Harworth CofE Academy Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:
  • initiatives to improve pupils’ progress are consistently implemented by all staff to ensure that pupils, including the most able and those who are disadvantaged, make the progress they should
  • they are more tenacious in improving attendance of all pupils, particularly those who are disadvantaged and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities
  • they more carefully review the use of the pupil premium to ensure that it has maximum impact on pupils’ progress.
• Improve the quality of teaching and learning to accelerate pupils’ progress, including that of the most able, by ensuring that all teachers:
  • have consistently high expectations of the quality of pupils’ presentation of their work
  • teach pupils to accurately apply spelling, grammar and punctuation in writing in all subjects
  • teach pupils the skills and understanding they need in mathematics to develop and demonstrate their reasoning skills and become effective problem solvers.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Leaders and staff are ambitious for the school. They want the very best for the pupils, both in terms of their academic progress and personal development. An ethos of care permeates the school. The school community is built upon a strong foundation of mutual respect. Staff are excellent role models for pupils and relationships in the school are excellent.
• Leaders’ actions to improve the quality of teaching and learning have had a positive impact on pupils’ attainment and progress. Current information and pupils’ work show that the majority of pupils are making at least good progress and securing age-appropriate skills in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Leaders have identified the important areas for improvement and have suitable plans that focus on these priorities. They provide a range of staff training and initiatives to bring about school improvement. There was clear evidence of the school’s work to improve standards of spelling, reading, mathematics and handwriting. Inspectors saw improvements in all these areas identified by leaders. Leaders have not, however, ensured that the impact of some of these initiatives is consistent in all classes and subjects.
• Middle and subject leaders are increasingly effective in their roles. They know where improvement is needed in their areas of responsibility and are having an impact on improving standards. They provide effective support for colleagues. ‘Skills ladders’, for example, have been introduced to ensure the breadth of the curriculum and give teachers guidance on the progression of skills in each subject area. The subject leader for mathematics is leading initiatives to improve the progress of the most able pupils in mathematics. There is evidence of the impact of this work. This is not, however, consistent in all classes.
• Leaders’ management of teachers’ performance is effective. Targets set link to school priorities to drive improvement. Senior leaders meet regularly with staff and identify pupils who may be falling behind and plan how to help these pupils catch up.
• The school works effectively with a local group of schools, for example to support teachers to develop further the accuracy of their assessment of pupils’ learning. The trust provides effective support, particularly in developing the roles of middle leaders.
• Leaders use additional funding effectively to support pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff ensure that the needs of these pupils are met and they achieve well across a range of subjects. Leaders check the progress of these pupils carefully and most pupils make good progress from their starting points.
• Leaders use the additional funding for physical education and sports very well to increase the take-up of sport by pupils. The funding is also used to provide professional development for teachers. This is leading to better progression of pupils’ physical education skills.
• Overall, the school uses the pupil premium effectively to diminish differences between the attainment and progress of disadvantaged and other pupils and pupils nationally with the same starting points. Leaders and teachers consider the barriers to learning that disadvantaged pupils face and provide carefully chosen support. School information and work in pupils’ books show that the majority of disadvantaged pupils make good progress. Some of the most able pupils, however, do not consistently make the progress they should.
• Leaders are working hard to improve attendance and reduce persistent absence. They have implemented strategies which are producing encouraging signs of improvement. Telephone calls, letters and home visits have raised the profile of attendance and the need for pupils to come to school daily. The headteacher does not authorise holidays in term time. Although overall attendance is improving, attendance rates are still too low.
• Leaders have ensured that the school provides a broad and balanced curriculum, which is enriched by regular school trips, visitors to the school and a wide range of extra-curricular clubs. The curriculum promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development very well. Different subjects are linked together meaningfully to promote pupils’ interest. Learning is often linked to class novels as part of leaders’ drive to further improve standards in reading. ‘Learning gateways’ in each classroom remind pupils of the topics they are learning about. A ‘workhouse’ entrance, for example, identifies a key stage 2 history topic based on the class novel Oliver Twist. A class topic based on coal mining shows how teachers make the curriculum relevant, in this case, by making links to the local history of families in the community.
• Parents who spoke with inspectors or who responded to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, were overwhelmingly positive in regard to the ethos of care that the school provides. They say their children are safe and that their children are making progress in their learning.

Governance of the school

• The local governing body is ambitious for the school and committed to supporting continuous improvement. Members frequently visit the school to check standards and meet with staff and they have a good understanding of school life and practices.
• Records of minutes of meetings show that governors regularly ask challenging questions of leaders, for example in relation to improving attendance or the use of the pupil premium. Leaders, the local governing body and the trust have not ensured, however, that they have a shared, accurate understanding of the school’s performance so that they can even more effectively hold leaders to account.
• The local governing body reports that recently the trust has been effective in supporting the school. The trust has ensured that roles and responsibilities of the local governing body are clear.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. There is a very strong culture of safeguarding underpinned by an ethos of respect and care. This is demonstrated by pupils, staff and the local governing body.
• Leaders ensure that effective and thorough systems and procedures are in place. Processes for recruitment are rigorous. All statutory requirements are met.
• Instances of bullying or derogatory behaviour are very rare and carefully analysed by leaders. Leaders’ analyses show that the very small number of incidents have further reduced over time. Procedures for reporting concerns are well understood and leaders carefully record actions taken. Leaders are tenacious in securing the involvement of outside agencies where relevant and take timely action in responding to any concerns raised.
• The designated leaders for safeguarding ensure that staff are trained and kept up to date with the latest guidance on keeping pupils safe in education, including the government’s ‘Prevent’ strategy.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers and teaching assistants generally have high aspirations for every pupil, often making a point of highlighting this through their use of language. For example, some teachers encouraged pupils to challenge themselves by saying ‘let’s go deeper’. Many teachers are skilled in questioning pupils to check their understanding or push their thinking by using open-ended questions.
• Teachers are enthusiastic and use a range of strategies to stimulate pupils’ interest. Teachers actively promote pupils’ speaking and listening skills. Teachers’ subject knowledge is generally very good and enables them to deliver learning with confidence and accuracy.
• Teachers ensure that pupils have opportunities to write for a range of purposes, in a wide range of genres across the curriculum. Pupils’ often sophisticated work is sometimes let down, however, by the accuracy of their spelling, grammar and punctuation. Teachers’ expectations are not consistent, including of the quality of pupils’ presentation of their work.
• In mathematics, teachers make good use of visual imagery, apparatus and practical learning opportunities to help develop pupils’ understanding. Teachers generally match work well to pupils’ abilities and needs. They do not, however, consistently provide the most able pupils with work that is challenging enough. Inspectors saw evidence of the school’s work to promote problem-solving and reasoning skills. This is not consistent, however, in all classes and the most able pupils sometimes do not make the progress they should.
• Teaching assistants are deployed well and provide effective support for pupils’ learning. They are often proactive in working flexibly to support pupils’ learning needs as they arise within lessons to ensure that pupils make progress.
• Teachers set homework in line with the school’s policy that consolidates learning, prepares pupils well for work to come and, in some instances, offers pupils the opportunity to extend their thinking.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils enjoy learning. From their entry into the early years, pupils are taught to respect each other. By the time they reach Year 6, pupils can express ideas and opinions eloquently and with sensitivity. Pupils described how a recent visit from a theatre company had helped them understand the experiences of refugees and they were able to reflect and compare the lives of others with their own, showing empathy. Pupils were able to explain the importance of respecting those who may have different backgrounds or beliefs because, as one pupil put it, ‘We are one big family in the world.’ Pupils are well equipped for life in modern Britain.
• Pupils have positive attitudes to their learning and apply themselves to all that is asked of them. They are proud of their school. Teachers do not, however, consistently ensure that pupils take pride in their work.
• Pupils speak confidently about how the school teaches them to stay safe, including when online and in relation to cyberbullying. The very large majority of parents say their children are safe. Pupils who spoke with inspectors say there is no bullying in the school and they are very confident that staff would resolve any concerns they might have. Pupils have a very strong understanding of right and wrong. One pupil, demonstrating the caring attitude of pupils in the school, said, ‘We don’t bully people in our school because we know it’s wrong.’

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Their conduct and self-discipline are excellent at breaktimes, moving around the school and in lessons. Pupils are courteous with each other, staff and visitors. From the early years, they are inquisitive, polite and confident.
• Pupils understand the school rules and values. They relish the roles of responsibility that the school provides, such as the house captains, school councillors and school ‘safety officers’. The respected ‘peacemakers’ in each class help pupils who want someone to play with or if they fall out with their friends. One pupil said that they wanted to do the role because ‘it is something of value that helps others’.
• Parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, say unanimously that their children are happy in school. Many speak of the school’s ‘family’ atmosphere.
• Levels of pupils’ attendance, particularly for those who are disadvantaged and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, are still too low and this is an area of continuing focus.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Assessment information shows that at the end of 2017, the proportion of children achieving a good level of development was higher than the national average. The proportion of pupils achieving the required standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check was slightly below the national average. The proportions of pupils reaching the standard expected for their age as well as at greater depth in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 1 were higher than the national averages. At the end of key stage 2, the proportions of pupils who attained the standard expected for their age in reading, writing and mathematics were also above the national averages. The proportions of pupils achieving greater depth were close to or above those seen nationally.
• In 2017, rates of progress in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2, including for disadvantaged pupils, improved compared with the previous year. Progress in key stage 2 in reading, writing and mathematics was broadly average. Leaders’ current internal assessment information and work in pupils’ books show overall, that the majority of pupils are making good progress and more pupils are achieving at greater depth. Progress, particularly in mathematics, is not as strong as it should be because some of the most able pupils, including some disadvantaged pupils, do not consistently make the progress they should.
• At the end of key stage 2 in 2017, few disadvantaged pupils achieved greater depth, particularly in mathematics, compared with their peers. Pupils’ work and school information show overall, that disadvantaged pupils currently are making good progress in line with their peers. Teachers have a good understanding of the needs of disadvantaged pupils and the pupil premium is used effectively to provide relevant interventions to support them. Again, some disadvantaged pupils, particularly the most able in mathematics, do not consistently make the progress they should.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress from their starting points. Staff quickly identify pupils who have additional needs and, with the support of the coordinator for the provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, intervene to ensure that pupils are taught what they need.
• Overall, pupils produce work to a good standard. They have opportunities to write at length and the content of their written work is often of high quality. The quality of their writing, however, is often let down by inaccurate spelling, grammar or use of punctuation.
• 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.

Early years provision Good

• Children in the early years make a good start to their school life. Leaders ensure that children are well prepared for key stage 1. The proportion who achieved a good level of development has been above the national average for the last two years, and improved in 2017 compared with the previous year. Children enter the school with skills that are broadly typical of those expected for their age and most children make progress from their starting points that is at least good.
• The provision is led and managed well by the new, enthusiastic leader for the early years who is rapidly developing her expertise. Leaders have ensured that a focused programme of training is in place to support this. She has ensured that early years provision is of a high standard. She has a detailed understanding of children’s needs based on current observations of learning. Planning to improve provision, however, is not yet as precise or strategic as it could be.
• Teaching is good. The class teacher and teaching assistants skilfully question and challenge children to help them make progress in their learning. An inspector observed the teacher working with a group of children, helping the children to successfully use their phonics knowledge to write words for a guest list for a party as well as write letters accurately. Children made good progress in their learning. Activities provided for children to work independently, however, are not consistently well matched to children’s needs.
• The leader of the early years ensures that indoor and outdoor learning areas are well organised and provide children with a broad range of opportunities across the different areas of learning. Routines are quickly established and children are resilient and independent in their learning. Children were observed, for example, independently writing letters and numerals or happily working together to bake cakes and fill different sized containers in the sand area.
• Staff promote children’s personal development well. Children have positive attitudes to their learning and behave well. They collaborate well and are respectful of each other. Children are confident in explaining what they are doing. One child who had chosen some clothes from the class ‘shop’, confidently told an inspector, ‘I’m dressing up to be the smartest giant!’ The school’s ‘peacemaker’ and ‘safety officer’ roles are also part of the early years. This promotes children’s awareness of the feelings of others as well as the importance of keeping safe. One child told an inspector, ‘I’m checking the trim trail is not wet so that other children won’t slip.’
• The leader for the early years and staff regularly engage with parents and use information to inform their assessments of children’s progress. Parents welcome the ‘stay and learn’ sessions, which help them to understand and support their children’s learning.
• Safeguarding is effective and all the statutory responsibilities are met.

School details

Unique reference number 141536 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 10037592 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Academy converter Age range of pupils 4 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 196 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chief executive officer Chris Moodie Headteacher Kerrie Clowes Telephone number 01302 742477 Website http://allsaintsharworth.schooljotter2.com Email address office@harworth.notts.sch.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• Harworth CofE Academy converted to become an academy school on 1 November 2014 when it joined the Southwell and Nottingham Diocesan Multi Academy Trust. When its predecessor school, All Saints Harworth CofE (aided) Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted it was judged to be good overall.
• The trust has overall responsibility for the academy. However, specific responsibilities are delegated to the local governing body and to the headteacher in line with the Southwell and Nottingham Diocesan Multi Academy Trust scheme of delegation.
• Harworth CofE Academy is smaller than the average-sized primary school.
• The school has a breakfast and after-school club.
• The very large majority of pupils are of White British heritage. The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds or who speak English as an additional language are below the national averages.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is close to the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is close to the national average.
• In 2017, the school met the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ progress and attainment in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.
• 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.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching in all year groups. Sixteen lessons were observed, some jointly with the headteacher. Inspectors looked at pupils’ work, observed the teaching of early reading skills, listened to pupils read and spoke with them to evaluate the quality of their learning. They scrutinised a variety of documents relating to safeguarding, behaviour, attendance, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, pupils’ attainment and progress and staff performance. A range of plans for improvement were evaluated as well as the school’s self-evaluation of its own performance and documents relating to the work of the governing body.
• Inspectors spoke with parents informally at the start of the school day. They took account of the 17 responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View, as well as the 44 responses to the pupil questionnaire and 11 responses to the staff questionnaire.
• Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, middle leaders, the coordinator for the provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, members of the governing body and the chief executive officer of the trust. Discussions explored a wide range of subjects, including safeguarding arrangements.

Inspection team

John Lawson, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Lynn Corner-Brown Ofsted Inspector