Ormiston Herman Academy Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Enable more of the most able pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, to exceed age-related expectations and achieve mastery of English, mathematics and other subjects by:
  • reviewing their progress frequently across a wider range of subjects
  • supporting teachers to design the deeper challenges that stimulate more extended and thoughtful responses.
• Develop the curriculum further to provide experiences that increase all pupils’ understanding and progress in subjects other than English and mathematics.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The principal, ably supported by her senior leadership team, has successfully taken forward improvements on several fronts since the school became an academy. Her commitment, vision and ambition for her pupils have created a very positive learning culture within the school. Parents, pupils and staff speak highly of the difference that she has made.
• Middle leaders, also known as the ‘heartbeat’ team of early years and inclusion and key subject leaders form a highly effective group that monitors, evaluates and supports staff development in their respective areas of responsibility. Their regular checks have supported improvements in teaching and pupils’ outcomes. The leadership of key subjects, such as English and mathematics, is strong. The impact of leaders’ work can be seen in the improvements to pupils’ learning in these subjects. Leadership of other subjects is at an earlier stage of development. This is because the principal, quite rightly, prioritised the fundamental skills of reading, writing and mathematics when introducing the new national curriculum. Plans have now been made for improvements in teaching science and French this year.
• Professional development opportunities for teaching staff are tailored to make sure that specific aspects of a teacher’s work are supported. The improvement culture evident across the school is such that all staff who responded to the questionnaire stated that their staff development needs were being met. Newly qualified teachers are very satisfied with the support that they are receiving. They say that they have ‘no worries about approaching their mentor and asking for some support’ if they feel that they could improve in a particular area.
• The curriculum is appropriately broad and balanced. A current development priority is to improve expertise and challenge for pupils in subjects other than English and mathematics. An extensive range of extra-curricular activities enriches the sporting, artistic and musical opportunities available to pupils. Trips and visits extend the pupils’ horizons and raise their self-confidence and future aspirations. Pupils are keen to participate and speak enthusiastically, for example, of their ukulele performances or rock-climbing adventures. Additional funding for physical education and sport is spent wisely and is well monitored.
• The additional funding for disadvantaged pupils (the pupil premium) is allocated effectively to provide good value for money and its impact is audited very carefully. The improved outcomes for these pupils, in all year groups, celebrate the effectiveness of the school’s work in this area. Leaders have made the most able disadvantaged pupils a priority for further support. Expenditure on additional support for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is well targeted and monitored. This is evident because there is no difference between these pupils’ progress and that of their classmates.
• The school’s values support and promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development very well. The school is a harmonious community. Pupils learn not just to be tolerant of different cultures but to embrace and celebrate them. They are prepared well for life in modern Britain with mock elections, visits to different places of worship, as well as engagement in fund-raising for community groups and an overseas school.
• Communication with parents and families on a daily and informal basis is good. Parents are kept informed about pupils’ progress through parent consultations The school’s website is up to date and is an effective showcase for information and news. While the number of parents that responded to the online questionnaire about the school was low, the response was positive; inspectors spoke to a greater number of parents during the inspection and their response was unanimously positive. They said that their children are happy at school and that they can approach the staff, including the family liaison officer, with confidence that any concerns will be addressed.
• The Ormiston Academy Trust offers valued support by providing leaders with frequent visits from improvement advisers who have, for example, helped to identify priorities for the school’s self-evaluation and conducted a reorganisation of the school’s governance.

Governance of the school

• The governing body has been restructured recently to include a progress board under the auspices of the academy trust and this has improved the speed of response to the school’s needs, for example, to premises improvement.
• The committed and effective governors have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for further improvement. They make regular, focused visits to ascertain the impact of leaders’ development plans.
• Governors work constructively with leaders to provide both challenge and support and undertake frequent training to improve their ability to do this in an up-to-date and effective way.
• Governors are assiduous in carrying out their duties to ensure that safeguarding and health and safety requirements are met.
• Governors ensure that they hold teachers and leaders to account for the impact of their work.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The school’s systems and procedures meet requirements and are checked regularly by school and trust leaders.
• Staff training for child protection and first aid is up to date and the school’s processes for checking the suitability of new staff are robust.
• The most vulnerable pupils, including those who are involved with outside agencies such as those for social care and medical care, are well known to staff. The school has a culture of care and highly effective family liaison. Parents value the approachability and rapid response of the school’s pastoral system. Safeguarding is reinforced with parent workshops on keeping children safe online.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers plan lessons that are informed appropriately by an assessment of what pupils have previously learned. Some teachers have also become very effective at assessing pupils’ confidence during lessons and adjusting the amount of support they receive if they are struggling.
• Teaching assistants make effective use of their training to contribute to the progress made during lessons, by small groups or individuals, because they break down activities into small and manageable steps.
• Teachers communicate their expectations of what pupils can achieve very clearly, by setting out precisely what pupils are expected to learn. Pupils are receptive to this clarity. They told inspectors that it helps them to identify and recall their own progress within lessons. The majority of pupils inspectors spoke with could explain what they had learned in English and mathematics and indeed talk about their progress since September.
• Adults promote a very positive ‘can do’ attitude among pupils by focused use of praise and encouragement. For example, pupils who expressed uncertainty about new tasks were reminded that ‘yes, you can do this because it is just like…’, referring to a previous success.
• The most effective teaching is in English and mathematics; in these subjects, teachers provide pupils with very clear objectives and check on learning frequently. This is because a new assessment system has been introduced to measure progress and to organise interventions rapidly if any pupils are falling below expectations. Teachers track pupils as they develop new skills and learning in these subjects and are held to account regularly by subject leaders. This has led to demonstrably faster progress among targeted pupils.
• There are currently not enough opportunities for literacy challenges that extend the capabilities of the most able pupils, or for pupils to practise and improve longer pieces of writing. There is little writing at length in science, or in subjects such as history and geography. For example, lists of results rather than hypotheses and detailed conclusions are recorded in science. Leaders have identified that conducting and recording scientific investigations are priorities for development this year.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Staff apply the behaviour policy consistently and pupils respond with good attitudes to their work. Pupils concentrate on their tasks in class. In many lessons, pupils have the self-confidence to help their partners, asking good questions, for example, to prompt others who may have forgotten previous explanations.
• Pupils are welcoming to visitors and are friendly towards each other around the school. They listen well to adults and to each other. For example, pupils are proud to volunteer to read out their work to attentive and appreciative classmates.
• Pupils told inspectors that they value the activities that help them to stay calm and manage their feelings positively. They speak very highly of the ways in which staff ‘take the time to help you’.
• Pupils say that they feel safe and secure in the school and understand whom they can turn to if they need help in this respect. They are unanimous in their view that school staff would deal effectively with any incidents of bullying.
• Pupils’ understanding of staying safe online is good because the school’s e-safety week is well remembered and the importance of reporting concerns to an adult is well understood.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils believe that their conduct is a positive feature of their school. They told inspectors that, ‘any unkind behaviour is sorted out quickly’. Inspectors’ own observations confirm pupils’ views that, in lessons and around the school, pupils conduct themselves well and treat their environment with respect.
• On the playground, pupils exercise their responsibilities in a mature fashion by, for example, collecting play equipment promptly.
• The behaviour management system is clearly understood by pupils and is used consistently well to reward positive behaviour so that disruption in lessons is rare.
• Parents who spoke to inspectors were positive about the way in which school staff deal with and inform them quickly of any behaviour successes or concerns.
• Levels of attendance have improved and rates of persistent absence diminished since the 2015/16 school year because school leaders have made this a priority. Rewards and celebration of good attendance have helped to make sure that attendance is now broadly in line with the national average.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Pupils across the school are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Inspectors’ evaluations of work in pupils’ books verifies teachers’ regular assessments that almost all pupils in key stage 2 are working at age-related expectations in these subjects.
• The proportion of pupils in Year 1 who are on track to meet the required standard in the phonics screening check is high. This has been the case for the last two years when the proportions of pupils meeting this standard were well above average. Effective teaching and close monitoring of pupils’ progress mean that pupils are gaining important skills in reading at an early age. Pupils of all ages enjoy reading and use the well-stocked school library to change their books regularly.
• Current information for those pupils leaving Year 6 in 2016, although not finalised at the time of the inspection, indicates that the proportions of pupils who met the new and higher expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics were in line with the national average. Their progress from Year 3 starting points was close to average in reading and above average in writing and particularly mathematics. The school’s assessment information indicates that all current Year 6 pupils are working at least at age-related expectations and the work seen in pupils’ books is of a good standard.
• At the end of Year 2 in 2016, pupils attained in line with the national average in reading. Leaders have identified that, in order to capitalise upon pupils’ strong performance in the phonics screening check, more focused teaching of inference and comprehension is needed for more pupils to perform even better and attain greater depth and mastery. Similarly, attainment in mathematics was in line with the national average. However, the most able pupils did not perform as well in mathematics as pupils nationally with similar starting points. Leaders have consequently adjusted teachers’ planning to help pupils to solve more challenging problems. As a result, the most able pupils in the current Year 2 are now making better than expected progress.
• The progress made by pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is good in all year groups because the interventions and support that they receive are monitored very carefully. Their support is tailored precisely to their needs. Parents expressed their appreciation for the way in which the school encourages this group of pupils.
• The pupil premium grant is spent effectively because differences in achievement, between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils nationally, are diminishing by the end of Year 6. Currently, all disadvantaged pupils in key stage 2, and the majority in key stage 1, are making expected progress in reading and writing. All disadvantaged pupils are making expected progress in mathematics across both key stages.
• Too few of the most able pupils, including most able disadvantaged pupils, are currently on track to exceed age-related expectations to attain the high standards of which they are capable. Leaders have recognised that this is a priority and have made plans to ensure that this group is given more challenging tasks to encourage even higher achievement.
• Subject leaders are beginning to develop methods of tracking progress in subjects other than English and mathematics. For example, ways of assessing reading and writing in French and investigations in science are being introduced, but it is too early to see the impact of these developments on pupils’ performance.
• Pupils are well prepared for secondary school. Their skills and knowledge in reading, writing and mathematics are in line with age-related expectations and they have very positive attitudes to learning.

Early years provision Outstanding

• Children make consistently high rates of progress in relation to their starting points in all areas of the curriculum. Most children join the school with skills below those that are typical for their age. The strong progress in the Nursery and Reception classes has resulted in proportions that leave the Reception class with good levels of development, in excess of the national level for the past two years. This positive trend is set to continue for the children currently in Reception.
• This strong progress and good levels of personal and social development are evident for all groups, including those children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. All groups are well equipped by the end of Reception to make a smooth transition to the literacy and mathematical demands of Year 1.
• Children are taught very effectively by a well-led team of teachers and teaching assistants. Their planning is informed by accurate and frequent assessment of the children’s responses. Questioning by members of staff sets high expectations for language development. For example, a child who spoke about ‘wiping your smell’ was helped to improve his vocabulary through careful modelling of correct nouns such as ‘nose’ and ‘feet’.
• The environment is bright and welcoming, and staff use both the indoor and outdoor areas skilfully to provide children with a stimulating range of activities to help them to learn. During the inspection, for example, children had designed a ‘super home’ and then built this from their plans. Confident descriptions were given of the resulting structure and pride expressed that ‘we can all fit in’.
• Well-established routines help the children to respond positively to adults and to each other without distracting others. They understand how to keep themselves safe, navigating their cycle track, for example, with respect for others.
• The curriculum is enriched by parents and visitors. Parents in this part of the school work alongside their children, tending their own vegetable garden; there are links with a local restaurant to use the produce. A local hospital has provided toothbrush workshops and visitors helped the children to participate in Remembrance Day commemorations.
• Home–school learning journals are used to keep meticulous records of what the children can do, with next steps clearly annotated. Parents said that they value these records and the frequent opportunities to discuss them with staff. Parents contribute to assessment by adding to these records with ‘wow’ landmarks achieved outside school. There is high parental participation in ‘stay and play’ and story café activities and this has contributed to strong progress for children in communication and early reading.
• These good relationships between home and school help children to make the transition to Nursery or Reception more easily, as well as preparing the children socially for a happy transition to Year 1.
• The marked strength of this early years provision is recognised locally because staff from other schools are trained at the school. In addition, it was shortlisted in 2016 for a ‘Times Educational Supplement’ excellence award. Within the school, the effectiveness of the early years leader and her team is deployed in wider school improvement. They have begun to train staff from other key stages in planning and assessing cross-curricular learning activities. They have also hosted staff development research for improving teaching and assessment in subjects other than English and mathematics.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 140016 Norfolk 10026731 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 sponsor led 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 325 Appropriate authority Ormiston Academy Trust Chair Principal Jackie Cutchey Kathryn Rutherford Telephone number 01493 661355 Website Email address www.ohacademy.co.uk office@ohacademy.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 Ormiston Academy Trust.
• The school is an above-average-sized primary school.
• The majority of pupils are of White British heritage and the proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils supported through the pupil premium grant is well above average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is in line with the average.
• The school met the government’s current floor standards. This expresses the minimum expectations for what pupils should achieve by the end of their time in the school.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed pupils’ learning in lessons and visited smaller groups of pupils in additional sessions. In lessons, they looked at pupils’ books in order to evaluate the quality of learning over time.
• Inspectors carried out a scrutiny of pupils’ work for a range of national curriculum subjects.
• Inspectors met pupils in formal meetings as well as informal settings in and around the school.
• Inspectors met with three governors and held a meeting with a representative from the Ormiston Academy Trust.
• Inspectors considered the 10 responses to the online Ofsted questionnaire, Parent View, and spoke with parents at the start of the school day.
• No responses were received to pupil questionnaires. Inspectors considered the school’s own pupil survey responses and the 28 responses to staff questionnaires as well as their views expressed in several meetings.
• Inspectors reviewed records provided by the school, including information about pupils’ progress, minutes of meetings of the governing body, and documents relating to behaviour, attendance and the arrangements to safeguard pupils.

Inspection team

Patricia MacLachlan, lead inspector Lyn Beale Heather Hann

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector