Foxborough Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve teaching so that it promotes consistently effective learning for all groups of pupils in all subjects by ensuring that:
  • pupils of varying abilities consistently tackle work of suitable challenge
  • pupils with low starting points are routinely provided with the guidance and resources needed to access learning in lessons
  • teachers routinely pick up pupils’ misconceptions and make sure that pupils understand how to improve their work
  • teachers and support staff work as a cohesive team to maximise learning opportunities for pupils with special educational needs
  • teachers are consistently skilled in managing class behaviour so that incidents of low-level disruption become increasingly rare
  • children in Reception have plenty of opportunities to develop their early writing and number skills during child-initiated activities.
• Develop the leadership and management of teaching by:
  • ensuring that the school’s curriculum provides suitable and sufficient opportunities for pupils to make good progress in all subjects
  • leaders set an expectation for the depth of learning pupils with different starting points should acquire by the end of a lesson or series of lessons
  • developing monitoring and assessment so that leaders have a consistently sharp understanding of the quality of teaching in all subjects and tackle areas of weakness.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• Until recently, difficulties in recruiting leaders and high staff turnover have hampered the trust’s ambition to secure good teaching and achievement. The situation has improved over the last year and a full complement of leaders including a head of school is now in place. The school is improving and well placed to improve further. Nevertheless, some weaknesses in the leadership of teaching remain.
• Leaders’ evaluations of teaching are not consistently accurate or rigorous. Leaders use the information they collect about the quality of teaching to compile a profile of the strengths and weaknesses of each teacher’s practice. Teachers receive support and training that helps them tackle these weaknesses and improve their teaching. However, some aspects of teaching that need attention are not picked up well enough. Additionally, leaders do not routinely use their evaluations to identify weaknesses common to teaching across the school. As a result, school improvement plans do not focus sharply on improving the aspects of teaching that need tackling the most.
• Leaders have not paid enough attention to ensuring that teaching in lessons meets the needs of pupils with different starting points and the most able in particular. Plans for teaching typically do not define the different depths of learning that pupils of varying ability should acquire in each lesson or series of lessons. Some recently produced plans do include such information but it is too soon to see the impact of these.
• Leaders have set up a suitable method for assessing pupils’ achievement in English and mathematics. Teachers regularly enter assessment information into an electronic system. Leaders print off reports from this which show the proportion of each group of pupils working at the standard expected for their age. However, these reports do not show whether pupils with low starting points are catching up well or if the most able are reaching a sufficiently high standard. Additionally, methods for capturing pupils’ progress in other subjects are at an early stage of development.
• Provision for pupils who have special education needs and/or disabilities has some noticeable strengths. Accurate assessment helps ensure that the right support is in place for each pupil. This includes a range of external support such as that provided by the visiting educational psychologist and speech and language services. The Den provides a nurturing atmosphere where pupils with a high level of need gain effective support that enables them to manage in mainstream lessons. The leader responsible keeps track of the impact of all the help provided. She knows what is working well and makes adjustments when needed. However, leaders do not pull information about individual pupils’ progress together to gain a sharp understanding of overall effectiveness of the provision. Additionally, arrangements for planning between leaders, teachers and support staff are not tight enough to ensure that progress made outside lessons is built on routinely well in class.
• Leaders have recently reviewed the curriculum. In a bid to make learning more engaging they have joined several subjects together in a ‘creative curriculum’. However, plans for teaching this curriculum are, to an extent, still in development. Consequently, it is difficult to determine how well it will promote effective learning across subjects. Inspection evidence suggests that it may not be as balanced in reality as leaders intend. Additionally, although the topics taught engage pupils’ interest the progress they make is variable because of weaknesses in teaching.
• The curriculum promotes pupils’ wider development. Religious education lessons give pupils a useful insight into other people’s religions and cultures. School council elections have helped pupils develop their understanding of democracy. Pupils have seen the influence the council has had on leaders’ decisions about ways to improve the school’s environment. Weekly ‘Friendly 20’ sessions help to develop pupils’ social skills and help them learn to respect others regardless of differences.
• Sports premium funding is used effectively. Membership of the local school sports partnership and use of professional sports coaches have increased sporting opportunities. Pupils have the chance to get involved in a wide range of sports and take part in competitions. Two thirds of pupils are now actively involved. Several staff have undertaken nationally recognised training to develop their coaching skills and improve physical education teaching.
• In addition to sports clubs, there are other activities for pupils beyond lesson time. At lunchtime, older pupils can attend ‘IT’ club. Some pupils join the junior site team or become play leaders. The school choir recently sang at a community harvest festival event. Other pupils have taken part in a local debating competition. Pupils talked excitedly about the recent trip to the cinema and a picnic for the Queen’s birthday. However, opportunities for pupils to visit places of interest are quite limited.
• Leaders use pupil premium funding effectively. Disadvantaged pupils’ attendance has improved markedly. The use of a minibus to collect some of these pupils and bring them to school has ensured punctuality and improved engagement with parents. The nurture group supports pupils’ social and emotional development and helps them make progress in lessons. Other support outside lessons helps disadvantaged pupils catch up from previous underachievement. However, because of variations in the quality of class teaching, disadvantaged pupils’ overall progress remains variable.
• Leaders’ work to improve behaviour is effective. A whole range of support is in place for pupils who have challenging behaviour, including from external agencies and Littledown Special School. Incidents of poor behaviour are increasingly rare and exclusions have dropped notably. The reward and sanction system, ‘stamps and steps’, has led to a significant decrease in the number of incidents of poor behaviour. The leader responsible for welfare keeps a careful track of all incidents to check approaches are working. Regular information passed on to the parents about pupils’ good behaviour helps to reinforce it.
• Leaders’ work with parents has been key to improving attendance and ensuring pupils’ well-being. Home visits have helped identify pupils absent without good reason. Parenting support through such things as coffee mornings along with opportunities for parents to learn alongside their children help to ensure that support at home helps pupils cope with school and learn.

Governance of the school

• The trust and local governing board have a sound insight into the strengths and weaknesses of most aspects of the school’s performance. Governors use their educational expertise together with information from external reviews to verify leaders’ self-evaluation and identify weaknesses. Governors recognise that the leaders’ evaluations of the quality of teaching and achievement have not been incisive enough. Plans are underway to tackle this.
• For a considerable period after the school joined it, the trust struggled to recruit a head of school and full complement of leaders. Wisely, they drew on leadership at Upton Court Grammar School to ensure that the school started to improve. Sensibly, after several unsuccessful attempts to recruit a head teacher and senior leaders through advertisements, the trust recognised that a change of approach was needed. Leaders with a proved track record have been brought in, then promoted internally.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Staff are well trained and regularly briefed about all aspects of safeguarding. They know when to refer concerns on to the safeguarding leader. He makes sure that support is in place to protect any child at risk from harm working effectively with outside agencies when necessary. Records show a thorough and methodical approach to this work.
• Leaders meet regularly at an ‘every child matters’ meeting to review the support provided for vulnerable pupils, making sure that it is helpful and adjusting it when required. Regular assessments of pupils’ social and emotional well-being help ensure that evaluation of the effectiveness of support is sharp.
• Pupils’ attendance and behaviour are tracked carefully to identify any patterns that may indicate that a child is at risk. Parenting sessions help to ensure that parents are equipped with strategies to support their children and keep them safe. Governors check that safeguarding arrangements are sound. Reviews by a local authority safeguarding officer help in assuring governors that all is as it should be.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teaching does not routinely meet the needs of pupils of varying abilities. Teachers are not consistently clear about the depth of learning they should be expecting of the most able pupils or how they will ensure that the less able can access the learning. Teachers do not identify well enough which pupils in the class are ready for deeper learning and which need further support. As a result, some lessons are not structured in a way that enables all groups of pupils to make good progress.
• Teachers’ use of lesson time is not routinely effective. Some teachers spend an unnecessarily long time explaining a task or concept to the whole class and do not leave enough time for pupils to apply and deepen their learning. The issue is compounded when pupils with different starting points are required to listen to the same explanation or tackle the same work, regardless of whether it is helpful. The most able are not given the opportunity to jump ahead to a more-challenging task when they are ready.
• Teachers’ feedback does not consistently help pupils improve. Teachers typically give feedback to pupils in line with the school policy. However, some teachers are not picking up pupils’ misconceptions or leading pupils to believe that they have learned something well when they have not. In some cases, pupils’ work is marked with a tick even though it has fundamental errors in it. This was particularly evident in pupils’ mathematics work.
• Teaching in writing is not consistently effective. Pupils in some classes are not given the guidance they need to improve their work. In such cases the final piece of writing they produce is almost the same as their first draft.
• Teaching and support staff often do not work as a cohesive team during lessons. In such cases the role of support staff when the teacher is addressing the whole class is minimal. Staff working with individual pupils with specific needs do not typically have the resources to hand needed to help these pupils learn in manageable chunks. More positively, when pupils work in a small group with a teaching assistant, away from the rest of the class, they usually learn well.
• Teaching and support outside of class is often effective. For example, extra phonics sessions help pupils with low starting points develop the skills needed to make good progress in reading. The most able pupils in Year 6 last year benefited from teaching from a mathematics specialist at Upton Court Grammar School. This well-considered support often makes up for the weak progress pupils make in some classes and helps them catch up from prior underachievement.
• Typically, relationships between staff and pupils are very positive and the majority of teachers manage pupils’ behaviour well. However in some classes low-level disruption is quite common. In other classes pupils wait passively when they have finished a task. The respect which pupils show the teacher is commendable. However, pupils have not been equipped with the learning habits needed to automatically apply themselves to improving their work or seeking the next challenge.
• Teaching of phonics is typically effective. Pupils develop sound phonics skills and apply these when they read and write. Nevertheless, teaching of reading overall contains the same inconsistencies as are found in other subjects.
• Teaching in science and foundation subjects typically engages pupils’ interest. This helps them grasp concepts and ideas. However, progress is variable partly because teaching is not consistently well attuned to pupils’ different starting points, but also because the amount of time pupils spend on some subjects in some classes is not sufficient to enable good progress.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• The school is a nurturing environment where pupils are very well cared for. Pupils are happy and confident.
• Pupils are kept safe at school and learn how to stay safe. They have a good understanding of the risks of talking to strangers and what to do if they need help. When using social media, pupils know the importance of not revealing their details to anyone they do not know or whose identity they are not sure of.
• Pupils relish opportunities to get involved in the activities on offer at lunchtime. The table tennis club is well attended. The pupil receptionists make sure that all pupils get a fair turn, keeping tabs on the number of times a pupil has been each week. Pupils not playing the sport draw and chat at the indoor social club. Outside, a sports coach runs popular football sessions. The adventure play equipment keeps others active. The junior site team take on duties such as rubbish collection and other activities to improve the environment.
• Pupils learn about healthy eating in lessons. Additionally, a whole-day session in place of usual lessons focused specifically on eating healthily. ‘Friendly 20’ sessions help develop pupils’ social skills and emotional resilience.
• Pupils know the importance of being kind to each other. They have a well-developed understanding of different religions and are clear that all should be treated equally, regardless of such differences. Pupils’ specific understanding of prejudice is not so routinely well developed. However, they are considerate and thoughtful when discussing such matters.
• Leaders maintain frequent communication with Littledown Special School to make sure that any pupils attending it are kept safe and attend well.
• Bullying does happen occasionally. When it does, it is dealt with effectively. Pupils spoke about the anti-bullying messages and information about different types of bullying they had heard in assembly. However, some pupils’ understanding of the difference between bullying and ‘falling out’ is a little unclear.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• Despite many strengths in pupils’ behaviour, in a few classes, teachers do not manage behaviour well enough and low-level disruption is quite common. Additionally, pupils said that the use of the ‘steps and stamps’ system did not seem to motivate some pupils to be good. The number of behaviour incidents has declined notably but is still quite high.
• Outside of class, the school is a welcoming, orderly environment. At break and lunchtime, pupils play and socialise happily together. They are polite to visitors, staff and one another.
• Overall attendance has improved notably over the last year. Attendance of disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs has also improved. Significantly fewer pupils have poor attendance than was previously the case.
• Incidents of challenging behaviour are increasingly rare. Exclusions have reduced notably. Although still quite high in the previous year, there have been none this term.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Pupils make variable progress between subjects, year groups and classes.
• Although pupils’ progress in English and mathematics is improving, it is still too variable. Achievement for some groups of pupils is quite low.
• Last year, pupils’ in Year 2 and Year 6 benefited from effective teaching coupled with extra support outside class. This helped them make up for previous lost ground and achieved well in the end of key stage English and mathematics tests and assessments. As a result, pupils’ achievement was broadly average at key stage 2 and at or above the national average at key stage 1. Although not directly comparable, pupils’ achievement in comparison to the national figure was notably better than it had been the previous year. Nevertheless, changes in teaching staff and variability in teaching quality between years and classes means that the same picture is not evident across the school.
• Disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and others with low starting points typically do not make the progress needed to achieve well in English and mathematics. Support outside of lessons helps these pupils develop their basic literacy, numeracy and communication skills. However, class teaching does not routinely support them to make further good progress. As a result, although in some year groups they make good progress, the proportion reaching the standard expected for their age remains quite low. Almost all pupils who attend the nurture group are making steady progress.
• Pupils who have special education needs and/or disabilities make the same variable progress as others in English and mathematics. Inspection evidence indicates that roughly half of these pupils are making good progress. However, school assessment information is not used sharply enough to give a precise picture of exactly how well these pupils are achieving. Pupils receiving support at The Den develop the resilience needed to engage in lessons, but they too experience teaching of variable quality in class.
• Pupils whose first language is English typically make weaker progress than their peers who learn English as a second language. The latter make the best progress in the school. School assessment information shows that typically they are achieving well in most year groups.
• The most able do not routinely make the strong progress they are capable of. They are often not provided with opportunities to stretch and deepen their learning. More positively, the most able pupils typically have well-developed reading skills. They read a suitably challenging and varied range of books.
• Pupils engage well in science and foundation subjects and this typically helps them learn. However, as with English and mathematics, their progress is variable.
• Pupils’ achievement in phonics has improved. In 2016 approximately seven in 10 pupils reached the standard. Although this was still below the national proportion of eight in 10, it was notably higher than in 2015. Encouragingly, the proportion of disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard increased by nearly a third and was much nearer that of other pupils nationally than in the previous year. Support for pupils who did not meet the standard in Year 1 has also been increasingly effective. By the end of Year 2 in 2016, the proportion meeting the expected standard was in line with national figure for all pupils and disadvantaged pupils.
• Pupils apply their phonics skills well when they read. Those who find reading hard know how to sound out tricky words. Pupils enjoy reading and positive links between school and home help to ensure that they read regularly.
• It is not appropriate to report the outcomes of those who attend alternative provision as individual pupils’ achievement could be identified.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• Changes in staffing in September 2015 led to a notable decline in the quality of provision, which previously had been reasonably effective. Children’s progress at the end of Reception was inadequate in 2016, most notably in writing and mathematics. The new leader and teaching team have brought much-needed improvements. Children are now making good progress in Nursery and improved progress in Reception. Nevertheless, some aspects of teaching, in writing and number in particular, require further improvement.
• Phonics teaching is effective. Children are developing a sound knowledge of phonics which is helping them learn to read. Children apply their phonics knowledge as they develop their reading and writing skills in adult-led sessions. However, children do not have sufficient opportunities to develop their writing or their number skills when they are doing activities they initiate themselves.
• The new leader together with her team has quickly established a positive ethos and atmosphere. Children behave well and benefit from a welcoming, friendly environment. Attendance has improved notably.
• The leader has a sharp understanding of strengths of the provision and areas for development. She is keeping a close eye on the quality of teaching and tackling areas that need attention.
• Assessment is effective. The leader has made sure that there is an exact understanding of the level of development children have when they join. Suitably ambitious targets have been set for each child’s achievement by the end of the year. Staff note children’s achievements as they go along. They enter their observations into a central recording system, enabling the leader to keep a close track on each child’s achievement and check that they are on track. Weekly reviews of each child’s progress help make sure that plans for the next week’s teaching are suitably focused and extra support is in place for children who need it.
• Parents are involved increasingly well in their children’s learning. Home visits and ‘settling in’ sessions for parents help get children off to a positive start. Children’s successes are shared and celebrated. Pupil premium funding spent on ‘stay and play’ and parenting sessions help parents develop confidence and skill in supporting their children’s learning and wider development.
• Useful relationships exist with outside agencies. Health visitors and speech and languages service staff contribute to initial assessments of children’s needs.
• Arrangements for keeping children safe are sound. Clear systems are in place for ensuring that an appropriate adult collects each child at home time. Staff make sure that risks are assessed and understood so they can be minimised. A member of staff trained in administering first aid to children is always available.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 139943 Slough 10019840 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 377 Appropriate authority Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Academy trust Nigel Miller Nicky Bulpett 01753 546376 www.foxboroughprimary.co.uk head@foxborough.slough.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.
• School become a sponsored academy in 2014, joining the Upton Court Education Trust. When the predecessor school was last inspected in June 2013 it was judged to require special measures.
• This is an above average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is high. Pupils come from a range of ethnic minorities, the largest proportion being from White non-British, Pakistani, Black African and Indian backgrounds. Six in 10 pupils speak English as an additional language.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is above average.
• The proportion of pupils who have additional special educational needs and/or disabilities is high. The proportion with an education, health and care plan or statement of special educational needs and/or disabilities is also high.
• The school has a resource base, The Den, with places for eight pupils with complex special education needs. A small group of disadvantaged pupils attend a nurture group in The Den every afternoon.
• The school uses the Littledown Special School to provide additional support for pupils at risk of exclusion. A very small number of pupils attend this provision on a part-time basis.
• The nursery provision is currently part time, taking place in the mornings.
• The school meets the government’s floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.
• The head of school took up post in September, having joined the school as deputy headteacher the previous year. The deputy head is also new to post, having joined last year as an assistant headteacher. Prior to the head of school’s appointment, the vice-principal of the trust acted as interim headteacher. An assistant head joined in September 2016.
• Since the school became an academy there has been high staff turnover. Approximately half the teaching staff are either new to the school or newly qualified this year, having trained at the school. The leader and teachers of early years all joined the school in September 2016.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in 23 lessons, 16 jointly with senior leaders. In addition, the inspectors looked at samples of pupils’ work from a range of subjects, including English, mathematics science, French and topic work, and listened to pupils read.
• The lead inspector met with the chair of the trust and the chair and vice-chair of the local governing board together with the executive headteacher. Inspectors held discussions with senior and middle leaders, teachers, pupils and parents. The lead inspector also met with a representative from the local authority who provides support to the school.
• The inspectors reviewed documents including safeguarding policies, behaviour and attendance records, self-evaluation and planning documents and the school’s records on performance management and teaching and learning.
• Account was taken of 25 staff survey responses and 22 responses by parents to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. In addition, inspectors considered eight parent responses by free text. There were no responses to the pupil survey.

Inspection team

Diana Choulerton, lead inspector James Munt Hilary Goddard

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector