St Andrew's Church of England Primary 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 analyse more rigorously the attendance information, so that prompt actions reduce the level of persistent absence
  • accelerating the rate of children’s progress from their very low starting points by ensuring that staff in key stage 1 are alert to opportunities to challenge and extend pupils’ learning, especially with phonics.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Leaders’ plans to develop and improve the school provide clear direction. They correctly identify the priorities and actions needed for success. Senior leaders and governors are making improvements and embedding good practice.
• Parents, pupils and staff share the headteacher’s determination for excellence. His ambition to raise pupils’ aspirations and to create a school that serves the wider community is evident. Consequently, staff morale is high and pupils take pride in their school.
• Leaders know the school well. They recognise that the majority of pupils start school with levels of attainment below those expected for their ages. Nevertheless, leaders have successfully embedded high expectations for all pupils.
• The leaders have introduced good-quality personal development programmes in order to raise pupils’ self-esteem, develop their confidence and motivate them to be, as one commented, ‘the best we can be’.
• The support provided by the Peterborough Diocese Education Trust is good. Leaders of the trust and external consultants have provided effective training to staff. Teachers’ share expertise and productive partnerships exist with other schools across the trust.
• Subject leaders have a clear understanding of their roles and make regular checks on the quality of teaching and learning.
• Leaders monitor the progress of pupils rigorously. Current information shows that the pupils are making at least good progress and securing age-appropriate skills and knowledge in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Leaders rightly identified that pupils were not gaining sufficient opportunity to apply their skills in mathematics in order to solve complex problems. They have dealt with this issue. Pupils receive appropriate challenge in lessons and have more opportunities to apply their skills to solve problems and to explain their answers in depth.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school. Pupils show tolerance and respect towards adults and their peers. They are confident to take on roles of responsibility and take part in charitable work within the community, and beyond. Pupils hold the school’s values in high esteem and are encouraged to ‘live the values every day’.
• Leaders have invested heavily in significant improvements to the school building and facilities to improve the environment and play experiences for pupils. Consequently, pupils have good-quality opportunities to develop their imagination and to improve their health through exercise.
• Leaders’ management of teachers’ performance is good. Teachers are aware of the role they play in improving the school. The school’s culture is strong. Teachers share their ideas and expertise in order to ensure that pupils’ progress continues to improve.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced and enriched by numerous additional activities. Leaders’ plan topics to motivate and interest pupils. The pupils enjoy their learning. Pupils told inspectors that they relished going on trips to places such as the National Space Centre and the opportunities to celebrate their achievements with their parents, through ‘Topic Showcase’ events.
• Leaders use to good effect the additional funds provided through the physical education and sport premium. Specialist teaching and training for staff have improved the quality of provision and pupils now have good access to sporting activities. Participation in sporting competitions has increased since the previous inspection and pupils take part in bespoke sport-experience days. Pupils speak highly of the sporting opportunities and enjoy the variety of clubs on offer.
• Leaders plan effectively to provide for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Funding for this group of pupils is used to provide specific interventions to support their needs. These pupils make good progress from their starting points. Highly skilled learning support assistants are deployed effectively to support pupils to achieve well.
• Leaders’ use of the pupil premium funding is effective. The leaders have prioritised this funding to ensure that eligible pupils attend school regularly. The attendance of disadvantaged pupils has improved as a result.
• Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. They show tolerance and respect for others. They understand the importance of rules and laws and use the democratic process through elections for roles of responsibility, such as the eco warriors, ‘little ambassadors’, and membership of the school council.
• The school’s curriculum ensures that pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is good. Displays around the school show pupils’ aspirations and their good work on behalf of charities. Pupils’ knowledge of and tolerance towards people of different faiths, cultures and lifestyles are ensuring that they are well prepared to be citizens in modern Britain.
• Leaders have taken swift and appropriate action to deal with low attendance. Leaders work with families to highlight the importance of regular and sustained attendance for pupils. Overall attendance is improving. Leaders do not analyse information about the attendance of some groups of pupils thoroughly enough so that prompt actions can be taken to prevent persistent absences.

Governance of the school

• Governors have a good overview of the school and are ambitious for its future. The governors provide rigorous challenge to the school’s leaders, as a result of effective training provided by the trust.
• The governors are clear about their roles and responsibilities. They monitor each priority for school improvement closely. They make frequent checks to ensure that the information they receive from school leaders is accurate.
• Governors are knowledgeable about the strengths of the school and the areas that need to improve further. They effectively monitor the progress of pupils.
• Members of the governing body check on the use of additional funds, such as the pupil premium. They have a good understanding of the extra provision for disadvantaged pupils. These pupils make good progress.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective and the statutory requirements met. Staff and governors receive training regularly and this extends to those who staff the schools’ breakfast club. Leaders keep precise records, which detail effective work with external agencies.
• The care and culture of safeguarding within the school are evident in the way pupils say that they can trust adults and feel safe. Pupils with whom the inspector spoke talked warmly about the adults who provide them with support and advice.
• Pupils are taught how to stay safe online. By Year 6, pupils are able to confidently talk about the strategies that they can use to keep themselves safe.
• Leaders have taken effective action to improve behaviour in the school. They keep thorough records and work well with parents and other professionals to ensure that pupils are safe and are cared for well. Pupils say that incidents of bullying, or name-calling, do happen sometimes, but that their teachers deal with them quickly and efficiently.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers know pupils well and use exciting and imaginative activities to stimulate their learning. They plan lessons that cater for the different abilities and backgrounds of pupils. Teachers ensure that pupils are ready to learn and can access the curriculum.
• Pupils who are at an early stage of learning English benefit from teachers’ careful use of translators to support their learning. This is particularly effective in key stage 1.
• Teachers create motivating, attractive and welcoming classrooms that enrich pupils’ learning. Pupils talked excitedly to inspectors about their learning, referring to displays and celebrations of their work.
• Teaching and learning are good in a range of subjects across the school. Teachers have high expectations of pupils and their work. As a result, pupils make good progress.
• The quality of pupils’ writing is good. Pupils’ grammar, spelling and punctuation are accurate in key stage 2 and progressing well in key stage 1. Pupils have opportunities regularly to write for different purposes across the curriculum.
• The teaching of mathematics is good. Work is matched well to pupils’ abilities. Pupils relish the additional challenges designed to extend their learning.
• In the majority of cases, teachers and learning support assistants work well to promote good behaviour. Where learning support assistants are most effective, they use questions to encourage pupils to think and to work things out for themselves.
• Teachers’ use questions well to extend and deepen pupils’ knowledge and understanding. This is particularly effective in key stage 2, where pupils make good gains in their learning.
• Teachers have improved the way in which they plan and teach reading across the school. Pupils say that they enjoy reading and appreciate the reading areas created for them. Incentives and online homework programmes have raised the profile of reading. Pupils have better phonics and comprehension skills as a result.
• Although leaders have made improvements to the teaching and learning of phonics, over time, a below average proportion of pupils have achieved the expected standard in the end of Year 1 phonics screening check.
• Teachers ensure that the most able pupils, including the most able disadvantaged pupils, receive effective challenge in their learning and are making good progress from their starting points. Nevertheless, some pupils in key stage 1 are capable of moving on to challenges quicker to make even better progress.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Leaders convey well their expectations of pupils’ behaviour through the enriched curriculum and collective worship.
• Pupils are friendly, polite and happy in school. There is a warm, welcoming atmosphere that is conducive to learning. Leaders have successfully created an imaginative, attractive and exciting environment in which pupils can learn and play.
• There is a strong ethos of friendship and tolerance for others. Pupils with whom the inspector spoke were able to demonstrate their empathy with others from different backgrounds, cultures or lifestyles; one said, for example, ‘People are welcomed no matter what colour their skin, no matter what language they speak.’
• Leaders promote high aspirations for pupils through their statement of the school’s ethos, ‘where young minds grow, and young hearts learn to care.’ As a result, pupils are enthusiastic learners and want to do well. As one pupil said when talking about challenges, ‘You want to take it to the top and do your best.’
• Highly effective pastoral support is improving pupils’ emotional well-being and promoting their willingness to learn. A typical comment was, ‘Just talking to someone about how I feel makes me feel better.’
• Parents share in the values of the school. They take an interest in school life and told the inspectors that they enjoy the ‘topic showcase’ opportunities, which celebrate their children’s work and achievements.
• Leaders acted promptly to improve provision and parental involvement for the higher than average proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language. Parents and pupils speak highly of the support that they receive.
• Pupils work well together. They take pride in their work and are increasingly independent. However, this is more evident in key stage 2. Pupils in key stage 1 occasionally lack confidence in tackling difficult tasks and are sometimes over-reliant on the teacher for guidance.
• Pupils have the opportunity to hold positions of responsibility within the school. Elections for these positions have helped pupils to understand the fundamental British values, such as democracy. Pupils have an awareness of the values that are widely promoted within modern Britain.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils show consideration and respect for others. They are confident to express their opinions and are proud of their school. Pupils recognise that the improvements to the school environment and quality of provision have made their school a more exciting and interesting place to be.
• Pupils said that they love the exciting curricular opportunities that the school provides, for instance learning to make healthy meals from scratch, such as the tomato soup which the inspectors thoroughly enjoyed tasting!
• Pupils enjoy working towards achieving badges in recognition of their good choices in connection with the school’s values. As a result, pupils are reflective and have a good understanding of the responsibilities of being good citizens.
• Leaders’ positive reinforcement of behaviour through the school’s values and playground charter has raised expectations for pupils’ learning and behaviour in the playground. Pupils play together happily, take turns and enjoy this social time.
• In key stage 1, in lessons where teachers do not move pupils on in their learning quickly enough, some pupils lose concentration and are not always ready to learn.
• In 2016, overall attendance was below average. Leaders are taking appropriate action to improve attendance and to decrease the number of pupils who are persistently absent. Nevertheless, leaders do not analyse attendance information succinctly for different groups of pupils. As a result, actions to deal with the poor attendance of some pupils are not as effective as they could be.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• In 2016, pupils’ attainment at the end of key stage 2 was above average in reading, writing and mathematics.
• At the end of key stage 1, the proportions of pupils attaining the level expected or above for their age were below average in reading, and broadly in line for writing and mathematics. The progress of these pupils was good.
• Pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics is improving in all year groups. Leaders have continued to improve the quality of teaching and learning. They carefully track pupils’ progress and provide opportunities for challenge and extension in learning. The most able pupils, including the most able disadvantaged pupils, make good progress.
• Pupils who speak English as an additional language make good progress and attain well in key stage 2.
• The mathematics leader has provided training for staff, so that they challenge pupils to master and apply their mathematics skills more effectively when solving problems. As a result, progress in mathematics across the school is good.
• Leaders and teachers check on each pupil’s progress thoroughly and frequently. They monitor how different groups of pupils attain in different subjects. Current school information shows that pupils in the majority of classes are making at least good progress, particularly in key stage 2. The work in pupils’ books shows that they are making good progress across a range of subjects.
• The pupil premium funding is used effectively to improve the attainment of disadvantaged pupils. In 2016, disadvantaged pupils’ attainment at the end of key stage 2 was average for writing and mathematics and above for reading, compared to other pupils nationally. At the end of key stage 1, disadvantaged pupils’ attainment was close to, or above, the expected standards for reading, writing and mathematics compared to other pupils nationally. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities achieve well in relation to their starting points. Leaders support pupils and their parents through specialist advice and regular reviews. They deal with any barriers to learning promptly.
• In 2016, the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check was below average. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils achieving the expected standard was just below average. Leaders have responded to this by reviewing and improving the teaching of phonics and, currently, pupils are making better progress than previously.

Early years provision Good

• Leaders have created a stimulating and exciting environment in which children can learn. The classroom and newly refurbished outdoor area encourage children to be curious. The children are keen to explore and engage in purposeful play.
• Relationships between adults and children are good. Children are happy and behave well. They show care and consideration towards each other. Children are kept safe and are cared for well.
• The quality of teaching is good. Teachers and learning support assistants work well together to assess children’s learning regularly and thoroughly.
• Adults plan activities effectively to meet children’s needs. For example, teachers and learning support assistants are particularly effective when meeting the needs of disadvantaged children and children who speak English as an additional language.
• Links with parents are good and they take part in the assessments of their children’s learning. Teachers are adept at using assessment information to plan effective next steps for children’s learning.
• The Nursery class team plans creative and imaginative experiences that enthuse and motivate children. Teachers adapt activities to suit the children’s interests. For example, when the children were fascinated by the development of legs on the tadpoles that they were observing, the Nursery teacher adapted her planned activities to include counting legs on a variety of different animals.
• The Reception Year teachers plan a variety of activities to provide children with experiences in the key areas of learning. The teaching of communication and physical skills is particularly strong. Consequently, children make good progress in these areas.
• The most able children do well in the early years. This small number of children receive appropriate challenge from their teachers to extend their problem-solving skills in different areas of learning. For example, the inspector observed children assessing risks and adapting materials to make them sturdier before testing them. Children explained their ideas to adults and were encouraged to keep trying.
• The early years leader supports the development of the staff team well. She has provided focused training and regular guidance, to ensure that all staff are working to improve standards for children. Staff are alert to opportunities to extend children’s understanding so that they progress.
• The early years leader correctly prioritised children’s difficulty in writing as a barrier to some children’s learning. Children have responded well to focused and active handwriting teaching. As a result, current assessment information shows children are making accelerated progress in this area.
• Safeguarding is effective. The statutory requirements are met.
• Provision for two-year-old children is appropriate and effective. They make good progress from their starting points.
• The proportion of children entering the early years who speak English as an additional language is higher than average. Teachers skilfully use home visits, translators, pastoral support and workshops to welcome and involve parents. External support for children’s additional needs is well utilised.
• Typically, children enter the early years with skills and knowledge significantly below those typical for their age. As a result, despite making good progress from their starting points, a large proportion of children leave the Reception Year without achieving a good level of development.

School details

Unique reference number 140820 Local authority Northamptonshire Inspection number 10031128 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary school and nursery School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Academy sponsor-led 2 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 356 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Cathy Armstrong Ben Arnell 01536 512581 www.standrewsceprimary.org.uk head@standrews.northants-ecl.gov.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school complies with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish.
• St Andrew’s Church of England Primary School and Nursery is a larger than the average-size primary school.
• It opened in May 2014 as an academy sponsored by the Peterborough Diocese Education Trust. This was the school’s first inspection as an academy.
• Pupils in key stages 1 and 2 are taught in mixed-age classes. Reception-age children attend full time and are taught in the early years classroom. Nursery children attend part time and are taught in the Nursery classroom.
• The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and those who speak English as an additional language are above the national averages.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above the national average.
• In 2016, the school was above the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress at the end of Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching in all year groups. They observed the teaching of early reading and writing skills and listened to pupils reading. Inspectors talked to pupils about their school and looked at examples of pupils’ work.
• Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, the acting special educational needs coordinator, the leader of the early years, subject leaders, the family support worker, representatives of the governing body and the school improvement leader for the Peterborough Diocese Education Trust.
• Inspectors spoke with parents informally at the start of the school day. They took account of the 31 responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View.
• Inspectors looked at a range of documents, including: the school’s own self-evaluation of current performance and plans for improvement; the school’s most recent information on the achievement of pupils; information relating to the safeguarding of pupils; the school’s most recent information relating to the attendance of pupils; the minutes of the governing body meetings and the most recent external reviews of the school’s performance by specialist advisers.

Inspection team

Stephanie Innes-Taylor, lead inspector Graham Boyd Christine Watkins

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector