Antingham and Southrepps Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve teaching and learning so that pupils’ progress is consistently good by:
  • raising teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve within lessons and over time
  • maximising learning time in lessons and using assessment within lessons to identify when pupils are ready to move on
  • planning tasks which are more closely matched to the needs of pupils of different abilities
  • introducing effective systems for improving pupils’ spelling so that written work is of a higher standard.
• Improve leadership and management by ensuring that:
  • leaders identify more clearly where teaching is having most impact on pupils’ progress and where it has less impact, and provide clearer feedback for improvement
  • systems for checking teaching and learning across all subjects are more systematic
  • assessment of pupils’ progress in subjects other than English and mathematics is more robust
  • trustees and governors scrutinise information provided to them more closely and use this to ask more challenging questions of leaders.
• Improve the early years by ensuring that:
  • all adults intervene effectively in independent play to move learning on
  • greater challenge is provided for the most able children
  • adults provide more opportunities to develop basic skills across all activities.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Leaders have not taken sufficient action to ensure that teaching is consistently good and that achievement of pupils in all year groups is good. Leaders have successfully eradicated the inadequate teaching that was identified in the inspection report for the predecessor school. However, staffing changes, including changes in leadership, have slowed the rate of change.
• Systems for checking the quality of teaching and learning by leaders, including subject leaders, are too informal, so they do not ensure that any weaknesses are quickly identified and addressed. Leaders provide feedback which rightly celebrates strengths. They are less specific, however, in identifying those weaknesses which are contributing to slower rates of progress for some pupils.
• The current staff team, ably led by the head of school, is developing a shared understanding of what good teaching means in practice. Teachers and other adults in the school share a commitment to further improving the school and are now working together effectively to secure these improvements.
• Leaders ensure that the curriculum is broad and interesting. Staff work together to create a curriculum plan that ensures that pupils in mixed-aged classes do not repeat work. Teachers make links between different subjects to enhance learning.
• Leaders make good use of funding provided to promote sport. This enables pupils to take part in a wide range of sporting activities and competitions. The curriculum is enhanced by after-school clubs, such as dance and the gardening club.
• Leaders plan carefully for pupils who are disadvantaged so that they make good progress. They make sure that funding provided for these pupils is used to address those areas which hold pupils back. For example, leaders identified that some pupils needed help with managing their feelings, so provided counselling for these pupils; while others who had limited social experiences were supported in taking part in clubs and trips.
• Leaders also take great care to make sure that the needs of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are well met. Leaders manage funding well and additional resources are provided where needed. Leaders meet regularly with staff to discuss the needs of these pupils and their progress, and to plan any additional support that may be needed.
• Leaders are determined to ensure that pupils who attend Antingham and Southrepps Primary School become well-rounded individuals. They place a high emphasis on pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. This is effective and pupils spoken to during the inspection were confident, articulate and caring individuals.
• Leaders have worked hard to establish a positive relationship with parents and the wider community. After the inspection of the predecessor school, parental confidence fell. This is now being rebuilt and parents spoken to during the inspection and the vast majority of those who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire were full of praise for the school, its leaders and staff. One parent commented, ‘The school in my view is the best it has ever been since Mrs Harding took over.’ This comment was typical of the views of parents spoken to or who responded to the online questionnaire.

Governance of the school

• Governors and trustees have worked together to ensure that the school has improved. However, the leadership arrangements at the time of the inspection meant that, over the past year, leaders’ capacity for checking and improving teaching has been restricted. This has slowed the rate of improvement. Governors and trustees have identified this and put in place additional leadership capacity from within the trust to help accelerate improvement to good and better. This is at a very early stage and its impact cannot be judged.
• Governors, together with trustees, are highly committed to the school. Governors visit the school regularly, for example taking part in the learning cafes that are held. They discuss school achievement information regularly. However, they do not always challenge leaders rigorously enough about the information they are given. For example, governors did not question contradictory information given to them about the progress of children in the early years last year.
• Trustees check the achievement of the school but have only looked closely at outcomes at the end of Year 6. They have not considered attainment and progress in other year groups. Consequently, they have not had a wholly accurate view of how well the school is meeting pupils’ needs. This has now been rectified so that achievement in all year groups is considered.
• Trustees have provided support for the school, for example through a consultant headteacher last year. However, they recognise that, as the only primary school in the trust, the school has lacked support from other primaries. This is now being addressed and another local primary has joined the trust. The headteacher from this school is just starting to work with the school to share best practice and support leadership development further.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders take great care to ensure that every pupil at Antingham and Southrepps Primary School is kept safe. Leaders make sure that the school’s physical environment is safe, with all adults entering through a secure entrance. Adults’ identity is checked at reception as they enter the school. The site manager takes good care of the grounds to ensure that this large site is kept secure.
• Leaders make sure that checks on staff are carried out and recorded carefully and the named governor for safeguarding regularly double-checks these records. Leaders make sure that staff receive up-to-date training in all aspects of safeguarding. Consequently, they are knowledgeable about the signs to look for that may indicate that a child is at risk of harm. This is shown by the concern forms recorded by staff. Staff spoken to during the inspection also showed a good understanding of what to look for that may raise concerns. Pupils’ records show that leaders are rigorous in following up any concerns with external agencies where necessary.
• Leaders ensure that pupils learn how to keep themselves safe online. Pupils spoken to during the inspection knew what information they should and should not share online. Pupils know what to do if they encounter material which is offensive. Leaders acknowledge that they need to work more closely with parents to make sure that they keep up to date with the possible risks of new technologies, and how they can help pupils stay safe.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teaching is not consistently good. Teachers do not have high enough expectations of some pupils and so do not ensure that they produce work to the level of which they are capable. For example, sometimes the most able pupils are challenged well but middle-ability pupils are not given work which moves their learning on quickly enough.
• Time is not always used well. Pupils are not expected to work with sufficient pace and so time is wasted. For example, in mathematics, pupils complete too many similar calculations when they are ready to move on. As a result, some pupils do not make as much progress as they could.
• Many pupils have weak spelling skills. Teachers have tried to address this by more regularly providing pupils with new words to learn to spell, and through ensuring that pupils write out incorrect spellings. However, this is not having enough impact on improving pupils’ skills. This affects the quality of their written work.
• Sometimes teachers do not pick up basic errors made by pupils. For example, teachers do not make sure that some pupils in Years 3 and 4 consistently use full stops and capital letters as a matter of course. As a result, some pupils fall into poor habits which reduce the quality of their written work.
• Teachers demonstrate good subject knowledge. They explain work well to pupils. Teachers often provide additional challenges for pupils when they mark work. However, teachers do not always check pupils’ progress during lessons and so miss opportunities to use these challenges to move pupils on more rapidly.
• Teachers and pupils enjoy positive relationships. Pupils are keen to learn and want to please their teachers.
• Learning in some subjects, such as art, is strong. Specialist teaching ensures that pupils learn a range of techniques and explore the work of various artists, as well as creating their own work.
• Pupils are given opportunities to write across a range of subjects. For example, some pupils reinforced their knowledge of report writing by recording science experiments. These links between subjects help to ensure that pupils practise and reinforce their skills in a variety of contexts.
• In mathematics, pupils are beginning to be given more opportunities to develop their skills in problem-solving and reasoning. This is helping pupils to have a more through grasp of mathematical concepts and how to apply them to problems.
• Teaching of phonics to younger pupils is effective and pupils currently in Year 1 are developing a sound grasp of letters and the sounds they make.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils are given lots of opportunities to develop their social skills. For example, they often work with partners or in small groups and learn to take turns and to share. Pupils share the playground space and equipment at playtimes with respect for others’ needs. Pupils enjoy good relationships with adults in this small school where all pupils know and are known by all adults. As a result, the vast majority of pupils are confident and self-assured.
• Pupils say that school is a safe place and that adults are always there to help them if they are hurt, worried or upset. Parents agree that pupils are kept safe at school. They said that staff always make time to listen to them if they need to ask questions or pass on information about their child’s well-being. Typical of many comments made by parents was one who commented, ‘The children mix well through the different years and look out for one another.’ Another parent commented, ‘Teachers have always been approachable and any concerns are dealt with.’
• Pupils spoken to during the inspection report that there is rarely any bullying. Pupils are confident that any incidents that do occur are taken seriously by staff and resolved. Parents agree with this view.
• Assemblies and other lessons help pupils to develop their spiritual and moral understanding well. Pupils know right from wrong because adults frequently talk about this in different contexts. Teachers give pupils good opportunities to think about the world and how to take care of it. For example, they study the environment and take care of the newly acquired chicks. Pupils enjoy music opportunities and art and talk thoughtfully about how this makes them feel.
• Pupils learn about other countries and cultures. Leaders think carefully about how to extend pupils’ experiences of the wider world when planning trips, for example choosing a trip to London so that pupils experienced an urban, multicultural environment. However, pupils’ cultural understanding is not as well developed as their spiritual and moral understanding.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils spoken to during the inspection said that playtimes are happy times with few ‘fallings-out’ and rarely any serious incidents. Pupils observed at playtime shared the outdoor space and equipment well, with due regard to each other’s needs. The school records any incidents carefully and the action taken to resolve these. These records confirm that there are few incidents of poor behaviour, and that those that do occur are resolved with pupils and, where necessary, parents.
• Pupils behave well in class. They are keen to please their teachers, and listen and respond to directions given. Pupils move around the school sensibly, whether with adults or independently. They are polite to adults and each other.
• Teachers regularly encourage positive attitudes to learning, reminding pupils about perseverance and the importance of making mistakes in order to learn. However, some pupils still show reluctance to challenge themselves and to ensure that they do their best without adults intervening.
• The attendance of most pupils is good but a small number of pupils are absent too frequently, including some who are disadvantaged. This has resulted in overall attendance being below the national average because of the small number of pupils in the school. Leaders encourage good attendance through certificates and rewards. They work with parents to identify reasons for absence and to identify ways to improve attendance. Leaders showed the inspector examples of where this work had been very effective in improving individual pupils’ attendance at school. Leaders are conscious that overall attendance rates remain below national averages and are working with the local attendance officer to improve this further.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Published assessment information for all year groups relates to small numbers of pupils and so varies quite widely from year to year.
• In 2017, the proportion of pupils in Year 6 who achieved the expected standard in reading and mathematics was lower than that found nationally. In mathematics, the progress of those with middle prior attainment was lower than others. This is partly due to inaccuracies in previous assessments. However, pupils’ work from last year for this group confirms that progress varied in these subjects. Some pupils, such as the most able pupils, made good progress. Others made slower progress relative to their abilities in writing and in mathematics.
• The proportion of pupils in Year 2 in 2017 who reached the expected standard was slightly below that found nationally in the previous year. Scrutiny of pupils’ work from the previous year also showed variations in the progress that these pupils made in writing and mathematics. Current pupils have only just joined Year 2 and only a small amount of work was available to scrutinise. However, some of these pupils are working below the standard expected for the end of Year 1 and have ground to catch up on.
• Outcomes of the Year 1 phonics assessment fell last year but were affected by some pupils who had medical needs which affected their attendance at school. The teaching of phonics is strong and current Year 1 pupils already are developing a good knowledge of phonics.
• For current pupils, scrutiny of school assessments, past work and the limited amount of current work shows that, in each year group, some pupils are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. However, others, such as some middle-ability pupils in Years 5 and 6, are making slower progress than they are capable of. This is because teacher expectations are not always high enough. Leaders have addressed this by changing pupil groupings but it is too early to see the impact of this.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress relative to their starting points because support for these pupils is very carefully planned and evaluated. The same is true for pupils who are disadvantaged, who sometimes make better progress than their peers. This includes the most able disadvantaged pupils. This is because the funding provided for these pupils is used well to support them in overcoming barriers to their learning.
• In subjects other than English and mathematics, evidence of good progress in art was seen in pupils’ art portfolios. Pupils spoken to demonstrated sound knowledge of aspects of science, such as the conditions necessary for living creatures and for plants. Pupils know subject-specific vocabulary and can explain terms such as photosynthesis, showing their secure scientific knowledge. However, assessment of pupils’ progress in subjects other than English and mathematics is at an early stage and leaders do not know how well pupils are making progress in subjects such as science, history and geography.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• In 2017, no child in the small Reception group achieved a good level of development. Some of these children started at the school with skills and knowledge below those expected for their age. In addition, almost all of these children were born in the summer term so were young relative to all Reception children nationally at the time of assessments.
• Leaders accurately record the progress children make from their starting points in their online learning journeys. Scrutiny of these children’s learning journeys shows that, while some children made good progress from their low starting points, others, including the most able children, do not make as much progress as they are capable of making, especially in key areas such as writing and number. This is because some adults who work with children in the mixed-aged Reception and Year 1 class are less skilled at moving learning on than others.
• Children in the Reception group enjoy lots of interesting and engaging activities. However, sometimes opportunities to develop children’s basic skills through these activities are not well used. For example, when children play independently, some adults do not take opportunities to encourage children to mark-make and develop their early writing skills within their play.
• Some adults swiftly intervene in children’s play to move their learning on. In contrast, sometimes adults merely supervise children or ask questions that do not extend learning.
• Children in the early years generally behave well and learn from the older pupils in the class, who act as good role models of behaviour. However, sometimes adults do not reinforce school routines with children in Reception enough. For example, during the inspection, some children who were very new to school were keen to make their views known and called out, but were not reminded of the need to put their hand up and wait their turn.
• Adults sometimes miss important errors that children are making. For example, during the inspection, a child wrote her name backwards but the adult at her table did not notice.
• The learning environment is well organised and carefully planned. The attractive outside area is changed regularly to reflect the current topic and so keeps children’s interests. During the inspection, there was an outdoor bus to link to the theme of transport and children enjoyed taking journeys on the bus, developing their speaking and listening skills as they did so.
• Parents are happy with the start children make in Reception. Parents of the current Reception pupils said that the school had provided good transitions, including making special provision to meet individual children’s needs and circumstances. As a result, the majority of children were already settled into school by the second week of term when the inspection took place. Parents are encouraged to contribute to the record of their child’s learning via the online system for learning journeys. They are also given plenty of helpful information about how to help their child with their learning at home.
• Staff are mindful of children’s individual needs. Support for disadvantaged children is quickly arranged when a child starts school, so that they are supported in their learning and make good progress. Children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are also well supported through careful plans which are regularly evaluated. For example, staff are quick to identify children who need additional support with speech and work with outside agencies to ensure that this is put in place as soon as possible.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 141226 Norfolk 10036101 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Academy converter 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 59 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Head of school Telephone number Website Steve Blatch Emma Harding 01263 833 282 www.nnat.org.uk/antingham-and-southrepps-primary-school Email address office@antinghamsouthrepps.co.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.
• The school is part of a multi-academy trust.
• The school meets the current government floor standards, which set the minimum standard expected for pupils at the end of Year 6 in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The school is a smaller school than is found on average nationally.
• The majority of pupils are of White British background.
• The proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals is below that found nationally.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities or who are supported by an education, health and care plan or a statement of special educational needs is above average.

Information about this inspection

• The inspector observed lessons in all classes. Some observations were carried out jointly with the head of school.
• The inspector looked at pupils’ books, school assessment information, leaders’ evaluation of teaching and learning and a range of school documents.
• The inspector spoke with a small number of parents, took account of 27 responses to the Ofsted questionnaire, Parent View, and met with some pupils from Years 4, 5 and 6.
• The inspector listened to a small number of pupils read.
• The inspectors spoke with three members of the governing body, one of whom is also a trustee, with two members of the academy trust and with staff.
• Policies and procedures for the safeguarding of pupils were examined, including mandatory checks made during the recruitment of new staff.

Inspection team

Maria Curry, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector