Oyster Park Primary Academy Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes to good or better by ensuring that:
  • the current level of teachers’ expectations of pupils in Years 5 and 6 is consistently replicated in all other year groups
  • the pace of learning increases in lessons to ensure that pupils do not become restless or inattentive
  • higher-ability pupils are fully challenged in lessons
  • pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities have work set at the right level and all the support they need, especially in full-class sessions
  • assessments in Nursery and Reception are accurate and that all activities develop learning well.
• Improve leadership and management at all levels by ensuring that intentions in current development planning fully materialise by:
  • incorporating easily monitored quantitative targets for the attainment and progress of all groups of pupils
  • rigorously monitoring the plans for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities to ensure that they make the progress that they should
  • ensuring that pupil premium funding is used to sufficiently further diminish and eventually eliminate the difference between the performance of disadvantaged pupils and others nationally from similar starting points
  • fully following the plans for history, geography and science which can be found on the school website.
• Improve the provision for pupils’ welfare by:
  • taking more robust action to improve attendance so pupils can better benefit from their education
  • fully eliminating all remaining concerns about behaviour and bullying.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Since the academy opened in 2014, school leaders and trust executives have been too slow to tackle underperformance effectively. Intended improvements have often not materialised due to the many staffing changes at senior level.
• Until recently, pupils’ underachievement and weak teaching have not been tackled with sufficient vigour and so pupils have not been making the progress they should. Attainment, especially in English and mathematics, is too low.
• The legacy of previous underachievement still prevails and so pupils in Years 5 and 6 are trying to make up for lost ground before they transfer to secondary school.
• The organisation of programmes for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities has previously been ineffective and the spending of pupil premium funding has not been sufficiently well focused on the disadvantaged pupils for whom it is intended.
• Actions taken to improve pupils’ attendance have not been sufficiently effective and so levels of absence are still much too high.
• Improvement planning documents have not had a high enough profile in the daily operation of the school. Intended improvements in teaching and pupils’ progress have not been monitored and evaluated with sufficient rigour.
• Nevertheless, much has been achieved in the period since March 2017 when the acting headteacher and her senior team took charge of the school. They have had valuable advice from trust executives and advisers and have acted upon it.
• There has been a realistic analysis of the school’s strong features and weaknesses and an action plan created to address all areas of the school’s work that need to improve.
• Actions taken have been swift and effective. For example, the amount of poor conduct of pupils which affected learning has been substantially reduced. Parents and pupils now fully understand that there is no place for poor conduct anywhere in the school. As a consequence, the school is calm and orderly. Classrooms are now places where pupils can increasingly learn without distraction.
• The management of teaching is also much better, although there is still much to do. A recent emphasis on ensuring that pupils in Year 5 and 6 have every opportunity to learn at pace and make up for lost ground has been successful.
• Under the new leadership team, staff morale has risen. Teachers and their assistants are increasingly confident that they are becoming more effective; they see the improvements in the school having a vast impact on the quality of their work and the progress that pupils make.
• The leadership of programmes for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is now strong and effective. This group of pupils is beginning to make more progress with reading, writing and mathematics because there is more specific emphasis on their needs. There is still further scope for the improvement of provision for these pupils in full-class lessons, but many of the small teaching groups are increasingly effective.
• Leaders are now making better use of pupil premium funding as they provide extra tuition for disadvantaged pupils who have fallen behind expectations for their ages. The large difference in performance between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils nationally with similar starting points is reducing as attainment of all groups of pupils in the school starts to rise.
• Senior members of staff have provided middle leaders with sufficient time to monitor the quality of provision in their subjects. This group is taking an ever more strategic and effective role in driving school improvement as they monitor books and lessons in their subjects.
• Newly qualified teachers are enthusiastic about the quantity and quality of support they receive from senior leaders and their colleagues. They enjoy teaching in the school and take every opportunity to improve their classroom skills. Typical of the very positive questionnaire comments made by members of staff was, ‘I feel that over the past year the school has made substantial progress. I feel valued for the work I have done.’
• Performance management procedures are robust and firmly linked to required teaching standards. Any pay rises are closely linked to the progress that pupils make.
• The curriculum is ensuring that more pupils make typical progress in English and mathematics but there is still work to do in the development of other subjects such as science, art, geography and history. These do not fully match the descriptions on the school website in relation to the topics to be covered in each year group.
• The school’s work to develop pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is strong. Pupils benefit from a wide variety of extra-curricular activities after school and at lunchtime because school uses its sport funding well to provide many physical activities. These sessions are effective in developing pupils’ confidence and enabling them to try new activities such as rugby with Elite Kids Coaching, cheerleading and learning to play a musical instrument.
• The school runs a very well-organised and successful breakfast club, which is a tremendous help to many families who start work early. The staff provide pupils with many activities such as dance, play with construction kits, chess and drumming before settling them well for the start of the school day.
• Pupils themselves are keen to explain how much the school has recently improved. Almost all of them say they would recommend it to others.

Governance of the school

• Governors are becoming more effective as they now have a realistic view of how the school is doing compared with others catering for the same age range.
• They know what the school does well and what it has to do to improve. They have supported leaders in taking appropriate action to address historic weaknesses and have ensured that the school has increased stability.
• Governors support and challenge the work of leaders well, holding them to account and probing weaknesses when necessary.
• They ensure that statutory safeguarding requirements are met.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective because there are clear systems in place which members of staff follow consistently.
• The site is secure and there is plenty of adult supervision throughout the school day. Pupils say that they feel safe in school and that there is always an adult on hand to support them.
• Effective checking of the identities of all adults who work with or have access to children is firmly embedded into the daily life of the school. Records relating to the full checking of everyone working in the school meet all requirements.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Since the school became an academy, teaching has not been good enough to enable all groups of pupils to make the progress they should.
• Although improving, teaching is still not consistently good. It is rarely outstanding, sometimes good and sometimes requiring improvement. In some lessons provided for the younger pupils, the pace of learning is rather slow, causing them to lose concentration. Expectations of pupils’ presentation of work are sometimes not high enough.
• The teaching of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is still not good enough to enable them to progress well. Too often these pupils are expected to produce similar work to that of other pupils in full-class lessons when they actually need to begin from lower starting points.
• From the opening of the academy to the recent past, the teaching of the school’s disadvantaged pupils has not enabled them to move closer to the national progress levels for other pupils having the same starting points. This is because assessments did not accurately identify the steps that teachers and their assistants needed to take to accelerate their progress in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Provision for the school’s most-able pupils does not enable them to reach the highest standards across the curriculum. This is particularly true in subjects such as science, geography and history, where they are frequently just expected to produce the same quality of work as other pupils.
• Nevertheless, teaching is improving in response to consistent and rigorous monitoring by senior and middle managers. Leaders have made pupils in Years 5 and 6 into priority groups because they are relatively close to transfer to secondary education and require the skills to be successful learners in Year 7.
• In these two year groups, teaching has improved substantially and is now good. It is focused on ensuring that as many pupils as possible overcome the legacy of previous underachievement and progress well towards national age-related expectations in English and mathematics. Teaching in other year groups is more variable and not of consistently good quality.
• Teachers have good relationships with pupils and use their good subject knowledge to plan interesting lessons for them in all year groups from Nursery to Year 6. They, together with their classroom assistants, manage pupils well and create a climate for learning which increasingly enables them to learn without distraction. Occasionally, however, pupils become bored and restless when explanations and presentations are insufficiently compelling.
• Effective teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds they make) means that pupils develop their reading quite quickly. Lessons are relatively short and conducted with enthusiasm, clarity of pronunciation and pace. Pupils respond well to this approach.
• Leaders have introduced a very good assessment system which accurately charts pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics. This system now identifies pupils who are falling behind and those who require extra support. Small-group teaching and bespoke programmes are now beginning to ensure that more pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, lower-ability pupils and those who are disadvantaged have the help they need.
• Teachers and their assistants check learning and understanding well through perceptive questioning of pupils. Pupils have regular feedback on their work when they are in class because teachers know who is doing well and who needs extra support. The relatively new marking policy is taking time to embed fully into the daily operation of the school. Some teachers use it well but others leave quite large numbers of key spellings and grammar errors unchecked.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.
• Intended developments in provision for pupils’ personal development and welfare have been too slow to materialise. Consequently up until the quite recent past many pupils and parents had substantial concerns about poor conduct, bullying and safety.
• Recent actions by senior leaders have vastly improved matters. Pupils now benefit from much more personal support and guidance than previously. For example, pupils who are disadvantaged and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are beginning to receive the help that they need to overcome barriers to learning. The school is now much more effective in employing the help and advice of outside professionals to meet the needs of pupils who face the greatest challenges to their personal development and learning.
• The recently introduced and effective programme of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, firmly embedded into the daily life of the school, is beginning to change its ethos. It is providing a strong message of right and wrong, what is acceptable and what is not, and enables pupils to develop positive personal skills and attributes much more quickly than previously.
• Very effective use of primary sport funding provides pupils with a wide variety of activities designed to develop their physical wellbeing. The introduction of lunchtime clubs affords pupils the opportunity to work and play with professionals who really care about them and want to see them succeed in life.
• Current pupils in Year 6 are much better prepared for secondary school than the previous two cohorts because, although still below expectations for their age, their competence in reading, writing and mathematics is much further developed.
• Pupils and parents recognise the improvements that leaders have recently made. They appreciate the increasing amount of support they now receive. Pupils say that the school is a much better place than previously and that there is always an adult on hand to turn to for advice when it is needed.
• Good levels of supervision at all times and an enclosed site mean that pupils feel safe. They say that bullying in all of its forms does still happen but that it is substantially reduced in comparison with its frequency a year ago. The school’s own records confirm this view.
• Pupils confirm that the school takes very effective steps to prepare them to cope with all potential threats to their welfare. For example, they learn how to keep themselves safe when using the internet or crossing roads and why it is unwise to talk to strangers, especially if they are offered sweets. They also learn how to keep themselves safe at home through researching actions which can lead to dangers of all types, from drugs and alcohol to tripping over items left on the stairs.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• Despite the recent effective actions taken by leaders, there are still pockets of misbehaviour, minority concerns about bullying and some restlessness and inattention in class.
• Although reducing as pupils fully understand what the school will tolerate and what it will not, exclusions for poor conduct are rather high. This has much to do with the fact that the recently appointed leaders have effectively tackled poor behaviour. They have taken a strong line on conduct to enable pupils to learn in an increasingly calm atmosphere now.
• The attendance of pupils is below average and persistent absence is above average. This is a concern because it is affecting pupils’ progress, particularly those who are disadvantaged and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Nevertheless, rates of persistent absence are declining slowly, which is a step in the right direction.
• Pupils are now generally keen to learn and cooperate with the adults who work with them, whether they are in class, moving around the school or socialising and playing at break and lunchtime. They say that they like their teachers and do their best to try to come up to their expectations.
• Pupils take a pride in their appearance and their school where compelling displays of activities chart their many interests, activities and visits. The pupils’ questionnaire shows that the vast majority are happy in school and would recommend it to others.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Pupils’ achievement in 2015 and 2016 was inadequate overall because too few pupils made the progress they should have or reached age-related expectations in reading, writing and mathematics. Year 6 national test results in both years were too low.
• The progress made by disadvantaged pupils was well below that of other pupils nationally with the same starting points. This was because teaching was not good enough and the spending of pupil premium funding did not provide them with sufficient support.
• A similar situation applied to the progress made by pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Their needs were not adequately identified and so they did not receive the support required to enable them to progress well.
• Year 2 teacher assessments in 2016 were also too low because the least able pupils did not make even adequate progress. Year 1 phonics results did improve and began to approach the national average. However, pupils who did not meet the standard in Year 1 mostly also failed to reach it in Year 2.
• Current outcomes across the school are still variable and require improvement overall.
• Nevertheless, an effective emphasis on good teaching in Years 5 and 6 is leading to much better rates of progress and higher attainment.
• Consequently, although still below average, pupils’ attainment in these year groups in reading, writing and mathematics has accelerated recently in response to consistently good teaching. This means that all groups of pupils in these classes are doing better than previously. Disadvantaged pupils are beginning to close on national figures for the progress of other pupils with similar starting points. A new and very effective focus on the needs of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is enabling them to do much better too.
• By Year 6, most pupils are confident to work out the circumference and area of a circle using pi and decimal multiplication methods. They also read and write fairly close to, but below, national expectations of them. Higher-ability pupils could still progress more quickly if teachers and their assistants were to plan more-demanding work for them.
• In other year groups, overall progress is considerably slower. Work is not always routinely completed and there is too much variation in presentation. However, even in these year groups there are more pupils than previously reaching expected standards for their age in reading, writing and mathematics. Their progress in science and other subjects such as geography and history is not good enough yet because it is given too little emphasis.
• There is much further scope for teachers to fully challenge the most-able pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, to enable them to reach the highest standards in all year groups. Too frequently they are only asked to do the same work as less-able pupils.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• In 2015 and 2016, children in Nursery and Reception did not progress well enough because teaching was not consistently good. In both years, a below-average proportion of children reached a good level of development on transfer to Year 1.
• The setting still requires improvement because teaching is not consistently good, assessment is not always accurate, activities do not always extend learning and the behaviour of boys is sometimes not as good as it should be.
• However, as with other year groups, improvements are in hand. Following historic weaknesses and a period of staffing turbulence, planning and stability have now improved. Leaders are clear about what needs to be done and how to do it.
• Some teaching is good, especially in Nursery, where teachers and their assistants provide children with interesting activities to develop their learning. This is especially so in relation to their improvement of language and social skills. Good questioning by staff checks children’s learning and frequently extends it.
• However, children in Nursery, particularly boys, are sometimes too slow to follow instructions. They often lose focus quite quickly and distract others when activities lack challenge. Relationships between staff and children are positive and members of staff soon address any issues that arise.
• There is little disruption in Reception but children often lose concentration and waste time because some activities fail to capture their interest and full attention.
• Teachers provide children with a good overall quality of teaching in phonics. Sessions are conducted at a good pace and fully engage them. Teachers and their assistants have a good grasp of how to teach phonics effectively. They model sounds made by letters and combinations of them well and so children progress quickly as they learn to copy them.
• The inside and outside areas used by Nursery and Reception children are bright, spacious and well presented. They make a clear statement about the importance of education and point clearly to what children are to learn. While children play happily and safely, progress is often not good because some of the activities lack purpose.
• Children enter Nursery with skills and development that are below typical for their ages. More are now reaching a good level of development for their age in Reception but there is still a large difference in progress between disadvantaged children and others having similar starting points.
• Parents have positive views about the early years provision. They say that their children enjoy attending school, are happy and feel safe.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 141144 Wakefield 10031013 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 435 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Acting Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Michael Dixon Jodie Chapman-Kemp 01977 515994 www.oysterpark.co.uk headteacher@oysterpark.co.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• Oyster Park Primary School is much larger than the average-sized primary school.
• The school became an academy in November 2014 and is a member of the Airedale Academies Trust.
• There have been many staff changes since the school became an academy, especially at senior level.
• The acting headteacher was appointed in March 2017.
• Most pupils are White British.
• There are few pupils from minority ethnic groups. Very few speak English as an additional language.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is broadly average.
• An above-average proportion of pupils are supported through pupil premium funding.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress by the end of Year 6.
• There is a breakfast club each morning starting at 8am.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school complies with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors visited 20 lessons, including six jointly with senior leaders. They observed pupils in all classes and year groups being taught at least once and looked at a wide range of written work in English, mathematics, science and other topics.
• They held meetings with the headteacher, governors, the special educational needs coordinator, other members of staff, representatives of the Airedale Academies Trust and groups of pupils.
• Inspectors looked at a wide range of documentation, including the school’s review of its performance, development planning, records of pupils’ progress, safeguarding procedures and employment files.
• The lead inspector listened to several Year 6 pupils reading aloud individually.
• Inspectors also took account of 10 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, 37 responses to the staff questionnaire, 87 responses to the pupil questionnaire and seven free-text messages from parents and carers.

Inspection team

John Paddick, lead inspector Paul Plumridge Susan Twaits

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector