School report Berry Brow Infant and Nursery School Birch Road, Berry Brow, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire HD4 7LP Inspection dates 7–8 December 2016 Overall effectiveness Good Effectiveness of leadership and management Good Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good Outcomes for pupils Good Early years provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement Summary of key findings for parents and pupils This is a good school Together leaders and governors have tackled The headteacher and staff have created a safe the issues from the last inspection. and caring school community where each pupil Consequently, teaching and outcomes have is valued. improved and are now good. Relationships between staff and pupils are Provision in the early years has improved so strong and contribute to pupils’ good that the proportion of children securing a good behaviour. Pupils say that they feel safe and level of development has risen. The teaching of well cared for. phonics in the early years and key stage 1 has Care and support for vulnerable pupils through improved to good. the use of a weekly nurture group is good. Attainment at the end of Year 2 is broadly Leaders are clear about their roles and average. From their different starting points responsibilities across the school. They have an this represents good progress, particularly in accurate view of the school’s strengths and reading. However, pupils’ progress in writing is weaknesses. a little variable because some school policies are not followed consistently. Additionally, The use of the pupil premium funding has been some staff do not always demonstrate a secure enhanced and staff are clear about which understanding of spelling, punctuation and pupils should be benefiting from this additional grammar when teaching writing. funding. Systems are in place to check on the impact of additional support on the learning Better teaching, particularly in reading and and progress of disadvantaged pupils. mathematics, has contributed to accelerated rates of progress, particularly for pupils with Governors have a clear view of the school’s special educational needs/and or disabilities. strengths and weaknesses. They use the Tasks are usually interesting and support school’s assessment information to hold leaders pupils’ good learning. However, the tasks for to account for their work. the most able pupils are not always as demanding as they could be. Full report What does the school need to do to improve further? Improve pupils’ writing skills further by – ensuring that the agreed approach to teaching letter and number formation is applied consistently from Nursery to Year 2 – providing children in the early years with more models of the school’s handwriting script and presenting modelled writing accurately, using standard English, throughout the school. Refine teaching so that tasks more consistently match the learning needs of the most able, particularly in mathematics. Inspection report: Berry Brow Infant and Nursery School, 7–8 December 2016 Page 2 of 10 Inspection judgements Effectiveness of leadership and management Good The headteacher and staff have worked together to improve the quality of teaching and as a direct result pupils’ progress and outcomes have improved to be good. Strengths have been maintained, for example in pupils’ behaviour and the promotion of their welfare. Consequently, the overall effectiveness of the school has improved to be good. Relationships between staff and pupils are warm and caring. Parents are right to be confident that their children are well cared for and they have largely positive views of the school. This is a happy school where pupils enjoy their time and their opportunities to learn and play together. Self-evaluation is accurate and systems for holding staff to account for the impact of their work and for managing the performance of teachers are effective. Pupils’ attainment is tracked soundly and pupils in danger of not reaching the expected standard are identified early so that they can be given extra help. However, sometimes the processes for reviewing and monitoring pupils’ progress are not always precise in identifying those who are most able and do not always lead to these pupils’ improved attainment. The school’s leadership, including that provided by the governing body, has a clearer understanding of its role than at the last inspection. Improved monitoring and evaluation of teaching has helped to target resources and training to bring about improvement. The good curriculum is broad and balanced. There is an appropriate emphasis on reading, writing and mathematics. Handwriting is taught systematically, but sometimes inconsistencies in the application of the school’s policy mean that not all pupils form letters and numbers correctly by the time they reach Year 2. National curriculum subjects are taught through termly topics. In the early years and Year 1, tasks, covering a range of subjects, are taught alongside English and mathematics using ‘continuous provision’. In Year 2 English and mathematics are taught to the whole class at the same time. The curriculum provides effectively for the development of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. Books in classrooms and around the school have been selected to reflect the wide variety of British society. Pupils are taught about major world religions and significant festivals, such as Christmas and Diwali, are marked in school. The use of pupil premium funding has been improved. It is used to ensure that all pupils have equal access to all aspects of the curriculum, including visits and to provide targeted support for individual pupils. Consequently, a wide range of extra programmes are in place and are helping disadvantaged pupils to make good progress. Physical education (PE) and sports funding for primary schools is being used well to allow coaches to work alongside staff to deliver PE and staff training. Pupils say that they enjoy exercise and taking part in team games. Governance of the school Governance is good. Following the external review of their work, governors’ skills and Inspection report: Berry Brow Infant and Nursery School, 7–8 December 2016 Page 3 of 10 knowledge improved. The governors reconstituted with a more compact governing body. This allowed the smaller team to focus more sharply on the impact of their work and the school’s work. Governors have a good understanding of how well the school is doing. They are clear about the progress pupils are making through their knowledge of performance measures. They receive regular updates on pupil progress, and they challenge senior leaders to ensure that pupils are doing well across the school. Safeguarding The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Staff are appropriately trained and vigilant. Leaders work with parents and other agencies to make sure that pupils are well cared for and supported. Policies are reviewed regularly so that they reflect the most recent requirements. Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good Teaching is good and ensures that pupils make good progress from their starting points. Lessons are interesting and progress at pace which ensures that pupils are interested and motivated to learn. This improved teaching has helped to secure better progress across the school and in end of Year 2 outcomes. Reading is taught well across the school. Younger pupils benefit from daily phonics lessons to teach them about letters and the sounds they represent. Pupils are given daily opportunities to read books in groups and with staff. They are encouraged to read for meaning and as they move up the school they are taught how to read and answer questions about the text. This is particularly effective for the most able pupils, who are encouraged to use their inference skills as well as write explanations. Pupils of all abilities who read to inspectors, including the most able and disadvantaged most able, used their developing phonic skills well to work out unknown words in their reading books. The least able readers get extra help with their reading from additional adults; the pupils say that this is helping them to improve their reading skills. Most pupils stated that they enjoy reading and value the opportunity to take books home. Parents support their children’s reading well by going into school to read with their children each day. In mathematics lessons teachers explain ideas clearly, often using the interactive whiteboards effectively to clarify key points of learning. Pupils are encouraged to use the correct mathematical language. For example, in one mathematics session the teacher insisted that pupils compared lengths using ‘longer than’ and ‘shorter than’ as well as the using correct units of measurement. Teachers plan a range of activities that interest and engage pupils, as well as developing their skills and understanding systematically. Pupils’ speaking and listening skills are developed well. A recent initiative to encourage pupils to talk in preparation for their written tasks is helping to encourage pupils to want to write. Pupils are enthusiastic about their work and they have very good attitudes to learning. They listen carefully to their teachers’ explanations but sometimes the acoustics in the classrooms mean that a small number of pupils occasionally find this difficult. Assessments are regular and teachers use their knowledge of pupils to provide work Inspection report: Berry Brow Infant and Nursery School, 7–8 December 2016 Page 4 of 10 that is largely at the correct level for most pupils, so that pupils make good progress. However, in a small number of cases the most able, including the most able disadvantaged, are not always challenged and sometimes undertake work that does not allow them to show their depth of understanding. This is particularly the case in mathematics and where the teachers are less experienced. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported.