Wormegay Church of England Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve teaching and learning so that pupils’ outcomes by the end of Year 6 meet or exceed those nationally by ensuring that:
  • teachers have high expectations of the standard and presentation of pupils’ work
  • teachers plan work which is more challenging for pupils, especially the most able
  • lesson time is better used and transition times between activities are managed more effectively to make the most of learning time
  • teachers use assessment within lessons to identify more swiftly when pupils are ready to move on in their learning
  • recent improvements in reasoning and problem-solving continue to be developed so that pupils make more rapid progress in mathematics.
• Improve leadership and management by:
  • expanding and providing additional training for the governing body so that they are able to carry out their responsibilities with greater rigour
  • develop leadership structures across the federation so that there is greater shared responsibility and accountability for the progress of all pupils
  • ensuring that leaders’ monitoring has a clearer focus on the impact teaching is having on pupils’ progress over time.
• Improve provision in the early years by ensuring that:
  • assessments are used more sharply to plan activities which provide a greater level of challenge for pupils
  • a greater emphasis is given to developing children’s early writing skills.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Actions taken by leaders, including governors and the academy trust, have not had sufficient impact in ensuring that all pupils achieve as well as they could by the time they leave the school. While the 2017 outcomes in reading and writing at the end of Year 6 improved compared to the previous year, pupils’ progress and attainment in mathematics remained below those found nationally.
• The new headteacher is continuing to bring about improvements but also leads the partner school in the federation. Consequently, she has not had sufficient time in post to ensure that teaching is consistently good.
• There is currently no senior teacher in post in either school within the federation. The academy trust has provided additional support for the headteacher through subject-specialist support and experienced leaders working alongside the headteacher to develop her expertise. Nevertheless, this has meant that there is no one else to lead the school when the headteacher is off site. Leaders and governors recognise that this is not sustainable and are seeking to recruit a senior teacher.
• Leaders check the quality of teaching and learning regularly by visiting classes and looking at pupils’ work. As a result, they know the school’s strengths and weaknesses. However, these checks do not focus sufficiently on the impact that teaching is having on pupils’ progress over time.
• Leaders, including governors and the academy trust, share a determination to improve the school. The academy trust regularly evaluates the impact of its support and modifies this when it has insufficient impact. Professional development is used increasingly well to develop staff skills.
• Leaders have put in place strategies to improve mathematics and pupils’ work indicates that these are proving effective. The support provided by the academy trust has increased and is having a greater impact on improving teaching and learning, particularly in mathematics.
• Leaders ensure that pupils enjoy a broad and balanced curriculum. Careful consideration is given within curriculum plans to meet the needs of all pupils, especially as in this school classes have three or four year groups and a broad span of abilities. Extra-curricular activities are plentiful and enhance pupils’ learning. Pupils enjoy, for example, table tennis, craft, rugby and after-school mathematics clubs. Funding to promote participation in sports is used to good effect for clubs and school activities and equipment. The school achieved the silver school games award, which recognises the good rate of participation in sports by pupils.
• Leaders are very mindful of preparing pupils for the wider world and so plan trips, such as to London, take part in sporting and musical events with other schools, engage with community events and charities locally and beyond, and learn about other countries, faiths and cultures. As a result, pupils develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding well. They show tolerance and respect for others and are well prepared for life in modern Britain.
• Leaders use funding for disadvantaged pupils well. They know each pupil extremely well in this small school and tailor their support carefully. As a result, disadvantaged pupils achieve well and often better than other pupils.
• The school has a relatively high proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. Funding for these pupils is also used well so that they make good progress from their starting points.
• Parents are supportive of the school. Those who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire all said they would recommend the school to another parent. Those spoken to during the inspection were equally supportive of the school, and a number of parents who had brought their pupils from other schools said how much happier their child is at Wormegay school.

Governance of the school

• Governors are highly committed to the school but few in number. They have had difficulties recruiting additional governors to replace those who stepped down at the end of last term. Consequently, although they fulfil their statutory responsibilities, they are too stretched to do so as thoroughly as they should.
• Governors visit the school and meet with leaders regularly. Minutes of meetings show that they discuss pupils’ outcomes and the reasons for underperformance. However, they are too reliant on information provided to them by leaders and do not provide as much robust challenge as they should. Governors recognise this and are working with a national body to seek ways to recruit new governors and to develop their skills.
• The academy trust has scheduled a review of governance to identify ways that governors’ effectiveness can improve further.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders know all pupils and their families well. However, they maintain a vigilant approach to any signs that may indicate a child is at risk of harm. Staff receive regular safeguarding training and discuss safeguarding issues at each staff meeting. Records of concerns are maintained carefully and leaders follow up any concerns with external agencies to ensure that action is taken when needed. Checks on staff are carried out in line with statutory requirements.
• Pupils say they feel extremely safe in school and parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, agreed with this. Pupils know about how to keep themselves safe when online because this is taught very regularly. For example, during the inspection, pupils were learning about how to set up safe passwords and pupils in key stage 2 were learning about privacy settings for social media.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teachers do not have high enough expectations of what pupils can achieve in lessons and over time, particularly the most able pupils. Teachers sometimes accept work that is sub-standard, for example in writing. Sometimes teachers accept work which is poorly presented.
• Teachers sometimes do not use assessment within lessons sharply enough to identify when pupils are ready to move on in their learning. As a result, pupils sometimes complete tasks which are too comfortable for them and which lack challenge. This is particularly the case for the most able pupils.
• Work is sometimes not sufficiently challenging for pupils. In mathematics, for example, pupils sometimes complete work quickly and teachers do not provide opportunities for pupils to deepen their understanding. This is beginning to be addressed through a greater emphasis on reasoning and problem-solving, which was evident in pupils’ books during the inspection. As a result, pupils are beginning to show increased ability to explain mathematical concepts and apply their skills in different contexts
• Sometimes the pace of learning is not sufficiently brisk. Occasionally, too long is spent introducing tasks when pupils are ready to begin, or in discussions which do not move learning on. Younger pupils spend too long moving between one activity and the next and learning time is lost.
• Additional adults sometimes provide good support for pupils, particularly those who have SEN and/or disabilities, which helps to move learning on. However, occasionally additional adults are less well used and do not contribute to pupils’ learning because teachers have not given sufficient direction for them to know what is expected of them.
• Pupils are keen to learn and have good relationships with their teachers. Pupils said they enjoy their lessons and that teachers support them well. Where teachers have high expectations, pupils apply themselves well and produce work of a good standard, but this is not consistently the case.
• Teachers have good subject knowledge and use this to explain concepts to pupils well. For example, during the inspection a teacher was explaining about square and triangular numbers, modelling key information effectively so that pupils understood and could use this knowledge in their work.
• Pupils are given good opportunities to develop their scientific knowledge through regular investigations. Pupils make predictions and draw conclusions about scientific concepts increasingly well as they go through the school.
• Teachers use homework tasks well to extend learning. For example, pupils carried out research at home into the Anglo Saxons and used this in class to plan an Anglo-Saxon village.
• Pupils make good progress in their phonics knowledge because this is taught well. Pupils learn sounds and how to blend them together. They apply their sound knowledge to their reading appropriately.

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 well cared for by all adults in this small school. Parents told the inspector, ‘The school allows children to be individuals and nurtures each of them.’ Pupils said a strength of the school is that it is ‘like a family.’
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well. Pupils enjoy learning and playing together. During the inspection, older pupils were seen helping the younger ones at lunchtime and playing with them outside. Pupils are given good opportunities to take on responsibility, such as house captains or members of the school council. One school councillor told the inspector proudly that the school council had chosen the playground equipment and which charity the school would support this year.
• Pupils develop their spiritual understanding through religious education but also other events. Pupils had, for example, reflected on war as part of work on Remembrance Sunday. As a result, pupils are helped to develop into caring and responsible individuals.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are supported well so that they are able to access learning and develop strong relationships with their peers. Pupils are very supportive of each other, including those who have additional needs.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good
• Pupils behave well in lessons and at playtimes. The small number of pupils who have behavioural difficulties are managed well and do not disturb the learning of others.
• Pupils know what bullying is because this is taught in school. They said that bullying is very rare but that any incidents are dealt with by staff effectively. Parents who responded to Parent View agreed with this view.
• Pupils show positive attitudes to learning, although where teachers’ expectations are not high enough, pupils do not always work as hard as they could.
• Attendance has risen because leaders have taken effective action. This includes the use of fixed-penalty notices for persistent non-attenders, certificates to encourage good attendance, and regular reminders about attendance in newsletters. However, some parents do not ensure that their children arrive promptly for the start of school and leaders have not done enough to address this.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• At the end of Year 6, outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics in 2016 were below those found nationally and pupils made too little progress. Due to improvements in teaching, outcomes in reading and writing improved in 2017. However, this was not the case in mathematics. Leaders told the inspector that some pupils did not achieve in line with their abilities in mathematics in 2017 because they worked too slowly during the test. Scrutiny of these pupils’ books confirmed this for some pupils. However, leaders acknowledge that pupils’ progress in mathematics overall was not rapid enough to enable them to meet the expected standard.
• In 2017 there were very few pupils in Year 2 and the majority of these were pupils who had SEN. While some of these pupils made good progress from their starting points, some did not because teaching was not matched well enough to pupils’ individual needs.
• Reading assessments show that most pupils are making good progress in reading, and pupils’ books demonstrate improving progress in mathematics. However, in writing current pupils are not making sufficiently good progress because teachers’ expectations of pupils and the quality and quantity of their writing is not high enough.
• The number of pupils who took the Year 1 phonics assessment last year was too small to be able to comment. However, the teaching of phonics is effective and pupils currently in the school make good progress in their knowledge of letters and sounds.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make good progress from their starting points. Leaders carefully evaluate progress against small steps and plan provision accordingly.
• Pupils who are disadvantaged also make good progress because their individual needs are clearly identified and appropriate support is provided for them.
• In other subjects, such as science and history, pupils make good progress, particularly in key stage 2. This is because teachers have high expectations of pupils in these subjects.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• Children in the early years are part of a mixed-aged class with pupils in Years 1 and 2. In 2017, the number of children in the Reception Year was very small. These children made good progress in most areas of learning, but not all made as much progress in writing.
• Children currently in the Reception Year enjoy an engaging and interesting curriculum. Learning journals show that these children are making good progress in most areas of learning but less progress in writing. This is because adults are not planning enough opportunities to develop children’s early writing skills or taking opportunities to develop these skills during children’s independent play.
• Adults mostly manage the balance between providing for the needs of Reception-age children and Years 1 and 2 pupils well. However, occasionally noise levels are too high when the youngest children are playing and others are trying to concentrate on their tasks.
• Sometimes adults do not plan tasks which are sufficiently challenging for children and which move learning on swiftly enough. For example, during the inspection, children were enjoying a number-recognition activity but the numbers provided were too easy.
• Adults plan activities to stimulate children’s imagination and curiosity. For example, during the inspection, children took part eagerly in an ‘Arctic adventure’, searching for animal footprints. This kind of activity keeps children interested and enjoying their learning. It contributes to their good progress in most areas of learning.
• Adults take good care of children. They are sensitive to children’s needs but also encourage them to be independent, for example in selecting resources and tidying them up when they have finished.
• Children behave well in the early years. They socialise together and show perseverance with tasks. Often children are reluctant to leave the task they have been doing with an adult, preferring to carry on with it after the adult has moved to another group.
• Parents are very supportive and said that their child had settled well in school. Children come for taster sessions before starting school and the teacher visits pre-school provision. Leaders provide opportunities for parents to find out about their child’s learning and how they can help, for example in phonics workshops and parents’ evenings. Parents are encouraged to contribute to children’s learning journeys. However, few do so and leaders recognise that they need to develop further parental involvement in learning in the early years.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 141229 Norfolk 10036090 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 31 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Headteacher Su Read Emma Zeil Telephone number 01553 810274 Website Email address www.runctonholmewormegay.co.uk head@runctonholme.norfolk.sch.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 and federated with another small local school.
• The school meets the current government floor standards, which set the minimum standards expected for pupils at the end of Year 6 in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The school is a much smaller school than is found on average nationally. It has two mixed-aged classes, one with Reception-aged pupils and Years 1 and 2, and one with pupils from Years 3 to 6.
• The majority of pupils are from a White British background.
• The school has a larger proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities than is found nationally.

Information about this inspection

• The inspector observed lessons in both classes. Most observations were carried out jointly with the headteacher.
• 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 11 responses to the Ofsted questionnaire, Parent View, and met with some pupils from Years 3, 4, 5 and 6.
• The inspector spoke with the chair of governors and with a representative of the academy trust.
• 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