Edale CofE Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

In accordance with section 44(1) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Urgently address the serious weaknesses in the school’s safeguarding arrangements by:
  • ensuring that all staff who work, or apply to work, at the school are rigorously vetted
  • maintaining a single central register in accordance with statutory requirements
  • ensuring that all staff who work with pupils receive appropriate safeguarding training
  • ensuring that records of any safeguarding concerns are logged and appropriate support is provided for pupils
  • ensuring that staff and pupils are helped to understand how to keep safe, including awareness of the dangers of extremism
  • making sure that all staff understand the allegations against staff policy and procedures.
• Improve the leadership and management by:
  • ensuring that stability in leadership is brought about as quickly as possible and that those responsible for leading and managing the school are properly supported
  • devising effective protocols for the management of behaviour, including incidents of serious misbehaviour and bullying
  • ensuring that all curriculum plans, including for subjects other than mathematics or English, for key stage 2, are implemented effectively
  • ensuring that pupils receive an effective programme of personal, social, health and economic education, across the school
  • implementing an effective policy to manage teachers’ performance and ensuring that their teaching is supported well
  • ensuring that the school keeps accurate records of behaviour, teaching quality and pupils’ progress and that leaders monitor and evaluate these aspects of the school regularly
  • maintaining a website which is compliant with statutory requirements
  • monitoring and evaluating the use of all government funding, including physical education and sports premium, pupil premium and special educational needs and/or disabilities funding
  • implementing an effective policy for the support of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities which complies with statutory requirements
  • implementing an effective policy to develop pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding, so that they are properly prepared for life in modern Britain and the next stage of their education
  • developing a coherent reading strategy across the school and ensuring that pupils have access to a wide range of reading material appropriate to their age and ability
  • strengthening communication with parents, particularly with regard to the actions being taken to improve the school.
• Improve the quality of teaching in key stage 2 to accelerate the progress of all pupils by:
  • ensuring that teachers’ planning takes account of individual pupils’ needs and capabilities
  • building more opportunities for pupils to extend their understanding and tackle more complex tasks in all subjects, so that the most able pupils can reach higher standards, particularly in mathematics
  • moderating all teachers’ assessments thoroughly to ensure their greater reliability
  • ensuring that pupils use what they learn in English grammar and punctuation lessons to read and write more effectively
  • listening to pupils read regularly and developing their comprehension skills more effectively
  • ensuring that teachers have opportunities to learn from best practice both in the school and elsewhere.
• Improve pupils’ personal development by:
  • ensuring that pupils develop a broad understanding and appreciation of the faiths, cultures and communities that make up modern Britain
  • ensuring that pupils know how to keep themselves safe, especially online
  • helping pupils to understand how to lead a happy and healthy life and to be understanding of different types of relationships and lifestyles
  • working with families to ensure that pupils arrive at school on time
  • developing pupils’ leadership skills and self-confidence by helping them to take on more responsibilities as they get older through the school.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

• Leaders, including governors, have not ensured that the welfare, progress and teaching of pupils have been properly managed. Senior leaders have not acted upon support provided by external partners. The governing body, until recently, has been too fragmented to hold leaders to account effectively.
• Leaders have not monitored the quality of teaching consistently. Teaching at key stage 2 has not improved sufficiently to meet the demands of the new curriculum. Pupils’ progress is inadequate, as a result.
• Leaders have not ensured that subject plans are suitable in key stage 2 to ensure that pupils are properly prepared for the demands of the national curriculum. Pupils’ weaknesses in reading and writing have not been addressed effectively.
• Leaders have not acted upon all the areas for improvement cited in the previous inspection report. Pupils still have very little understanding of the range of faiths and cultures that make up modern Britain. Religious education is not taught. Pupils are still not prepared for life in modern Britain. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding is limited.
• Since the last inspection, poor behaviour has not always been managed well. Leaders do not keep accurate records of concerns raised by pupils, incidents of poor behaviour or of the actions taken in response. Some parents had previously cited well-founded concerns about the school’s management of behaviour. Current parents acknowledge that behaviour now is markedly improved compared to previous years.
• The school’s special educational needs policy is not fully compliant with statutory requirements. While there are no pupils currently on roll who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, funding to support eligible pupils since the last inspection was not wholly effective in ensuring that pupils’ social, emotional and behavioural needs were met.
• Fractured relationships between governors and the school leaders previously have contributed to some parents losing faith in the school. Several families chose to remove their children from the school as a result, leading to a significantly falling roll and reduced budget.
• Leaders have not ensured that teachers’ performance, including that of the headteacher, has been well managed. Teachers have rarely been given helpful feedback to help them improve their teaching. Leaders had not identified weaknesses in assessment practices in key stage 2 early enough to remedy underachievement.
• The curriculum does not allow pupils equal opportunities to thrive in the arts, languages and humanities subjects, as these are not taught in any systematic way. Pupils are, therefore, not prepared well for secondary education.
• Pupils have been provided with a range of opportunities to try out different sporting skills, such as Tai Chi and dance. Tai Chi has been taught in the school for a period of six years and contributes to the physical and well-being curriculum. The pupils perform their routine to the community at the annual country show. These activities are funded using the physical education and sport premium. However, no one in the school evaluates whether all these activities are making a difference to pupils’ health and fitness and providing value for money.
• Pupils are not taught about relationships, healthy lifestyles and social and emotional well-being in a systematic or effective way.
• Disadvantaged pupils are supported in the school through a range of strategies funded by the pupil premium, including music tuition and additional teaching assistant time. The school works closely, and increasingly effectively, with the virtual headteacher to provide support for vulnerable pupils. However, the school’s strategy does not include activities to improve pupils’ attendance and punctuality, even though these have proved to be barriers to the learning of some pupils.
• The curriculum, pupils’ progress and teaching are well led and managed in key stage 1 and in the early years. Pupils’ outcomes are consistently positive and improving in these areas of the school. This is in stark contrast to the quality of leadership and the rate of pupils’ progress in key stage 2.
• The local authority identified that the school requires increased support and guidance. They have provided support for leaders, including an external review of governance. Leaders have not always followed the guidance they have received.
• The appointment of the interim executive headteacher, in the absence of the substantive headteacher, is providing much-needed stability for the school. She has rewritten the school’s self-evaluation, as it was rightly considered to be overly generous. The school’s action plan is also being reviewed, as actions were correctly deemed to be too vague, with success criteria which were not sufficiently measurable.
• Newly qualified teachers may not be appointed.

Governance of the school

• The arrangements for the governance of the school have proved to be ineffective. They have not ensured that safeguarding arrangements are effective and that pupils are taught consistently well and make the progress they should. Governors recognise that leaders had not previously been held to account effectively.
• The governing body has very recently reconstituted, providing greater stability for the school. New governors demonstrate a clear commitment to ensuring that the school is well led and managed and that pupils make the progress they should.
• Governors are awaiting the outcome of the recent external review of governance. The process has put into sharp focus the importance of governors being clear about their roles and responsibilities.
• Governors acknowledge that their first priority is to ensure that safeguarding is effective. They have committed to ensuring that those responsible for safeguarding are now appropriately trained. In addition, they recognise that they should engage with the support provided by the local authority.
• Governors are getting to grips with the school’s finances. Previously, the use of additional funding, for example to support pupils eligible for the pupil premium and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, was not properly managed. There was also an underspend last year of the physical education and sport premium funding. Current governors in charge of the school’s finances are knowledgeable about accounting matters and implementing much more effective systems to manage the school’s budget.
• Governors are reviewing the school’s performance management processes of both the headteacher and staff. In the past, these have been weak.
• The members of the new governing body are experienced and knowledgeable about educational matters. The co-chairs and vice-chair have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.
• Leaders have not ensured that the single central register is kept in accordance with statutory duties. At the time of this inspection, there were gaps in the register and some personnel files were incomplete.
• Not all staff who work with pupils had been properly vetted. The school has urgently addressed this issue, as a result of the inspection.
• Staff are not clear about the school’s policy and procedure for managing allegations against staff.
• Leaders do not keep accurate safeguarding records. Bullying and other pupil concerns have not been recorded, despite evidence to suggest that incidents of this kind have occurred since the last inspection.
• The curriculum does not help pupils to keep safe and understand the dangers of extremism.
• Not all staff have received appropriate safeguarding training.
• Pupils feel safe, happy and well cared for at this school.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

• Teaching in key stage 2 is weak; the good progress pupils make in key stage 1 has not been capitalised upon well. Pupils’ individual needs are not carefully considered in this small, mixed-age setting. Too few pupils, therefore, reached expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics, at the end of Year 6. None reached greater depth in any subject in 2016.
• Teachers in key stage 2 have not provided pupils with sufficient practice in writing in different styles and for different audiences. Pupils know about various different uses of language and writing structure but they are not always confident about why authors use them. This has hindered their progress in reading and writing.
• Teachers do not follow a coherent curriculum for subjects such as, French, history, geography and art. Teachers have not developed pupils’ skills in these subjects. Pupils’ preparation for secondary school is compromised, as a result.
• Teaching has not developed pupils’ reading skills sufficiently well at key stage 2, so that they can reach the highest standards. The teaching of focused reading sessions has not enabled pupils, especially the most able, to reach their potential. Teachers have found teaching these sessions, in a mixed-age class, challenging.
• Adults do not listen to pupils read regularly. Consequently, some pupils make mistakes in pronunciation and comprehension. However, pupils in all year groups use their good phonic knowledge to read fluently.
• Mathematics is taught better than other subjects across the school. Pupils build on their strong foundation gained from key stage 1 to apply their skills more confidently to solve mathematical problems. Pupils know and understand their number facts appropriate for their age. However, despite pupils being capable of tackling more complex problems, the more able pupils are rarely challenged sufficiently, particularly in key stage 2.
• Teachers’ assessment of pupils’ work in key stage 2 is inaccurate. Teachers have not made use of the moderation opportunities available in the local cluster of primary schools.
• Teachers do not plan how they will develop pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding across the curriculum. Consequently, these aspects of pupils’ personal development are not well promoted. Pupils’ understanding of British values is limited.
• Pupils’ handwriting is consistently legible. Pupils are taught well how to write cursively and present their work neatly.
• The quality of teaching in key stage 1 is good. Teachers know and understand pupils’ individual needs well and lessons in all subjects are planned accordingly. Effective, timely intervention strategies are used where gaps in pupils’ knowledge are identified. Resources are used effectively.
• The teaching of phonics is effective. Pupils quickly gain skills to read fluently and decode unfamiliar words.
• Teaching assistants play an effective role in helping pupils to learn quickly in key stage 1 and in the early years. They are directed well by the class teacher. Teaching assistants know the curriculum well because they receive regular training provided by the class teacher.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is inadequate.
• Pupils’ understanding of communities, cultures and faiths other than their own is very limited. Some pupils studied the Jewish religion last year, but their understanding is patchy. Pupils have not received religious education lessons this year.
• The school’s link with a school in Sheffield, initiated to help pupils understand better Britain’s multicultural society, has had very little impact on pupils’ understanding of pupils from different backgrounds and heritages. This is because contact has been minimal.
• Pupils’ have not been helped to appreciate and understand the range of relationships and lifestyles that exist in society. Pupils’ attitudes towards those who are different to themselves have not been developed well.
• Pupils do not understand how to keep themselves safe. They have received some guidance on internet safety, but this input was in the last academic year and pupils do not recall specific details. Pupils have not received information to help them understand the dangers of extremism.
• Pupils take on positions of responsibility readily. They enjoy helping out during lunchtimes as ‘VIPs’, although opportunities for them to take on more leadership roles as they get older are limited.
• Pupils feel safe. Bullying incidents are now rare. Pupils are happy in the school.
• Pupils are very well mannered and cooperate with one another, including during break and lunchtimes.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• The school has not tackled pupils’ lateness rigorously enough. The registration window is open for too long and records show that too many pupils regularly arrive after school officially starts.
• There are few incidents of poor behaviour. Current pupils’ behaviour and conduct around the school are orderly and respectful. However, examples of poor behaviour since the last inspection were not always dealt with effectively by teachers.
• Pupils’ absence and persistent absence rates have been higher than national averages in previous years. This was mainly due to families choosing to take holidays during term time. Attendance figures are currently above last year’s national averages.

Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

• In the end of key stage 2 assessments in 2016, pupils’ outcomes in mathematics, writing, reading and English grammar, punctuation and spelling tests were well below average. Very few reached expected standards. Pupils did not make the progress they should from their starting points.
• Currently, pupils in key stage 2 are not making enough progress to enable them to reach the standards they should because they are not stretched sufficiently in a range of subjects.
• Disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities do not consistently make the progress they should across all subjects.
• Pupils’ progress is not monitored well in key stage 2, so gaps in pupils’ knowledge and understanding are not considered carefully during teachers’ planning to ensure that they are tackled. Records of pupils’ work over time show they are not all working at the standard they should be for their ages in reading and writing.
• In key stage 2, pupils’ writing skills are not as strong as they should be, considering pupils’ abilities. Pupils who are capable of reaching higher standards are not challenged sufficiently. They do not routinely use a wide range of vocabulary, language structure and punctuation to develop their writing.
• Pupils’ reading skills are not monitored well; some pupils are provided with reading books which are too simple for their ability. The school does not promote a reading culture, despite pupils’ declared love of reading in their spare time.
• Many pupils are on track to meet their targets in mathematics across all key stages. They regularly practise applying their skills. The most able pupils, however, are not consistently pushed to reach the higher standards and work at greater depth.
• Pupils’ knowledge and skills in the subjects other than English and mathematics, such as French, art and history, are very weak.
• Pupils in Year 6 are not prepared well for secondary education.
• In 2016, all pupils reached the expected standard in the phonics screening check at the end of Year 1.
• Pupils’ outcomes in all subjects at key stage 1 are consistently above the national averages. They make good progress from the end of Reception.

Early years provision Inadequate

• Despite significant strengths in the early years, the provision is inadequate because the school’s safeguarding policies, procedures and practices do not meet statutory requirements.
• Children make good progress in early years from their different starting points. All children consistently gain a good level of development and some attain above age-related expectations.
• The early years leader uses her experience to monitor children’s progress meticulously. She ensures that parents are regularly involved in their children’s learning.
• The outdoor provision has been developed and now provides a suitable range of opportunities for children to explore and develop their imagination. Their core skills are encouraged skilfully through daily personalised intervention by the teaching assistant. For example, the teacher encourages sharing and cooperative play, as pupils’ social skills were identified as a key weakness.
• Children make good progress across most areas of learning. They show a keen interest in writing and, in particular, letter and number formation.
• Teachers develop children’s phonic knowledge well using a range of methods, including song and rhyme. By the time they reach key stage 1, they are ready for the next stage of their education.
• Pupils are polite and well mannered. They sit and listen attentively when the teacher is presenting to the class.
• Children are happy. Parents praise the support provided for their children. As a result of teachers’ good pre-school liaison and the excellent reputation of the early years provision in the local area, more children are expected to join the Reception class in September.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 112813 Derbyshire 10023134 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Voluntary controlled 5 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 11 Appropriate authority Local authority Co-chairs Headteacher Mrs Kay Argyle and Mr John Payne Mrs Rachel Metcalfe Telephone number 01433 670280 Website Email address www.edale.derbyshire.sch.uk/ headteacher@edale.derbyshire.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 1–2 May 2012

Information about this school

• The school does not meet requirements on the publication of information about the physical and sport premium, special educational needs and/or disabilities provision and pupils’ progress.
• This is a much smaller primary school than average with only 11 pupils on roll. All pupils are of White British heritage.
• Much smaller than the average proportion of pupils are eligible for pupil premium funding. There are no pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• The school is affiliated with the Diocese of Derby.
• Children from Reception to Year 6 are taught in two mixed-age and mixed-ability classes. The headteacher has been absent from school since December 2016. The school is led by an interim headteacher, who works part time at the school and is also the headteacher of a neighbouring primary school.
• The governing body has been recently reconstituted. The chair of the governing body has changed three times since August 2016.

Information about this inspection

• This inspection was originally carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. Inspectors converted the inspection to a section 5 in order to gather more secure evidence about the quality of education at the school.
• Inspectors observed pupils’ learning in all phases of the school. Their workbooks were scrutinised and they were heard reading.
• Inspectors met with the executive headteacher, a co-chair and the vice-chair of governors, other members of staff, groups of pupils and local authority representatives. Inspectors also spoke by telephone with the other co-chair of governors and the director of education of the Diocese of Derby.
• Inspectors took account of parents’ views during the inspection, through school surveys and parental meetings and feedback on site. No parent, pupil or staff responded to Ofsted’s online survey.
• Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including safeguarding records, the school’s self-evaluation, the school’s action plan, behaviour logs, performance management records, external reviews from the local authority and continuous professional development records.

Inspection team

Zarina Connolly, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Matthew Spoors Ofsted Inspector