All Saints Church of England Primary School, Coalville Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching by making sure that teachers consistently:
  • have high expectations of what pupils should achieve in lessons and the quality and amount of work they should produce
  • motivate learning and encourage a positive response from pupils
  • provide tasks for the most able pupils that challenge them to make the best possible progress
  • enable those pupils who receive extra help to quickly build upon what they know and can do.
• Improve outcomes for pupils by:
  • adopting a consistent approach to the teaching of reading which helps pupils to understand what they read
  • ensuring that pupils spell accurately and have more opportunities to write at length
  • widening ways for pupils to deepen their understanding and reasoning skills in mathematics.
• Improve leadership and management by:
  • developing the role of subject leaders, and those responsible for the provision of special educational needs, in improving the quality of teaching
  • ensuring consistent feedback to support staff so that they know what they are doing well and how to improve
  • making sure that the school’s behaviour systems are effective in promoting good behaviour and are fully understood and valued by pupils, staff and parents
  • establishing more useful ways for leaders and governors to check the impact of the school’s work to improve attendance and behaviour.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Leaders’ plans to improve the quality of teaching have been slowed by staff changes and long-term absence. This has hindered actions to ensure consistently good teaching and outcomes for pupils.
• Changes to behaviour systems are not yet fully effective in promoting a positive response from pupils. There is room for greater communication with parents to allay any concerns over behaviour that they may have.
• There is inconsistency in the quality of feedback to support staff. This means that not all are clear about the quality of their work and the part they play in moving the school forward.
• Leaders, including governors, lack efficient ways to spot patterns and trends to help them to evaluate the effectiveness of their work in improving attendance and behaviour.
• Some subject leaders and others responsible for the provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities do not have sufficient input into helping teachers to understand how to improve their teaching.
• Since her appointment, the headteacher has tackled difficulties presented by staff changes and made the best use of staff expertise. She has a realistic view of how well the school is doing and what it needs to do to improve.
• The headteacher and senior leaders have established effective systems to check pupils’ progress and to ensure that teachers know what pupils should achieve.
• The headteacher has ensured improvements to the teaching of phonics. It is now consistently good, including in the early years, and pupils achieve well.
• Leaders set clear priorities and targets to help teachers to improve and to increase the rate of pupils’ progress. The local authority helps the school to establish links with other local schools. Because of this, teachers and leaders share expertise with others, with a positive effect on improving their skills.
• Leaders have improved the ways in which disadvantaged pupils, including the most able and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, are identified and supported. They use extra funding, including that supplied by the pupil premium, effectively to provide regular extra help for these pupils, whose academic and personal achievements are improving.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced. Subjects are often linked together in interesting topics. There is a good focus on developing pupils’ language skills and vocabulary.
• Leaders evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum to ensure that resources, for example in mathematics, and the development of skills, for example in science, are improving outcomes for pupils.
• Pupils learn about a range of places, eras and faiths, with a positive effect on their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding. This, together with learning about the values of tolerance and respect, prepares pupils suitably for life in modern Britain.
• The outside environment is used well to enhance learning. Pupils enjoy the range of sports and extra activities on offer. The sports funding is used effectively to improve the teaching of physical education and widen pupils’ skills. The school’s sports teams meet with success due to increased participation in inter-school sports.

Governance of the school

• Governance is effective in helping to improve the school. However, there is room for improvement in the way in which governors check how well attendance and behaviour are improving.
• Governors are supportive of the school’s work and staff. They recognise the difficulties presented by staff changes and they have helped to see the school through recent changes.
• Governors are honing their skills at holding school leaders to account. They ask relevant questions about the school’s performance and are involved in setting key priorities.
• Governors meet frequently with school leaders to keep themselves informed about the curriculum and how it promotes learning and important values.
• Governors undertake training to keep themselves up to date. They make good use of expertise within their ranks to develop their skills in analysing progress information and the impact of the pupil premium spending on pupils’ achievement.
• Governors gather the views of pupils and parents to help them to judge the effectiveness of the school’s work.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders make sure that staff receive frequent training and updates to help them to keep pupils safe. Leaders ensure that adults who work with children are suitably vetted.
• Leaders have established the systematic collection and secure storage of essential paperwork. They maintain extensive records of child protection procedures and work well with a range of external agencies to follow up any issues.
• Leaders maintain good links with families whose circumstances may make them more vulnerable and provide them with early help and support. This aids prompt communication should any concerns over children’s welfare arise and helps parents to understand how to deal with any issues.
• Anti-bullying and online safety are promoted in assemblies and lessons, sometimes led by theatre groups and the local police force. Older pupils visit outside locations, such as the ‘Warning Zone’, to help them to assess risks and learn how to keep themselves safe from potential dangers, including exploitation and extremism.
• Leaders make sure that pupils develop a sense of respect and tolerance through links with other schools and visits to places of worship. Infrequent racist and bullying incidents are logged and followed up.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teaching is not yet consistently good. Sometimes, expectations of behaviour, the quality of pupils’ work and their engagement during lessons are not high enough. This means that some pupils do not work hard enough and concentrate well enough to make good progress.
• Teachers do not challenge the most able pupils to make the best possible progress because sometimes the work is too easy.
• In some instances, disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities do not build quickly upon the good progress they make when they work in small support groups.
• The teaching of reading is inconsistent. There is some variation in how frequently pupils read and how well teachers check pupils’ understanding of what they read. When reading is taught well, activities enable the development of a range of reading skills and an enjoyment of reading.
• The teaching of spelling is not systematic enough to make sure that pupils build their skills in spelling accurately. This means that pupils do not improve their writing as quickly as they could.
• Although they write for a range of purposes and in various subjects, there is limited opportunity for pupils to develop flow and style by writing extensively.
• In mathematics, teachers do not consistently encourage pupils to talk about their findings or to deepen their understanding by using their mathematical skills.
• Staff develop pupils’ language skills and widen vocabulary well. They encourage pupils to talk about the plot and characters of popular stories and they introduce new words. Teachers adopt a consistent approach to handwriting. The teaching of grammar and punctuation is regular and pupils are expected to use their skills when they write.
• Staff make good use of extra resources, for example computers, to enhance pupils’ learning. They ask relevant questions to extend pupils’ thinking. They check pupils’ understanding and correct any misconceptions.
• Learning support assistants and additional staff contribute well to the development of basic skills in literacy and numeracy. They build good relationships with pupils and play an important role in improving the behaviour of individuals.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement. The impact of the school’s work to raise pupils’ aspirations and to help them to set their own goals is not yet evident throughout the school. Some pupils’ sense of the part they play in the school community is not strongly developed.
• Pupils who take on small jobs to help their teachers accept their responsibilities willingly. Those who are in the school council are pleased by their efforts to help to improve the school.
• Pupils say that they feel safe and they talk sensibly about ways to keep themselves safe. They know about the different forms of bullying, including when using technology, because of their learning during assemblies and in lessons. Pupils know whom to talk to if they have any worries and they value the help they receive from adults.
• Staff offer good support to promote pupils’ emotional development and well-being, especially for those pupils whose circumstances may make them more vulnerable.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement because not all pupils are fully engaged and motivated to learn. This affects the amount of progress they make in lessons.
• Pupils spoken to during the inspection agreed that the school helps those pupils who find it difficult to behave well. However, they said that behaviour is still variable because not all pupils value the rules, rewards and sanctions.
• Most pupils, including children in the early years, behave well. Pupils concentrate in lessons and during assembly. They listen well to their peers and to adults. When they are fully engaged, interested and suitably challenged by their work, they show a real zest for learning and make good progress.
• Attendance is improving due to the school’s efforts. Pupils say that they enjoy school and receiving awards for good attendance. The school’s work with individual pupils and their families is leading to a reduction in frequent absences. However, leaders lack an effective system to help them to check any patterns in the absence of specific groups of pupils.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• There is variation in the amount of progress pupils make from class to class. Most pupils make the expected progress but not enough make the good progress that is needed to reach the standards expected for their age.
• In 2016, the standards reached by pupils in Year 6 were below average in writing and mathematics and well below average in reading. This is because these pupils experienced underachievement as they moved through the school due to staff changes. For a while, staff absence affected the leadership of English within the school.
• The most able pupils made at least the expected progress by the end of Year 6 in 2016 and some did even better in reading and mathematics. However, those from disadvantaged backgrounds did not achieve as well as they should. Clearer identification of the most able pupils means that they now make the expected progress. Not enough are yet making accelerated progress because, in some lessons, work is not sufficiently challenging.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make variable rates of progress in line with their classmates. They make the best progress when they work in small groups where adult support and resources are well matched to their needs and abilities.
• In recent years, disadvantaged pupils have not achieved as well as their peers. Leaders’ review of how the pupil premium funding supports eligible pupils is now leading to an improvement in their performance. The school’s information shows that pupils’ progress is accelerating as a result of extra help and support to improve basic skills in English and mathematics. However, there is some way to go to ensure that these pupils do as well as pupils nationally.
• In 2016, pupils in Year 1 reached average standards in phonics, which was a big improvement on the previous year. This is now beginning to have an impact on improving pupils’ reading, writing and spelling.
• The school’s information and work in books shows that pupils who are currently in Year 6 are making good progress. An above-average proportion of pupils are on track to reach the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics by the time they leave. As a result, they are much better prepared for their move to secondary school than previous pupils.

Early years provision Good

• Strong teamwork among staff means there is a consistent approach to teaching which leads to good outcomes for children. Staff check regularly on children’s progress and collate evidence of learning frequently. They use what they know about children’s progress to plan the next steps in learning. Tasks are well matched to children’s abilities.
• The well-organised and attractive class areas stimulate children’s involvement and positive response. Children engage willingly and are proud of their achievements because staff encourage children to do their best. Children behave well and safely because of good guidance and the rewards that they receive for their efforts.
• Good teaching motivates learning well. A range of interesting activities promote the development of basic skills in reading, writing and mathematics, both indoors and outside. There is a good balance between tasks that children choose for themselves and those that are adult-led.
• Children start in Reception with skills that are lower than those typically expected for their age, especially in personal development and language and literacy. They make good progress in these and other areas of learning, which lays firm foundations for the learning they will encounter when they move to Year 1.
• Staff maintain good daily communication with parents. They help parents to link children’s achievements at home with those they make in school. Effective contact with external agencies aids staff in identifying and supporting children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Additional funding is used well to help to diminish any differences in performance between disadvantaged children and others.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 120123 Leicestershire 10023173 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 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 224 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Bridgette Lawrence Heather Hall 01530 832608 www.allsaints-coalville.leics.sch.uk office@allsaints-coalville.leics.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 25–26 September 2012

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school is smaller than average.
• The majority of pupils are of White background.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium is average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above average.
• The school is part of the Forest Way Teaching School Alliance.
• In 2016, the school met the government’s floor standards, which set the minimum expectation for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The early years provision comprises two Reception classes which children attend full time.
• Since the previous inspection, the school has experienced significant staff and leadership changes. The current headteacher took up post in January 2015.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed 15 lessons and one assembly. Several lessons were seen jointly with the headteacher. In all, 10 members of staff were seen teaching.
• Inspectors looked at samples of work from all classes. They talked to pupils about their work during lessons and listened to pupils read. Inspectors met with groups of pupils.
• Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour around the school and at playtimes and lunchtimes.
• Inspectors held meetings with governors, school leaders and staff. An inspector spoke to a representative from the local authority and the headteacher of a local partnership school.
• Inspectors analysed the 20 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, and took into account parents’ written comments. Inspectors also spoke to some parents during the inspection.
• Inspectors analysed the 18 responses to the questionnaire submitted by school staff.
• Inspectors scrutinised the school’s systems and documentation relating to safeguarding. They looked at progress and attendance information. Inspectors looked at school improvement plans and evidence of the monitoring of teaching.

Inspection team

Viv McTiffen, lead inspector Caroline Oliver Linda Lyn-Cook Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector