Eaton Bray Academy Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve leadership and management, by:
  • clarifying the roles and responsibilities of senior and middle leaders
  • ensuring that governors hold leaders to account more rigorously about the progress of different groups of pupils across all subjects
  • improving systems to monitor the quality of teaching and manage the training and performance of staff, including for teaching assistants
  • developing the roles of subject leaders so that they can accurately evaluate and improve the quality of provision and outcomes in their subjects.
• Improve the quality of teaching and learning, by:
  • raising the expectations of what pupils can do, especially in reading and mathematics
  • providing more opportunities for pupils to practise their problem-solving and reading skills across the curriculum
  • checking that activities are matched to the learning needs of pupils, particularly boys and pupils of average and low ability
  • improving the way teachers guide the work of teaching assistants to make it more effective
  • ensuring that pupils receive precise guidance on how to improve their work.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• Several new subject leaders have yet to develop their roles fully. They have insufficient time and expertise to evaluate the quality of teaching and learning with accuracy. They have not monitored closely enough the progress of different groups of pupils and checked that pupils apply their literacy and mathematics skills in subjects other than English and mathematics.
• Over the past few years the school has grown into a full primary school. The headteacher recruited staff to meet the needs of key stage 2 pupils and managed this well. However, changes in leadership responsibilities have led to some discontinuity in pupils’ learning. Some training is recent and has yet to demonstrate its effectiveness on pupils’ progress, especially in reading and mathematics.
• Leaders’ success in developing a caring and welcoming school is not accompanied by the same rigour in creating a culture of high achievement for all groups of pupils. The management of staff performance is not closely linked to the school development plan and to a clear programme of training.
• The coordinator for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities has the expertise to manage this aspect of the school’s work. More time is now available to monitor pupils’ progress in class. However, this development is too recent to have had sufficient impact on filling historical gaps in pupils’ knowledge and accelerating their academic progress. The leadership, management and training of teaching assistants require tighter control, although the school does well in supporting pupils’ emotional and welfare needs.
• Senior leaders evaluated the quality of teaching as good, despite the slow progress of some groups, particularly in reading and mathematics. The processes used to monitor teaching over time are not precise enough. Senior leaders are not using the full range of evidence, such as the effectiveness of additional support, to check whether pupils’ learning is sufficiently rapid considering their prior achievement.
• The headteacher provides informal feedback to individual teachers about what they do well and what they could do better. Teachers welcome these professional discussions and relationships between staff, and between pupils and adults, are very good. Staff are highly committed to their work and to the personal development of pupils.
• Some aspects of teaching are improving. The school works well with local teaching schools, for example to moderate the accuracy of assessment. The local authority adviser is also providing clear guidance on how to improve standards in mathematics. A focus on pupils’ handwriting and presentation is also leading to some improvement across subjects.
• The number of disadvantaged pupils is very small. The school has none identified in its group of most-able pupils. Initiatives funded through the pupil premium are kept under review and, where these are found not to be sufficiently effective, they are adapted to meet pupils’ needs. The special educational needs coordinator is including this group in the tracking process to raise performance. The progress of current pupils who are disadvantaged matches that of others nationally. The results of those who took the tests in Years 2 and 6 match those of their classmates.
• The school has identified a member of staff to develop provision for the most able pupils and those who have a particular talent, such as in sports or music. Staff have frequent meetings about this group of pupils to discuss ways of identifying and providing for them. Additional curriculum experiences extend their learning and build on their interests. For example, they run Eaton Bray Academy Enterprise and this develops skills useful for future study or life, such as financial management. However, there is insufficient monitoring within lessons and over time to check whether expectations are high enough. Consequently, in some subjects, most-able pupils do not do as well as they could.
• The leadership of physical education is a strength of the school. The impact of the additional funding through the primary physical education and sports premium has led to more pupils receiving high-quality teaching and a wealth of opportunities to excel outside the school.
• Equality of opportunity is promoted well at the school. This has helped to secure a good level of social integration among pupils who come from a broad range of different backgrounds, particularly the travellers’ population. A parent from that community commented that everyone should come to this school and that the headteacher is very fair.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced. Leaders are adamant that the curriculum must be interesting and must provide opportunities for pupils to be creative and learn through practical activities. This is successful, for example, in science where pupils test out scientific principles through the forest school activities or are excited by specific phenomena such as volcanoes in their topic work. More development is required to ensure that the curriculum helps to raise standards of reading and mathematics.
• Pupils have memorable learning experiences through visits to places of historical interest, residentials and links abroad, including the link with Lesotho. The school provides a wide range of opportunities for pupils to learn about other cultures and fundamental British values. Staff ensure that pupils understand the rule of law and consequences when rules are broken. They discuss what it means to live in a peaceful, fair and democratic society. These opportunities, supplemented by high-quality assemblies such as the well-led Year 4 assembly observed during this inspection, contribute well to pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural development.
• The school surveys parents every year. The findings of these surveys are more positive than those of the online Ofsted questionnaire. A few parents indicated they would like the school to improve communication about their children’s progress and some are worried about staff changes. Some parents wrote that the additional learning needs of their children were not addressed quickly enough. Inspectors found that the school provides a range of opportunities for parents to discuss their children’s progress. Staffing is now stabilising and better systems are being put in place to monitor the progress of different groups of pupils.
• Almost all staff at the school believe that the school is well led and managed. They enjoy working at the school and are proud to be a member of staff.
• The school’s website was updated during the course of the inspection as it was not compliant. The headteacher acknowledges that the behaviour policy requires some updating. It does not currently provide sufficiently detailed information to parents on exclusion arrangements.

Governance of the school

• Governance is effective but it requires some consolidation to support senior leaders in bringing about improvement.
• Governors bring a range of expertise to the school and some make regular visits to the school. Most are highly committed to the school’s success. These governors attend key meetings regularly and know the local community well. Many governors have children at the school and have direct experience of its work. However, there are areas that governors have not checked carefully enough. These include the way leaders evaluate teachers’ performance and the rate of pupils’ progress across subjects.
• Governors check that funding is spent wisely in some but not all areas of the school’s work. For example, they carefully ensure that pupil premium funding and physical education and sport funding is used appropriately. As the school expanded, they made the learning environment fit for purpose for key stage 2 pupils. However, the link between teachers’ additional responsibilities and their pay progression is unclear, particularly for subject leaders. The spending on additional support for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is not monitored well enough for its impact on pupils’ progress.
• Governors ensure that their statutory duties in relation to safeguarding are met. They sustain good communications with parents and keep their own safeguarding training under review so that they continue to be well-informed of any safeguarding issue.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• All staff have had relevant training, including on how to prevent the risk of radicalisation and to recognise signs of neglect. The staff understand and apply the school’s procedures and policies. Pupils say that they feel safe when they are at school. They are well supervised during break and lunchtime. Parents of children who have medical needs say that staff go out of their way to make sure their children are well looked after.
• The headteacher, who is the designated safeguarding lead, knows what to do to refer concerns about the well-being of pupils. Individual teachers record instances of poor behaviour or welfare issues in their classroom profile folders. There is a risk that some information may be undermined or lost as it is not brought quickly together in a central record.
• The school strikes the right balance between recognising the cultural differences of the travellers’ community while ensuring that pupils’ emotional and physical needs are met. More work is required to reduce the persistent absence of some pupils but steady progress is being made as shown by the increasing number of children from that community attending the early years provision.
• Case records show that the headteacher works well with relevant agencies to support pupils who are in receipt of social care services or encounter trauma in their life.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching, especially of reading and mathematics, requires improvement. Teachers do not use assessment information well enough to meet the different needs of their pupils. As a result, pupils, especially boys, average and low attainers do not progress as well as they should.
• There are skilled adults at the school, particularly in the early years, who provide well-targeted support for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. However, not all support staff who work with this group of pupils receive sufficient guidance in class. Consequently, most are not aware of the best way of helping the pupils they support. The identification of and intervention to help these pupils make progress are, in some cases, not prompt enough.
• Teachers work hard to apply the school’s assessment and marking policy. They provide pupils with oral feedback in class and encourage them to do better. In some classes, pupils are asked to check their written work carefully and they improve as a result. However, the application of the policy is inconsistent across the school and mistakes remain unchecked, for example in topic books.
• Where teaching is less effective, teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve are too low. For example, in reading pupils are not guided quickly enough towards more challenging books. In mathematics, opportunities to develop reasoning and problem- solving skills in real-life contexts are limited.
• Teachers are reviewing their teaching of the most able pupils and are increasingly aware of what to provide to help them learn. Where teaching is effective, pupils make accelerated progress because staff plan high-level work such as through the ‘chilli challenge’. These pupils then do well as teachers carefully select relevant topics to encourage pupils to write at length for a range of audiences and purposes. The homework contributes well to developing the skills of most-able pupils, such as through spelling and grammar sheets and the half-termly projects. In subjects other than in English and mathematics all pupils tend to do work at the same level and this is not stretching the high achievers.
• Some teaching is good often because teachers have a passion for their subject. They engage and motivate their pupils very well. This is the case in the early years and in the teaching of art, phonics, physical education and science. In the Nursery, children were very excited about recognising their names and in Reception they were carefully guided to write a postcard. In science there was a real buzz for learning in Year 1 as pupils were analysing and recording their sense of taste in a practical activity. In physical education, staff create the right competitive climate and check that pupils strive to do their best. The staff are also reinforcing how to keep safe when out of the school site, for example for swimming or cross-country running. The art work on display shows good teaching of sketching and drawing that builds on pupils’ talents.
• The majority of parents who responded to the questionnaire are positive about the quality of teaching, although a few were concerned about some homework not being right for their child. Inspectors found that homework is mostly appropriate and that teachers do their best to respond to parents’ suggestions. Inspectors agree with parents who said that the teaching of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities was not always well planned. Inspectors also found that discontinuity in staffing slowed pupils’ progress over time.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils’ personal development is not outstanding because, although pupils respond well in class they are not often curious about their learning and rarely ask questions to further their understanding. In addition, average and low attaining pupils and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities rely heavily on the support of additional adults. These pupils are not self-assured learners.
• Pupils say that they like their school. They enjoy their work and often try their best. They are well behaved, even when they complete their work quickly because teaching is less demanding than it could be.
• Pupils are happy because they feel safe and are well cared for. Staff have received relevant training and follow correct procedures in response to concerns they may have about individual pupils. Pupils were observed behaving very safely. They understand how to stay safe, including when using social media and the internet.
• Pupils respect the views of others and have a good understanding of the school’s and British values. The oldest pupils like to volunteer for jobs and help younger children. Members of the school council, in particular, enjoy the responsibilities that they are given. Pupils were observed playing together well on the playground. They understand the school’s rules about behaviour. For example, boys knew exactly what they were doing wrong when trying to jump the queue for skipping. They told one inspector that they were very happy at the school and that they made friends quickly.
• Pupils are very active. Many excel in physical education and sports. Displays around the school show pupils’ good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, for example, in learning about different faiths, taking part in international links with Africa and involving themselves in charity work. Their role as good citizens is well evidenced and they often join their parents to raise money and get involved in their local community.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils listen attentively to adults and to each other. The school is a calm and orderly environment. In the early years, children quickly learn about the school’s routines. They share toys, respond well to instructions and are more than happy to stop outdoor play to get back to learning.
• Pupils are aware of different types of bullying and incidents are rare. Pupils say that they have no hesitation telling an adult if they need help. A very small number of parents who responded to the Ofsted online questionnaire are concerned about a few cases of bullying. Inspectors found that any incidents are investigated. Bullying is not tolerated.
• The very large majority of pupils want to attend school. Attendance last year was average. Punctuality is good. The school is continuing its effort to reduce persistent absence because in some years, especially in the current Years 2 and 6, attendance is below average. Holidays taken in term time and the low attendance of some pupils from the travellers’ community are affecting the overall figure.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• The progress that pupils make given their different starting points is uneven and requires improvement. Some pupils do well but too many underachieve. Leaders recognise that progress is insufficient in reading and mathematics. Staff changes have had a negative impact on progress, particularly at key stage 2. Staffing is now stabilising but outcomes have not caught up to where they should be at key stages 1 and 2. Pupils do well in the early years.
• The school entered its first cohort of pupils for the national tests in 2015. In that year the number of Year 6 pupils was very small. In 2016, numbers in Year 6 increased but it was still a small Year 6 class. The number of disadvantaged pupils is very small in each class and too small to comment on test results. Current disadvantaged pupils are progressing in line with their classmates.
• The progress and outcomes of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is inconsistent across the school. Pupils who have social and emotional needs progress well as they receive a lot of care and attention. However, those who experience difficulties academically do not do well enough. This is often because the targets and plans to support their learning are not precise enough. The experienced coordinator is devising a better tracking system to monitor the impact of interventions. It is too early to see the difference this is making to pupils’ achievement.
• Pupils of low or average ability, and boys, make insufficient progress in reading at both key stages. A lower proportion than in most schools reach the expected standard for their age, including reading in greater depth. Inspectors saw that pupils did not read books matched to their level of ability. Boys’ reading does not improve as quickly as that of girls and therefore the difference between boys’ achievement compared to that of girls is not reducing. The ‘reading revolution’ strategy, introduced to develop a love of reading, has made insufficient difference to boys’ attitude to reading.
• Progress in mathematics is too slow. Not enough pupils reach the higher standards at the end of key stage 1. Slow progress continues at key stage 2 and outcomes are below those expected by Year 6. Pupils’ reasoning and problem-solving skills are not developed enough. Senior leaders are aware of the need to improve outcomes in mathematics and this is an area of focus in the school development plan. In some lessons, teachers are giving pupils good opportunities to apply their mathematics skills, for example using fractions in their computing lesson in Year 2.
• Pupils join Year 1 well prepared by their time in the early years. The proportion of children reaching good levels of development by the end of Reception has risen over the past three years and matched the national average in 2016. Current children are predicted to achieve better than this in 2017. They have the potential to at least reach age-related expectations. Results in phonics are above the national average. Phonics skills are developed well in the early years and current standards indicate that these good levels are maintained throughout Year 1. Pupils from the travellers’ community make the same progress as their classmates. However, as they get older, the irregular attendance of some pupils affects the development of their reading and writing skills.
• Improving pupils’ writing has been a key priority for the school from Reception to Year 6 and, as a result, outcomes are better in this skill. The work seen in pupils’ books shows that pupils are becoming increasingly secure in spelling words correctly and understanding how to use grammar and punctuation accurately. At key stages 1 and 2, writing skills match those expected for pupils of that age. The proportion of pupils who write at the higher levels is also improving. Written work of good quality was seen on display, such as the extended writing on the Victorian project and the poetry topic. The school won the local grammar cup in 2016.
• Specific groups of pupils do well in a range of areas and achieve good outcomes. This is the case for girls and some, although not all, of the most able pupils. Where teaching and learning are planned well, these pupils reach the high standards they are capable of. They make better progress than their classmates in reading and writing at key stage 2. In some classes, pupils are grasping more complex concepts in mathematics when staff set challenging activities. Pupils who benefit from additional input, such as the grammar sessions in Year 6, are well prepared for their move to secondary school. In 2016 a good number passed the 11+ and enrolled at grammar schools.
• Across the curriculum, pupils make good progress in subjects where staff have a high level of subject knowledge, a passion for their work and give pupils the opportunity to have a go at practical activities. This is the case, for example, in art, physical education and science. The forest school is used well to bring relevance to the topics that pupils are learning about. Displays across the school show that pupils have applied their skills well in the topic on volcanoes and their art work on Salvador Dali. Outcomes in physical education are good, with pupils winning most competitions in the local area.

Early years provision Good

• Outcomes for children in the early years have improved for the past three consecutive years. Children enter the Nursery with a wide range of starting points but, for most, they are broadly typical of their age.
• Children make good progress in all areas of learning so that the proportion attaining a good level of development by the end of Reception is now close to the national average. More children are expected to exceed a good level of development by the end of this academic year in July 2017. Children are well prepared to move on to Year 1.
• Provision is not yet outstanding because children enter with a range of skills but most have the potential to make more rapid progress. These children are not identified quickly enough to accelerate their learning.
• The deputy headteacher in charge of the early years takes action to ensure that teaching is effective. Activities, both indoors and outdoors, are interesting and accessible to all. A strong emphasis on developing children’s use of speech in the Nursery helps pupils communicate effectively with their friends and adults. This is especially beneficial to children who have emotional needs or speech and language difficulties. Staff skilfully engage children in the Nursery who still find it difficult to leave their parents in the morning.
• The carefully considered activities and events help children understand the core values of the school from an early age. Children from the travellers’ community are encouraged to attend and staff have good links with families. The daily routines and safe behaviour contribute to children’s good personal development. The use of a forest school and attendance at big events, such as the whole-school assemblies, develop children’s sense of occasion and the importance of behaving well in a formal context.
• The views of parents are taken into account when planning improvements. Home visits provide a wealth of information and these are used well by staff to get to know the children quickly. The parents who spoke to the inspectors are very pleased about the care and attention staff pay to their children. They appreciate the opportunity to meet staff and value the information they receive about their children’s learning.

School details

Unique reference number 136539 Local authority Central Bedfordshire Inspection number 10012442 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Academy 2 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 226 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Jason McDermid Susan Hounslow 01525 220468 www.eatonbrayacademy.co.uk admin@eba.ec Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• Eaton Bray School became an academy in April 2011. Its predecessor school was a lower school, providing education for pupils aged two to nine. Eaton Bray lower school was inspected in 2007 and judged outstanding.
• From September 2013, the school expanded into a full primary school for pupils aged two to 11 and, for the first time in 2015, a small class of Year 6 pupils took the key stage 2 national tests. The school is now an average-sized primary school.
• The pre-school provision for the two- to four-year-old children was inspected separately in 2012 and judged to be good.
• The number of disadvantaged pupils supported through the pupil premium is low.
• Almost all pupils are White British. The vast majority of pupils speak English as their first language. About 20 pupils from the local travelling community are enrolled at the school.
• The proportion of pupils who have support for special educational needs and/or disabilities, a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is average.
• In the early years, children have part-time education in the Nursery and full-time education in Reception.
• No judgement can be made about whether the school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6, because the key stage 2 cohorts in 2015 and 2016 were too small.
• 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.
• There have been significant changes in staffing and leadership since the conversion to academy status. The deputy headteacher left the school in July 2015. The senior leadership team was restructured. A new chair of the governing body took up post in September 2016. The school encountered significant difficulties recruiting teachers at key stage 2 although this is now stabilised. The school works closely with local teaching schools to support the training of teachers.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching and learning in all classes and several sessions were jointly observed with the headteacher.
• Throughout the two days of the inspection, inspectors spoke with pupils, individually and in groups, about their learning and safety.
• Inspectors listened to pupils reading. They reviewed pupils’ work in lessons and analysed samples of work in books, on display in classrooms and around the school.
• The lead inspector held a meeting with the chair of the governing body and four other governors.
• Inspectors held meetings with senior leaders, subject leaders and other staff, including the coordinator of provision for the most able pupils and the coordinator for special educational needs.
• Inspectors looked at the school’s review of its own performance, its development plan, a number of key school policies and the minutes of governing body meetings. They considered a range of documentation in relation to child protection, safeguarding, behaviour and attendance.
• Inspectors analysed 49 responses to the online questionnaire for parents (Parent View). An additional 29 comments were sent to the lead inspector. The school’s own annual survey completed by parents was analysed.
• There were 26 staff who completed the Ofsted staff questionnaire.

Inspection team

Marianick Ellender-Gelé, lead inspector Sue Pryor Sue Cox

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector