The Raleigh School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the impact of teaching, learning and assessment in mathematics by ensuring that pupils learn in more depth about how to reason and explain their thinking.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• The headteacher leads the school with passion, pride and an unwavering commitment to achieving the very best for the pupils and staff. She is highly skilled and evaluative. The headteacher, rightly, places the development of leaders in the school at the forefront of her work. She has assembled and trained a skilled and dedicated leadership team who have ensured that every aspect of the school has improved since the previous inspection. One parent summarised the thoughts of many, noting: ‘The Raleigh is an excellent school and the children make fantastic progress, preparing them well for the future.’
• Leaders work as a unified team to accurately evaluate every aspect of the school. They assess progress information to identify any signs of weakness at an early stage and rectify these immediately. They collect information on the quality of teaching to share methods that are working well and quickly dispense with unnecessary activities. Plans for improvement are well judged and lead to demonstrable improvements in the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes. Leaders’ efforts to reduce teachers’ workload have dramatically reduced levels of marking while ensuring that pupils still receive all the feedback they require to improve their learning.
• Teachers receive first-class support from leaders, which has improved the quality of teaching across the school. Leaders observe staff regularly, then help them to sharpen their practice and meet well-considered targets. Leaders revisit classes often to ensure these improvements are sustained. This continual focus upon improvements has built over time and, as a result, teachers are highly skilled and feel trusted and valued. As one teacher noted, ‘Staff here work hard because we always aim for excellence.’
• The curriculum is broad and interesting. Pupils study a wide range of subjects and utilise their well-developed reading and writing skills to research, share and evaluate their learning. For example, Year 6 learned about finance and commerce in their ‘young apprentice’ project. Pupils developed business plans, researched successful entrepreneurs and identified items they could produce and sell at community events. Their moral and cultural understanding was promoted further as pupils debated which charities should benefit from their proceeds. Pupils revel in the regular ‘wow’ days during which they take trips to places of interest or welcome guests, such as a local imam who helped pupils to understand the beliefs of Muslims. The curriculum prepares pupils exceptionally well for the next stage of their education and for life in modern Britain.
• Additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils is used well to improve these pupils’ outcomes. Leaders and teachers work closely with parents to discuss these pupils’ needs and develop bespoke plans to improve their progress. Funding has been used to improve disadvantaged pupils’ attendance, gain access to extra-curricular activities and to provide additional support in class to accelerate pupils’ progress. Disadvantaged pupils make rapid progress throughout the school.
• Leaders are adept at supporting pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities. They develop practical and focused support plans for pupils, using additional funding effectively to remove barriers to their learning. For example, support provided to families to improve attendance of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities has resulted in them attending school more regularly than other pupils nationally. Leaders facilitate close liaison between parents, external agencies and teachers to build a supportive network within which pupils can thrive. As a result, these pupils make excellent progress from their starting points.
• Leaders spend sports premium funding shrewdly to improve sporting and exercise opportunities for pupils. A wide range of clubs are subsidised and offer pupils opportunities to develop new skills such as cheerleading, judo, technology and street dance. Clubs are attended well, particularly by disadvantaged pupils. Additional training for teachers has enhanced the quality of physical education teaching. All pupils who responded to the Ofsted online survey noted that they know how to look after their physical health.
• The multi-academy trust officers are highly skilled and offer high levels of challenge and support to the school. Trust officers provide leaders and governors with incisive and accurate external validation of the school’s effectiveness. Additionally, trust-wide systems to train and develop teachers and leaders have brought stability to the staff and promoted the understanding among teaching staff that, ‘We are all leaders.’

Governance of the school

• Governors are driven and ambitious for the school and its pupils. They check the progress of pupils meticulously and scrutinise the detailed reports and information from leaders. When combined with the first-hand information gleaned through the comprehensive programme of visits and audits, this ensures that governors have a clear and accurate view of the school’s performance. As a result, governors are able to effectively challenge leaders to improve the school even further.
• Governors reward the performance of staff, including the headteacher, appropriately. Staff are set challenging targets, which are checked by governors, and offered pay increases based on meeting leaders’ expectations of them.
• Governors share leaders’ commitment to providing pupils with rich experiences that broaden their understanding of those from other cultures, faiths and nationalities. For example, they recently reviewed the sex and relationship education policy to ensure that pupils in all year groups are taught, appropriately, to develop positive relationships and look after their own bodies. Governors check the school’s work in this area to ensure that pupils are safe from bullying and abuse, regardless of their gender, nationality or religious beliefs.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Statutory checks on staff are undertaken before they commence employment. The records of these checks are recorded well and monitored by senior leaders and the governing body. Staff receive excellent safeguarding training to ensure that they are knowledgeable and highly vigilant. For example, staff undertake regular tests on national issues such as online grooming, child sexual exploitation, radicalisation and extremism to ensure these issues are at the forefront of their thinking.
• When staff identify a concern, they know exactly what to do and pass on their information immediately. Leaders work with external agencies, such as the local authority, to get families the help they need.
• Pupils are taught to keep themselves safe. They have a mature understanding of online safety, know the dangers posed by the internet and are acutely aware of the need to act responsibly when using electronic devices. Parents receive useful safeguarding updates in school newsletters and attend seminars held in school to teach them how to keep their children safe online.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

• Lessons are underpinned by exemplary behaviour and warm relationships between pupils and staff. Pupils arrive promptly and are well prepared for their classes. Teachers waste no time in lessons and, once they have received their instructions, pupils set to task with verve and enthusiasm. As a result, pupils make excellent progress over time.
• Teachers possess first-rate subject knowledge and a keen understanding of their pupils’ starting points. They carefully analyse pupils’ assessment information to plan and prepare logical sequences of work which offer just the right level of challenge. Teachers probe pupils’ understanding during lessons by questioning and checking their work. This allows staff to adapt tasks when required so that no pupil is left struggling or bored.
• Highly trained teaching assistants provide expert tuition to pupils when they need some extra help. This is available for pupils of all abilities. Pupils receive support at the earliest possible moment, allowing them to quickly get back on track to succeed. While available to all pupils, this has had an overwhelmingly positive impact upon the progress of pupils who are disadvantaged, including the most able disadvantaged.
• Development of English skills is a particular strength of the school. Pupils read challenging texts both at home and in school, recording their activities diligently in their reading journals. This, in turn, develops pupils’ vocabulary which they readily use in lessons. Additionally, pupils have a first-rate understanding of spelling, punctuation and grammar. They apply all of this knowledge and understanding to produce elegant and sophisticated texts which are designed to captivate the reader. Pupils’ attainment and progress in reading and writing are exceptionally high across the school.
• Pupils learn to read at a very early stage through the excellent phonics teaching programmes. Teachers skilfully guide pupils to identify the links between letters and sounds and to apply these to decode words in books and spell increasingly tricky words. Close monitoring of pupils’ progress ensures that when pupils struggle, they are quickly helped to catch up. Pupils make rapid progress in reading.
• Teachers ensure that pupils develop strong skills and understanding of the basics of mathematics. Pupils are taught efficient methods of calculation and present these carefully in their books. Pupils practise these regularly until they are securely committed to memory. Increasingly, pupils use their skills to solve challenging problems which test their thinking. Leaders, rightly, recognise that approaches to teaching pupils to reason, and to record their ideas, are not consistently effective across the school.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• The pride pupils take in their personal development permeates the school. The school’s motto of ‘inspiring tomorrow’s citizens’ is celebrated weekly in assembly. Pupils are publicly commended for their academic progress and their citizenship traits such as kindness, perseverance and compassion.
• Pupils are taught how to look after their mental and physical health. For example, in science pupils learned about how to balance the different food groups and were encouraged to make healthy choices. Pupils take time in lessons to reflect and consider the wider world and their place in it, both now and in the future. All pupils who responded to the Ofsted online survey said they are taught to maintain their mental well-being.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted exceptionally well. This aspect of the school’s work is woven through the curriculum. For example, pupils study their link schools in geography, gaining a greater understanding of what it is like to live and learn in an economically less-developed country. Pupils raise money for charity through their young enterprise project, which teaches pupils business skills for the benefit of others.
• Pupils learn about protected characteristics such as disability and age through regular ‘diversity weeks’. Pupils meet parents and visitors who challenge their stereotypes and encourage them to consider the similarities they share rather than comparing differences. Pupils are remarkably respectful, kind and tolerant noting, ‘It’s fine to be different.’

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• Pupils are smart, well-behaved and courteous. In corridors and cloakrooms, pupils smile and greet visitors and staff with warmth and pride.
• In classrooms, pupils are motivated and enjoy the challenging tasks set by their teachers. In many lessons, pupils choose the way to work that suits them best. For example, some pupils work independently while others discuss their ideas with partners or small groups. Pupils take tremendous pride in their responsible behaviour and appreciate the opportunity to work in a way they choose. As a result, classrooms are typified by hard work and focused, enthusiastic discussion.
• At break and lunchtimes pupils are well-behaved and play with joy and enthusiasm. In the lunch hall, younger pupils are supported by ‘food friends’ who help them to eat sensibly, make healthy choices and clear up their space. These pupils provide powerful role models to which younger pupils can aspire.
• Most pupils state that bullying does not happen in school. The small proportion of pupils who feel they have been bullied also acknowledged that teachers dealt with it well. This view is shared by parents and staff at the school. Leaders’ records show that incidents are very rare, but, when reported, are treated with the utmost seriousness and investigated promptly.
• The work of the deputy headteacher to improve attendance has transformed the attitudes of families and pupils in the school. Attendance levels for all pupils, including the disadvantaged and those who have SEN and/or disabilities, have risen dramatically and are now much higher than the national average.

Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

• In 2017, the proportion of Year 6 pupils who attained the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics for their age was significantly above the national average. The proportion of pupils who attained above age-related expectations was more than double the national average.
• Pupils who left Year 2 in 2017 attained well above the national average at both the expected and higher standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils across key stage 1 make excellent progress in all curriculum areas and, as a result, are well prepared to maintain the high levels of attainment set by their peers in the years above.
• Pupils make exceptionally strong progress in reading. Robust systems to track and challenge pupils at all levels ensure that pupils read challenging texts that are just right for them. If pupils, particularly the most able and most-able disadvantaged, fall behind, well-judged additional support is provided to help them catch up. Consequently, pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, make rapid progress.
• Standards of writing in English and other curriculum subjects are high. Pupils regularly produce high-quality writing for a range of purposes that helps them to practise and refine the skills they have learned in English as well as to apply their broad vocabulary. For example, pupils in Year 6 history lessons described Aztec spears as ‘hand-crafted with obsidian tips’. Across the school, pupils’ writing is of a very high standard.
• Pupils possess strong mathematical skills which are underpinned by a solid foundation in the basics of number, calculation and times tables. Pupils regularly practise their calculation methods so that they can apply these efficiently and correctly when required. Pupils revel in the rich variety of challenging problems that teachers set them. Nevertheless, pupils do not routinely use and develop their reasoning skills in class to justify their answers.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities receive excellent support from highly skilled staff members. Teachers and teaching assistants work closely to plan tasks that are at the right level to challenge these pupils and offer first-class support to help them achieve their goals. The judicious use of additional teaching helps pupils to develop their basic skills in areas such as spelling and phonics. Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make strong progress from their starting points.
• In 2017, leaders identified a dip in the proportion of pupils who met the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check. Pupils who fell behind have been supported well to catch up. Leaders’ swift and decisive action to address this area of weakness has improved the teaching of phonics across the school. As a result, pupils have secure phonics skills, helping them to make a great start in reading, writing and spelling.

Early years provision Outstanding

• By the time children start in Year 1, the proportion of children who reach a good level of development is well above the national average. A high proportion have skills and understanding above that expected of their age. This represents exceptional progress from children’s starting points.
• The teaching of phonics is excellent. Teachers model the correspondence between letters and sounds with a clarity and purpose which children mimic. For instance, Reception children worked on tablet computers to listen to sounds and write the corresponding letters. Others wrote to Father Christmas, forming clear letters and simple, well-punctuated sentences. As a result, children have a very clear understanding of the link between phonics, reading and writing.
• Children in the Reception classes quickly embrace the school mindset of ‘I can’t do it – yet.’ When they encounter challenges, children display resilience, eagerness and a zest for learning. Adults offer subtle guidance so that children can achieve their best. Consequently, children make strong progress and develop positive attitudes to learning.
• Consistent routines ensure that not a minute is wasted in the early years. Classrooms are filled with activities that promote collaboration, discussion and teamwork. Disagreements and incidents of poor behaviour are rare because children are busy, happy and proficiently guided by adults.
• The care and safeguarding of children in the early years is outstanding. Strong child protection procedures in the early years mirror those of the rest of the school. Staff understand how to identify and report concerns about children’s welfare. Parents receive helpful support to promote high attendance. Low levels of absence in the early years help to underpin the excellent levels of attendance seen throughout the school.
• The early years leader has a deep and accurate understanding of the early years provision. Staff use assessment information to plan sharply focused activities for children. Funding for disadvantaged children and those who have SEN and/or disabilities is used well to provide additional staff and resources. Children at all levels, including those who are disadvantaged, make rapid progress because they receive just the right level of challenge and support. Children who leave the Reception class are exceptionally well prepared for Year 1.
• Parents are positive about the early years and value the fantastic start their children make. Parents appreciate the fortnightly reports they receive and the ability to share their children’s interests with teachers. Many parents volunteer to help in class, a habit which a high proportion maintain as their children progress through the school.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 137014 Surrey 10032968 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Academy converter 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 436 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Claire Handley Fiona O’Neill 01483 282988 www.theraleigh.org info@theraleigh.org Date of previous inspection 27–28 September 2012

Information about this school

• The Raleigh School became an academy in August 2011. In July 2017, it joined the South Farnham Educational Trust.
• 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.
• This is a larger-than-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 school met the floor standards in 2016, 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 27 parts of lessons, all with senior leaders.
• In addition to discussions with parents, 129 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, were taken into account, including 122 written comments.A range of school documentation was scrutinised to gather information on leaders’ evaluation of the school’s performance; systems for managing the performance of teachers; behaviour and safety of pupils; safeguarding; the progress and attainment of pupils; and curriculum leadership.
• Inspectors scrutinised the 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 pupils read.
• Inspectors met with school leaders, representatives from the governing body, including the chair and officers, and met the chief executive officer and deputy chief executive officer of the academy trust.

Inspection team

Daniel Lambert, lead inspector Peter Dunmall Clare Haines Debra Anderson Susan Conway

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector