Mawsley Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that:
  • leaders are supported in gaining the necessary skills to monitor and improve the quality of teaching and learning in their areas of responsibility leaders and governors monitor and evaluate closely the impact of additional funding received by the school for disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, so that these groups of pupils make stronger progress
  • governors are skilled appropriately to be able to provide leaders with effective challenge and support, particularly regarding pupils’ outcomes
  • leaders and governors rigorously and regularly review records for attendance and safeguarding concerns, making certain that they are precise, accurate and detailed.
• Improve the quality of teaching to strengthen pupils’ progress by ensuring that:
  • teachers use assessment information effectively to set pupils work that provides sufficient and appropriate challenge, particularly for the most able pupils
  • teachers develop their questioning skills, so that they consistently check and deepen pupils’ knowledge and understanding
  • teachers’ subject knowledge is secure, particularly of mathematics
  • teachers provide more opportunities for pupils to apply their mathematical skills in problem-solving and reasoning.
• Improve pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare by:
  • reducing the proportion of pupils who are regularly absent from school, particularly disadvantaged pupils, so it is below the national average.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Since taking up her role in September 2017, the headteacher has quickly worked with other recently appointed senior leaders to accurately appraise the school’s strengths and weaknesses and communicate these effectively to the governors and the staff. She has raised expectations of staff and of pupils and introduced more rigour to the work of leaders at all levels within the school.
• Relatively new senior leaders are not sufficiently skilled to be able to carry out their roles and responsibilities as effectively as possible, to bring about sustained improvements. Senior leaders do not evaluate rigorously the impact of their actions on pupils’ outcomes to inform their next steps. Leaders’ current plans for improvement are incomplete and will not allow governors to determine whether leaders are being successful in their work.
• Leaders have sought external support to help them to identify the school’s priorities. However, this support has not always provided leaders and governors with an accurate evaluation of the provision, leading to governors, in particular, being misguided in their understanding about, for example, the quality of teaching and learning.
• Subject and phase leaders are beginning to monitor more rigorously the outcomes of pupils. However, they require further training to allow them to analyse precisely pupils’ progress and improve consistently the quality of teaching and learning in their areas of responsibility.
• Leaders have established a robust system for tracking and monitoring pupils’ progress and attainment. However, leaders and governors overemphasise pupils’ attainment, rather than their progress. This results in them having an inflated view of how well pupils are achieving, compared with other pupils from similar starting points.
• Leaders do not have a precise overview of how additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils is impacting on these pupils’ outcomes. Leaders have successfully raised the profile of disadvantaged pupils so that all teachers are now fully aware of their assessment information and their progress, through the ‘20-day challenge’. It is too early to evaluate the impact of this strategy.
• Leaders have recently introduced new mathematics resources to provide pupils with the opportunity to carry out more reasoning and problem-solving tasks. However, leaders have been too slow to respond to pupils’ poor outcomes in mathematics over time. Learning in mathematics observed by inspectors lacked challenge and, in some cases, a secure subject knowledge from the teacher.
• The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) knows the needs of pupils who have SEN and/disabilities well. Their emotional and social needs are well met, for instance through the ‘lunch bunch’ and the ‘morning group’. However, leaders do not have a close oversight of these pupils’ outcomes, nor do they ensure that strategies in place to support these pupils are thoroughly evaluated.
• Leaders have ensured that there are secure systems in place for monitoring the absence of individual pupils, although they do not regularly review the overall patterns of attendance to consider whether certain groups are more likely to be absent than other groups and plan accordingly.
• Leaders have ensured that pupils’ behaviour is closely tracked. When necessary, leaders provide pupils with individual support plans to help them to improve their behaviour. As a result, pupils’ behaviour is a strength of the school.
• Leaders have made effective use of additional funding for sport. They have introduced a range of strategies to encourage the pupils to be more active, for example outdoor gym equipment which is used extensively by pupils. Too few disadvantaged pupils are involved in the additional sports activities offered, compared with other pupils.
• Leaders have introduced new strategies to support the teaching of writing. As a result, pupils’ outcomes at the expected standard have improved. New approaches introduced by leaders to teach reading have not yet had a sustained impact on pupils’ reading outcomes.
• Leaders ensure that pupils receive a rich and varied curriculum. For example, through ‘WOW’ weeks and themed terms, pupils are able to develop their historical, geographical and artistic skills. Leaders have developed stronger cross-curricular links so that, for instance, pupils practise and apply their writing skills across all subject areas.
• Pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural awareness and their appreciation of fundamental British values are at the core of the school’s enrichment and extra-curricular activities. Pupils have a clear view of their own, and others’, self-worth. At every opportunity, staff promote tolerance and respect. Pupils know that their opinion is valued, for instance through the school’s pupil parliament and through voting for their heroes to represent the school’s teams.
• Teachers who are new to the profession feel well supported by leaders and other members of staff at the school. They receive specific training to support their practice and are also provided with opportunities to observe colleagues teach.
• Staff are very supportive of the school and its leaders. The vast majority of staff who responded to the Ofsted survey are proud to be a member of the school and enjoy working there. Staff feel motivated and respected and say leaders are considerate of their well-being.
• An overwhelming majority of parents who responded to the Ofsted survey, Parent View, said that the school is well led and that their children are taught well. Parents and carers value the frequent communication that they receive from the school. They are confident that when they speak with staff about any concerns, staff work swiftly to resolve any issues.

Governance of the school

• Governors are ambitious, committed and reflective of their work to support school leaders. They have a good mix of expertise and a realistic understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. However, governors’ understanding of the school’s assessment information is not sharp enough to enable them to challenge leaders about pupils’ outcomes.
• Governors do not hold leaders to account rigorously for the additional funding received by the school to support disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. They do not know if the additional funding is having a positive impact on these pupils’ outcomes or if modifications should be made to the support that these pupils are receiving.
• Governors are fully supportive of the relatively new senior leadership team and the new strategies that they are implementing. They are increasingly involved in evaluating the work of leaders through, for example, school visits, reports of which are shared with other governors to inform their work. Staff and parents know the governors well.
• Governors and the local authority understand their responsibilities for safeguarding. However, oversight by the governors and the local authority has not been precise enough to reveal some weaknesses in the safeguarding procedures, which have now been rectified.
• The local authority has supported the headteacher in her new role since September 2017, providing valuable training and mentoring. Representatives of the local authority have a realistic view of the progress that leaders have made towards resolving the weaknesses identified at the school’s last inspection in January 2018.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. All pupils who spoke with inspectors agree they are safe in school. They are confident about how they can reduce the risks they face outside of school, for instance through guidance on water and fire safety. Pupils also know how to stay safe online. Parents feel that their children are safe and well cared for at the school.
• Leaders and staff have received up-to-date safeguarding training. Staff understand their responsibilities regarding safeguarding pupils, including how to identify signs of neglect. Staff talk with confidence about the procedures in place to report any concerns that they may have. They also appreciate how extremism and radicalisation relate to pupils in their care and the school, in its geographical context.
• Leaders ensure that parents of any pupils who are absent are called on the first day they are away from school. This system ensures that leaders are swift to respond if a child has the potential to go missing from education.
• Leaders, including governors, ensure that appropriate systems for safeguarding pupils are in place. Leaders carry out all necessary checks in a meticulous and timely fashion, before adults begin to work or to volunteer at the school.
• The system for staff to report any welfare concerns about a child is effective. Leaders meet each week to ensure that there is early support in place for pupils needing more help. They make timely referrals to external agencies and keep in regular contact with them to ensure that the pupils receive close support.
• Safeguarding record-keeping is not as regular or as precise as it should be. This has not had an impact on pupils’ safety or the timeliness of leaders’ responses to safeguarding concerns. These safeguarding systems, however, are not as tight as they should be.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching in key stages 1 and 2 is not consistently good. Too often, pupils are not challenged in their learning. This is particularly the case for the most able pupils. These pupils may, for instance, repeat tasks they have already completed in previous lessons or finish activities swiftly and be left waiting, rather than being encouraged to develop further their learning and understanding. On these occasions, pupils’ time is wasted, and low-level disruption may occur because the lesson does not meet their needs precisely.
• The teaching of mathematics is, at best, inconsistent and, at worst, weak. Some teachers do not regularly incorporate activities which require pupils to reason and solve problems. On these occasions, pupils are not able to apply their knowledge and skills, leading to weaker progress. This is further compounded by some teachers not having a secure mathematical knowledge to challenge pupils’ understanding.
• Too few teachers use skilful questioning to support pupils in identifying errors or misconceptions in their understanding. On these occasions, teachers move on to more complex ideas, rather than allowing pupils sufficient time to consolidate their learning.
• Some teachers are not adept at using pupils’ prior learning to modify the activities when the work is too easy or too hard for them. For example, when inspectors observed pupils easily identifying the characteristics of mammals, the teacher missed opportunities to extend the pupils’ learning and tap into their interest and enthusiasm for the topic.
• Additional adults support pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities with skill, for example rephrasing explanations, asking further questions or providing pupils with support for their behaviour. While the behaviour of these pupils has improved, their progress is inconsistent from their individual starting points.
• Pupils receive feedback from teachers about how they can improve their work, in line with the school’s policy. When this is most effective, pupils commit to improving their work in response to the feedback, particularly in writing tasks. However, there are inconsistencies in how teachers apply the feedback policy.
• Pupils read with fluency and comprehension. Pupils who an inspector heard read made use of their phonic skills to decipher unknown words. On occasion, the books that pupils chose did not match their reading ability closely enough, either providing no challenging words or, alternatively, being too complex.
• Where teaching is stronger, teachers’ strong subject knowledge allows them to challenge pupils’ misconceptions and provide them with opportunities to apply their prior learning to improve their work. On these occasions, teachers support and challenge the pupils appropriately, allowing the pupils to make strong progress. Inspectors observed this better practice, particularly when pupils were practising their writing skills.
• Pupils take pride in their work. Leaders have focused on improving pupils’ handwriting and pupils’ books show demonstrable signs of improvement. Pupils, particularly the most able, can make appropriate use of subject-specific vocabulary in their learning, for example when investigating the difference between solids and liquids.

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 proud to belong to the school. They are confident and self-assured, cooperating effectively with others and showing staff and their peers equal respect. Inspectors observed warm relationships between pupils and adults, including during the breakfast club provided at the start of each day. The school’s values including, for example, respect, equality and friendship, permeate through every classroom activity and beyond.
• Pupils have very positive attitudes to learning. Relationships between pupils and adults in the classroom are very positive. Pupils readily discuss their past and present learning with each other and the teacher. On several occasions, inspectors observed pupils sharing independent learning with their peers and teachers, for instance about the Mayan empire, reflecting their enthusiasm and thirst to know more.
• Almost without exception, parents who responded to the Ofsted survey, Parent View, said they are confident that their children are safe at the school. The vast majority said that their children are happy and well looked after. Pupils who spoke with inspectors all agreed.
• Pupils enjoy taking on leadership responsibilities, whether it involves being a learning ambassador, a friendship champion or a peer mentor. Pupils of all ages mix well together, for instance during playtime. They are well supervised and supported by adults during social times.
• Equality and diversity are deep rooted throughout the school. All are made to feel welcome and people’s uniqueness is celebrated. Pupils’ learning regularly explores equality and diversity, for example through the activist, Rosa Parks, and her promotion of civil rights. Pupils are confident in challenging any intolerant behaviour or views. They are in no doubt that, ‘Everyone is the same and no one is better than another.’
• Leaders promote healthy eating and lifestyles for pupils through a wide range of strategies, including healthy eating choices and various sporting activities. Leaders’ recent focus on pupils’ emotional health, for example through displays around the school and a whole day of activities promoting pupils’ well-being, supports one pupil’s comment when they said, ‘I think teachers listen and they care.’

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good and a strength of the school. Pupils say behaviour is good in school. Social behaviours between pupils and adults are positive around the site and in the dining hall. Pupils are fully aware of what happens if they behave poorly. They are confident that staff apply the school’s behaviour expectations consistently. Almost all staff who responded to the online Ofsted survey said that pupils’ behaviour is managed well. Parents reported high levels of satisfaction with behaviour in the Ofsted survey, Parent View.
• Pupils value the school environment and take care of it. Eye-catching displays celebrate the pupils’ work and provide them with examples of high-quality work to aspire to, throughout all years.
• Pupils celebrate their own and others’ successes. Leaders have introduced a range of strategies to promote positive learning behaviours. Pupils value these rewards and say they contribute to their desire to engage and behave well.
• The proportion of pupils who are excluded from school is low. Leaders have instigated a range of strategies to support pupils who are at risk of being excluded and repeat exclusions are rare.
• Levels of bullying are low. Pupils know what bullying is, including online bullying. They are confident that, if it did take place, adults would resolve it swiftly. Parents and staff agree.
• Overall, pupils attend school well. Attendance is higher than the national average and has been for the last three years, although there was a slight decrease in 2018.
• The proportion of pupils who are regularly absent from school increased in 2018 and is slightly above the national average. Pupils who are disadvantaged do not attend school as well as other pupils.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Pupils’ progress is not consistently good in all subjects and all year groups. Too many pupils are not as well prepared as they should be for the next stage in their education.
• Pupils in key stage 2 make weak progress in mathematics. Too few pupils achieve the higher standard in this subject.
• The proportions of Year 6 pupils who achieved the expected and higher standards in reading edged closer to the national averages in 2018, according to provisional information. However, this improved attainment does not represent good progress.
• In writing, pupils achieve well and make good progress by the end of Year 6. However, boys do not make as much progress in writing as girls.
• The proportions of pupils in key stage 2 achieving the expected and higher standards for grammar, punctuation and spelling are increasing, but remain below the national averages, according to provisional information.
• In key stage 2, disadvantaged pupils do not achieve as well as other pupils. These pupils’ attainment is particularly low in mathematics.
• In 2018, not all pupils in Years 4 and 5, particularly the most able pupils, made good progress. Too few pupils attained the higher standards in reading, writing and, above all, mathematics.
• The proportions of Year 2 pupils achieving the expected standards for reading, writing and mathematics improved slightly in 2018, compared with 2017, using provisional information. However, the proportions of pupils achieving greater depth declined for all three subjects for the same time period.
• In 2018, the proportion of pupils who achieved the expected standard in the phonics screening check improved and was in line with the national average, according to provisional information. The proportion of boys who achieved the expected standard improved noticeably.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make inconsistent progress compared with other pupils in reading, writing and, particularly, mathematics.

Early years provision Good

• Leaders’ evaluation of the early years is precise and accurate. Leaders are aware of the provision’s strengths and weaknesses and they have realistic plans to continue to bring about further improvements. Where necessary, leaders have sought appropriate support from the local authority.
• Leaders have established clear routines which all adults follow. Children, therefore, know what is expected of them and this creates a calm and orderly environment within which children can learn.
• Leaders ensure that robust systems are in place to assess the progress made by children, compared with their individual starting points. Leaders’ assessments have been verified externally and examples of children’s work are available to share best practice. All adults are confident in assessing and recording children’s progress.
• Leaders have created a bright and vibrant physical environment in the provision, both indoors and outside. Teachers plan a range of well-designed activities that provide children with plenty of choice, for example making pictures using autumn leaves or using trikes while learning basic number skills. Children make the most of these choices, being able to practise both their fine and gross motor skills.
• Children in the early years are very well behaved. Adults have quickly established routines which children have swiftly adopted. Children are respectful of others, sharing the resources and taking turns. When children do not behave well, adults help them to reflect on how they can behave better.
• Adults have high expectations of children and their learning. They ensure that children’s learning needs are met by directing them to appropriate activities which provide them with sufficient challenge. Movement of pupils between activities and adults is almost seamless, so that little learning time is lost. Even clearing up is made into a learning activity, for instance ‘driving’ hoops to the rack.
• The proportion of children who achieve a good level of development at the end of the early years has steadily increased. School information suggests that outcomes in 2018 in reading, writing and number were higher than they were in 2017 and attainment was higher than national averages in 2017.
• Boys do not make as much progress as girls. However, leaders’ specific focus on improving boys’ outcomes in the early years is beginning to have a positive effect. In 2018, the gap between the proportions of boys and girls achieving a good level of development noticeably closed, according to the provisional information.
• Teachers have well-established routines to teach phonics effectively to the children. Adults are well trained, and they have a good understanding of phonic knowledge. They use this to good effect when supporting children who are blending their sounds together to create words.
• Parental engagement in the early years is strong, starting with home visits and including a comprehensive induction for the children when they enter the Reception Year. Teachers provide parents with a home learning toolkit which allows them to contribute to their children’s learning outside of school. Leaders have recently introduced a new online record system which allows parents to become more involved in assessing their children’s progress.
• Leaders have robust plans for supporting children as they transition out of the early years provision, including time spent by the children in Year 1 during story time. With an engaging curriculum, leaders carefully plan opportunities to promote children’s social, moral, spiritual and cultural awareness. Children are well prepared for being successful in key stage 1.
• Safeguarding in the early years is effective and meets all statutory requirements in full. Leaders have undertaken detailed risk assessments for the environment. Adults care for the children well and keep them safe.

School details

Unique reference number 134211 Local authority Northamptonshire Inspection number 10053235 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 393 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Pat Downing Michelle Harris 01536 799 182 www.mawsleyschool.co.uk head@mawsley.northants-ecl.gov.uk Date of previous inspection 11 January 2018

Information about this school

• The headteacher was appointed in September 2017, having previously been the assistant headteacher. She has expanded the senior leadership team, creating a new position of deputy headteacher. The deputy headteacher and the assistant headteacher also took up their roles in September 2017.
• The school is larger than the average-sized primary school. There are two classes in each year group.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is well below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is much lower than the national average. The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan is also below average.
• Most pupils are from White British backgrounds.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is considerably lower than average.
• The school runs its own breakfast club and after-school club.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in 31 lessons. Some of these lessons were visited jointly with senior leaders.
• Inspectors looked at samples of pupils’ work covering a range of subjects, abilities and year groups.
• Inspectors met with two groups of pupils and spoke informally with pupils during lessons, lunchtimes and breaktimes. An inspector also heard some pupils read.
• Inspectors observed the behaviour of pupils at playtime and lunchtime and as pupils moved around the school.
• Inspectors held a range of meetings, including with: the headteacher; senior leaders; subject leaders; leaders responsible for behaviour and attendance; the leader responsible for the early years; the coordinator for the provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities; and newly qualified and recently qualified teachers.
• The lead inspector met with three representatives of the governing body, including the chair and the vice-chair. The lead inspector also spoke with a representative of the local authority on the telephone.
• Inspectors met with parents at the start of the school day. They also considered the 131 responses from Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, including the three responses made through the free-text service.
• Inspectors considered the 16 responses from the staff online survey.
• Inspectors scrutinised a wide range of documents relating to the school’s provision, including: self-evaluation and improvement planning records; minutes of meetings of the governing body; safeguarding procedures and records; behaviour, attendance and exclusion records; information about the progress and attainment of all pupils; plans related to additional government funding; external reports on the work of the school; and information on the school’s website. The lead inspector also checked the school’s single central record and the school’s system for recruiting staff.

Inspection team

Rachel Tordoff, lead inspector Stuart Edmonds Emma Hollis-Brown Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector