Chacombe CEVA Primary Academy Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:
  • plans for improvement are more sharply focused to allow leaders, governors and trustees to hold staff to account for their contribution to school improvement
  • all middle leaders are more effective in improving pupils’ progress and raising attainment in their areas of responsibility.
• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and pupils’ progress and attainment, by ensuring that:
  • sequences of activities in the curriculum promote greater depth of learning so that more pupils attain the higher standards, particularly in reading, writing and mathematics
  • pupils are taught to more effectively evaluate, edit and improve their own work, particularly in writing
  • pupils have frequent and challenging opportunities to use and extend their problem-solving and reasoning skills in mathematics.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The cohesive leadership and school team are committed to ensuring that pupils thrive in their learning and progress, as well as in their personal development. Leaders and other staff ensure that the school has a welcoming ethos and is a positive place in which to learn.
• Leaders are effective in improving standards. They ensure that staff receive relevant training and support. For example, they have brought about and are developing improvements to teaching in mathematics, a structured approach to guided reading and a text-based approach to the curriculum.
• Leaders meet with teachers to discuss and review carefully pupils’ progress, including those who are disadvantaged and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They identify pupils who may be falling behind and provide specific support to help them catch up. The large majority of pupils make good progress.
• Parents and carers are nearly unanimous in their praise for all aspects of the school’s work. A typical comment of those who responded to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, or who spoke with the inspector was, ‘I love how the school engages with the local community. Alongside interesting school trips and activities, I feel my children are given every opportunity, in the classroom, to flourish.’
• Leaders use the additional funding for pupils with SEND effectively. The knowledgeable coordinator has a clear overview of provision. Pupils’ needs are identified early, and appropriate support is put into place. Pupils’ progress is checked and reviewed carefully. Pupils with SEND make good progress from their starting points. Parents of pupils with SEND were very positive about the support provided for their children.
• The school website was updated during the inspection and the school meets the requirements of what academies should publish.
• The trust provides effective support. Staff work with colleagues in other schools to, for example, share good teaching practice, develop leadership roles or their expertise in assessing pupils’ learning.
• Leaders ensure that the school provides a broad and effective curriculum. The school develops pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. The curriculum is enhanced by a wide range of school trips and clubs. Pupils learn about different faiths and religions. However, some older pupils are not as confident as they should be in their understanding of British values.
• Leaders ensure that the pupil premium is used well to support disadvantaged pupils’ learning and progress. The funding is used to provide additional teaching and learning, as well as enabling participation in residential trips and other opportunities. Leaders check pupils’ progress carefully. However, their reviews of their spending of the funding are not as sharp as they could be, to help to ensure that decisions about future spending have the maximum impact.
• The physical education (PE) and sport premium for primary schools is also used well to increase the proportion of pupils participating in sporting activities. Leaders ensure that the school offers a wide range of sporting opportunities. These include cricket, football, dance, gym, netball, and tennis. A sports partnership with a local secondary school provides opportunities for pupils to engage in inter-school events. For instance, pupils in Year 2 recently participated in a dance experience. However, again, leaders’ plans are not as clear as they could be. They do not identify how the impact of the funding will be sustained.
• The leaders for English and mathematics have had training to develop their roles. They lead staff meetings and support their colleagues. They are bringing about improvements in the quality of teaching. Progress in developing a ‘mastery’ curriculum in mathematics and a text-based approach to the curriculum have been effective. However, some leadership roles, such as for other subject areas or in the early years, are at an earlier stage of development.
• Leaders have accurately identified the areas in which the school needs to improve. However, their plans for improvement do not set out sharply enough the criteria that leaders, governors and trustees can use to hold staff to account.

Governance of the school

• Members of the local board of governors and trustees visit the school to check standards and evaluate improvements. They know the school well. They are committed to developing joint work further between the trust schools to bring about continuous improvement to the quality of teaching and leadership. They are refining the ways in which they work to support and challenge the school better.
• The minutes of their meetings show that those responsible for governance are asking increasingly challenging questions of leaders. However, they have not ensured that the school’s plans for improvement make clear and measurable enough the specific improvements they wish to see so they can more effectively hold leaders to account, including for the impact of additional funding.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. There is a strong culture of safeguarding.
• Pupils say that they feel safe at school. Parents agree that their children feel safe. Parents’ comments are very favourable. For example, one parent said, ‘The school is welcoming and approachable. If I have any concerns I have no hesitation in speaking to any member of staff.’ Instances of bullying or derogatory behaviour are very rare. Pupils are also very confident that staff will quickly resolve any concerns they may have.
• Leaders record any concerns about pupils’ welfare carefully and the actions they take, including the involvement of external agencies where this is relevant. Records are well organised and maintained.
• Leaders ensure that the record of recruitment checks for new staff is thorough.
• The designated leaders for safeguarding ensure that staff receive regular training and are kept up to date with the latest guidance on keeping pupils safe in education. Leaders have recently reviewed the safeguarding policy. Staff are clear on the school’s policy and procedures for reporting any concerns they may have.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers have good subject knowledge which they use to plan interesting lessons. They are positive and enthusiastic and often use creative teaching strategies to engage pupils. Teachers use well-chosen resources to support pupils’ effective learning. Teaching assistants are deployed well to support pupils’ learning.
• Teachers and other staff encourage pupils to appreciate and value learning. Relationships are positive. There is an ethos of mutual respect.
• Teachers have increasingly high expectations of what pupils can achieve. They usually match work well to pupils’ needs and abilities, including for the most able pupils. This is evident in pupils’ work over time, particularly in mathematics.
• Teachers successfully promote pupils’ understanding and use of important vocabulary in different subjects.
• Teachers teach pupils to be confident readers who have a range of strategies for reading words about which they are not sure. They are taught to segment and blend sounds well. Books are matched to pupils’ abilities. The new text-based approach to the curriculum is improving pupils’ attitudes to reading and helping with their writing. Reflecting this, pupils make comments such as, ‘You learn words from books you can use in your writing.’ The recently revised structure for guided reading is helping to promote pupils’ inference and deduction skills well.
• Work to implement a mastery approach to teaching and learning in mathematics has been rapid and is improving pupils’ progress. Staff are effective in using visual imagery and physical apparatus to support teaching and pupils’ learning. Teachers are increasingly developing pupils’ problem solving and reasoning skills. This was illustrated in a mathematics lesson in which pupils were discussing a problem, using language such as, ‘When I tried this, I figured out it had to be this…because…’ However, while improving, the teaching of reasoning skills is not consistently effective.
• Teachers sometimes plan effective sequences of lessons that build pupils’ knowledge and understanding well. When this happens, pupils make strong progress. However, this approach is not yet consistent. Sometimes, pupils do not gain a deep enough understanding of what they are learning. In addition, teachers do not teach pupils consistently well to edit and improve their work, for example to improve sentence structure and spelling, grammar and punctuation in their writing.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils are positive about school life and confident in their outlooks. Reflecting their attitudes to learning, one pupil said, ‘In our space topic, I drew what flowers would look like in an alien world. I figured out how to do a spiral.’ Many parents commented on how their children grow in confidence at school.
• Pupils are proud of their appearance and say they feel smart in their school ties. Staff ensure that pupils take increasing pride in their work.
• Staff consider and promote pupils’ emotional well-being well. Visits from the child counsellor and new initiatives such as philosophy sessions are helping to make pupils become more self-aware.
• Staff teach pupils how to keep safe, including in relation to bullying, when online or road safety. Pupils who spoke with the inspector are emphatic that there is no bullying in the school.
• Pupils are aware of the importance of being healthy and healthy eating. The school ‘daily mile’, in which pupils walk a mile at lunchtimes, helps them to understand the importance of physical exercise.
• Leaders and other staff ensure that the school provides a wide range of clubs to support pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. In addition to the school choir, the school offers a cinema club, craft club, drama club and computer coding. Pupils sang confidently and with enjoyment in a singing assembly.
• Many parents commented on the community links the school fosters. Pupils enjoy their visits to a church, sports trips to a local secondary school and visits to a local care home. Pupils say things such as, ‘It’s nice to meet new people with interesting things to say. They’ve experienced more of the world. It gives you a wider view of what the world is about.’
• Pupils speak eloquently about what makes a good friend and the importance of respecting others who are different from themselves. Pupils understand and ‘live’ the school values. However, some older pupils are not as confident as they should be in their understanding of British values such as democracy.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils conduct themselves well at all times of the school day. Lunchtimes are calm and orderly. They have very good manners. At playtimes, they play happily together and enjoy the range of activities on offer to them.
• In lessons, pupils concentrate and listen carefully. Staff remind pupils about their expectations of behaviour. Pupils know and understand the school’s rules and systems for promoting positive behaviour. They only lose focus on the occasions when work is not matched well to their needs.
• Attendance was above the national average in 2018. Leaders check attendance carefully and emphasise the importance of regular attendance to parents. A small number of pupils, including for pupils who are disadvantaged, are absent too frequently. Leaders take all reasonable steps to improve attendance and work with the families of children who are persistently absent.

Outcomes for pupils

• At the end of key stage 2 in 2018, pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics were average. Over time, attainment at the end of key stage 2 is broadly similar to the national average. At the end of key stage 1 in 2018, pupils’ attainment in reading, writing and mathematics was above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils achieving the required standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check has been above the national averages for the last three years. The proportions of pupils achieving a good level of development in the early years have been close to or above the national averages for the last three years.
• The large majority of current pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. The quality of teaching as well as the commitment of staff to pupils’ personal development and welfare, ensure that pupils are well prepared for each new stage of their education.
• Published information and school information show that boys’ attainment is sometimes below that of girls, particularly in reading and writing. As a result of leaders’ and other staff’s actions, pupils’ current work shows that differences in the attainment and progress of boys and girls are diminishing.
• Teachers ensure that pupils’ handwriting and presentation of their work are improving.
• Published and school information, as well as pupils’ work, shows that sometimes pupils, including the most able, do not progress as well as they should to attain the higher standards. The quality of pupils’ writing is sometimes let down by weak spelling, grammar and punctuation. In mathematics, pupils do not develop their reasoning skills consistently well.

Early years provision Good

• The majority of children join the early years with knowledge and skills typical for their age. The proportion of pupils achieving a good level of development has been close to or above the national averages for the last three years. Children make good progress and have a good start to their education in the early years. They are well prepared for key stage 1.
• Teaching is effective in the early years. The two recently appointed leaders of the early years check children’s learning and development across the different areas of learning. They identify what is needed to help children make good progress. They ensure that the indoor and outdoor learning areas are well organised and provide children with a broad range of interesting opportunities across the curriculum.
• Staff develop children’s personal development well. Children have positive attitudes to their learning and behave well. They collaborate and are respectful of each other. For instance, children showed confident counting skills, working together to count conkers in the sand tray. Children were observed enthusiastically reading as many letter names as they could in a short space of time. Children show perseverance and concentration.
• The leaders of the early years work closely with a separate pre-school to ensure smooth transition arrangements. This helps pupils to make strong progress. Parents commented positively on the ‘seamless’ transition. However, leaders have not ensured that parents are involved as fully as they could be in contributing to assessments of children’s learning and development.
• The leaders for the early years work with colleagues within the trust to share good practice, moderate assessments and develop leadership skills. Leaders have identified relevant priorities to improve teaching and the curriculum. They have identified that few pupils exceed the early learning goals, for example. While they have planned some actions to improve the progress of the most able children, their analysis of exactly what needs to be improved in the different areas of learning is not as sharp as it could be.
• Leaders ensure that the welfare requirements for the early years are met.

School details

Unique reference number 140058 Local authority Northamptonshire Inspection number 10086733 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 Academy converter 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 98 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Mr Steven Allen Mrs Alison Allen 01295 710500 www.chacombe.northants.sch.uk bursar@chacombe-ce.northants-ecl.gov.uk Date of previous inspection 25–26 June 2015

Information about this school

• The headteacher is the executive headteacher of Chacombe CEVA Primary Academy and another school. The school is part of the Evolve Church Academy Trust. Governance is undertaken by a local governing board which is accountable to the trustees.
• Chacombe CEVA Primary Academy is a much smaller than average-sized primary school. The school is currently organised into four classes.
• The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds, and of pupils who speak English as an additional language, are below those seen nationally.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND is above the national average.

Information about this inspection

• The inspector held meetings with the headteacher, the senior teachers and middle leaders. The inspector met with the chair and other members of the local governing body, and trustees. Discussions explored a wide range of subjects, including safeguarding arrangements.
• The inspector visited eight lessons jointly with the headteacher. During these visits, the inspector looked at pupils’ work and spoke with them to evaluate the quality of their learning. The inspector scrutinised pupils’ work with leaders, met with groups of pupils and listened to pupils read.
• The inspector spoke with parents informally at the start of the school day. Account was taken of the 27 responses to Parent View and free-text responses. There were no responses to the staff and pupil questionnaires.
• A range of documents were scrutinised, relating to safeguarding, behaviour, attendance, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and pupils’ attainment and progress. The inspector looked at plans for improvement as well as leaders’ evaluation of the school’s performance. The inspector also considered the range and quality of information provided on the school’s website.

Inspection team

John Lawson, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector