School report

Hoyland Springwood Primary School

Cloughfields Road, Hoyland, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S74 0ER

Inspection dates Overall effectiveness Achievement of pupils Quality of teaching Behaviour and safety of pupils Leadership and management

910 July 2013 Previous inspection: This inspection: Satisfactory Inadequate Inadequate Inadequate Inadequate Inadequate 3 4 4 4 4 4

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires special measures. Achievement is inadequate and attainment is low, especially in mathematics in Years 3 and 4. Teaching is inadequate. Teachers are not using assessment information effectively enough to plan lessons to challenge all pupils consistently. They do not make clear what success looks like and pupils are unsure what is expected of them. Marking and feedback to pupils is inconsistent and does not help them to improve their work. Poor quality marking in some mathematics books adds to pupils confusion. Behaviour and safety are inadequate because the challenging behaviour of a small number of pupils is not managed well enough to keep all pupils safe. The leadership of teaching is not good enough. School leaders checks on the quality of teaching are not focused sharply enough to secure rapid improvements in pupils learning. Leadership and management are inadequate because senior leaders and governors are not taking effective action to ensure that pupils are kept safe. Arrangements for safeguarding do not meet requirements. Leaders do not evaluate the schools work in the depth and detail required. Policies and procedures are not consistently applied to secure good behaviour and safety. Communication with parents and strategies for engaging with them require improvement.

The school has the following strengths Children in the Reception class make good progress developing communication and numeracy skills. Most pupils behave well, try to do their best and cooperate with staff. Opportunities for pupils to develop an appreciation of art and culture are promoted well through interesting activities.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out with a half a days notice in response to two complaints made to Ofsted which raised serious concerns. One complaint was deemed to be a qualifying complaint and Her Majestys Chief Inspector decided that an inspection of the school should take place to follow up the whole-school issues raised. Inspectors sought to establish whether safeguarding arrangements meet requirements, taking account of the effectiveness of child protection arrangements, the behaviour and safety of pupils, and the impact of the actions which the leaders and managers, including the governing body, are taking to ensure that pupils are kept safe. The inspection also focused on the quality of education, including the use of assessment information, and the effectiveness of communication with parents. The inspection team observed 10 lessons. Meetings were held with senior leaders, members of the governing body, representatives from the local authority and the headteacher of the partner school who is providing additional support to the school. There was insufficient response from parents to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) to allow inspectors to see the results. Inspectors met with nine parents. A range of information supplied by the school was scrutinised, including the schools own data about how well pupils are doing, planning documents and records relating to checks on the quality of teaching. Inspectors also reviewed records relating to behaviour and attendance as well as safeguarding documents.

Inspection team
Gina White, Lead inspector Mark Williams Her Majestys Inspector Her Majestys Inspector

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Full report
In accordance with the Education Act 2005, Her Majestys Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

Information about this school

Hoyland Springwood is smaller than the average-sized primary school. Almost all pupils are of White British heritage; a few pupils are from other mixed backgrounds. The school includes resourced provision for 10 pupils with complex communication and interaction difficulties including autistic spectrum conditions. This provision is referred to by staff and pupils as, the unit. Just under a third of pupils have additional needs and are supported through school action. The proportion of pupils with statements of special educational needs, and those who are supported at school action plus, are also well above average. Approximately one half of the pupils are entitled to support provided by pupil premium funding and this is well above average. The pupil premium is an additional sum of money provided by the government to support children in the care of the local authority, those known to be eligible for free school meals and the children of military personnel. The number of children who join and leave the school part way through their primary education is much higher than the national average and this has increased over the last three years. The school does not meet the governments current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils attainment and progress. Since the last inspection there have been many changes of teaching staff. During this inspection three of the five mixed-age classes were taught by temporary teachers.

What does the school need to do to improve further?

Improve the quality of teaching to at least good so that pupils make good or better progress in lessons and over time and attainment rises, by ensuring that: teachers plan lessons to meet pupils needs, make clear the purpose of lessons, and use success criteria consistently, so that pupils know what is expected of them and how well they have achieved marking and feedback to pupils is regular, identifies the next steps pupils need to take to improve their work and always identifies any misconceptions pupils have, especially in mathematics. Increase the effectiveness of leadership and governance to accelerate the rate at which the school improves and to ensure that the schools work is evaluated in the depth and detail required, by: ensuring that checks on the quality of teaching are sharply focused on the impact teaching has on improving pupils learning and identifying specific points to help teachers increase pupils progress in lessons making sure that leaders follow up on the points for improvement and show how these are being tackled. Leaders and governors must take immediate action to ensure pupils safety and improve communication with parents, by:

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ensuring that the schools policies for child protection, behaviour and the use of physical restraint are accurately and consistently implemented, that details of incidents are fully recorded, actions are followed up and any resolution is clearly documented ensuring that leaders more regularly and systematically analyse the schools records of incidents and take account of pupils and parents views and concerns when reviewing policies in order continually to improve the impact they have on promoting good behaviour and securing the safety of all children ensuring that parents are always informed when physical restraint has been used and if their children have been injured as a result of behavioural incidents seeking every opportunity to inform and enable parents to participate with the school in their childrens learning.

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Inspection judgements
The achievement of pupils is inadequate

Learning in the lessons observed and teaching over time is not strong enough to secure adequate progress for all pupils. The schools assessment information shows that pupils make uneven progress across the school in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils are not being prepared adequately for the next stage in their education. Fewer than half of Year 6 pupils attained Level 4, the level expected for their age, in English and mathematics in 2012 and the schools data show that only just over half of current Year 6 pupils are reaching this standard. In Key Stage 2, the pace of learning was slow in lessons observed during the inspection. Pupils in Years 3 and 4 are making inadequate progress, particularly in mathematics. Their understanding of calculation strategies and place value is insecure. The school is not tracking sufficiently the impact of the additional support provided to underachieving pupils, which is not always effective. For example, support provided to Year 6 pupils resulted in lower attainment than expected. In 2012, the overall learning and progress of pupils with special educational needs required improvement. Although the schools own data indicate that pupils with special educational needs, who are currently in Key Stages 1 and 2, are making much more rapid progress, work in books and assessment records sampled during the inspection do not fully endorse this view. In 2012 pupils at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 who were known to be eligible for free school meals, did not achieve as well as their peers in reading, writing and mathematics, although the gap in their average point scores narrowed compared to 2011. Children in the Reception class make good progress from their starting points but do not reach the levels expected for their age. In the lesson observed, and in the sample of childrens work inspectors looked at, a consistent approach to developing all childrens communication skills promoted their early reading, writing and numeracy skills. Pupils in Year 1 are making steady progress to learn letters and sounds and are better prepared for tests than was previously the case. Pupils, particularly in Key Stage 1, are responding well to a range of measures to encourage them to read. They are interested in books and read regularly. The best readers told inspectors that they are proud to receive stickers as they progress through the reading scheme.

The quality of teaching

is inadequate

There is not enough good teaching across the school, and particularly in Key Stage 2, to eradicate previous underachievement. While the great majority of teaching observed during the inspection required improvement, teaching of this quality is not strong enough to close the gaps in pupils learning, particularly in mathematics. The impact of teaching over time is therefore inadequate. Teachers do not use success criteria consistently when planning lessons so pupils are not always clear about what they are expected to learn or how well they have achieved. During lessons some teachers miss opportunities to check pupils learning to ensure that what is being taught is understood fully. As a result, activities are rarely amended in lessons to ensure that all pupils are challenged and make swifter progress. There is some good teaching in the school. During the inspection a class comprising receptionaged children and Year 1 pupils made good progress in identifying what makes a good friend. Good questioning and prompting by the teacher enabled all pupils in the class to say clear sentences or to suggest questions which demonstrated their understanding well. For example, when the teacher asked how one could show friendship, a boy responded, Mate, do you want to play with me?

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Year 4 pupils in the class that has had five teachers during the course of the year have made less progress in mathematics than Year 4 pupils in the class where staffing has been more stable. Leaders are aware of this variation but it has not always been dealt with in a timely manner so that leaders support could help pupils to catch up. Insufficient attention is given to equality of opportunity for these pupils. Teachers marking is not always of a consistently good quality. While some is helpful and identifies the next steps pupils should take to improve, not all does so. On some occasions work is not marked at all. This means that pupils are not clear whether their efforts have been correct. It also means that when errors are made these are not picked up and tackled. Some marking in mathematics also promotes misconceptions, for example where a teacher shows a pupil how to calculate addition of tens but records it as 6 + 1.

The behaviour and safety of pupils

are inadequate

Behaviour rules are displayed prominently in all classrooms and for the most part they are followed: pupils line up quietly and this helps lessons to get off to a smooth start. Mostly pupils, including those who are new to the school, settle readily to lessons and behave well. Many are starting to develop positive attitudes to learning and try to do their best. However, when tasks are unclear or uninteresting some pupils quickly become distracted, their work rate slows and staff have to work hard to regain their attention. A small number of pupils display challenging behaviour which is not managed adequately to ensure that other pupils remain safe in classrooms or around the school. When pupils become angry, staff are not always able to intervene quickly enough to calm them before other children get hurt. Parents rightly complain that they are not routinely informed if their children are hurt as a result of such incidents, and school leaders do not check that parents are always informed when staff have had to restrain their child physically. Although staff document these behavioural incidents, records are not checked or analysed by school leaders to identify trends, recently showing an increase, or to question whether the strategies employed are working effectively and whether policies are being implemented correctly. Pupils are confident in telling staff when they have concerns about bullying and say that someone always sorts it out. However, not enough work is taking place to ensure that they are knowledgeable about different forms of bullying, especially why it is wrong and how to keep safe. Staff working with children in the unit build good relationships with pupils. They understand when they are ready to move on to other activities and help them to make their preferences known when making decisions, for example about what to eat at lunchtime. Although attendance is monitored regularly it remains below the national and local authority averages. The school is working closely with some families to stress the importance of regular attendance. The impact of this work is variable and the school has not met its attendance targets for the last two years.

The leadership and management

are inadequate

The headteacher and governors have spent considerable time since the last inspection resolving significant staffing turbulence that has drawn attention away from the urgent task of improving achievement and keeping pupils safe. Safeguarding arrangements do not meet requirements. Insufficient action is taken to ensure that all pupils are kept safe and leaders do not check that policies and procedures, and in particular those for child protection, are being applied consistently. Middle leadership is underdeveloped and the capacity of school leaders to make the necessary

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improvements is further reduced by the absence of key staff. The local authority has provided extensive support to the school since the last inspection. Together with help given by the headteacher of a local primary school, they have provided plans to guide improvements and effective support to enable the school to establish systems for checking attainment. The headteacher has welcomed the support and although improvements remain fragile, she is determined to continue them. Regular checks on the schools work and particularly the quality of teaching are being introduced. However, although leaders have observed a large number of lessons over the course of the year, they have not routinely taken into account how well pupils have learned as a result of the teaching. Where teachers have been set areas for improvement as a result of observations, these have not been checked up on at later dates to ensure that improvements have been made. The school should not seek to appoint newly qualified teachers. Parents are not always kept in the picture about developments taking place in the school and information, particularly about their childrens education and safety, is not consistently or swiftly shared with them. The school follows procedures for investigating complaints and a more rigorous approach is developing. Pupils spiritual, moral, social and cultural development requires improvement because pupils are not helped to become successful learners. Pupils cultural development is stronger because plenty of interesting opportunities are provided to enable pupils to participate in artistic activities and events. The governance of the school: Governors have taken decisions to tackle teachers poor performance. They are starting to find out for themselves about the schools work to improve the quality of teaching, for example through learning walks and by joining staff in training sessions. Governors are starting to receive regular reports from the headteacher about the impact of the pupil premium funding: they know, for example, that gaps in the performance of pupils eligible for free school meals and their classmates are beginning to close in some classes. Governors are beginning to ask challenging questions but do not always pursue issues in the depth and detail required to hold senior leaders to account robustly or to evaluate the impact their policies are having on pupils achievement, behaviour and safety.

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What inspection judgements mean

School Grade Grade 1 Judgement Outstanding Description An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the schools leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

Grade 2

Good

Grade 3

Requires improvement Inadequate

Grade 4

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School details
Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 106605 Barnsley 423639

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

Type of school School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Number of pupils on the school roll Appropriate authority Chair Headteacher Date of previous school inspection Telephone number Fax number Email address

Primary Community 511 Mixed 138 The governing body Paul Reckless Jane Siddall 8 March 2012 01226 743815 01226 740650 hoyland.springwood@barnsley.org

Any complaints about the inspection or the report should be made following the procedures set out in the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsteds website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your childs school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection. You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council childrens services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to Subscribe. Piccadilly Gate Store St Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk Crown copyright 2013