Arreton St George's Church of England Controlled Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Refine the school’s systems to track pupils’ progress and attainment, so that staff are better aware of age-related expectations of pupils, and leaders and governors have a simple and effective system to monitor the progress pupils are making over time.
• Sharpen self-evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the school, so that leaders, governors and staff have a clearer understanding of the main priorities to improve.
• Increase the progress most-able pupils make across all phases of the school.
• Appoint a substantive executive headteacher as a matter of urgency.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• The interim executive headteacher has quickly come to terms with the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Since he took up his appointment in September 2018, a new sense of purpose has been introduced into classrooms. Under his leadership, staff are beginning to focus more clearly on the key aspects that need to be improved across the school.
• The head of school and key middle leaders are motivated and keen to play a bigger part in improving the quality of provision. As a result, expectations are rising, and staff are beginning to gain a greater understanding of how to improve teaching, learning and assessment.
• Leaders’ self-evaluation of the school’s strengths and weaknesses is generally accurate but needs to be sharper. This is particularly the case where greater clarity is needed in analysing pupils’ outcomes to provide a more accurate overview for staff and governors.
• The school’s systems to assess and monitor pupils’ progress and attainment are fragmented. As a result, leaders and governors are not well equipped to monitor the progress and attainment of pupils over time. Furthermore, teachers do not have a good enough understanding of pupils’ progress and attainment against age-appropriate expectations. This is because the systems they are using do not provide them with the tools to do so efficiently and effectively.
• Leaders have ensured that provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is effective. Most parents are positive about this aspect of the school’s provision. Classroom visits and work scrutiny showed that these vulnerable pupils are supported well by staff, make good progress, and feel included and valued by their peers.
• Provision for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds is given a high priority. Leaders are aware of the need to constantly assess the quality of education provided for this vulnerable group. New systems to monitor the progress and attainment of pupils will enable leaders and staff to focus more accurately on this vulnerable group as a whole.
• The school’s curriculum is fit for purpose and meets the needs of pupils well. A good range of enrichment activities further enhances the curriculum, including clubs and supporting events in the local community. Pupils talked with enthusiasm about their visits to HMS Belfast or Butser Ancient Farm in connection with their topic work. Inspectors witnessed piano lessons and were happy to be serenaded by one pupil enjoying a saxophone lesson during the inspection.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is supported well within the day-to-day and wider curriculum. The values of friendship, honesty and perseverance underpin daily life in the school. Pupils’ sense of respect for the cultures and views of others is strong. They understand democracy and how rules help keep people safe.
• Additional funding for physical education and sport is used effectively. Pupils enjoy competitive sport and are proud to talk about their success in tournaments against other schools. They understand the benefits of a balanced diet. Pupils told inspectors how much they enjoy keeping active, and how exercise helps them to keep fit.
• The local authority and diocese have a clear understanding of the quality of education provided by the school. The local authority is well placed to provide further support to leaders and governors. The recent successful statutory inspection undertaken on behalf of the diocese pays testament to the school’s ethos and its Christian distinctiveness.

Governance of the school

• The governing body is in a period of transition. Recent changes in membership, including the appointment of a new and experienced chair of governors, have given the governing body fresh impetus and direction. A recent review of governance is being acted on.
• Governors are playing a more active part in monitoring different aspects of the school. They know their role is a strategic one. They are dedicated to their work and are diligent in ensuring that they carry out their statutory duties effectively. As a result, aspects of their work, such as monitoring the effectiveness of safeguarding and the school’s financial position, are sound.
• Governors understand that one of their key duties is holding leaders to account for the performance of the school. Their plans to appoint a substantive executive headteacher as soon as possible will be an important step in doing so. They know that providing the correct balance of support and challenge for leaders will be crucial to the future success of the school. Their strengthening partnership with the local authority, which is providing training and guidance, is already helping in this matter.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The school’s caring ethos underpins the culture to ensure that pupils are safe. Staff know what to do if they have concerns and have been trained at levels commensurate with their different responsibilities. Policies and procedures are sound, as are safeguarding records and records of pre-employment checks on staff.
• Pupils feel safe at school. They told inspectors that they know whom to talk to if they have problems or are worried. Parents who spoke to inspectors made clear their confidence in staff to keep their children safe. All parents who replied to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, expressed the view that their children feel safe in school.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching and learning is not consistently good. As a result, not enough pupils make the progress they should over time. This is particularly the case with most-able pupils, especially when the learning planned for them is not as challenging as it could be.
• In some classrooms, too much teaching does not fully engage pupils. Scrutiny of pupils’ work also revealed inconsistencies in the progress pupils make. This is the case across different year groups and within different subjects.
• Where teaching is stronger, staff engage pupils well with questioning, confirming understanding and moving learning on when needed. Inspectors also witnessed staff putting their own subject knowledge to good use to further extend pupils’ learning. However, some classroom visits revealed weaker practice, with pupils unsure of what they were learning or why.
• Leaders are aware that there are pockets of good practice in the school. Where this is the case, expectations are high, and pupils learn and make better progress in a focused learning environment. Leaders understand that sharing good practice from within the school should be given a higher priority going forward.
• On occasion, teachers plan activities and tasks for pupils to complete that do not closely match what they want pupils to learn. When this is the case, pupils struggle to make connections with prior learning or see the sense in the activities they are completing. As a result, pupils become confused and learning slows.
• Expectations of pupils’ engagement in learning are too variable. Some classrooms are purposeful. Expectations are high, and pupils work hard to complete work that challenges them. In other classrooms, pupils talk among themselves and go unchallenged when staff are talking. On occasion, this low-level off-task behaviour extends to disrupting staff from teaching and interrupts the learning of other pupils.
• Despite inconsistencies in expectations, relationships in classrooms are generally positive. Staff, including support staff, cater for pupils’ pastoral needs well. Pupils interact well with each other. Older pupils are particularly supportive of each other and work well in small groups or when involved in whole-class discussions.
• Support staff are used well in most classrooms. Their support for pupils with SEND is particularly effective, contributing well to the personal development and academic progress of this vulnerable group.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. During the inspection, parents talked positively about their children’s care and well-being. They particularly like the ‘small school family ethos’ the school provides.
• Pupils are happy to share their books with visitors. Their attitudes to their work are mostly positive, although discussions with some pupils confirmed that they feel that some of the work expected of them is not challenging enough.
• Pupils have a well-developed sense of mutual respect and tolerance for others. Discrimination is not acceptable at Arreton St George’s. One pupil told an inspector: ‘Everyone treats everyone the same here. There are some people with disabilities who need more respect, because there are some things that they find difficult, so it is important to help them.’
• Pupils know about keeping safe on the internet: they know about ‘trolls’ and what to do if they have concerns, for instance. They are also equipped with strategies to stay safe outside school in their local community and home environment.
• Pupils have a good understanding of what is, and what is not, bullying. They told an inspector that bullying was not a serious concern at the school, because they know what it looks and feels like, and they do not let it carry on if it starts.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Although inspectors witnessed examples of low-level off-task behaviour during classroom visits, pupils are generally respectful and want to behave well.
• Attendance is very good and improving over time, including the attendance of pupils from different vulnerable groups. Staff monitor overall absence effectively and intervene when required. Because of this, rates of persistent absence are also low and compare well with those of other schools nationally.
• Pupils disapprove of disruptions to their learning. Their attitudes to coming to school are positive because they enjoy learning about new things. Despite this, leaders know that the expectations of pupils’ behaviour could be higher in some classrooms.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Outcomes for pupils are not as strong as they could be. Not enough of the current pupils are making the consistently strong progress needed for outcomes to be judged to be good. This is particularly the case with most-able pupils across all phases of the school, who are not making as much progress as they could.
• Children get off to a good start in early years. Most are well prepared for their move to Year 1 when it comes.
• Pupils with SEND make good progress because of the quality of support and guidance they receive. For some pupils, small steps of progress represent good progress. For other pupils in this group, progress is strong and accelerating, meaning their attainment compares well with that of their peers.
• There are too few pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds to compare their academic outcomes with those of other pupils within the school or nationally.
• The school’s phonics provision has been strengthened over the last two years. Results of phonics screening check have improved, especially by the end of Year 2, where pupils’ results in reading and writing are broadly in line with those of other schools nationally.
• Pupils make erratic progress as they move through key stage 2. Scrutiny of pupils’ work showed variations in the progress pupils are making between different subjects and across different year groups.
• The school’s own progress and attainment information provided by senior and middle leaders showed an inconsistent picture. In some year groups, progress is stronger than in others. This uneven profile needs to be addressed, so that pupils’ performance has a more even upward trajectory.
• Pupils’ progress in mathematics during key stage 2 is not strong enough. This has been the case over a period of time, where progress has been well below average when compared with that in other schools. While the progress of older pupils is improving, more needs to be done to accelerate their progress to make up for lost ground, particularly for the most able.

Early years provision Good

• Children thrive in early years. They make good progress from their varying starting points, because staff are led well and work effectively as a collegiate team.
• Systems to assess and extend children’s learning are sound. Staff know children well, and work hard to provide good-quality activities and opportunities for them to learn.
• Children have a clear understanding of what is expected of them. Because of this, they behave well, work well as part of a team, and are kind to each other. They follow instructions without any fuss. Transitions between activities are orderly and achieved in a calm and timely manner.
• Classroom visits gave inspectors a range of evidence of children applying what they have learned since starting school. Their phonics knowledge is developing well for instance, with children helping each other to ‘sound out’ words before writing them into invitation cards.
• Staff provide a wide range of opportunities for children to extend their knowledge and understanding in all areas of learning. A current focus on developing number skills is proving successful. Children access a wide range of resources and activities to consolidate their expertise in counting. As a result, their mathematical knowledge is enhanced as they play and interact with their friends.
• Parents are particularly positive about the support that staff offer their children. They appreciate the transition arrangements put in place when their children joined the school. They feel that their children are safe and cared for well at school.
• Although the quality of provision in early years is strong, leaders are aware that more could be done to accelerate the learning of most-able children.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 118180 Isle of Wight 10059282 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 5 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 173 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Eric Hemming Interim Executive Headteacher Colin Haley Telephone number 01983 528429 Website Email address www.arretoncepri.iow.sch.uk head@arretoncepri.iow.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 8–9 October 2014

Information about this school

• This school is smaller than the average-sized primary school. As a school with a distinctive Christian ethos, the school was last subject to an inspection under section 48 of the Education Act 2005 in July 2018.
• The interim executive headteacher was appointed in September 2018. There have been a number of changes in the school’s leadership team and in the membership of the governing body in the recent past.
• Most pupils are from White British backgrounds. There are small numbers of pupils from other ethnic backgrounds.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND is broadly average. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is low compared with other schools.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors carried out five extended learning walks during the inspection, visiting every year group, most more than once. During classroom visits, inspectors observed teaching and learning, assessed the quality of pupils’ work, and talked to them about their progress. Classroom visits were accompanied by the interim executive headteacher or the head of school.
• Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in classrooms and as they moved around the school, including during breaktime and at the start of the school day.
• An inspector heard pupils read on both days of the inspection.
• Meetings were held with the senior and middle leaders, non-teaching support staff, the chair of governors accompanied by five other governors, and a representative group of pupils. A short meeting was also held with a representative of the local authority at the start of the inspection.
• Telephone conversations were held with representatives of the local authority and diocesan board.
• Inspectors met with parents at the start of both days of the inspection. Inspectors considered 32 replies to the online questionnaire, Parent View, as well as the accompanying free-text comments. Inspectors also took into account 18 responses to the staff survey.
• A wide range of documents and policies were scrutinised, including those regarding the safety of pupils. As well as looking at pupils’ work in classrooms, a separate scrutiny of books was carried out with the leaders for English and mathematics.
• The school’s own self-evaluation, development planning and information about pupils’ outcomes were considered. Documented evidence of the work of the governing body and the notes of visits to the school made by the local authority were also considered. The report from the latest inspection held under section 48 of the Education Act 2005 on behalf of the diocesan board was also taken into account.

Inspection team

Clive Close, lead inspector Shazia Akram

Her Majesty’s Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector