Yahoo News Once 'outstanding' North Staffordshire school told it must improve
A previously 'outstanding' North Staffordshire primary school has been told it needs to improve by inspectors. Bursley Academy in Bradwell fell short when it came to the quality of education on offer, resulting in an overall Ofsted rating of 'requires improvement'.
The Bursley Way school, part of the Collective Vision Trust with almost 400 pupils, had been given the top rating when it was last inspected back in May 2012. This was the education watchdog's first inspection at the school since it converted to academy status in August of the same year.
This latest inspection took place over two days in February. Much of the recently-published Ofsted report praised the 'family feel' of the school and its 'friendly, cheerful and well mannered' children.
Four of the five areas under scrutiny - behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision - were all deemed to be 'good'. But crucially, the quality of education was judged as 'requires improvement' by inspectors, leading that to be the overall rating.
READ: Inside North Staffordshire school where poor behaviour 'disrupts' lessons Ofsted has told St John Fisher Catholic College, in Newcastle-under-Lyme, to improve
READ: Once-struggling school celebrates 'truly remarkable' Ofsted turnaround Mill Hill Primary Academy has been rated 'outstanding' by inspectors
The Ofsted report states: "The family feel of Bursley Academy is tangible the minute you walk through the doors. Caring relationships between staff and pupils are built into the foundations of the school. Pupils trust the staff to look after them, they describe the staff as their ‘guardians’. Pupils are friendly, cheerful and well mannered. They embody the welcoming nature of the school.
"Leaders at all levels, including governors and the multi-academy trust (MAT), are always looking for ways to improve the school. They know that more work needs to be done to further improve the quality of education, so that pupils achieve well across the curriculum. There is a relaxed atmosphere around the school. Pupils enjoy coming to school and are rarely absent. Pupils enjoy learning alongside their friends, and they play cooperatively on the playground. In lessons, pupils listen well and focus on completing their work most of the time.
"However, if the work set for pupils is not matched to their needs, they become distracted and lose interest. Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the school. In particular, they value the fact that staff go above and beyond what is expected of them to help their children."
The report goes on to highlight areas in need of improvement, stating: "In English, pupils are not given enough opportunities to apply their knowledge of spelling, punctuation and grammar in extended pieces of writing. Furthermore, too many pupils are not taking a pride in their work, and this is not being addressed. As a result, standards of handwriting and presentation are variable.
"Staff possess secure subject knowledge and explain new learning clearly. They model subject-specific language accurately, which pupils use in their own explanations. However, the school is not routinely making checks on what pupils already know to inform the choice of learning activities. As a result, some activities are too easy, and some are too difficult. This leads to pupils losing interest in their learning and limits how well they achieve.
"The school identifies the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) accurately. Pupils with SEND are fully included in lessons and the wider curriculum. Staff are quick to step in if a pupil needs extra support. However, where learning activities are not well matched to pupils’ needs, this makes it difficult for pupils with SEND to access their learning.
"Curriculum leaders possess the required subject knowledge and expertise to lead their subject areas. However, they have limited opportunities to make checks on how well their subject is being taught. As a result, they are not able to identify what is working well and address any areas that need to improve."
Bursley Academy has been approached for comment.
