Maynards Green Community Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Reduce the small number of inconsistencies in the quality of teaching so it makes an even greater impact across the school.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• The headteacher leads the school with admirable determination and shows relentless ambition for all pupils. She is supported by committed leaders who share her insistence on providing an inspirational and well-organised learning environment, coupled with high aspirations for every pupil in the school. One parent, reflecting on this, commented: ‘I really couldn’t ask for a more inspiring environment for my children to spend these formative years.’
• Leaders have a deep and accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Nothing is left to chance. They monitor classroom standards routinely, focusing closely on the impact of adults’ work on pupils’ learning. They make valid and accurate judgements about the school’s work based on the secure and detailed evidence they gather. Leaders are not complacent and respond quickly and intelligently to areas that may need strengthening.
• The staff’s morale is high. Staff have the utmost regard for the support that leaders offer and feel that their opinions and thoughts are valued. All of the staff spoken to and those who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire are proud to work at the school. They said that leaders take account of their well-being and policies are managed thoughtfully, giving due consideration to workload. This was explained by a member of staff who said: ‘Planning and marking have been adapted to be more manageable, without impacting on pupils’ learning and progress.’ Staff are clear that the training they receive is very effective in helping them to develop and improve.
• All parents spoken to and almost all parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, agreed that the school is well led, and that their children achieve well and make excellent progress. They appreciate the care and support provided by leaders and staff, as well as the high-quality teaching that their children receive. One parent wrote: ‘The school puts the children first, and has their well-being and happiness at its heart.’ Another parent commented: ‘Both my children have been well cared for, supported academically and allowed to mature and grow into responsible and independent children.’
• The curriculum is inspiring and interesting. It offers something for everyone. Pupils are supported to make links, and learn deeply, across a wide range of different subjects. Leaders carefully consider how work is sequenced in order to develop pupils’ knowledge and skills successfully. For example, in geography, younger pupils learn basic map skills, using the local environment. By the end of Year 6, older pupils have a good understanding of continents, the countries and capital cities of Europe as well as lines of latitude and longitude.
• Pupils benefit greatly from rich experiences that enhance their wider learning, such as trips and visitors to the school. Leaders have very clear intentions for these activities, which link successfully to wider aspirations for pupils and specific aspects of the curriculum. For example, pupils have a good understanding of the skills and qualifications they need for future careers that may interest them.
• Leaders’ use of extra funding for pupils who have additional needs is commendable. The inclusion leader oversees this aspect of the school’s work with clear understanding and immense skill. Consequently, disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND flourish at the school because they are supported so well.
• Pupil premium funding is spent effectively. Aspirations for the small number of disadvantaged pupils are high and, consequently, this group of pupils, some of whom have joined the school more recently, do very well.
• Leaders ensure that the physical education (PE) and sport premium increases the skills of teachers and the range of activities available to pupils. Staff encourage pupils to be physically fit through regular PE lessons and daily exercise. Pupils’ participation in after-school sporting activities is high and they regularly compete in inter-school competitions, often with great success.
• Leaders place great importance on pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Leaders are outward looking, with the school taking an active role within the wider community. Older pupils visit a local community group to read to the elderly and take part in craft activities. The school actively supports charities, with speakers attending assemblies to explain their work. Themed weeks allow pupils to learn about different cultures, including celebrations of diverse foods, festivals and traditions. As a result, pupils have an informed understanding of the wider world and their place within it.

Governance of the school

• Governors know the school very well and share the headteacher’s ambition for pupils to be as successful as possible. Governors work closely with leaders to ensure that improvements to teaching and other aspects of the school result in strengthened progress and attainment.
• Governors understand their statutory duties and fulfil them successfully. Collectively, they have a wide range of experience which they use wisely to make well-informed and considered decisions. They provide high levels of challenge for leaders, and use their school visits to regularly monitor the effect of leaders’ actions on standards.
• Governors ensure that they are well trained. Those who are new to the governing body receive timely support and appropriate inductions.
• Like leaders, governors are not complacent and seek to improve all aspects of the school. This was illustrated by one governor’s comment: ‘We might be small, but we think big.’ For example, with parents, governors helped raise funds to retain and make improvements to the school’s heated swimming pool. Consequently, all pupils can swim by the time they leave the school at the end of key stage 2.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Pupils’ welfare is at the heart of the school’s work. All staff and parents spoken to during the inspection, and the overwhelming majority of parents who responded to Parent View, feel that children are safe.
• Leaders ensure that all staff fully understand their roles and responsibilities in keeping pupils safe. Training for staff is frequent and appropriate. Consequently, staff are vigilant and know how to report any concerns they may have. Leaders follow up concerns swiftly, ensuring that pupils receive the support they need.
• Health and safety checks are undertaken regularly by leaders and governors. The school’s site, although close to a busy road, is immaculately maintained and kept safe. Leaders have sensibly ensured that pupils have a good understanding of road safety. Pupils said that they feel safe and know what to do in the event of an incident. They trust staff implicitly to help them should they have any concerns.
• Pupils know how to keep themselves safe online and how to use the internet responsibly. This is because e-safety forms an integral part of the school’s curriculum.
• Pupils said that they feel safe. They expressed great confidence in the staff’s vigilance and the way they look after their welfare, stating that the school is a ‘protective’ place to be, where ‘everyone wants the best for us’.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

• Leaders’ work to ensure that teaching captures the interests of pupils is very effective. Pupils are highly motivated and quickly become absorbed in their learning during lessons. Leaders, teachers and pupils are rightly very proud of the impressive quantity and quality of work in pupils’ books.
• Teachers use pupils’ progress information to great effect. Staff know and understand the pupils well and use assessment information accurately to plan learning. Pupils make excellent progress because overall teachers’ planning routinely meets their individual learning and behaviour needs. However, there are a few occasions where even more could be expected of pupils.
• Pupils achieve well as a result of teachers’ high expectations of what they can do and achieve. Pupils’ work is presented to an extremely high standard in all subjects. These high expectations engender in pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, a sense of self-worth and a belief that they can succeed.
• A broad range of subjects are taught very effectively in all year groups. Teachers progressively develop pupils’ knowledge and skills. For example, in mathematics, pupils show great confidence and fluency in their multiplication and division skills before they move on to complex algebraic problems.
• Teachers are particularly effective in meeting the needs of pupils with SEND. Adults skilfully support pupils in lessons. This support enables pupils with SEND to have full access to all subjects in the curriculum and, as a result, they enjoy much success.
• Younger pupils are taught phonics effectively and learn to read quickly. Across all classes, teachers routinely introduce pupils to high-quality texts to support their learning. Consequently, pupils demonstrate a thirst for reading and have an impressive understanding of a breadth of vocabulary.
• Teachers skilfully support pupils to apply their knowledge and skills across subjects. For example, Year 5 pupils wrote instructions on how to make charcoal, using their scientific understanding of changes of state. They subsequently used the charcoal to develop their shading skills in an art lesson.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Leaders have created a friendly and secure environment and pupils love coming to school. All parents spoken to commented on how happy their children are at school. One parent, expressing a view voiced by many, commented, ‘Staff couldn’t be more caring, they look after my children the way I would myself.’
• Pupils benefit from having a wide range of responsibilities. Older pupils look after younger pupils kindly, helping them to eat their lunch in the dining hall and acting as reading buddies. Leaders listen closely to pupils’ views and act on them, for instance by stocking the library with books by authors that interest pupils.
• The school is an exceptionally nurturing environment in which every pupil is valued. The ‘cuckoo lodge’ in the playground is used by some pupils at lunchtime, and is a quiet place of sanctuary where they can take part in craft activities, read or chat to their friends.
• Stunning displays of pupils’ work line corridors and can be seen in classrooms. This work supports pupils’ learning about topics such as anti-bullying, different cultures and religions, equality and democracy. Pupils show a striking tolerance of each other and a mature understanding of each other’s differences. They explained that everyone is treated equally at the school.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• Pupils have excellent attitudes to learning. They concentrate when the teacher is speaking, cooperate well with each other, take pride in their work and their appearance, and are rightly proud of their many achievements.
• Behaviour in and around the school is calm and orderly. Pupils show polite manners and are courteous at all times. They are friendly and keen to welcome visitors to their school. Year 6 showed great confidence when rehearsing their ‘Big Dance’ for an evening performance at the local theatre.
• The school’s behaviour policy and systems for rewarding pupils are implemented fairly and consistently by all staff. The school’s records show that instances of bullying or extreme behaviour are very rare.
• Attendance overall is high, and continues to rise. This is because pupils value the high-quality education they receive. Leaders demonstrate notable tenacity in getting pupils to attend school, with no group of pupils disadvantaged by low attendance.

Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

• Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, attain highly and make strong progress across the curriculum. The school’s current progress information, coupled with inspection evidence, shows strong and sustained progress across all year groups in all subjects. As a result, pupils’ outcomes are outstanding.
• The work in pupils’ books in every year group is of a remarkably high quality. Pupils’ work shows consistently well-developed knowledge, skills and understanding in a wide range of subjects. Pupils’ development is supported by the logically sequenced series of lessons in each subject. This is exemplified in history, where pupils learn many historical facts and chronologies. This knowledge is supplemented with rich texts, providing further historical context to deepen pupils’ understanding.
• In the Year 1 phonics screening check, pupils consistently achieve above national averages. This is because of the excellent transition arrangement from Reception to Year 1 and the systematic and consistently high-quality teaching of phonics.
• Outcomes at the end of key stage 1 are high and rising. In 2018, at the end of Year 2, the proportions of pupils who reached the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics were well above the national averages. The proportions of pupils who achieved greater depth were also well above the national averages.
• In 2018, pupils’ progress by the end of Year 6 was above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. The proportions of pupils who attained the expected standards and higher standards in all three subjects were also markedly above the national averages.
• Pupils with SEND make strong progress from their starting points. This is due to the highly effective work of the inclusion leader and other staff. Skilled support in lessons, teachers’ firm aspirations and leaders’ best endeavours for this group of pupils ensure that they make at least good and often very strong progress from their starting points.
• The most able pupils achieve well. Work in the books of current pupils shows that teachers challenge pupils to achieve their potential. For example, in the wider curriculum, the most able are encouraged to deepen their understanding of topics. Teachers provide regular opportunities for these pupils to reflect deeply and develop a more detailed grasp of the topic they are studying, such as their work on Darwin’s theory of evolution.
• Pupils have many opportunities to write at length and in a range of different genres. It is evident that this starts in Reception Year, with adults’ high expectations and the rich writing environment. As pupils move up the school, they are provided with countless opportunities to apply and extend their writing skills across different subjects. For example, pupils in Year 6 wrote journals based on Shackleton’s journey to explore the Antarctic, with each pupil writing at length from the viewpoint of one of the people on the expedition.

Early years provision Outstanding

• The early years leader has a strong and ambitious vision for the children in her care. She leads a skilled team of adults and together they model exemplary practice. This practice is rightly disseminated more widely to other schools in the local area.
• Children typically enter Reception with skills broadly at or above those that are expected for their age. They make rapid progress from these high starting points so that more children than nationally attain or exceed a good level of development. Their work shows levels of attainment that are often well above what is typical for their age. As a result, children are prepared well for their transition to Year 1.
• The early years environment is highly engaging and stimulating, both inside and out. No opportunities for learning are missed. During the inspection, children were observed ‘jousting’ as part of their ‘castle day’, using tricycles, foam pipes and elevated soft balls. Children took great delight in counting grapes and squares of cheese for their afternoon banquet, demonstrating their growing confidence with number.
• Children play well together. Strong routines are evidently in place, enabling children to understand how to keep safe and cooperate well together. For example, children line up quickly when asked, and sensibly take turns when taking part in activities.
• Children’s work and classroom displays reflect children’s high-quality writing. Adults pay great attention to how children hold their pens or pencils, and children are supported to write widely and often. For instance, children were inspired to write about castles in their notebooks using pencils with feathers on.
• Relationships between adults and children are caring and skilfully facilitate learning. Adults use thoughtful questions to develop children’s understanding. Children independently choose to take part in a range of interesting and well-considered activities. As a result, children’s personal and academic development is outstanding.
• From the very start of their children’s time at school, parents are encouraged by leaders to be involved in their children’s learning. Parents appreciate the school’s workshops on phonics and numeracy, as well as the opportunities to come in and see for themselves how well their children are learning. One parent who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire wrote: ‘This school offers lots of exciting learning opportunities. My child has settled really well, I couldn’t have found a better school.’

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 114407 East Sussex 10087940 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 Community 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 217 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Phil Williams Verity Poole Telephone number 01435 812 622 Website http://www.maynardsgreen.e-sussex.sch.uk Email address office@maynardsgreen.e-sussex.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 14 June 2018

Information about this school

• The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of pupils eligible for pupil premium is low compared with other schools nationally.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND is broadly average.
• Most pupils are from White British backgrounds.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in all classes. Almost all observations were done jointly with school leaders.
• The lead inspector met with the chair of the governing body and six other governors.
• Inspectors held meetings with senior and middle leaders.
• The lead inspector had a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority.
• Inspectors met with a range of staff to gather their views, and considered the responses of 24 staff who completed the Ofsted staff survey.
• The views of 121 parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, were taken into account, including 65 free-text comments. Inspectors also spoke informally with parents at the start of both days of the inspection.
• Together with senior leaders, inspectors looked at a range of pupils’ work.
• Inspectors spoke to pupils informally in lessons and on the playground at breaktimes and lunchtimes. Inspectors met more formally with a group of pupils from Year 2 to Year 6, and heard pupils read.
• Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including: leaders’ evaluation of the school’s effectiveness; the school development plan; attendance records; and minutes of the governing body’s meetings.
• Inspectors scrutinised the school’s safeguarding procedures, including the arrangements for keeping pupils safe and the recruitment of staff.

Inspection team

Frances Nation, lead inspector Liz McIntosh Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector