Dry Drayton CofE (C) Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve outcomes for pupils, and the quality of teaching by ensuring that teachers:
  • regularly check on how well pupils are learning and reshape tasks, when needed, to suit the needs of individuals
  • have the highest expectations of every pupil in each year group
  • provide effective challenges for all pupils, particularly the most able, so that the activities they are given enable them to extend their learning and thinking
  • have sufficient mathematical knowledge to teach reasoning and problem-solving effectively
  • provide pupils with regular opportunities to apply their basic English and mathematics skills in a variety of ways and subjects throughout the curriculum
  • have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and attitude to learning.
• Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that:
  • governors work with the diocese and the local authority to urgently clarify how governors will hold leaders to account for moving the school to good
  • middle levels are clear about their roles and responsibilities and how they will be held to account for the actions they take to improve their areas of responsibility
  • leadership plans for improvement focus sharply on improving pupils’ progress leaders ensure that teachers give pupils appropriate feedback, in line with the school’s marking policy, on how they can improve their work. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Leaders and governors have not secured sufficient improvement in pupils’ outcomes since the previous inspection, to ensure that they are good. In part, this is because of the numerous changes in leadership and staffing. However, governors have not held leaders sufficiently to account for whole-school improvement, and have been slow to intervene when outcomes are not good.
• Leadership across the school has become more secure since the beginning of the academic year. Leaders have accurately highlighted many areas for improvement. The school’s own current self-evaluation recognises that the school has not maintained its good judgement since the previous inspection. Some of the impact of the improvements leaders have made in the last term is still to be evidenced. However, leaders have made a promising start in such areas as raising expectations of staff and pupils.
• Improvement planning at all levels identifies weaknesses. However, plans are not yet as sharply focused on pupils’ progress as they need to be. As a result, the intelligent use of assessment information has been too slow in identifying where the most urgent concerns lie. For example, the most able pupils throughout the school, and some pupils in lower key stage 2, are not making as much progress as they can.
• Leaders have recently put in place regular checking on the quality of teaching. They have ensured that appropriate support is given to teachers where it is needed, and it is evident that this support is having the desired impact on pupils’ outcomes.
• Newly appointed middle leaders are growing in their effectiveness but have some way to go. The leader of mathematics, although not new to this post, is working more effectively with the guidance of new leaders, and is an enthusiastic advocate for her subject. However, subject leaders have not been checking pupils’ progress regularly enough to fully demonstrate the increasing impact of their work. The support that these developing leaders have received from a local school has been helpful in ensuring that a schedule of monitoring and evaluation is now in place.
• Since September 2016, leaders have made better use of information on pupils’ progress. Assessment is more accurate as a result of the work that leaders have put in place with a local school. Although leaders have used this information to set appropriately challenging targets, they have been too slow in identifying where there are the most urgent concerns. As a result, the information that governors receive about pupils’ progress has not been sufficiently precise. This has hindered celebration of successes, and not accurately identified potential risks to pupils’ outcomes.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced and contributes well to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. For example, pupils in upper key stage 2 designed shields to show what they felt they were good at and enjoyed; pupils took part in a sponsored run and raised £160 for Sports Relief; and the school has developed good links with the Nkana Basic School in Zambia. The walls are also adorned with good-quality pupils’ work in, for example, science, geography and art. Pupils enjoy exploring volcanoes, mini-beasts and the curse of Tutankhamun. The curriculum is extended through trips to Sedgewick Museum, the local church and Wicken Fen, to name but a few. Pupils say they really enjoy these experiences, and the variety of after-school clubs that are offered in, for example, cooking, gymnastics and science.
• Leaders make effective use of additional funding for the very few most-vulnerable pupils currently in the school. The physical education and sports funding is used well to promote participation in sport and encourage pupils to develop healthy lifestyles. For example, pupils say that they enjoy taking part in the ‘golden mile’, which ‘is fun and gets you on the run!’
• Leaders work closely with Caldecote Primary School, the local authority and the diocese. This has helped to begin to improve such aspects as behaviour, attitudes to learning and the assessment of reading. The school receives a high level of support from the local authority which brokered the leadership arrangements for September 2016.

Governance of the school

• Many governors are new to the school and were not present during the previous inspection. Although they are ambitious for the school and are committed to its improvement, they are not yet sufficiently able to hold leaders to account for the progress and attainment of pupils.
• Governors have taken steps to improve their effectiveness, particularly in the last year, and have worked with the local authority to secure leadership of the school. However, there remains little clarity about how governors will hold current leaders to account for moving the school to good.
• Current leaders have worked with governors to ensure that they have a clear view of the strengths and weaknesses within the school. Governors’ experience and expertise is wide. They have the capacity to better use the current information that leaders are beginning to provide. However, governors’ regular visits to the school are not sufficiently focused on the areas that need to improve quickly, and minutes of governing body meetings do not accurately capture governors’ questions about whole-school performance.
• Governors have ensured that additional funding for the very few most-vulnerable pupils is effectively used to ensure that they make good progress both academically and socially.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• New leaders have quickly established a culture where staff work well together to promote pupils’ safety and welfare. Staff are aware of procedures to follow should they have a concern.
• Leaders have ensured that child protection, ‘Prevent’ duty and safeguarding training is up to date and regular. This ensures that all staff have a good awareness of how to keep pupils safe.
• Records of concerns are appropriate, although on occasion some records have not been dated. New leaders have quickly addressed this so that a chronology is evident.
• Leaders are experienced at working with external agencies, and have good contacts with relevant professionals, upon whom they will regularly call. This has ensured that any concerns are quickly and effectively addressed, as was evidenced during this inspection.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teaching is not consistently good and expectations of what pupils are capable of are not always high enough. As a result, some pupils do not make the progress of which they are capable.
• The frequent changes of leadership and teachers have slowed the rate of progress in some year groups. The quality of teaching is better for some of the younger and the oldest pupils.
• As a result of recent changes, for example in the way that reading is taught and assessed, there have been signs of improvement in this area. However, there remains inconsistency across the school. Some teachers use a variety of strategies to make sure that pupils understand their learning. Where they are struggling or need to move on, these teachers are confident to adapt their teaching to suit the needs of these individuals. In other year groups, however, teachers do not check regularly enough on how well pupils are doing so that all pupils make the best progress they can.
• There are limitations in some teachers’ subject knowledge, especially, for example, in the teaching of problem-solving and reasoning in mathematics. They are able to teach a method accurately, for example when teaching calculation. However, the application of calculation skills in other areas is not widely routine. Some pupils, therefore, especially the most able, are not being encouraged to extend their learning or challenge their thinking.
• The teaching of phonics is effective. Pupils in the very youngest classes apply their phonic knowledge well in their early reading and writing, making sensible guesses at unfamiliar words. Pupils read widely and often. Leaders, with the support of the local community and parents, have considerably improved the library areas. Pupils are very proud of these areas and are keen ‘to keep them tidy and neat’. Pupils say that they love reading and look forward to reading to the regular parent volunteers.
• The teaching of writing is still developing. Leaders recognise from their own monitoring and that seen during the inspection that teachers do not routinely give pupils opportunities to practise their basic English skills, and to write at length. Pupils are therefore slow to develop the stamina and resilience that is needed, particularly in key stage 2, to be effective writers and to show what they are capable of.
• The teaching of the most able pupils varies from class to class. Some of these pupils are challenged to achieve their best, but they say that, in mathematics and writing in particular, the work is often too easy. They would like it to be harder. One eloquent pupil said, ‘I like to get things wrong sometimes, as we all learn from our mistakes.’
• The very small numbers of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities receive some effective support, especially those who have emotional needs. The support since September is largely in the main classrooms, which ensures that these pupils work on the same themes as their peers. The impact has largely been successful. Some of these pupils have developed more positive attitudes to learning.
• All teachers apply the school’s marking policy well and some are diligent in giving helpful feedback. However, leaders are aware that not enough feedback helps pupils to know what they need to do to improve their work. In some year groups, pupils respond to teachers’ comments and there is an expectation that pupils will properly edit and improve their work. The progress of these pupils is faster than in other classes.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils respond well to the strong Christian ethos within the school. Pupils respect their peers and adults, and treat one and other courteously. Positive relationships are evident throughout the school. Pupils know how to treat others, and reminders on the walls and doors prompt pupils, for example, to ‘be a friend to someone shy’.
• Pupils really enjoy coming to Dry Drayton, saying it is a ‘brilliant, fun and amazing school’. They welcome new pupils to the school, which occurs on a regular basis, with enthusiasm and a sense of pride.
• Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe, including when online. This is because leaders ensure that pupils are taught how to be safe, and pupils are constantly reminded on posters around the school of how to minimise risks, for example in the ‘click clever, click safe’ code. In the youngest class, two pupils are ‘risk monitors’ for the term and identify where there is a chance that someone may hurt themselves.
• The school rightly prides itself on the nurture of its pupils, especially those with specific needs. Parents are confident in the ways the school helps their children to grow well as individuals. One parent commented that her son ‘had particularly benefited from the buddy system’.
• British values and what it is like to be part of modern Britain are taught well. A display in the central area of the school emphasises the qualities of equality and respect. This clearly has an impact on pupils; as one said, ‘because we are all different, aren’t we?’

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• Since September, leaders have worked hard to ensure that behaviour and attitudes to learning improve. There is clear evidence from governors’ monitoring, local authority reports and leaders’ records that behaviour has improved.
• Most pupils have a clear understanding of how the school’s behaviour policy works and appreciate the rewards that good behaviour brings. Celebration of hard work and good behaviour is shared in the fortnightly newsletter. However, not all teachers and teaching assistants are insisting on high enough standards of behaviour in class. Adults in some year groups do not act swiftly enough to refocus pupils’ attention on the work they are doing. As a result, pupils become less engaged in their tasks, and their attention wanders. This leads to low-level disruption, and teachers have to interrupt the learning to deal with it.
• Pupils respond well to routines such as lining up and moving between the playground and the classroom. They carry out their additional responsibilities, for example as play leaders, with minimal prompting, and are proud of those duties. While waiting for a class to return from the playground, one pupil explained, ‘Years 5 and 6 put out the chairs in the hall for lunch, so don’t worry, we haven’t had an extra play time!’
• Overall attendance is improving. New leaders are insistent on regular, prompt attendance. Parents and pupils are responding well. However, there is still a small number of pupils whose attendance remains stubbornly low. While some improvement has been made with one or two individuals, attendance of a small group of vulnerable pupils is not improving quickly enough. Some of these pupils make less progress, as a result, than their peers.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• The proportion of pupils that achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2 in 2016 was well below the national average. However, current assessment information indicates that pupils’ attainment in reading, writing and mathematics throughout the school is improving, although there remains room for further improvements.
• Progress from key stage 1 to key stage 2 has been variable over time. Too few pupils exceeded the expected rates of progress in 2016. Progress of pupils currently in the school is inconsistent within year groups and between subjects. However, the majority of pupils are making expected progress, and an increasing proportion of pupils are exceeding expected progress in one or two year groups. There is not sufficient evidence yet to indicate that the progress of the most able pupils is good.
• Scrutiny of pupils’ work in their English and mathematics books shows that expectations of the progress that pupils can make are not consistently high enough.
• Progress in reading and mathematics is improving because of recent training and support on basic skills and assessment. However, progress in writing is not rapid enough, and pupils do not routinely have opportunities to write at length to practise their skills. Likewise, in mathematics, although improving, progress has been slow because there has not been enough emphasis on the development of reasoning, fluency and problem-solving.
• The progress of the very small group of disadvantaged pupils, from their different starting points, is often better than that of their peers. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities receive effective targeted support from teachers and teaching assistants. They make at least expected progress from their varying starting points, and sometimes exceed expected progress.
• Attainment in phonics has improved in the last three years and is now above the national average. The youngest pupils in the school acquire and use good phonic skills, which enable them to develop fluency in their reading.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• Children join the school largely from the on-site but separately managed pre-school. The accuracy of assessment of children’s skills and abilities at the start of their time at Dry Drayton is very conservative. Children seen during the inspection are articulate and confident, and have clearly settled well into their inviting environment. They are making appropriate progress, and, as adults get to know the children even better, accuracy of assessment is improving.
• The proportion of children achieving a good level of development at the end of the Reception Year has increased since the previous inspection and was above the national average in 2016. Children are, therefore, well prepared for their move into Year 1.
• Teachers make effective use of the learning space for the Reception children, who share this area with Years 1 and 2. The environment is stimulating, both indoors and outdoors. Children show enthusiasm and interest in the various activities that adults provide. For example, children write lists of bugs they find outside, or spend some time drawing them. Some children are therefore beginning to develop their concentration. However, a number of children still flit from one activity to another, and on occasion, adults do not focus children quickly enough.
• Adults use their skills well to ask children appropriately questions about what they are learning or doing. For example, when a child picked a bug from the display, an adult asked, ‘Why have you chosen a butterfly?’ The child replied, ‘Because it is just so pretty’.
• All staff establish positive, warm relationships with children, which parents say they welcome. As a result, children are confident to approach visitors and tell them about their classroom and their achievements.
• Some work has been done by leaders to establish a closer link with the pre-school that is housed within the school. Home-school visits and ‘my starting school’ books give some information from parents about their children’s development. There is, however, little evidence to show that regular and ongoing information from parents is effectively used to inform teachers’ planning for children’s individual needs.
• Leadership of the early years has changed recently and is developing. The two teachers, one of whom has also only recently joined the school, are working well together to further improve the provision in Reception. It is clear from children’s learning journals that the improvements are already paying dividends.
• Good attention is paid to the welfare and safety of children in the Reception class. Parents say that they are pleased with the way all staff care for their children, and that their children feel safe and happy in school.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number Type of school School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils 110787 Cambridgeshire 10023539 Primary Community 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 59 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Andrew Taylor Katie Kendall 01954 780618 www.drydraytonprimaryschool.co.uk office@drydrayton.cambs.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 5–6 March 2012

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school does not currently have a substantive headteacher (the previous headteacher resigned in July this year). It is currently led by the deputy headteacher from Caldecote Primary School, supported by her headteacher.
• Dry Drayton is a smaller than the average-sized primary school. There are three mixed-aged classes: Reception, Years 1 and 2; Years 3 and 4; and Years 5 and 6.
• The vast majority of pupils are White British, and very few speak English as an additional language.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is well below the national average. The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above the national average, as is the proportion of pupils who have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan.
• Many pupils join the school at a variety of points throughout the academic year.
• Little Owls Pre-School is situated within the school building. It is not managed by the school and therefore was not part of this inspection.
• The school meets the current floor standards, which are the government’s minimum expectations for attainment and progress at the end of key stage 2.

Information about this inspection

• The lead inspector observed learning in all classes with a leader from the school, and spoke with pupils during lessons.
• The lead inspector met with the senior leaders, three middle leaders and those responsible for child protection and safeguarding. Meetings were also held with six members of the governing body, including the chair, and a group of 10 pupils from across the school. The lead inspector met with two representatives from the local authority and one from the diocese. A telephone conversation was also had between the lead inspector and another representative of the diocese.
• A thorough scrutiny was undertaken of a range of documents, including the school’s own self-evaluation, improvement plans, minutes of meetings, and records relating to child protection, behaviour and attendance.
• The lead inspector led a scrutiny of pupils’ work in their English and mathematics books with two middle leaders who are responsible for leading these subjects.
• The lead inspector talked to pupils about their learning and their views of the school. She also listened to some pupils read and observed them at playtime and during lunchtime.
• Twenty-five responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, and 11 texts were considered, as well as the school’s own parent survey. The lead inspector spoke with parents on the school playground during the inspection.

Inspection team

Ruth Brock, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector