’s next steps in learning. The online assessment system cannot be easily accessed by adults. This means that the assessments that are made have little use in children’s learning. Moreover, parents cannot access the system and so are not fully involved in their children’s learning.
• This weak assessment also means that children’s misconceptions are not addressed promptly, so they remain weaknesses. Consequently, this affects the pace of children’s progress during their time in the early years.
• The Reception and Nursery areas are safe and secure. Staff are aware of where there are potential risks and make routine and regular checks on equipment both indoors and outside.
• Children generally behave well. In Nursery, adults model the behaviours they expect of children, who respond to the high expectations and behave well. In Reception, children’s behaviour is more mixed in quality, because opportunities are missed by adults to model good behaviour such as turn-taking and sharing.
• There is a strong focus on developing children’s independence. They are encouraged to set up equipment themselves and then tidy up afterwards and make their own choices of activity.
• The outdoor areas are used well to develop children’s literacy and numeracy.
• Teachers and adults question children well to ensure that they answer in full sentences, which develops their speaking and listening skills.

School details

Unique reference number 107747 Local authority Kirklees Inspection number 10023895 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 Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 3 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 248 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Justin Waters Headteacher Jane Barker Telephone number 01274 335260 Website www.gomersalstmarys.co.uk Email address office.gomersalstmaryscep@kirkleeseducation.uk Date of previous inspection 19–20 June 2013

Information about this school

• The school does not meet requirements on the publication of information on its website about the use of the pupil premium, the use of the PE and sports premium, governance, and provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• The school meets the government’s floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics.
• An above-average proportion of pupils in the school have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below average.
• At the time of the inspection, the headteacher had been in post for one year.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in all classes and in small groups of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. They observed some lessons jointly with school leaders.
• Inspectors spoke to governors, a representative from the local authority, staff, pupils, parents and senior leaders. Various pupils were heard reading by an inspector.
• Inspectors took account of the 30 responses to the online questionnaire for parents (Parent View) and 10 responses to the staff questionnaire.
• Inspectors scrutinised a variety of documents in school, including school development plans, attendance information and information relating to pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Inspection team

Robert Jones, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Julia Wright Ofsted Inspector Gillian Wiles Ofsted Inspector Kate Rowley Her Majesty’s Inspector