Regis Manor Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching and learning by:
  • establishing high expectations of pupils’ application of writing across the curriculum
  • ensuring that learning is sufficiently challenging so that improving proportions of pupils make rapid progress, especially those who are disadvantaged.
• Continue to improve communication with parents.
• Ensure that robust actions are taken to tackle low rates of attendance and persistent absence, particularly for disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The executive headteacher and her leadership team are committed to school improvement. They demonstrate a relentless drive and ambition, working with dedication to improve standards for pupils.
• Through working closely with the Swale Academies Trust, leaders rigorously check standards across the school, accurately identifying the school’s strengths and weaknesses. They have high expectations and set challenging targets to address weaknesses, devising clear plans for improvement.
• The trust offers a wide range of opportunities for staff to share good practice with teachers and leaders in other schools across the trust. Leaders and teachers welcome these opportunities to support their professional development, which have led to improved outcomes.
• The provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is strong. Leaders ensure that funding is targeted well to ensure that pupils get the support they need. Several parents commented favourably on the support that their child receives, stating that the school is ‘very supportive… they are extremely helpful and are always there to listen’ and that staff go ‘the extra mile’.
• Leaders make effective use of additional funding for disadvantaged pupils. Using accurate assessment, they target appropriate support and resources to address pupils’ needs. For example, the school’s ‘reading champion’ initiative is very effective in engaging pupils in reading. As one pupil explained, ‘It made a big difference. I never used to read, but now I read much more and I get into a book.’ As a result, disadvantaged pupils make similar progress to pupils with similar starting points.
• Leaders have established a broad and balanced curriculum that is planned through topics. This approach, using cross-curricular links, engages and excites the children, making learning meaningful. For example, the children learn history and geography through topics such as ‘dinosaurs’ and ‘natural disasters’.
• Sports premium funding is well targeted to extend and enrich the pupils’ sporting opportunities. For example, the school offers a wide range of clubs, including dance, gymnastics and multi-skills. As a result, pupil participation and confidence in sport has increased.
• Through the curriculum, leaders have developed a range of opportunities to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and their understanding of fundamental British values. For example, pupils enjoy opportunities to undertake fundraising for charities and to take on leadership roles to support younger pupils at playtime.
• Although middle leaders lead their subjects well and have a clear plan for improvement, further work is needed to ensure that they are rigorous in checking the impact of their actions.
• Parents welcome the recent improvements in communication between school and home, for example the coffee mornings and the texting service. However, some parents would like more information on the progress that their children are making, as well as increased notice for school events.

Governance of the school

• Governors and the Swale Academies Trust have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. They work closely with school leaders to review the impact of the school improvement plan, challenging leaders effectively. Minutes of meetings show that governors routinely ask leaders questions that both challenge and clarify the information that they are given.
• Effective training and collaborative working with the trust have ensured that governors have the appropriate knowledge and understanding to fulfil their roles effectively. This has enabled them to provide appropriate challenge and support to school leaders.
• Although governors undertake regular monitoring visits to check the impact of the school’s work, these visits are sometimes not evaluative enough. As a result, at times they lack clarity of direction.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders have established a culture of safeguarding, underpinned by effective policies and reporting procedures. This ensures that children are safe.
• Leaders ensure that all staff receive appropriate safeguarding training on a regular basis. As a result, staff have an accurate understanding of their roles and responsibilities. They act appropriately, and with urgency, to report any concerns they may have about a child.
• Through visits, governors and the trust ensure that the effectiveness of safeguarding is routinely checked. Following these visits, leaders are swift in tackling any actions that are identified.
• Leaders ensure that all relevant safeguarding checks are made when recruiting new staff.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Leaders and teachers have established clear, effective routines and high aspirations for their pupils. As a result, a calm, purposeful atmosphere for learning permeates the school.
• Teachers have developed very positive relationships with pupils. They are sensitive, supportive, encouraging and make effective use of praise. These strong relationships ensure that pupils are confident to share their ideas. Pupils welcome the feedback and support that they are given by their teachers, and they are motivated to do well.
• Teachers plan interesting, creative learning opportunities that engage and interest pupils. As a result, most pupils focus on their learning with concentration, persevering when faced with a challenge and working hard to make improvements to their work.
• Pupils have a positive attitude towards their learning and are keen to share what they are learning about. They take great pride in the quality of their handwriting and the general presentation of their work.
• Most teachers use assessment effectively and they know their pupils well. They use this knowledge to routinely check learning, pose targeted questions, set challenging tasks and move learning on.
• Teachers use a wide range of high-quality texts to engage pupils in reading and promote reading for enjoyment. In addition, they routinely model and promote a wide range of vocabulary. Pupils respond to these texts with interest, and confidently use and apply the rich language to which they have been exposed. As a result, pupils’ writing shows a developing sophistication. For example, a Year 2 child, in describing something in her writing, wrote that it was ‘softly floating in the air’.
• Teachers plan a wide range of opportunities for pupils to use and apply their mathematical calculation skills to reasoning and problem solving. Pupils relish these opportunities and respond to them with enthusiasm and increasing confidence.
• Teachers provide pupils with many opportunities to apply their writing skills across other subjects in the curriculum, for example history and science. Pupils do not, however, apply their skills to the standard that they have demonstrated that they are capable of in their English books.
• On occasion, some staff do not plan activities that are sufficiently challenging, particularly for most-able pupils. When this happens, pupils’ rates of progress slow. This inhibits their ability to achieve the standards of which they are capable.
• Some teaching does not identify pupils’ misconceptions quickly enough. Not all staff intervene to address pupils’ misunderstanding. As a result, some pupils continue to make the same mistakes in spelling, grammar, punctuation and calculation over time.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils say that they feel safe and are happy to come to school.
• Most children have positive attitudes to learning, work hard and show resilience when faced with a challenge. Pupils collaborate with one another well and are supportive of one another. For example, one pupil praised another pupil’s success during a lesson, whispering excitedly ‘Well done!’ across the table.
• Leaders and the family liaison officer work well to support vulnerable pupils and their families. Strong relationships and targeted support ensure that pupils’ social, emotional and behavioural needs are met.
• Incidents of bullying, racism and derogatory language in this school are rare. On the rare occasions they do happen, they are reported and dealt with appropriately by members of staff. Pupils feel confident that it is treated seriously.
• Through the curriculum and talks from outside agencies, such as local police, pupils have learned how to stay safe. They have a secure understanding, for example, of how to keep themselves safe online. Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils conduct themselves well, moving around school in a calm, orderly manner.
• Pupils are welcoming, polite and friendly. They value their friendships and are accepting of diversity, celebrating that everyone is different.
• Pupils generally behave well during lessons because they are interested in their learning and are motivated to do well. As a result, incidents of low-level disruption in lessons are rare and little learning time is lost.
• Pupils are well supervised and play well together at lunchtime and playtime. Routines for the end of playtime and lunchtime, however, are not well established. As a result, behaviour at these times is not as calm and orderly as at other times of the school day.
• Leaders have put in place some effective systems to tackle poor attendance, and as a result there has been a slight improvement in rates of attendance. However, improvements are not happening quickly enough. The attendance of disadvantaged pupils remains low, and persistent absence is not improving.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Overall, pupils currently in the school make good progress from their starting points, including in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Although results for pupils in key stage 2 dipped in 2017, evidence in pupils’ books shows that overall the current Year 6 pupils are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics and are achieving well.
• Key stage 1 results in mathematics and reading are broadly in line with national averages and are above the national average for writing. The proportion of pupils achieving greater depth in mathematics and writing is slightly above the national average.
• Teachers use high-quality texts in their teaching of reading. These engage and interest pupils. As a result, pupils have developed positive attitudes to reading and they are making good progress in securing key skills.
• Current pupils develop a good understanding of key skills in spelling, punctuation and grammar, which they apply with increasing accuracy in their writing. They also apply a wide range of interesting vocabulary when writing. Consequently, overall, pupils are making secure progress in their writing.
• Over time, pupils’ understanding of mathematical concepts deepens, building on their prior learning. Teachers provide pupils with regular opportunities to use and apply these skills in problem-solving and reasoning activities. As a result, most pupils make secure progress in their mathematical learning.
• The proportion of pupils who achieve the expected standard in phonics is consistently above the national average. By the end of Year 2, the majority of pupils have achieved the standard. Younger pupils are able to confidently apply their phonics skills to help them read and write unknown words.
• Leaders have developed robust provision maps to ensure that appropriate support is in place for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. They routinely check the impact of this provision on pupils’ attainment and progress. As a result of this, pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make secure progress from their starting points.
• Disadvantaged pupils make good rates of progress that are similar to their peers’. There is still, however, a gap in attainment between disadvantaged pupils and others.
• Sometimes, the work set for pupils, in particular the most able pupils, is not challenging enough. When this happens, rates of progress slow and pupils do not achieve the standards of which they are capable.

Early years provision Good

• Children get off to a good start in the early years. Adults have established positive relationships with the children that are supportive and caring. As a result, children settle quickly into the setting and are well looked after.
• The leader of early years has a clear vision for the setting and is passionate and committed to delivering improved outcomes for pupils. This vision is shared by the early years team.
• The early years leader and her team have established a stimulating learning environment that includes a well-resourced outdoor area. They carefully plan a wide range of exciting and interesting activities that encourage the children’s exploration and curiosity. As a result, most of the time children immerse themselves in their learning for sustained periods of time.
• The early years curriculum is highly engaging for the children. Topics are planned that are meaningful to the children, resulting in purposeful learning.
• Children, including disadvantaged children, typically make good progress during their time in early years. The proportion of children who achieve a good level of development has improved over the last three years and is now consistently above the national average.
• Teachers know the children well. They make use of accurate assessment to plan learning, and ask questions that are well matched to the children’s needs.
• Adults support children’s behaviour well. They help children to establish good dispositions for learning and to develop important social skills, for example turn-taking.
• Leaders and teachers have established effective communication with parents, and this supports the children’s transition into the setting.
• There are some inconsistencies in the quality of teaching and the quality of questioning. On these occasions, children do not engage productively in activities and learning slows. Leaders are aware of these inconsistencies and are taking appropriate action to secure improvement.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 136794 Kent 10046836 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 454 Appropriate authority Chair Board of trustees Mr Simon Penney Executive headteacher Mrs Karen Mirams Head of school Telephone number Website Email address Mr Matthew Perry 01795 472971 www.regismanor.org.uk headteacher@regis-manor.kent.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 11–12 March 2014

Information about this school

• Regis Manor Primary School is sponsored by Swale Academies Trust, having joined the trust in June 2011. Swale Academies Trust delegates governance to a local governing body in the school.
• This is a larger than average-sized primary school.
• The early years incorporates a Nursery for three- and four-year-old children, and two Reception classes for four- and five-year-old children.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below the national average.
• The school provides a breakfast club on its site.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards. These standards set the minimum expectations for pupils’ outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed pupils learning in 26 sessions across a range of subjects and year groups. Most sessions were observed jointly with senior leaders in the school. Inspectors looked at the quality of pupils’ work during lessons and through a focused analysis of work in books.
• Inspectors held meetings with senior leaders, middle leaders, designated safeguarding leads, staff, governors and representatives of the Swale Academies Trust.
• A wide range of documentation was reviewed, including information available on the school’s website and records relating to pupils’ attainment, progress, attendance and behaviour. Information on governance, including minutes of the governing body’s meetings, was examined. The school’s self-evaluation summary, school development plan and supporting evidence were scrutinised.
• Inspectors spoke with parents during the inspection and considered the 83 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online parent survey, including 23 free-text comments.
• Inspectors took into account the views of the 32 staff who completed Ofsted’s online survey.
• Inspectors listened to pupils read and spoke with pupils in lessons and around the school. They also met formally with groups of pupils.
• Pupils’ behaviour was observed during lessons, around the school, during breakfast club and during play, break and lunchtimes.
• Inspectors reviewed safeguarding records and the central record of recruitment checks on staff.

Inspection team

Leah Goulding, lead inspector Graham Chisnell Kirstine Boon

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector