St Mary's Endowed Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Develop teaching and learning, so that a greater proportion of pupils achieve the high standards they should by:
  • ensuring that pupils can reason out their answers in mathematics
  • further developing teacher confidence in planning learning steps for all pupils to make strong progress.
• Improve the quality of leadership and management by:
  • ensuring that governors take an even greater strategic role in school improvement
  • making sure that the physical education and sport premium is fully spent to enhance the pupils’ learning.
• Build on measures to reduce levels of persistent absence by:
  • raising parents’ awareness of the impact of poor attendance
  • ensuring that parents of pupils who are at risk of being persistently absent have support and contact from the headteacher at an early stage.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher is ambitious for the school. She knows what is working well and what needs to improve. Together with other leaders, she has made sure improvement plans are detailed and realistic. Staff enthusiastically support her in bringing about the necessary changes towards the shared ambition of becoming an outstanding school.
• Since the previous full inspection, the school went through a period of instability, including rapid growth in pupil numbers. Teaching was reportedly not always strong and the local authority has put in a great deal of support, including arranging for the school to work with another experienced headteacher. The headteacher and other staff have worked well with them and restored the good quality of education.
• Staff know pupils well and track their progress accurately. Teachers use this information effectively to support pupils who are falling behind in their learning.
• The staff is relatively stable. They have made good use of in-house training, with a member of support staff having (over time) taken a degree and now training to be a teacher. Both teaching and support staff report that they are well supported in their own development by leaders.
• Staff new to the profession receive helpful support. They are clear about where there is particular skill within the team and ask colleagues for advice when needed.
• Almost all staff have a leadership responsibility. Working well as a team, they are effective in these roles. For example, the mathematics lead has led on introducing a new scheme for mathematics, which is well established in all classrooms. The teacher in charge of early years, working with the headteacher, has radically improved the approach to teaching and learning for the youngest children.
• Leaders make skilful use of the additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils. For example, they have spent the pupil premium on reading books, funding additional social and emotional support for pupils, and creating access to high-quality extra-curricular activities such as martial arts, philosophy and woodland exploration.
• Pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities are supported well. These pupils are well integrated into their classes and their peers are extremely supportive of them. Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are ably assisted by teaching assistants and class teachers. The headteacher leads on special educational needs and knows pupils’ individual needs well.
• Leaders have developed a curriculum that is broad and well matched to pupils’ interests and needs. Subject leaders have started to monitor progress across the school more closely.
• Leaders provide for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. Through carefully chosen activities, pupils develop a sense of right and wrong. Pupils also gain an appreciation of the wider world through activities such as workshops on Bollywood and Zulu dancing. Children in the early years study different religious festivals and pupils across the school learn about other countries through their study of geography.
• Leaders have made use of the physical education and sport premium and the pupil premium grant to fund extra-curricular sessions and participation in inter-school events. While there is high take-up of these activities, the funding has not been fully spent and plans are not in place to do so.

Governance of the school

• Governance is effective. Governors acknowledge that the level of strategic challenge to the school had not always been as good as it should have been. However, the governors have taken on board support from the local authority enthusiastically and are now providing a higher standard of governance.
• The governing body is fully involved in setting and monitoring the budget but has been less rigorous in terms of looking at the impact of the pupil premium and the physical education and sport premium. Following training and support from the local authority, governors are now taking a closer interest in evaluating the use of these funds.
• Governors regularly visit the school and know the staff and pupils well. They have undertaken a safeguarding audit and undertake their full safeguarding statutory responsibilities.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders have made sure there is a strong culture of safeguarding. Staff are aware about the potential risks that children in their care may face. Adults who join mid-year also receive individual safeguarding training. Staff are clear about what they should do if they have any concerns.
• Parents are clear that their children are safe at school. A small number of parents raised worries about bullying. However, inspection evidence demonstrated that leaders deal with the rare instances of bullying appropriately.
• Staff have covered e-safety with pupils, who know how to keep safe online.
• Governors ensure that appropriate pre-employment checks are made on staff.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Leaders have successfully improved the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. A particular feature of St Mary’s is the teachers’ daily checking of work, providing verbal feedback and interventions the same day if needed. This enables pupils to make steady and structured progress in their work, with finished pieces being of a high standard.
• Teachers now have high expectations of pupils and the results of this are evident in pupils’ written work. Teachers insist on neat work, although some pupils’ work could be better presented. Most pupils aim high, with those at the pinnacle of neatness being awarded a ‘Parker Pen’.
• Teachers use their strong subject knowledge to correct common misconceptions in work; pupils have to demonstrate a strong understanding of a topic before moving on. Teachers stated that the new mathematics scheme had supported them in knowing exactly what the next step is for pupils.
• Teachers provide pupils with appropriate levels of challenge, for example in the shape of extension activities and/or more open questions to solve. Those who struggle have timely additional support from teachers or teaching assistants.
• Teachers ask well-thought-out questions to ensure that pupils are challenged, particularly where there are mixed-age classes. For example, in a mathematics lesson, questions moved skilfully between decimals and whole numbers. Questions about previous learning, for example how you divide by 10, involved all children. Pupils sometimes found it difficult to give reasons for answers in mathematics sessions despite being able to solve the question asked.
• Teachers encourage reading across the curriculum and all pupils asked about it said that they enjoyed reading. The eldest pupils in the school were seen to be reading appropriately challenging texts for their age. All pupils heard read talked about books that they like reading outside of school.
• Science is taught effectively. Staff training has resulted in a clear distinction between knowledge and skills. Pupils’ work shows good scientific understanding.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils feel safe and are clear that there is very little behaviour that constitutes bullying. They know to talk to an adult if they are worried about the way another pupil is behaving towards them.
• Pupils are aware of what discrimination would look like. For example, they recounted the stories of Rosa Parks and Nelson Mandela, both of whom experienced racial discrimination. Pupils were able to apply this to the school situation – knowing that everyone in the school should have the same freedoms. Thus, during lunchtime on the field, pupils played in mixed gender and age groups, without any adult input.
• In assemblies, the headteacher encourages pupils to think about situations that others face – both through stories linked to the Bible and to real life, and through pictures chosen to start discussion and debate. This encourages the pupils to be reflective and consider how to adapt their own behaviour, for example by looking out for any unhappy pupils on the playground.
• A real strength of the school is the positive relationship between the adults and the pupils; parents expressed it as ‘everyone knows everyone’. No matter where the pupils are, individuals are supported appropriately and challenged as needed by the staff they are with.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• The school takes a ‘restorative’ approach to behaviour management, which aims for consequences to be positive and ‘put things right’. Pupils have also developed their understanding of this through the personal and social education programme.
• Pupils are polite and friendly. They are welcoming to visitors. The school has recently had a number of new joiners and those already in the school were seen to be actively trying to make them feel part of St Mary’s.
• In the main, pupils apply themselves well in class. Occasionally, poorer behaviour is not picked up on quickly by the class teacher.
• Pupils who find it hard to make the correct behaviour choices are supported well. As a result, they are increasingly reflective and well behaved.
• Pupils’ attendance has improved. Persistent absence remains an issue for the school and there are a number of pupils who do not attend school as often as they should.
• The school has addressed the absence rate with a number of measures: active personal contact from the headteacher; introducing fixed-term penalties for term-time holidays; and referring pupils to the school nursing service for support following repeated periods of illness. However, these measures have not yet had a full effect.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• The quality of work in books is strong and pupils are making good progress across the curriculum in almost all year groups.
• Almost all pupils are now at the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, and several are working at greater depth by the end of key stage 1. The school has moderated its data with local schools to ensure that teachers are clear on what those standards look like in practice.
• Attainment at the end of key stage 2 was below the national average for reading, writing and mathematics combined at the expected standard in 2017. Pupils’ progress from key stage 1 to key stage 2 was well below average for reading and mathematics. Cohorts are small, and therefore performance information is not statistically reliable, but, given their starting points, more pupils should have made the expected standard. Leaders have taken swift, decisive action to bring about the necessary improvements this year.
• In the past, too few pupils reached the higher standard by the end of Year 6. The headteacher and her staff are aware of this. They have raised expectations this year, but this will take time to have a full effect.
• Pupils achieve well in phonics at the end of Year 1. This is due to the much improved quality of the teaching of phonics.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities across the school typically make good progress across the curriculum. Several of these pupils have made exceptional progress in their writing. This is due to the well-judged support they receive.
• Disadvantaged pupils are achieving well due to the improved teaching and support they receive. The school has ensured that disadvantaged pupils who need additional help receive substantial additional provision.

Early years provision Good

• Early years is well led. Over the past few years, the proportion of children reaching a good level of development has been below the national average. This year, following a number of positive changes, leaders have improved the quality of the early years provision. As a result, children are now making good progress.
• Poor speech and language on entry is recognised as a key factor for those who have not made progress to a good level. In the past, staff did not give this barrier to learning enough attention.
• The early years team creates a warm and welcoming environment. Staff build on children’s interests, but also introduce new experiences and concepts to them. Each child is valued as an individual.
• Leaders ensure that all safeguarding needs are met.
• Children behave confidently in the early years environment and independently choose tools and equipment to help them in their learning. For example, children were seen to be drawing large shapes to make a boat, then cutting straight edges and using tape to stick them together.
• The outside area is well resourced with a variety of role-play areas, climbing frames, sand pit and areas for writing. Children have the opportunity both to extend their physical confidence with climbing and jumping, yet also have smaller, quieter spaces where they can talk, read and draw. They have access to the rest of the school site, with regular woodland sessions, led by a specialist teacher.
• Children who are confident with their basic sounds were seen to be making rapid progress in reading; those who are less confident were supported in small groups by the teacher.
• The early years curriculum has an emphasis on language development and discussion. This was particularly evident in mathematics, where children were given time to think through their reasoning and supported with key vocabulary to help vocalise it.
• Physical apparatus is used well to support mathematics. Children were able to use number tiles to double a number. During continuous provision, a child showed how to double numbers using coins.
• The early years teacher has developed the school’s baseline assessment to be an ongoing tracking model during the year. She is very positive about how she has been able to use the information produced day-to-day in planning individualised next steps.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 121125 Norfolk 10048454 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 Voluntary aided 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 79 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Anne Cottingham Kathryn Jackson 01263 761368 www.schoolswire.org/public/stmarys864.html.nc Email address head@st-marysendowed.norfolk.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 25 January 2018

Information about this school

• This school is much smaller than the average-sized primary school, although the roll has substantially increased since the last full inspection.
• All pupils are White British.
• The proportion of pupils eligible for support through the government’s pupil premium funding is below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is above the national average.
• No pupils have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan.
• This school is too small to be measured against the government’s coasting schools measure or floor standards.
• The school had a short section 8 inspection in January 2018. Inspectors pointed out some issues that needed to be addressed and which would be checked in this subsequent section 5 inspection.
• The site is shared with the separately registered Roughton Under 5s Playgroup.

Information about this inspection

• The inspector observed learning in every class. Some of the observations were carried out jointly with the headteacher.
• A wide range of pupils’ workbooks were looked at by the inspector throughout the inspection.
• The inspector held meetings with the headteacher, the key stage 2 teachers and the early years teacher. The inspector also met with representatives of the governing body, the local authority officer and the external headteacher who has been supporting the school.
• The inspector spoke to pupils informally in class, and around the school, before school and at lunchtime to seek their views about the school. She also met with the school council more formally to discuss their learning and school life.
• Children in Year 1 and Year 6 were heard read and talked to about their reading preferences. Those in Year 6 were also asked about transition to secondary school.
• The inspector scrutinised the school website and a range of school documents including assessment information, spending of the pupil premium and the physical education and sport premium, the school’s own self-evaluation and the school’s own improvement plan.
• The 33 total responses made by parents in this academic year to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, were considered. The inspector also spoke to some parents before school.

Inspection team

Tessa Holledge, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector