Worsbrough Common Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires improvement Since the last inspection, leaders, including governors, have failed to prevent a significant decline in standards.

A culture of low expectations has developed in the school, and this has led to low and falling outcomes for pupils in key stage 2 over the last three years. The quality of teaching is variable across year groups and subjects. Too often, pupils receive work which is not challenging enough.

This hinders pupils' progress. Governors have an overgenerous view of the school's effectiveness. They have not challenged leaders in order to prevent a decline or to secure rapid improvements.

Leaders have not... been effective in ensuring improvements in the early years. Therefore, children's needs are not always met. Leaders' plans for improvement lack precision and do not focus tightly on gains in pupils' outcomes.

Their checks on the difference they make are not sufficiently rigorous. Pupils do not always show positive attitudes to learning or take pride in their work. Where teachers have low expectations of them, their focus drifts and some pupils disrupt the learning of others.

Pupils' attendance rates are below average. The proportion of pupils who are regularly absent is high and is not reducing quickly enough. Leaders have not been successful in accelerating the progress of disadvantaged pupils.

As a result, their outcomes lag behind those of other pupils nationally. The teaching of phonics is not always effective. A significant number of pupils enter key stage 2 without the phonic knowledge they need.

The school has the following strengths Leaders prioritise pupils' welfare. As a result, the pastoral care pupils receive is effective in promoting their personal development. Relationships between pupils and adults are strong.

This creates a warm, welcoming ethos in the school. Current leaders have been successful in bringing about some early improvements to the quality of teaching. Pupils' conduct as they move around the school and at breaktimes is good.

They are polite, proud members of their school community.

Information about this school

Worsbrough Common Primary School is a larger-than-average-sized primary school. Since the last inspection, it has expanded in size and the number of pupils on the roll has doubled.

The school has a nursery for children from the age of three. The school's governing body also manages an on-site day care centre, which is inspected separately. The school's breakfast club is attended by approximately 100 pupils each day.

The school has a specialist resourced provision which caters for 10 pupils who have language and communication needs. At the time of the inspection, the acting headteacher and acting deputy headteacher had been in post for one week. An executive headteacher had been appointed and was due to take up her post in the week following the inspection.

The school is in the process of joining the Hoyland Common Academy Trust. The trust, the local authority and the Tykes Teaching School are all involved in providing support for the school. This includes support from a national leader of education and a number of specialist leaders of education.

The school also has four members of staff who are specialist leaders of education. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is almost double the national average. Although 11 different ethnic groups are represented in the school, most pupils are of White British heritage.

Very few pupils speak English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils with SEND, including those with an education, health and care plan, is above average. The proportion of pupils who join and leave the school at times other than usual transition points is just above average.

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