Clarendon Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve outcomes for pupils by ensuring that:
  • all pupils are provided with more opportunities for reasoning in mathematics
  • teachers provide pupils with enough time to consolidate and deepen their understanding of mathematical concepts
  • teaching provides sufficient challenge for the most able pupils in mathematics.
• Strengthen leadership and management by:
  • ensuring that training for middle leaders develops the necessary expertise and skills required to enable them to fulfil their roles more effectively.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher, working closely with the deputy headteacher, has shared his high expectations with clarity. As a result, all staff are now more aspirational about what pupils can achieve. Senior leaders’ motivation to improve outcomes for pupils has enabled the school’s vision, ‘Doing our best to achieve our best’, to become reality.
• Leaders successfully promote a happy, respectful and inclusive atmosphere in school. Staff work openly and constructively together and support each other to develop their practice. All members of staff who completed the Ofsted survey reported that they are proud to be a member of staff at the school.
• Leaders have accurately identified the areas of priority that the school needs to focus on to improve pupils’ outcomes. They systematically monitor and evaluate the quality of teaching and learning and are quick to make changes to provision when needed. As a result, improvements in teaching have continued and pupils make good progress.
• Some middle leaders provide effective support to senior leaders in driving improvements. For example, the English subject leader has implemented a new approach to teaching reading and writing, which has brought about rapid improvements in pupils’ achievement. However, senior leaders rightly accept that middle leaders require further development and training to ensure that pupils’ learning and teaching improve across all subject areas.
• The curriculum is broad, balanced and engaging. A well-planned, creative and exciting curriculum provides pupils with a clear purpose for learning. In science, pupils are encouraged to be independent in their approach to investigations. This was seen in the Year 6 ‘fitness test by gender’, in which pupils independently planned, predicted and explored, before recording and communicating their findings. As a result of teachers’ high expectations, pupils’ work was of the same high standard as it is in their English books.

• Pupils enjoy learning about many different periods in history, for example the Stone Age, the Iron Age, the Romans and the Tudors. During the inspection, pupils enjoyed participating in a music workshop. The school provides pupils with opportunities to attend numerous clubs held after school, which further enhance pupils’ enjoyment of learning.
• Leaders promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, as well as their understanding about fundamental British values. Pupils experienced democracy when voting for their school council. They demonstrate a strong sense of respect and tolerance through their behaviour in class and around the school. These values are taught through well-planned assemblies and a high-quality personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) curriculum.
• Pupil premium funding is used effectively to diminish the differences between the outcomes of disadvantaged pupils and those of their classmates. However, leaders are not complacent. They monitor the progress of this group of pupils carefully and regularly. This enables leaders to provide effective support and intervention for disadvantaged pupils and to make strategic changes where needed. As a result, disadvantaged pupils make good progress.
• Sports funding is used to good effect and has impacted positively on pupils’ engagement and participation. The pupils who spoke to inspectors were enthusiastic about the sports they are taught in school. Leaders’ allocation of funding has allowed teachers to work alongside a specialist sports coach. This has enhanced teachers’ expertise in the teaching of physical education, while providing high-quality sports experiences for the pupils.

Governance of the school

• Governors have a good working knowledge of the school and understand the school’s priorities for improvement. They regularly monitor the effectiveness of leaders’ actions, holding them to account for further improvements. Governors share the headteacher’s vision for the future of the school. They understand the importance of preparing pupils for the next stage of their education.
• The wide range of expertise in the governing body enables governors to provide leaders with useful and supportive advice and guidance. For example, governors regularly meet with the headteacher to evaluate the impact of financial expenditure on pupils’ achievement, including the pupil premium allocation for disadvantaged pupils. Governors visit the school frequently to gather first-hand information about the school’s practice. This enables them to effectively evaluate progress against the priorities in the school’s development plan.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Safeguarding is a high priority for the school. The headteacher ensures that all members of staff receive annual safeguarding training. The deputy headteacher trains members of staff who join the school mid-year, as part of the school’s induction process. The headteacher systematically checks whether all staff understand how to keep children safe in education. When the knowledge of individuals is not sharp enough, he leads additional training so that all staff are confident with the school’s safeguarding expectations.
• Staff are quick to record their concerns if they are worried about a pupil and pass this information to senior leaders in a timely manner. This enables senior leaders to make referrals to external agencies when required. The headteacher keeps highly detailed and comprehensive records. He meticulously follows up referrals and is not afraid to escalate his concerns if he feels that more should be done to keep a pupil safe.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Staff and pupils have positive relationships. Teachers have high expectations, which pupils respond to positively. As a result, pupils apply themselves diligently to their learning and complete their tasks with enthusiasm and resilience.
• Teachers regularly assess pupils’ understanding in English and mathematics. This enables them to set work that accurately meets the needs of all pupils. Teachers are quick to identify if a pupil is beginning to fall behind. A wide range of interventions are in place to provide these pupils with individual support and guidance to help them catch up. As a result, the majority of pupils make good progress from their starting points.
• Teachers have strong subject knowledge, particularly in English. Structured and well-planned lessons develop pupils’ skills, knowledge and understanding over time. Teachers regularly questions pupils to develop their understanding. In subjects in which teaching is strongest, pupils are encouraged to explain and justify their thinking, using technical vocabulary. Pupils work very well collaboratively. This helps them to develop the clarity of their thinking before verbalising or writing.
• English teaching is a strength in the school. The English leader has recently introduced a new approach to the teaching of English. Training has taken place so that all teachers are confident with the new expectations. Teachers have adopted a clear, planned approach to the teaching of writing. Pupils are given time to write, proofread, amend and refine their work.

• In line with school policy, pupils use a wide range of resources and writing prompts to further develop the quality of their writing. The rates of progress for pupils, including the most able pupils, in reading and writing have increased rapidly.
• The teaching of reading is good because teachers make sure that pupils read widely and often. School policy stipulates that pupils must read at least four times a week in school, and this is monitored carefully by teachers. If pupils are not supported with reading at home, they are targeted in school so that they read as much as their classmates. As a result, the rates of progress for pupils in reading, including disadvantaged pupils and the most able, have rapidly increased.
• The school’s action plan for mathematics identifies reasoning and mastery as key areas for development. However, this approach has not yet become a regular part of mathematics teaching. When evaluating the learning in pupils’ books, inspectors saw little evidence of reasoning. In addition, there was insufficient challenge for the most able pupils.

• While teachers include many opportunities for fluency and problem solving, planning for continuity and progress is too rapid. As a result, pupils are not given the opportunity to consolidate or deepen their understanding of mathematical concepts. Leaders rightly acknowledge that a review of mathematics teaching is necessary if more pupils are to reach or exceed the expectations for their age.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. In the survey that pupils completed for Ofsted, almost all reported that they feel safe and well looked after in school. They feel confident to talk to any member of staff if they have concerns.
• Teachers’ planning encourages pupils to be independent and articulate. Pupils are confident to share their thoughts and opinions, but value the ideas and feelings of their classmates. Pupils listen well and respond encouragingly to the views of others.
• Pupils with whom inspectors spoke talked confidently about how the school teaches them to keep safe. For example, they recalled lessons on online safety, stranger danger and the procedures that they would follow if an intruder entered the school building. Pupils were able to meaningfully define bullying and unanimously agreed that bullying is rare in their school. They are all confident in what they would do if bullying occurred.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. They have positive attitudes and apply themselves well to their learning. Pupils enjoy coming to school. This is reflected in levels of attendance, which are better than the national average.
• Pupils that spoke to inspectors were positive about the behaviour in their school. They reported that, mostly, pupils behave well in lessons. When this is not the case, pupils feel that teachers are quick to take action.
• During breaktimes, pupils play and interact well. Pupils talked positively about playtimes. They said that they like having the older and younger pupils on the same playground because they can all play together.
• A minority of parents and carers expressed concerns about the behaviour of some pupils in the school. Some parents also feel that leaders and teachers do not always take swift action to deal with inappropriate behaviour. Inspectors evaluated the school’s records and logs of behaviour incidents. They found them to be thorough and detailed.

• Records show that there has been a reduction in poor behaviour over time. Leaders monitor behaviour incidents closely. When inappropriate behaviour is identified, adjustments are quickly made. An example of this is the introduction of the ‘quiet zone’ at lunchtime. Inspectors observed good behaviour in classrooms and during breaktimes.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Leaders and teachers have taken swift and appropriate action to increase the progress of pupils in English and mathematics. As a result, the attainment of pupils in Year 6 was above the national average in English and mathematics in 2017. Rates of progress have increased significantly in key stage 2. Consequently, more pupils are now working at the expected standard for their age in English and mathematics than in the past.
• Leaders rightly acknowledged that, in the past, the progress of pupils in key stage 1 was not good enough. Many changes have been put into place, which have quickly impacted on pupils’ achievement. For example, smoother transition arrangements from Reception to Year 1 have enabled pupils to settle more quickly into their learning.

• Leaders monitor the progress of all groups of pupils in key stage 1 carefully and regularly. School assessment information shows that current pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics from their starting points. This was also confirmed by the quality of work in pupils’ books, which was of a high standard.
• Leaders promote reading and provide many opportunities for pupils to enjoy reading in school. One pupil said that they ‘love reading because it takes [them] to another world’. When inspectors listened to pupils read in key stage 1, these pupils read with confidence and fluency, applying phonics knowledge and decoding strategies well.
• In key stage 2, pupils read books that provide a high level of challenge for their age. There has been a recent focus on teaching pupils to improve their comprehension and inference skills. This has led to pupils making rapid improvements in reading across the school, including disadvantaged pupils and the most able.
• Recent changes to the teaching of writing have enabled pupils to understand the steps and processes required to produce high-quality writing. As a result, pupils enjoy writing and skilfully apply the strategies they have been taught. This has had a positive impact on the standard of writing and the rates of progress for all groups of pupils.
• The teaching of mathematics focuses too heavily on the development of fluency and problem solving. Pupils are rarely challenged to apply reasoning skills. This approach is preventing some pupils, particularly the most able pupils, from developing a more in-depth understanding of mathematical skills and concepts.

• Teachers’ planning often moves too quickly from one area of mathematics to another. As a result, pupils are not given the crucial time they need to consolidate their understanding. This slows the progress of many pupils. Leaders are right to focus on mathematics as a priority for school improvement.
• Disadvantaged pupils are well supported and make good progress from their starting points. This is because leaders have allocated the pupil premium funding effectively to provide accurate and targeted support where needed. Leaders and teachers carefully monitor the progress of this group of pupils and, if any begin to fall behind, bespoke intervention is put into place to help them catch up.
• Teachers have high expectations of all pupils. However, a minority of parents feel that the needs of their children who have SEN and/or disabilities are not always fully met. Inspectors thoroughly scrutinised the school’s provision for this group of pupils.

• Leaders and teachers track the progress of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities routinely and rigorously. They ensure that the focused support that is provided improves pupils’ learning and impacts positively on their progress. As a result, these pupils are currently making good progress from their starting points. Further evidence of this was seen in pupils’ workbooks.

Early years provision Good

• The early years setting is warm and welcoming. Children are well cared for and nurtured. Adults ensure that the transition from the Nursery to Reception is smooth. As a result, children quickly settle and develop their confidence.
• The indoor learning environment is bright and stimulating. Resources are of a high quality, and children access them independently. Provision in the outdoor learning area is excellent. The vast range of resources enables children to become competent in all areas of the early years curriculum.
• Children make rapid progress in the early years because the quality of teaching is good. Teachers’ planning provides children with a broad and enriching curriculum that is interesting and engaging. The proportions of children who achieved a good level of development at the end of Reception have exceeded the national average for the past three years.
• The early years leader knows the children well. She demonstrates an accurate understanding of their social, emotional and academic needs. As a result, the learning opportunities for children are appropriate. Adults track the progress of all groups of pupils vigilantly. School assessment information provides clear evidence of children’s progress over time, including children who have SEN and/or disabilities. Work in children’s learning journals accurately matches teachers’ assessments.
• The small number of children who are eligible to receive the pupil premium funding make the same good progress as the other children in their class. This is because the funding is precisely targeted to provide additional support for this group of children. The early years leader monitors the impact of interventions, and adjustments are made if children are not making the progress that they should.
• Adults encourage children to be independent and make their own choices. Children are prompted to justify their choices, using language carefully, for example, to describe the colour, texture or size of an object. Adults develop children’s communication skills by modelling rich vocabulary and clear speech. As a result, children quickly become confident to use more complex sentence structures.
• Teachers’ planning ensures that there is an appropriate balance between adult-led activities and those that children can choose. Children are regularly challenged in their learning. When writing, they are focused and engaged and apply their phonics knowledge with confidence and skill.
• Children are encouraged to remember sentence structure, punctuation and grammar, at a standard appropriate for their age. They have many opportunities to develop their understanding of mathematics. Children enjoyed counting dinosaurs in the outdoor learning environment and matching them to the correct numbers.
• Children behave well and are keen to join in with activities. Adults model positive relationships very well. Consequently, children willingly share resources and are kind and caring towards each other.
• Safeguarding in the early years is effective. All staff receive regular training and have a sound understanding of the most recent safeguarding information. Training ensures that all staff know how to identify and report concerns. Inspectors observed teachers undertaking a thorough risk assessment before a trip to the local library. As a result, all adults were clear about the responsibilities placed on them for the safeguarding of the children in their group.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 125088 Surrey 10040726 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 2 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 295 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Graham Coldman William Neale 01784 253379 www.clarendon.surrey.sch.uk/ info@clarendon.surrey.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 12─ 13 February 2014

Information about this school

• This is an average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of pupils who are supported by the pupil premium is lower than the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is lower than the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have an education, health and care plan is higher than the national average.
• The school meets the government’s floor standards of 2017, which are the minimum requirements for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in all classes, some jointly with senior leaders.
• In addition to discussions with parents, 51 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, were taken into account, including 29 free-text comments.
• A range of the school’s documentation was scrutinised to gather information on: leaders’ evaluation of the school’s performance; behaviour and safety of pupils; safeguarding; the progress and attainment of pupils; and leadership of the curriculum.
• Inspectors scrutinised the school’s website to evaluate the quality of information for parents and whether the school meets statutory publishing requirements.
• Inspectors spoke to pupils to gather their views and heard them read.
• Inspectors met with school leaders, representatives from the governing body and a representative from the local authority.

Inspection team

Luisa Gould, lead inspector Peter Dunmall Becky Greenhalgh

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector