Heckington St Andrew's Church of England School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of leadership and management by ensuring that:
  • leaders effectively use the assessment system to ensure that teachers’ judgements on pupils’ progress and attainment are accurate
  • the governing body hold leaders fully to account by rigorously monitoring the school development plan and making frequent visits to check on the school’s work
  • recommendations from recent reviews for disadvantaged pupils and for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities are fully implemented, reviewed and evaluated
  • teachers frequently moderate pupils’ work with each other and colleagues from other schools to ensure that assessment judgements are accurate.
• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment so that pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, make consistently good progress by ensuring that:
  • teachers use assessment information effectively to plan work that challenges and supports pupils
  • teachers insist on high standards of presentation and pride in pupils’ work
  • teaching assistants are used consistently well across the school.
• Improve the quality of personal development, behaviour and welfare by ensuring that:
  • rates of absence and persistent absence decrease to be consistently in line with national averages
  • pupils are better prepared for life in modern Britain by learning about British values and faiths and cultures different to their own
  • pupils’ conduct and attitudes to learning are consistently good.
• Improve the quality of the early years by ensuring that:
  • more boys and disadvantaged children achieve a good level of development
  • children make as strong progress in writing as they do in other areas of the curriculum. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• Leaders and the governing body have been unsuccessful in preventing a decline in pupils’ progress during key stage 2 over the last few years. This has particularly been the case for mathematics and, in 2017, reading.
• Leaders do not consistently use the school’s assessment system to check on the accuracy of teachers’ judgements about the attainment and progress made by pupils. Inspectors found evidence of some teachers’ judgements being too generous and therefore unreliable.
• The governing body do not hold leaders to account effectively. For example, they do not routinely check on the progress of the school development plan or make frequent visits to the school in order to monitor its work.
• The recently appointed headteacher has done much in the very short time she has been in post. The headteacher has correctly identified the areas of the school that require improvement through a thorough self-evaluation process. She has written concise and detailed action plans to address the subsequent identified issues.
• The English and mathematics subject leaders have undertaken relevant training and begun to share this with colleagues. Leaders have correctly identified that too many pupils are not working at age-related expectations and that standards of pupils’ handwriting and presentation of work are low. The mathematics leader has introduced a new calculation policy and the English leader a new handwriting scheme in order to start to address these issues.
• The new chair and vice-chair of the governing body are determined and passionate about improving the school. They are aware that individual governors need to take increased responsibility, for example of the monitoring of the school development plan, in key subjects and for pupils’ outcomes.
• The headteacher has rightly requested external reviews of the pupil premium funding and the provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities to help assess how these areas of the school can be improved. She has improved communication and relationships with parents through the school website and the introduction of a parent forum. Recent parental questionnaires conducted by the school show an improvement in parents’ impressions and satisfaction with the school than has previously been the case. However, some parental responses indicate that there are still improvements to be made.
• The new leader and governor responsible for the allocation, monitoring and evaluation of the pupil premium funding have made a positive start. They have correctly identified pupils’ barriers to learning and have ensured that all entitled pupils, including the most able pupils, are receiving extra support or challenge. The leader has begun to implement the recommendations identified at the recent external review. The leader acknowledges that currently some, but not all, pupil premium pupils are making good progress.
• The new leader responsible for the progress of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities has been successful in ensuring that systems for identifying and giving extra support to pupils who require it are in place. Links with outside agencies, including a play therapist, and the local authority ‘specialist teaching team’ are now established. The leader has begun to implement the recommendations identified at the recent external review. The leader acknowledges that currently some, but not all, pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are making good progress.
• The leader responsible for the allocation of the physical education and sport funding is effective. In partnership with the local sports partnership, staff have received specialist training and pupils have developed skills in a wide variety of sports, including archery, fencing and triathlon. Careful records of attendance are kept to ensure that no pupil misses competing in various organised competitions.
• Leaders have ensured that there is a broad and balanced curriculum. Pupils have the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills in a wide range of subjects, including science, music and art. Pupils enjoy regular opportunities to experience educational visits that help to broaden their experiences. For example, pupils in Year 5 recently experienced a Victorian day and pupils in Year 6 are looking forward to the upcoming residential to test their outdoor and adventurous abilities.
• The local authority has been effective recently in supporting the headteacher in her new role. The locality lead and consultant head teacher have, for example, helped to verify judgements on the quality of teaching. However, not enough has been done historically to halt the decline in key stage 2 progress, particularly in mathematics.

Governance of the school

• The governing body have been unsuccessful in holding leaders to account for the recent poor progress of pupils leaving the school. The governing body have not rigorously monitored the progress of the school development plan or made frequent enough visits to the school to check on its work.
• The recently appointed chair and vice-chair of governors are knowledgeable and experienced. They are aware of the current areas of the school that require improvement and are determined to address them.
• The governing body have undertaken relevant training in, for example, safeguarding and finance.
• The governing body have rightly commissioned an external review of governance to help them assess how they can be more effective in their roles.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders have undertaken safer recruitment training and ensured that all relevant checks are made on adults before they are allowed to work or volunteer at the school.
• Designated safeguarding leads have received appropriate training in, for example, spotting the signs of domestic violence, child sex exploitation and female genital mutilation. Other members of staff are kept updated frequently through relevant safeguarding training, local authority updates and discussions during staff meetings.
• There is a strong safeguarding culture within the school. Staff complete orange ‘concern forms’ diligently when they are worried about a pupil’s welfare. The designated leads contact outside agencies promptly should a pupil or family require external support.
• A recently completed safeguarding audit by the knowledgeable chair of governors has helped to verify this good practice and has improved site security.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teachers do not consistently use assessment information to plan work that supports the learning of the least able pupils and challenges the most able pupils. Inspectors saw examples in lessons and in pupils’ books where pupils had completed exactly the same work. Consequently, sometimes the work is too hard for some pupils and too easy for others.
• Teachers do not have high enough expectations of what pupils can achieve. Standards of pupils’ handwriting and presentation of work are too variable. Inspectors saw examples in pupils’ books where standards of work had decreased over the academic year.
• Teaching assistants are not always deployed effectively. In the most effective lessons, teaching assistants support different groups of pupils and help to develop learning, confidence and independence. However, there are occasions when time is wasted because the teaching assistants are too passive and do not engage with pupils effectively.
• Teaching is most effective when teachers plan lessons that motivate and challenge pupils. For example, in a Year 4 mathematics lesson, pupils were enjoying describing the properties of quadrilaterals and then making various 3D versions of the shapes. The teacher demonstrated good subject knowledge and the pupils developed their mathematical vocabulary accurately using terms such as ‘vertices’, ‘parallel lines’ and ‘isosceles triangles’.
• Teachers provide pupils with frequent opportunities to practise and improve their spelling and punctuation skills through pieces of extended writing in English and other curriculum areas. For example, inspectors saw examples of letter writing, poetry and report writing.
• The teaching of phonics is a strength. Pupils are interested and engaged in these sessions because they are pitched at the correct level of challenge and the activities are interesting and stimulating. Pupils in Year 1 particularly enjoyed learning the sounds that a particular combination of letters can make, with Year 2 pupils successfully learning the difference between words ending in ‘le’ and ‘el’.
• Pupils in key stage 2 told an inspector they enjoy reading and do so frequently. They read their books fluently and with good expression. Pupils from key stage 1 used their phonic knowledge effectively to read unknown words. However, some reading books contained words that were too hard for them to understand and this prevented them from reading fluently.
• Pupils enjoy taking part in homework activities that help to deepen knowledge and understanding in different topics. For example, there are models of dinosaurs proudly on display in Year 1.
• End-of-year reports give parents information about how well their child is progressing, the standards they have reached and potential targets for the future.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.
• Teachers do not provide pupils with frequent enough opportunities to develop their knowledge of British values and faiths and cultures different to their own. As a result, pupils are not as well prepared for life in modern Britain as they should be.
• Pupils told inspectors that they feel happy and safe. Pupils also have a good knowledge of how to keep themselves safe when they are online. For example, they told an inspector they know to keep personal information private and to tell a trusted adult should they find any inappropriate material.
• Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep themselves fit and healthy. For example, a recent healthy eating week and visit by an Olympic athlete deepened pupils’ knowledge regarding the benefits of a balanced diet combined with regular exercise.
• Pupils enjoy the extra responsibility of being members of the school council and eco club. There are also opportunities for pupils to take on roles as assembly helpers, house captains and library monitors.
• Pupils benefit from a wide variety of extra curriculum clubs including football, netball, fencing and singing. There are also opportunities for pupils to learn a musical instrument.

Behaviour

• Pupils’ behaviour requires improvement because pupils’ conduct and attitudes to learning are not consistently good. For example, inspectors observed examples of low-level disruption and some poor behaviour in lessons where the work was not at the correct level of challenge. Adults’ expectations of how pupils should behave are not always high enough.
• Rates of pupil absence and persistent absence have increased over recent years and are now above the national averages. Current information provided by the school indicates that these rates have increased further during the current academic year.
• Pupils have a good understanding of bullying and the different forms it can take. They are confident that adults deal with any instances of bullying promptly and fairly.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Inspection evidence and assessment information provided by the school indicates that not all current pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, are consistently making good progress from their various starting points in reading, writing and mathematics. Far too many pupils across the school are not currently working at age-related expectations.
• Work seen in books shows that not all pupils are supported or challenged sufficiently in writing, mathematics or topic work. On a number of occasions, inspectors saw examples of whole classes, regardless of a pupil’s individual ability, completing exactly the same activity.
• Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, leaving key stage 2 recently made poor progress. For example, in 2017, all pupils’ progress in mathematics was in the bottom 10% of schools nationally. Pupils’ progress declined sharply in reading and was below the national average in writing.
• The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check fell well below the national average in 2017. Current assessment information provided by the school indicates that the proportion of pupils on track to achieve the expected standard in 2018 will rise significantly.
• In 2017, the proportions of pupils leaving key stage 1 who achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics were above the national averages. The proportions of pupils who achieved at a greater depth were below the national averages.
• In 2017, the proportions of pupils leaving key stage 2 who achieved the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics were broadly in line with the national averages. The proportions who achieved at the higher standard were below the national averages.
• In 2017, the proportions of key stage 2 pupils who achieved the expected and higher standard in the spelling, punctuation and spelling test were in line with the national averages.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• Inspection evidence and information provided by the school indicates that children are currently making slower progress in writing than in other areas of the curriculum.
• Assessment information provided by the school indicates that currently the number of boys and disadvantaged children who are on track to achieve a good level of development is lower than for other groups of children. The quality of teaching is therefore too variable.
• Assessment information and inspection evidence indicates that in 2018, fewer children will achieve a good level of development than has previously been the case. The local authority has moderated these assessments to ensure their accuracy. Consequently, fewer children in this cohort will be suitably prepared for life in Year 1 than in previous years.
• Where activities closely match children’s abilities, they show sustained concentration. For example, a group of children were particularly engrossed when using handheld devices to practise reading simple words and sentences. However, there are also occasions where children’s behaviour and attitudes to learning are not consistently good.
• Children enter the Reception class with skills that are generally just below those seen for their age. Over recent years, the proportion of children achieving a good level of development has been in line with and sometimes above the national average. Historically, therefore, the majority of children have made good progress from their starting points.
• Strong systems exist to track the progress and attainment of children. Frequent assessments are made by adults in all areas of the curriculum. The early years leader has a good overview of which children are making good progress and which might require extra help.
• Transition into the early years is a strength. During the summer term, children from the pre-school and other nurseries visit the Reception class in order to familiarise themselves with staff and routines. There are also opportunities for children to visit with their parents in order to share information with school staff. Consequently, staff in the early years have a good understanding of a child’s abilities before they start at the school.
• There are good links with outside agencies such as the speech and language and local authority ‘working together’ teams. As a result, children and families who require extra support receive it swiftly.
• Safeguarding is effective and all statutory duties are met. Staff have received appropriate safeguarding training and are aware of the procedures that are in place to report any welfare concerns they have about a child.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 120526 Lincolnshire 10048214 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. 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 179 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Dr Amanda Grant Judith Bentley 01529 460633 www.heckington.lincs.sch.uk enquiries@heckington.lincs.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 21–22 September 2012

Information about this school

• The headteacher took up her role in January 2018. The deputy headteacher and leaders responsible for the pupil premium and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities all commenced their roles during the current academic year.
• The chair of the governing body took up her role in May 2018.
• The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is much lower than average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is lower than average.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is below average.
• In 2017, the school met the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ progress in mathematics by the end of Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed lessons in all classes and examined a wide variety of pupils’ books from a variety of subjects.
• Inspectors held a range of meetings with the headteacher, subject and other leaders, the chair and vice-chair of the governing body and a representative from the local authority. Inspectors spoke with pupils in groups, in lessons, around the school and listened to them read. Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in classrooms, around the school and at break and lunchtimes.
• Inspectors scrutinised a range of documents including minutes of governing body meetings, current assessment information provided by the school, the school development plan, self-evaluation and records relating to attendance and safeguarding.
• Inspectors talked with parents before school and examined nine responses (that related to this inspection) to the Ofsted questionnaire, Parent View, and 39 responses to Ofsted’s free-text service. There were no responses to the Ofsted pupil questionnaire and eight responses to the staff survey were considered.

Inspection team

Peter Stonier, lead inspector Susan Wilson

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector