St Nicholas C of E Primary School

OFSTED inspection - December 2013

Meeting for Parents – Your views matter.

OFSTED Context• Framework has changed and changes roughly every 6 months so that it can

be made more challenging or amended depending upon what central government decides are the current priorities. Eg Community cohesion big factor in 2010 but no mention in 2013.

• Requires Improvement = the old satisfactory

• Inspection no longer just looking at progress made from starting to finishing school but from class to class and subject to subject.

• Previously credit given for upward trend and direction in which school is heading. Now demand evidence of this. (This has now changed again).

• Also limits on what can be achieved if OFSTED decide achievement not to be good. If Achievement not good, then teaching and learning can’t be good and if T&L not good then Leadership and Management can’t be good.

What we are doing well.• Pupils are polite and considerate. They show respect for each other

and the adults around them.• Behaviour is good and pupils feel safe because they know that they

are well cared for.• Attendance is improving.• Children get off to a successful start in the Reception class.• The quality of teaching is improving and there are examples of

good and outstanding teaching across the school.• Leaders, including governors, know what needs to be done to move

the school forward.• The curriculum provides a range of exciting enrichment activities

and spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness is well developed.

Achievement of Pupils• Children start school in Reception with skills and knowledge below those

typically expected nationally and make good progress.• By the end of school in Year 6 pupils achieve broadly in line with the

national average.• The school is successfully closing the gap in attainment between pupils

known to be eligible for free school meals and those who are not. This confirms the school’s commitment to equal opportunities.

• The school correctly identified the need to improve the teaching of writing and maths, and pupils are now given more opportunities to write from their own experience across a range of subjects. (Eg Robin Hood writing week)

• The school provides focused support for the most able pupils, disabled pupils and those with special educational needs and there are pockets of excellent achievement.

• The majority of pupils now make expected progress.

What do we need to do, next steps…We need to improve achievement because:• Attainment from year group to year group and between subjects is not

consistent despite more than nationally expected progress being made across the 7 years at St Nicholas.

• There have been improvements in attainment at the end of the infant phase which inspectors and our own data agree will continue and improve still further but that this improvement needs an additonal 6 months to prove it is being sustained.

• The very large majority of pupils make nationally expected progress but we want more pupils to make more than nationally expected progress. We’re aiming high and not just for good but outstanding.

• A range of additonal reading activities have been introduced, as a result the profile of reading has been raised and pupils are now making progress at a faster rate, but more needs to be done. You can also have a significant impact on this.

• Inspectors commented that there are a range of activities in maths and writing that have been implemented for almost a year, to respond to any learning need a child may have. These have ensured improvement at KS1 and 2 this year.

However these have not been in place long enough to impact fully on standards.

Quality of Teaching• Despite quality of teaching improving and there being examples of good

and outstanding practice, uneven performance from some year groups or some classes to the next means T&L = RI.

• Marking has improved and staff congratulate pupils on what they do well and regularly give them good guidance on what they must do next to improve. However some teachers don’t make the children follow their good advice or correct all errors. You can help here by checking the children have acted on the feedback when you see books.

• In the best lessons, teachers use the school’s comprehensive pupil assessment information to plan activities that are well matched to the learning needs of all pupils.

• They provide opportunities for pupils to assess their own learning and continue with their own teachers’ assessment throughout the lesson by skillfully posing questions that make pupils think hard.

What is more, teachers place tasks in a real world context and give pupils the opportunity to discuss their ideas and reflect on their learning.

Quality of Teaching– areas for developmentWhat we need to do to improve further:• Teaching assistants provide a good level of support, whether working one to

one or with small groups, however in some lessons they weren’t effectively deployed when the teacher introduced the lesson.

• Some teachers use a limited range of questioning which means they can’t evaluate progress accurately enough.

• Some teachers talk for too long which prevents more able children from getting to their challenging tasks quickly enough which hinders their progress.

Plans already in place since inspection:• Staff Audit of strengths and weaknesses• Programme of support and development• Use of excellent practice to improve standards from both within and outside

school.• Buying of school improvement services which will

help us to access expertise and resources as of Monday!

Behaviour and Safety of PupilsBehaviour and Safety of pupils was good because:• Behaviour during the inspection and school records over time show that

behaviour is good. Some children can get a little distracted if not challenged by their work.

• The large majority of parents are positive about how behaviour is managed at school and feel that children are well cared for.

• Pupils are respectful and kind to peers and adults alike and they feel safe.• Pupils have a good understanding of different types of bullying and the

difference between bullying and falling out. Pupils are confident there is very little bullying and say if it did happen if would be dealt with quickly and effectively.

• There are a range of ways for pupils to develop a sense of responsibility and contribute to the school community.

The school has worked well with parents to achieve attendance and punctuality. Attendance has

improved to average which reflect the pupil’s enjoyment of school.

Leadership and Management• Senior leaders have put into place a range of measures, which the

inspection team believe are the right things to do but these haven’t had enough time to have a sustained positive impact on the school.

• The Headteacher has a clear view of the direction he wants the school to take and has steered the school through a period of significant change including an increase in staff and pupil numbers as well as a new build. He is well supported by his deputy and Management Team. Together they are driving school improvements in pupil assessment, teaching and learning and pupil progress. This demonstrates that the school has the capacity to improve further.

• The school improvement plan addresses appropriate issues identified by the school but needs to sharpen the evaluation of the plan.

Staff are well supported by an appropriate programme of professional development. Inconsistencies have been identified and changes made to improve teaching.

Leadership and Management• Curriculum enrichment is good. Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural

awareness is given good attention but because attainment has not been consistent, the curriculum requires improvement.

• School works effectively with other agengies such as the behaviour unit at Mereside.

Governors:• Governing Body are highly supportive and increasingly challenging.• Governors have undertaken substantial training.• Governors understand the link between pay progression and pupil progress.• Governors ensure their statutory responsibilities are met in terms of

safeguarding and the budget is secure.

Overall themes

Key words are:

Consistency &

Sustainability

Improvements required• Make sure all teaching is good or outstanding between years 1 to 6.

(Currently 85%)• Increase proportion of pupils making at least 2LP in reading, writing and

maths. (Currently at national average for 2LP) Need to continue focus on 3LP.

How will we do this?• Ensure teachers always carefully question pupils to help assess their

learning and drive learning forward.• Get more able engaged in more challenging tasks earlier in lessons.• Ensure that teachers develop ways to get pupils to follow their good

guidance.• Ensure TA’s are used throughout the lesson.• Develop a more statistical evaluation of the SDP.• Check that initiatives for reading, writing and maths continue to lead to

improvement and respond accordingly.

Where are we and other recently inspected large Blackpool schools?

Category Last inspection Most recent inspection

Outstanding

Good

Requires Improvement

Inadequate

Where now?• We were ‘borderline ’ according to the inspection team and it could have gone

either way. The Lead inspector ‘wanted ’ us to have an HMI to help accelerate progress.

• She felt that 6 months will see our standards rise further and if had been inspected 6 months later we would probably have been good.

• The lead inspector said ’there is nothing which I can tell you to do that you aren’t already doing.’ Clearly we’re on the right track!

So we need to:• Hold our nerve and keep the course we have charted. We are getting there

but not in time for the inspection when it was held, and at the time they were unable give credit for the direction of travel. They can do now since January 1st!

• Continue to develop consistency and sustainability.• Continue to work with parents to help improve standards across the school.• Our school is better than 3 years ago but the framework now measures

smaller year to year detail in the way it never used to.

How can you help us to raise standards?

How can we help you to support your child to achieve better?

I am available to discuss this or any other issue either:

8:30am-10am every Tuesday morning or if not possible then by appointment with the

office

The future….

The future is rosy if we can continue to work together to the benefit of the

children in our care!