The Fourfields Church of England School, Sutterton Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching and learning by ensuring that:
  • teachers have high expectations of what pupils should be able to achieve and provide pupils with sufficient challenge
  • teachers use accurate assessment information to set tasks that match pupils’ needs well, including those who have SEN and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils
  • teachers have high expectations of the quality of pupils’ presentation and handwriting
  • teachers are consistent in providing pupils with guidance on how they can improve their work further
  • the teaching of phonics is challenging enough for pupils to make as much progress as they are capable of.
• Improve the quality of leadership and management by ensuring that:
  • middle and senior leaders are given enough time and support to drive improvement and understand the impact of their actions
  • the provision for disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities is monitored carefully in order to understand the impact of support on the progress that these pupils make
  • safeguarding records are well organised and managed, and audit procedures are thorough
  • systems for assessing and monitoring attainment and pupils’ progress are accurate and used consistently by all staff
  • pupils have a greater understanding of fundamental British values.
• Improve the quality of pupils’ personal development and welfare by ensuring that teachers have higher expectations of pupils’ learning behaviour and independence while in class and during their learning.
• An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.
• An external review of the use of the pupil premium fund 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 are aware of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. They have put in place strategies to tackle the low attainment and progress of pupils in key stage 2. However, recent strategies introduced to raise standards have not had time to impact on the progress that pupils are making.
• The monitoring of school improvement by leaders has not been accurate enough to give a true picture of the progress that pupils are making. Some inaccurate assessment has resulted in leaders having an overgenerous view of the effectiveness of school improvement strategies.
• Systems for checking and monitoring how well pupils are doing are not always accurate. Leaders have not ensured that there is a consistent approach to assessing pupils’ attainment by all teachers.
• Until recently, the structure of senior and middle leadership has not been defined well enough for leaders to drive improvements effectively. Leadership responsibilities have not been distributed successfully. Leaders have not received the time and support required to bring about effective change.
• The leader for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities does not have a secure understanding of how support is impacting on the progress that pupils make. Leaders have not checked the support that is provided carefully enough to ensure that it is helping pupils to make progress.
• The leader for disadvantaged pupils does not have a sharp view of how the spending of the pupil premium fund is supporting pupils. Leaders have not evaluated how actions have affected the progress that these pupils make. While some pupils make progress in line with the school’s expectations, others do not make as much progress as they are capable of.
• Leaders have not ensured that pupils have a good understanding of fundamental British values. Pupils can explain the school’s values, linked to the Christian ethos of the school, but they cannot relate these to life in modern Britain.
• Leaders have ensured that the curriculum provides pupils with opportunities to learn across a range of subjects. However, the quality of teaching in the foundation subjects is inconsistent. Leaders have not checked the quality of teaching and learning across the curriculum carefully enough.
• The local authority has identified support for the leadership team. However, its view is that leaders have not always accessed support in a timely manner when required.
• The executive headteacher and leadership team have a clear vision for the school and are determined to raise standards.
• The executive headteacher has ensured that staff receive relevant training to develop their skills. Leaders have identified and put in place training for staff who require additional support. Staff work in collaboration with staff from the partner school in the Emmaus Federation.

Governance of the school

• Governors are aware of the need to rapidly raise standards for pupils in key stage 2. However, assessment information has been overgenerous and governors have been too quick to accept what leaders have told them.
• The governing body has not used the skills of governors well enough to effectively monitor the work of the school. Monitoring of school improvement strategies has not been rigorous enough to fully hold leaders to account. This includes the auditing of safeguarding procedures at the school.
• Governors are reflective about what has not worked in the past. They understand what they need to focus on to drive up standards.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. However, leaders have not ensured that safeguarding records are thorough. Leaders have not insisted that staff record incidents using the school’s systems. Occasionally, leaders have not made sure that incidents are recorded well enough to provide an accurate record of events and subsequent actions.
• Staff, including office and lunchtime staff, are aware of their duty to pass on any concerns to the designated safeguarding leader. Leaders have ensured that the school is a nurturing place where children will be listened to when they want to talk.
• The designated safeguarding leader seeks help and advice from external agencies when necessary.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Due to a legacy of underachievement, some pupils have not made as much progress as they should. Sometimes, teachers’ expectations are not high enough and the pace of learning over time is not rapid enough to make up gaps in learning.
• Teachers’ strategies for monitoring pupils’ learning are sometimes not accurate enough. Teachers do not move pupils on quickly enough in their learning, and some pupils do not make as much progress as they are capable of.
• Sometimes assessment information is not accurate enough for teachers to set tasks that match pupils’ needs. Tasks set can be too easy or too hard and do not meet some pupils’ individual needs. This includes pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils.
• Teachers are inconsistent in their approach to helping pupils improve their work. Pupils do not make corrections or respond to teachers’ feedback. When pupils do make corrections, teachers do not check these routinely and sometimes pupils repeat mistakes.
• Teachers’ expectations of pupils’ presentation and handwriting are not always high enough. Sometimes teachers do not expect high standards of presentation or encourage pupils to improve their handwriting.
• Pupils’ knowledge of grammar and punctuation is sometimes not secure enough to support the development of their writing. Teachers have not always ensured that pupils have a secure understanding of basic grammar before moving them on to more complex grammatical concepts.
• Teachers are not consistent in correcting children’s spelling. Some pupils repeatedly spell common words incorrectly and teachers do not routinely check their work.
• In mathematics, teachers focus on securing basic skills which pupils then build on to deepen their understanding. Sometimes teachers do not move pupils on fast enough, or tasks are too difficult to meet the needs of some pupils.
• Teachers have recently begun a new approach to developing pupils’ reading skills. However, sometimes pupils do not have the background knowledge necessary to be able to fully comprehend more demanding texts.
• The development of pupils’ early reading skills is not rapid enough. Teachers do not have high enough expectations of pupils’ phonics skills and pupils repeat what they have already learned. Some pupils do not make as much progress as they are capable of.
• The teaching of the foundation subjects is inconsistent. In some classes, pupils have more opportunities to develop their skills in the wider curriculum than in others.
• Where teaching is better, teachers use their subject knowledge well to set tasks that meet pupils’ needs. Teachers make links between subjects. For example, in a Year 1 physical education lesson, pupils were traversing the apparatus representing the characteristics of mini-beasts.
• During lessons, teaching assistants are skilled in supporting pupils. When required, they intervene to ensure that pupils understand, and then they move them on with their learning.

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 have not developed pupils’ attitudes to learning well enough. During lessons, pupils do not routinely demonstrate the attributes of successful learners. Sometimes when pupils finish tasks they do not seek the next challenge and do not seek to further their learning.
• Sometimes, during lessons, pupils lose focus and drift off from the task that has been set. Occasionally, pupils lack the resilience to complete tasks. This is sometimes due to teachers not setting tasks that closely match pupils’ needs.
• Leaders have ensured that pupils’ physical well-being is developed well. Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep healthy, and they understand the importance of physical exercise on healthy lifestyles. They enjoy taking part in the many physical and sporting activities on offer.
• Staff are committed to developing pupils’ emotional well-being. The school’s nurturing ethos creates an environment where pupils are happy to be themselves, and they know that there is always someone who will listen to and support them.
• Pupils have a good understanding, appropriate to their age, of how to keep themselves safe. For example, children in Year 1 could explain what to do if the fire bell should sound, whereas older children talked about how to keep themselves safe outside of school and while using online games and social media.
• Pupils know what bullying is, and the different types of bullying. They say that there are very few incidents, and if there were, adults would sort them out. Teachers encourage pupils to talk together to resolve their problems with the support of adults.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils’ conduct around the school is orderly and well mannered. Pupils are polite, holding doors and greeting visitors. Adults take an interest in pupils’ lives and, during the day, talk to pupils in corridors, in the playground and around the school. Pupils enjoy these moments and happily talk about their day.
• In the playground, pupils play well together. They enjoy exploring the extensive grounds and use the different spaces in their play. For example, pupils in key stage 1 were enjoying playing ‘hide and seek’ in the wooded area.
• Pupils understand the school’s behaviour policy, which is used consistently by adults throughout the school. Generally, pupils behave well in lessons.
• Pupils are keen to attend school, and parents understand the importance of good attendance. The school’s rates of attendance are consistent with the national average.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• The proportion of pupils achieving the combined expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2 has been below the national average since 2016. The school’s assessment information shows that while there has been an improvement in 2018, this will be the case again.
• In reading, the school’s own assessment information indicates that the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard will rise this year. However, it will be below the national average. Pupils in key stage 2 are not making enough progress when compared with that of other pupils nationally. This has been the case for the last three years.
• The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in mathematics is set to rise slightly in 2018. However, it will be below the national average. Pupils are not making as much progress as pupils nationally. Pupils’ workbooks show that tasks set are not always challenging enough for all pupils to make good progress.
• The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard at the end of key stage 2 in writing is set to fall in 2018 to below the national average. Pupils make better progress in writing than in reading. However, they are not making enough progress when compared with that of other pupils nationally. Pupils’ workbooks show that teachers are not routinely supporting pupils to improve their work. The assessment of pupils’ writing is not consistent across all year groups.
• In key stage 1, the proportion of pupils achieving at the expected standard has improved and is likely to be similar to the national average in reading and mathematics in 2018. The proportion of key stage 1 pupils achieving the expected standard in writing is expected to be above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check fell in 2017 to below the national average. The school’s assessment information indicates that this will improve in 2018, but it will be slightly below the national average.
• While there are small numbers of disadvantaged pupils in each year group, the progress of these pupils is inconsistent, and some pupils make better progress than others. Leaders have not carefully monitored the impact of support provided for these pupils and some have not made as much progress as they should.
• Some pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are not making as much progress as they should. The support for these pupils does not always meet their needs.

Early years provision Good

• The leader for the early years has ensured that children starting at the school have a smooth transition. Teachers invite children to visit the school frequently during the summer term, playing with children in the Reception class and joining assemblies. Children settle quickly when they start school.
• The early years teacher has quickly established routines, and most children understand and follow these well. Children play happily together, take turns and share toys and equipment. They are confident and keen to investigate the different activities available to them.
• Adults assess children’s skills carefully. The teacher uses this information to plan activities that meet children’s individual needs. The teacher and early years leader are ambitious for children and have high expectations of what they should achieve.
• The early years environment is bright and well resourced. Children access activities with confidence. Adults question and prompt children to develop their learning and regularly take part in role play activities to develop learning. For example, adults joined in when children were having a pretend picnic.
• The teacher has begun teaching early reading through the development of children’s knowledge of phonics sounds. Adults skilfully demonstrate sounds and correct mispronounced phonics sounds learned prior to starting at school.
• The proportion of children leaving the early years with a good level of development is consistently similar to the national average. The early years teacher and leaders are ambitious for this to rise further.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 120559 Lincolnshire 10053102 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 Maintained 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 151 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Executive Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Charles Robertson Claire Collett 01205 460 547 www.suttertonswinesheadfederation.co.uk claire.collett@suttertonswinesheadfederation.co.uk Date of previous inspection March 2015

Information about this school

• The school is part of the Emmaus Federation of schools, working in partnership with Swineshead St Mary’s Church of England Primary School. The executive headteacher is responsible for both schools.
• The school is a smaller than the average primary school.
• The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is below the national average.
• The majority of pupils are from a White British background.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors observed learning in a number of lessons, some of which were observed jointly with the executive headteacher and the head of school. They observed the teaching of early reading skills and listened to pupils read. The inspectors also talked with pupils about their school and looked at examples of pupils’ work to gain a view of the impact of teaching over time.
• Meetings were held with the executive headteacher, head of school, middle leaders and representatives of the governing body. The inspectors also spoke with the local authority adviser.
• The inspectors spoke with parents informally and considered the 49 responses to the online parent questionnaire, Parent View, and the 14 responses to the staff survey.
• The inspectors looked at a range of documents, including: the school’s self-evaluation and plans for improvement; the most recent information on the achievement and progress of pupils; information relating to the safeguarding of pupils; and the most recent data relating to the attendance of pupils.
• The inspectors considered the range and quality of information provided on the school’s website.

Inspection team

Helen Williams, lead inspector Elizabeth Mace Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector