Heene CofE Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Further improve progress in writing and mathematics in both key stages 1 and 2 so that a higher proportion of pupils reach the age-related expectations and the most able pupils consistently reach the higher standards.
• Improve teaching throughout the school so that it is consistently effective by ensuring that:
  • teachers demonstrate high expectations of what pupils can achieve, particularly the most able
  • teachers have a good understanding of pupils’ different starting points and their progress, and provide suitable challenge
  • teaching strengthens pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills effectively in all subjects, in addition to English and mathematics.
• Increase the effectiveness of leadership, including governance, by:
  • strengthening the skills of middle leaders to develop teaching and the curriculum in order to improve pupils’ achievement
  • sharply evaluating the impact of leaders’ improvement work on pupils’ progress to direct further improvement work accurately
  • governors holding leaders to account more rigorously for the impact of actions taken to improve the progress of all groups of pupils. An external review of governance should be undertaken to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• Since the previous inspection, and prior to the current headteacher’s appointment in September 2015, there had been a decline in outcomes for pupils. Since her appointment, the headteacher has brought about some improvements in the quality of leadership and teaching, and outcomes are now increasing. Nevertheless, the pace of improvement has been too slow to enable enough current pupils to make good progress.
• The leadership team has not demonstrated, overall, the capacity to ensure that pupils achieve consistently good outcomes. The complex demands of establishing four new year groups into key stage 2, managing a significant building programme, and the need to raise standards in key stage 1, have proved too much. Despite the strong leadership of the headteacher, the wider leadership team lacks the experience, expertise and training necessary to be fully effective. Governors have not ensured sufficient support for leaders over recent years.
• Leaders have managed the logistical change from a first school to an all-through primary relatively smoothly, given the disruption of extensive building work. The headteacher has successfully gained the support of the staff, who have worked hard to embrace the necessary changes associated with four new year groups.
• Capable leadership in key stage 2 has enabled the most effective teaching in the newest year groups, Years 5 and 6. However, leaders have not tackled variability in teaching in other year groups urgently enough.
• Leaders acknowledge that too few pupils throughout the school, including children in Reception Year, work at the higher standards. However, they have been slow to recognise that teaching is not routinely challenging enough, particularly for the most able pupils. Overall, expectations are too low. Targets set are not demanding enough to expect pupils to make good progress from their starting points.
• The leaders of English and mathematics have introduced new strategies for teaching these subjects and are monitoring whether teachers have changed their approach. However, leaders throughout the school do not systematically evaluate the impact of actions taken on the rate of pupils’ progress. As a result, they are not confident about what has worked well, or the steps needed to improve pupils’ outcomes further.
• Subject leaders are keen advocates for their subjects, but their role is underdeveloped. There is no consistent assessment of pupils’ progress in subjects other than English, mathematics and science. A school focus on computing and religious education has helped leaders of both subjects improve the quality of provision in these subjects, but the impact of their actions on pupils’ achievement is not clear.
• The curriculum is broad. Pupils benefit from a wide range of taught and extra-curricular activities, including exciting trips and performances. Pupils show high levels of participation in varied sports and art projects. However, the curriculum is not well balanced. In some subjects, including science, history and geography, activities do not routinely allow pupils to deepen their knowledge and understanding, because leaders have not ensured that learning builds progressively to develop their skills.
• The physical education and sports premium is used well. Pupils’ participation in sporting and physical activities has increased because of investment in equipment and specialist coaching. Pupils take part in competitive sports with other schools and are enthusiastic about the increased range of sporting activities.
• The school uses additional funding to provide a range of practical, academic and pastoral support for disadvantaged pupils. There are many examples where support for individuals has been effective. However, leaders have not evaluated the impact of this expenditure on pupils’ progress.
• The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) shows a detailed understanding of the needs of pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities. The school makes provision to meet their needs, and teaching assistants are well trained to support pupils effectively. A review of individual pupils shows successes, but leaders do not have oversight of the impact of additional funding.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well. Pupils are keen to help one another, and strong relationships throughout the school build trust and confidence. Leaders have built a caring community based on Christian values. This inclusive school prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain.
• The majority of parents appreciate the work of the school. A typical comment, that ‘staff really care about the children’, sums up the views of many parents. A few parents expressed some dissatisfaction through Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View.
• The local authority provided helpful support when the headteacher started in September 2015. School leaders participate fully in informative local network meetings. However, the level of bespoke support provided has diminished over time despite the ongoing challenges leaders faced to raise standards in key stage 1, as well as introducing key stage 2.

Governance of the school

• As the school has expanded into a primary school, governors have supported school leaders to ensure that the necessary changes to staffing and buildings have been managed smoothly. Governors are rightly proud of the way core values have been sustained and of the strong sense of community that permeates the school.
• Governors are committed to the school and they visit frequently. They monitor safeguarding carefully.
• Governors are aware of the school’s strengths and, broadly, those areas which could be improved. However, their knowledge of the performance of groups of pupils, such as the most able, is imprecise. Governors know how the school is using pupil premium funding to provide interventions for pupils falling behind, but do not understand how pupils in this group benefit from the funding allocated. As a result, governors’ challenge to leaders has not been sharp enough to ensure that pupils achieve as well as they could. Overall, governors’ expectations of the standards that pupils should achieve are too low.
• Governors have underestimated the challenges faced by leaders and have not ensured that senior or middle leaders have had the necessary support or training.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders’ emphasis on pupils’ well-being has ensured a culture of safeguarding throughout the school community. Safeguarding systems and practices are well organised. Statutory procedures for checking the suitability of staff to work with children are efficiently managed.
• Leaders ensure that regular training and updates about safeguarding are effective. Staff have established good communication with parents and other agencies should they be worried about a pupil. Pupils feel safe in school. They are confident in knowing there is always a trusted adult that they can speak to in school if they are worried about something.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching is inconsistent across the school. It varies between year groups, between classes within year groups and between subjects. Improvements made through new initiatives are not yet having a strong enough impact on improving outcomes for pupils across the school. Teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve, and of the quality of pupils’ work, are not consistently high.
• The teaching of phonics has improved considerably, leading to better achievement in Years 1 and 2. Pupils have benefited from a reorganisation of the way that phonics is taught, backed up by effective training of teachers and teaching assistants.
• Teachers have also introduced different approaches to the teaching of writing and, more recently, to mathematics. However, due to variability in teaching, and the legacy of pupils’ underperformance, these changes have not yet been as successful as those made to the teaching of phonics.
• Where teaching leads to good progress, it takes close account of pupils’ individual starting points and uses a range of strategies to meet their needs. However, where teaching is less effective, teachers do not consistently set work at an appropriate level. Sometimes, the most able pupils are not given challenging tasks and do not make the progress that they are capable of. At other times, pupils are presented with tasks which they are not equipped to tackle.
• Teaching assistants provide a good balance of support and challenge for pupils who need extra help in interventions sessions. During lessons, teaching assistants offer skilful questioning to help pupils who require additional support to work things out for themselves. This is promoting better progress for some pupils who need to catch up or who have SEN and/or disabilities.
• The teaching of writing has been a focus for improvement. Leaders have introduced higher-quality texts which are having a beneficial effect on the quality of writing. Pupils also have more opportunities to strengthen their knowledge of grammar, punctuation and spelling. Nevertheless, teachers do not consistently ensure that writing is sufficiently ambitious.
• Teaching in mathematics is beginning to improve. The subject leader is clear about what needs to be done to raise pupils’ achievement, for example by promoting more problem-solving and expecting pupils to explain their thinking. These developments are at an early stage and improvements in reasoning are not embedded. In some classes, more rapid progress is being made, and this can be seen in pupils’ work.
• Teaching in Years 5 and 6 shows more consistency than other years. Teaching in these classes, as well as in some classes in other years, promotes discussion and developing independence. However, throughout the school, some pupils carry the legacy of misconceptions and gaps in their knowledge.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils are polite, friendly, confident and proud of their school.
• The school’s strong Christian values are embedded in the school. Pupils were keen to tell inspectors what the school’s values of love, growth, community, fairness, respect and honesty mean to them.
• Pupils report that bullying is very rare in school. If there are any incidents, they are quickly sorted out. Pupils told inspectors that there is always someone to talk to if they ever have a problem.
• Pupils know how to keep themselves safe and talk with confidence about keeping themselves safe online.
• Staff have effective links with external agencies and are very active in supporting children and families who need additional help.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. During the inspection, inspectors found the pupils to be polite and friendly. Conduct around the school is orderly.
• Pupils work well, with their partners and in small groups, and happily help each other. This good behaviour contributes well to the school’s overall harmonious atmosphere.
• Occasionally, some pupils are inattentive when work is not well matched to their needs. They lose focus and consequently do not make the progress that they should.
• Pupils enjoy coming to school. Their attendance is above the national average and has continued to improve. Leaders have worked closely with families to increase attendance in individual cases. This had led to an increase in the attendance of disadvantaged pupils in particular.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Pupil’s outcomes require improvement because the progress that they make is not consistently good enough. Published information about pupils’ outcomes at the end of key stage 1 shows that writing attainment was in the bottom 20% for the last two years. The proportions of pupils attaining greater depth in mathematics have also been below national levels.
• Leaders are beginning to tackle this underachievement successfully. The school’s own performance information shows that Year 2 pupils have achieved higher standards in reading, writing and mathematics than last year’s cohort. However, the current Year 2 pupils had much higher outcomes when they left Reception Year than the previous year group. Although attainment is higher this year, the achievement of pupils at the end of key stage 1 does not show strong progress from their starting points two years earlier.
• Outcomes in phonics were below average in 2015, 2016 and 2017. The school’s current progress data shows that this year a greater proportion of Year 1 pupils will achieve the expected standard in the phonics screening check. This is due to a concerted effort to improve the teaching of phonics.
• There are no published outcomes for the end of key stage 2. The school’s tracking information and work in pupils’ books indicate that pupils are achieving well in reading. However, fewer pupils reach the standard expected for their age in writing and mathematics. Pupils in Year 6 have made faster progress this year but, due to some previously weaker teaching, they have made only steady, rather than strong, progress from their starting points at the end of key stage 1.
• Across the school, the most able pupils do not achieve well enough. Too many do not develop the deep understanding needed to achieve the higher standards. Teachers’ expectations of the most able pupils are too low.
• Overall, disadvantaged pupils are not progressing fast enough to catch up from their lower starting points. A much lower proportion of disadvantaged pupils attain the standards expected for their age, and very few attain the higher standards.
• Pupils are enthusiastic about reading. Pupils in key stage 1 use phonics skills confidently to read unfamiliar words. Pupils in key stage 2 read fluently and with expression, and they have a passion for reading.
• Pupils’ current work in mathematics and writing shows that leaders are starting to be successful in addressing underperformance from previously poor teaching. Pupils are now making better progress, although this varies between classes and subjects.
• Pupils’ work across the curriculum varies considerably. Rich art displays enhance classrooms and corridors. Pupils sing with gusto in assemblies. Insightful questioning prompts thoughtful responses by pupils in religious education lessons. Some pupils are progressing well in French. However, expectations are lower in some other subjects, including science. Pupils clearly enjoy a wide range of experiences, including visits to learn about history and geography. However, pupils’ work does not always show the same commitment and standards as in English and mathematics.
• Teachers do not assess the outcomes for pupils’ attainment beyond reading, writing, mathematics and science. This means that school leaders do not have the information to analyse confidently the progress of pupils in the other subjects across the curriculum. Consequently, outcomes for pupils are not fully evaluated.

Early years provision Good

• Most children get off to a good start in early years. Many enter Reception Year with skills and abilities below those typical for their age. Published outcomes in 2016 and 2017 show that the proportions of children who achieve a good level of development and meet expected early learning goals are above the national average. Overall, therefore, children make strong progress. However, the proportions of children who exceed the early learning goals in mathematics, reading and writing are lower than national levels.
• There are some inconsistencies in the quality of teaching in Reception Year, but adult-led activities are generally well planned to engage and enthuse children, and they promote learning well. Effective questioning is used to probe the reasoning behind children’s answers, which helps their learning.
• A range of assessment activities capture children’s learning accurately so that staff can adapt their planning accordingly. Leaders’ drive, both to improve boys’ writing and raise the quality of phonics teaching, has been successful.
• When children are choosing their own activities, the learning environment is not structured well enough, so that opportunities to extend their learning are limited. This is particularly evident in the outdoor area. During these periods, some children, including the most able, do not develop their numeracy and literacy skills as well as they could.
• Children are happy and safe in early years. They enjoy positive relationships with each other and with staff. They follow instructions readily.
• Adults build strong relationships with parents. The leader manages children’s transition into the school effectively from a large number of pre-school providers. Parents of children in Reception Year are overwhelmingly positive about the school. They feel well informed about their child’s progress and enjoy contributing to their children’s ongoing assessment.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number Type of school School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils 126034 West Sussex 10046541 Primary Voluntary aided 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 403 Appropriate authority The governing body Co-chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Peter Parish and Freda Wimble Jo MacGovern 01903 201 386 www.heeneprimary.co.uk office@heeneprimary.co.uk Date of previous inspection Heene CofE First School was inspected 21– 22 November 2006

Information about this school

• Until 2015, Heene was a first school and pupils joined the school in Reception and left at the end of Year 3. Following the local authority’s restructuring of education, the school became an all-through primary. The school now has two classes in all year groups from Reception to Year 6.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is a little above the national average. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is also a little above the national average. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is lower than national levels.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed pupils’ learning in 18 lessons across all year groups. Nine of these lessons were visited jointly with senior leaders. Inspectors also visited assemblies. Inspectors listened to pupils read and met with groups of pupils from Years 1 to 6.
• Inspectors looked at a range of pupils’ work in lessons, and a further selection of pupils’ books was scrutinised. Pupils’ behaviour was observed in lessons, around the school and during breaktimes.
• Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, senior leaders, subject leaders, and a group of teachers. The lead inspector also met with four members of the governing body, including one of the co-chairs and the vice-chair. The lead inspector also met with a representative from the local authority.
• Inspectors met parents at the beginning of both days of the inspection. Inspectors took into account the 65 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View.
• Inspectors evaluated a wide range of documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation, attendance information, safeguarding records, information on pupils’ progress, minutes of governors’ meetings, and evaluations of the quality of teaching and learning.

Inspection team

Theresa Phillips, lead inspector Clementina Aina Timothy Rome Kusum Trikha

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector