Churchfield Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of Cudworth Churchfield Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 6 March 2018, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since your school was judged to be good in October 2013. This school continues to be good.

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Your school is a happy and lively place, where pupils feel safe and well cared for. You nurture the pupils in your care through a very strong pastoral team that many parents and carers say goes 'above and beyond'.

Pupils are res...ilient and want to learn. As a result, they have positive attitudes to learning. Your leadership team knows the strengths and weaknesses of the school and has demonstrated the capacity to make rapid improvements.

Your assessment leader has developed an effective system to track how well pupils are doing. You use this information well to ensure that pupils are being challenged and are making good progress. You monitor pupils' progress very effectively and act quickly to support any pupils who may be falling behind.

Pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities are extremely well supported by skilled adults. As a result, these pupils make strong progress from their starting points. Parents of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities report that the care and guidance given to pupils and their families is very positive.

One parent commented, 'The staff here have been nothing short of fantastic. I always know I can speak to a member of staff about any worries or concerns. My child is happy, engaged and thoroughly supported.

I am so happy to see him thrive here, both educationally and emotionally.' You have successfully addressed the areas for improvement from the last inspection. The pupils speak with passion about reading and how the school has done a lot to inspire a love of reading, such as developing reading areas and innovative ways to motivate pupils to read more frequently.

Parents are also engaged through imaginative ways; they are invited in for book-themed activities, have regular access to the library and are encouraged to listen to their children read more frequently. This has had a positive impact on the fluency of pupils' reading throughout school. Even so, pupils' achievement in reading is still not as good as in writing.

You know that some inconsistencies remain in the quality of teaching in reading. Since the last inspection, you have also improved the level of challenge for the most able pupils. The work they are set is now well matched to their needs.

This has increased the proportion of pupils working at greater depth in all year groups in the school. Improving the achievement of less-able pupils now needs to be an important next step for the school. Children in the early years make a strong start to school.

They achieve well from their starting points through carefully planned learning activities that inspire and motivate children of all abilities to want to learn. The early years is a vibrant and purposeful area that promotes children's love of learning. Governors are very passionate about the school.

They are clear about what the school does well and what remains to be done to bring about further improvement. Governors ensure that additional funds are used appropriately so that staff provide the best possible support for pupils. They are incredibly proud of the inclusive nature of the school.

Safeguarding is effective. The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. The school has a strong safeguarding culture.

Leaders ensure that there is constant vigilance. Staff are confident that they would recognise the signs of abuse, as a result of regular and systematic training and updates for all. They know the school's procedures for reporting any concerns and who to contact to seek advice.

Parents say that they know that their children are kept safe. Pupils know about different types of bullying, although they say it does not happen in their school. Pupils talked confidently about how to keep themselves safe online and feel there are adults in school to talk to if they are worried or concerned.

Pupils said that everyone is respected at Churchfield and, if someone does have a fallout, 'then we just work it out between us and become friends again'. Behaviour in the school is good. Pupils have excellent manners and show respect for one another.

Behaviour is monitored effectively and reported to governors. Patterns of behaviour are identified, and discussed with parents and pupils when needed. The school has worked hard to increase attendance.

Although there has been a recent decline in attendance, the school works hard to ensure that pupils attend school regularly. Absences are closely monitored, and any concerns followed up quickly. Inspection findings ? At the start of my visit, we agreed a number of key lines of enquiry for the inspection.

First, I looked at current attainment and progress of pupils in reading. This is because, for the past two years, progress in reading in key stage 2 has been in the bottom 20% of schools nationally. Reading is a high priority in the school.

The new English leader has begun to implement some effective strategies to develop comprehension skills. High-quality reading texts are being used effectively to challenge pupils. Pupils are motivated to read through inspirational texts that link to their current learning, for example 'Shackleton's Journey'.

The reading stamina of pupils has increased significantly, as pupils report that they enjoy reading for long periods of time. You have worked very effectively with the local authority and local headteachers to carry out a full reading audit. This highlighted areas of strength and ideas to further develop the teaching of reading.

Your English leader has used this report and acted quickly to implement new strategies to address some inconsistencies in teaching quality. Although there has been some clear improvement in reading, these strategies are not yet embedded across all classes. As a result, pupils' progress in reading is not consistently good.

• I also wanted to review the quality of provision for disadvantaged pupils. The vast majority of disadvantaged pupils are supported effectively in the school and are making at least expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Current data shows that the gap between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils is narrowing quickly.

Disadvantaged pupils are supported effectively and are achieving well. ? Leaders have worked hard to ensure that teaching meets the needs of pupils of varying abilities. Since the last inspection, they have developed the provision for the most able pupils.

Progress for these pupils is now very strong due to the high level of challenge these pupils receive, both in lessons and though targeted support. In mathematics, the problem-solving and reasoning skills of pupils of all abilities are challenged effectively by regularly completing complex 'prove it' questions. This was seen in all year groups.

• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are supported effectively and achieve well. However, sometimes less-able pupils who do not have SEN and/or disabilities are not well supported. These pupils are not appropriately supported by adults to be able to make accelerated progress.

Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that they: ? improve the quality of teaching of reading so that it is consistently good or better in all classes ? give more opportunities for the less able pupils to be supported directly by their class teacher. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Barnsley. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

Yours sincerely Eve Morris Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection During the inspection, I held meetings with you, the assessment leader, the well-being team and the English leader. I also met with two members of the governing body and spoke with a representative from the local authority. I evaluated documentation, including the school's self-evaluation, the school development plan, information about pupils' progress, minutes of governing body meetings, behaviour and attendance records, and information about safeguarding.

I spoke with several parents and considered the 53 responses to Ofsted's online questionnaire, Parent View. I met with a group of pupils from a range of year groups and I listened to some pupils read. You and I visited every classroom together to observe teaching and learning and scrutinise pupils' work in their books.