Lily Lane Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils do not receive an acceptable standard of education.

Leaders have low expectations of pupils. The curriculum that pupils receive is narrow. Leaders prioritise reading, mathematics and pupils' personal development at the expense of other subjects in the key stage 1 and 2 curriculums.

Pupils' knowledge in many subjects is not secure. In addition, leaders have not designed the early years curriculum well. Children and pupils across the school are not well prepared for their next stage of education.

Many pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive an even weaker deal than other pupils in the school. Some of these pupils are not ...taught by suitably trained teachers. These pupils experience a significantly reduced curriculum.

This prevents them from developing the knowledge and skills that they need to succeed.

Leaders do not ensure that children and pupils are kept safe. They do not have high enough expectations of how pupils should behave.

Children in the early years are not introduced to clear routines. They struggle to understand what is expected of them as a result. Leaders do not support staff to manage pupils' behaviour effectively.

Some pupils behave in an unsafe manner outside lessons. This inappropriate conduct is not challenged by staff. Leaders' records of behaviour show that bullying does occasionally happen.

However, pupils were confident that leaders deal with incidents well.

Pupils benefit from the experiences that leaders provide to enhance their wider development. Leaders ensure that pupils' physical health is well supported.

Pupils are happy in school. They experience much success in sport.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leadership of the school has deteriorated since the previous inspection.

There has been considerable turmoil in staffing. Leaders have not managed this situation well. Staff morale is low.

The disharmony in the staff team undermines the capacity of leaders to bring about the many improvements needed.

The curriculum is weak and narrow. Leaders lack the curricular knowledge and expertise that they need to design and put in place a high-quality curriculum.

Pupils with SEND do not have their needs appropriately identified or met. They do not receive the support that they need. Teachers are ill-equipped to adapt the delivery of the curriculum to meet the needs of these pupils.

They do not achieve well.

In several subjects, leaders are unclear about the essential knowledge that pupils need to learn and the order in which this should be taught. Consequently, teachers do not understand how to shape their teaching so that pupils build their knowledge over time.

Pupils receive a disorganised learning experience. They do not gain the knowledge and skills that they need to be successful. As a result, their achievement across many subjects is poor.

In contrast to considerable weaknesses in many subject areas, leaders are clear about what they expect most pupils to learn in reading and mathematics in each year group. Teachers understand the importance of finding out what pupils already know in these subjects before moving on to new learning. Teachers use assessment strategies well in reading and mathematics to identify where pupils have misconceptions.

They use this information to plan the next steps of learning.

Leaders ensure that staff are trained well to teach pupils to read and to enjoy literature. This begins in the early years.

Children learn to listen out for important sounds. This sets them up well for when they begin their more formal learning about how to use phonics in the Reception Year and in key stage 1.

Leaders ensure that the reading books that they provide support most pupils to build up confidence in reading.

Younger pupils develop a love of reading as they practise the sounds that they know. A poet-in-residence inspires pupils to read and develop their spoken language. This helps pupils who are at the early stages of learning the English language to develop their understanding of vocabulary.

Older pupils said that they enjoy reading. They read books for pleasure and to broaden their general knowledge.

Although leaders make sure that most children's reading and mathematical knowledge builds well in the early years, they do not ensure that children develop their knowledge equally well in the other areas of learning.

Leaders do not give clear enough guidance to staff about how to challenge children to try different activities to extend their knowledge. As a result, children in the early years do not build up their knowledge as well as they should. This is particularly true for children with SEND.

These children are not ready for the demands of key stage 1.

In most lessons, pupils' behaviour does not disturb learning. However, in the early years and classes where pupils with SEND are taught separately, this is not case.

Leaders have not ensured that staff are trained well enough to support the behaviour of children and pupils with SEND so that they can focus on learning.

Leaders have thought carefully about how to support pupils' personal development. They ensure that a broad range of trips, visiting speakers and out-of-school activities are available for pupils to enjoy.

Leaders also make sure that pupils take part in activities that help to build up their resilience and character.

Leadership is weak. Governors do not have an accurate view of how well the school functions.

They accept too much of what leaders tell them without question. Governors have failed to recognise the growing discontent among staff. Leaders, including governors, have not ensured that staff are well supported.

They are unaware that some staff feel that their workloads are excessive and unmanageable.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

Leaders and governors have not ensured that the school's safeguarding arrangements meet statutory requirements.

For example, they have not made sure that the safeguarding policy contains the latest safeguarding guidance.

Most staff have had some safeguarding training. However, leaders and governors do not ensure that all staff training is up to date.

This includes staff who work with the most vulnerable pupils. Induction procedures for new staff are weak. These staff do not gain a deep enough understanding of how to keep pupils safe.

Some staff, including those in the early years, are complacent about pupils' behaviour. Equally, some staff do not acknowledge the possible dangers that children and pupils may face. This places children and pupils in potentially unsafe situations at unstructured times of the day.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders' expectations for pupils with SEND are too low. They are taught by staff who have not been trained to meet their needs sufficiently well. Consequently, these pupils do not achieve well.

Leaders must ensure that all pupils with SEND are taught by teachers who are sufficiently trained to meet complex needs and make appropriate adaptations to the delivery of the curriculum. ? Leaders and governors have not taken enough action to develop the curriculum beyond reading and mathematics. The curriculum in most subjects does not set out clearly what pupils need to learn.

As a result, pupils receive a disconnected series of lessons that do not build their knowledge and understanding. They do not achieve as well as they should. Leaders must rapidly clarify their curriculum thinking so that teachers are clear about the knowledge that they want pupils to learn and the order in which this content should be taught.

• Children do not learn all that they should during their time in the early years. This is because the curriculum is poorly designed. Staff do not have the expertise to help pupils gain the knowledge that they need to make a positive start to Year 1.

Leaders must ensure that staff in the early years are clear about what they need to do to support all children, including those with SEND, to achieve well across all aspects of the early years curriculum. ? Leaders and governors have not ensured that staff receive adequate and regular training in relation to safeguarding. As a result, some staff lack vigilance to potential safeguarding risks.

Leaders and governors must ensure that all staff are sufficiently trained to understand their safeguarding responsibilities and to carry out their safeguarding roles effectively. Leaders do not support staff adequately in managing pupils' behaviour. Many staff do not know how to help pupils understand acceptable social behaviour and boundaries.

Pupils behave in an unsafe manner at times. Leaders should ensure that staff are trained well enough to deal with challenging behaviour, including behaviour related to pupils' SEND. ? Weaknesses in leadership have led to high staff workloads and low staff morale.

This is hindering the capacity to bring about much-needed improvement. Governors must ensure that urgent action is taken to strengthen leadership throughout the school and to ensure that staff are provided with the support that they need to fulfil their roles effectively.The school may not appoint early career teachers before the next monitoring inspection.