Antony Church of England School Ofsted Report

Full report What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Strengthen leadership and management by ensuring that:
  • the curriculum for mathematics develops pupils’ reasoning and problem-solving skills well
  • monitoring places a sharp focus on the progress of pupils and the findings used to drive further improvement to the quality of teaching, learning and assessment.
• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by:
  • continuing to raise expectations of what pupils can achieve in the core areas of learning, particularly in mathematics at key stage 2
  • ensuring that planned activities provide sufficient challenge for the most able pupils, especially in writing
  • providing feedback that is consistent with the school’s assessment policy, so that pupils understand how to improve their work.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Last year, leaders, managers and directors of the trust realised that the progress of pupils at Antony needed to improve. Since that time, determined actions have been effective in strengthening leadership and management, improving pupils’ behaviour and welfare, enhancing the early years provision and promoting good outcomes in reading.
• Strategies and actions demonstrate leaders’ capacity to bring about important improvements at the school. Leaders ensure that actions are well planned and precisely targeted to improve different aspects of the school’s work. Leaders’ priority of tackling reading has proved successful. Currently, the quality of teaching and assessment overall, and pupils’ progress in mathematics and in writing, lags behind that of reading.
• Leaders are dedicated, hard-working and have the support of school staff. A culture of shared ambition exists. Middle and subject leaders support senior leaders well in their areas of responsibility. All hold a clear understanding about the next steps for the school on its journey of improvement. The head of school routinely checks pupils’ standards across the school and evaluates the strengths and weaknesses in performance.
• Leaders and managers now use a broad range of monitoring activities to accurately evaluate the school’s performance. Historically, a focus on pupils’ attainment was at the expense of an approach that checked pupils’ progress carefully enough. The focus has shifted in the last year so that pupils’ progress is monitored more precisely.
• Leaders are aware that there is still more to be done to improve pupils’ achievement. For example, many pupils have higher-than-average starting points from when they left key stage 1 and therefore should be achieving more. Leaders’ current plans for improvement identify key stage 2 pupils’ ability to reason and solve mathematical problems as being key to improving pupils’ progress further.
• Improvements to mathematics are gathering momentum because leaders recognised that changes were needed to improve and adapt the school’s approach to teaching. Training opportunities for staff, including wider support from staff in the trust, mean that teachers’ knowledge and understanding of teaching mathematics is getting better. However, it has not yet led to greater levels of academic challenge and more successful outcomes at key stage 2.
• Leaders challenge and support teachers and teaching assistants to improve their practice. In Years 3 and 4, adults make effective use of targets to improve pupils’ writing. Pupils can explain where they have used their targets to practise and to successfully improve. As a result, more of the current pupils are now making better progress than previously, although the need to provide further academic challenge for the most able pupils remains.
• Pupils benefit from a broad and balanced curriculum which engages them. Literacy is threaded throughout the curriculum so that pupils apply their skills in other subjects and develop a sense of purpose in their reading and writing. Pupils experience trips and visits, which contribute positively to their overall development. For example, pupils enjoyed a residential visit to Monmouthshire, where they participated in new outdoor activities such as archery and orienteering, and attended a medieval banquet.
• Pupils are exposed to a wide range of activities to enhance their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Leaders expect pupils to respect the school’s values and attitudes. As a result, pupils are polite and respectful. They learn about and reflect on fundamental British values and life in modern Britain and the world. One pupil said, ‘No one here will judge you if you’re different.’ They also learn how to be caring, thoughtful citizens. The school’s Christian ethos features strongly in daily activities. Older pupils actively endorse the school’s values when they deliver whole-school assemblies regularly, using drama to help pupils reflect on their behaviour and its impact on others.
• Staff take time to ensure that their school is a bright, engaging and attractive place to work and learn. Displays of pupils’ work are of good quality and showcase the rich and varied experiences on offer, including some high-quality science work.
• Most parents are highly supportive of the school. They are very clear that their children are happy, safe and well cared for in a supportive environment. Parents are particularly appreciative of the staff’s dedication to pupils’ welfare. A small number of parents raised concerns that the most able pupils are not academically challenged well enough.

Governance of the school

• Last year, directors identified the need to ‘recalibrate’ their focus on school improvement and the performance of the trust’s schools. The work of the executive principal and the appointment of the head of school has strengthened leadership at Antony. A new assessment system is providing more accurate information from which leaders can be held more stringently to account. Internal support provided from leaders across the trust is providing a clear picture of effective practice from which to draw on. Newly appointed directors have the skills needed that show the potential to drive improvement forward. Overall, directors are taking informed decisions to secure the future success of the school.
• Directors receive regular information from the executive principal and head of school and provide effective challenge through questioning. Directors also receive information on the school’s performance from external support. As a result, directors are well informed about specific areas for improvement. However, their challenge has not yet led to rapid improvements in pupils’ progress, particularly in mathematics.
• Directors recognised the need to rebalance the teaching commitment for the head of school. This change enables the head of school to deepen her understanding of the school’s overall performance by working across the age range.
• Directors have identified common areas for improvement across the trust, which are of benefit to the school, for example approaches to teaching mathematics. Collaborative working is encouraged between schools, and staff are appreciative of the professional development opportunities that this provides.
• Directors monitor the spending of the pupil premium and sport premium effectively. The clear focus on improving pupils’ achievement combined with their careful monitoring helps to ensure that pupils who are disadvantaged typically make good progress in the core areas of reading, writing and mathematics.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders and staff are not complacent. They are challenged effectively and supported by the trust to ensure that a strong culture of safeguarding exists in the school.
• Staff are appropriately trained and familiar with the procedures necessary in the event of a safeguarding concern. Staff know the pupils well and monitor vulnerable pupils carefully.
• Administrative staff complete and keep up to date with all the necessary checks on the suitability of staff, volunteers and visitors to the school. These include pre-employment checks for staff. Leaders check these processes thoroughly.
• Pupils are safe and articulate clearly how the school supports them to stay safe online and on the school site. All parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, said that they feel that their children are safe in school.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement because, over time, teaching has not led to strong enough pupil progress, especially in key stage 2. This is particularly so for the most able writers, for boys and in mathematics.
• Teachers’ lack of high expectations for pupils in key stage 2 has limited the ability of some pupils to make rapid progress in writing. Pupils with high starting points at the end of key stage 1 were not set challenging enough targets. In addition, the process of target-setting did not focus closely enough on pupils’ progress. Consequently, too few made rapid progress from their high starting points.
• Actions taken to improve pupils’ writing are now beginning to have a positive impact because leaders hold a clearer rationale about how writing should be taught. Pupils are taught the technical aspects of writing and encouraged to use these in a range of genres and contexts. Where this chosen approach is carefully considered, pupils’ progress is more rapid. However, further work is required to ensure that the technical aspects of pupils’ writing are reflected fully in their work over time.
• Teaching in Years 3 and 4 is sharply focused on improving pupils’ writing skills. Clear targets to improve, combined with well-directed support in lessons, are beginning to have a positive impact on pupils’ outcomes. For example, when learning about adjectives, teachers challenge pupils to be more ambitious with their vocabulary and model effectively how to build more interesting and exciting sentences. As a result, pupils are motivated to develop their writing skills, keen to learn more and starting to make more rapid progress.
• Over time, older pupils have not been provided with sufficient activities that deepen their knowledge and understanding of new concepts and methods in mathematics.
• The mathematical curriculum and teaching in key stage 2 are not building on pupils’ success at key stage 1. Pupils are not routinely challenged by being offered difficult, or more sophisticated, problems to extend their mathematical skills. Pupils’ responses to questions are not used by staff to check their ability to reason and to adapt learning as a result. Too often, activities within a series of lessons jump between concepts too quickly, sometimes in a piecemeal style. Consequently, the deeper conceptual understanding required of the raised expectations of key stage 2 are not being established fully.
• The teaching of reading is now effective. Pupils use their knowledge of phonics to develop early reading skills and access the wider curriculum. Pupils who struggle with reading are well supported to ensure that they can catch up. The head of school has championed the development of a love of reading in pupils that has supported them to write creatively and for a wide range of audiences.
• Teachers identify and support effectively those pupils who need to catch up with their learning. Adult support is used effectively and teachers often work closely with pupils who require help to meet the standards expected for their age.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are generally well supported by teachers and teaching assistants, who help them to engage in learning alongside their peers.
• Teachers organise their lessons with pupils actively working together in a relaxed, safe atmosphere. This contributes to pupils’ personal and social development well. It also encourages positive attitudes to learning, so more pupils are now making stronger academic progress.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Leaders have created a culture in which pupils are respectful and tolerant of others. The school’s Christian ethos successfully underpins much of this work.
• Pupils are happy and cared for well. Parents are very positive about the school’s attention to pupils’ welfare. ‘Our children love going to school’ sums up the many comments made by parents. The curriculum contributes well to pupils’ personal development. As a result, pupils are confident and most are self-assured.
• Pupils are safe, and feel safe. They are confident that the adults in the school will deal with their concerns. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe online. They report that bullying is very rare and know that it will be dealt with quickly if it occurs.
• The school is proactive and well prepared to support pupils’ mental health and well-being. A dedicated facility and trained practitioners on-site support this area of the school’s work effectively.
• Pupils are supportive of each other and interact well during break and lunchtimes. Pupils readily engage in physical activity and they know how to keep themselves healthy.
• Pupils’ attitudes to learning are typically positive. Pupils are keen to learn. The relaxed and safe atmosphere in classrooms provides a strong sense of security.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• The conduct of pupils throughout the school day is very positive. Low-level disruption to learning is rare. Transitions to and from lessons are calm and orderly, so learning starts promptly.
• Poor behaviour and exclusion are rare because adults model how to act and treat each other, and pupils emulate this.
• Pupils respond quickly to instructions and requests from staff, and their good conduct reflects the school’s efforts to promote high standards. Pupils are positive about the atmosphere in the school. They are very proud of their school.
• Occasionally, when activities planned are not sufficiently challenging, pupils become distracted, go off task and their learning falters.
• The attendance of pupils has improved at a whole-school level and particularly for groups of pupils who had previously low attendance. Pupils are positive about attending school.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Outcomes for pupils require improvement because the school has not ensured that enough pupils make good progress across key stage 2. This is particularly the case for the most able writers with above-average attainment at the end of key stage 1. Too few go on to attain greater depth by the end of Year 6.
• The progress of Year 6 pupils in mathematics was below average national figures in 2016 and remained average in 2017. The progress of current pupils is catching up but is not yet rapid enough. This is partly because over time pupils have not been sufficiently challenged by teachers.
• In 2016, published data illustrated that progress in writing was well below average when compared to national benchmarks, especially for boys. Determined actions improved progress in 2017 to broadly average and this upward trajectory has continued. Work in pupils’ books demonstrates that leaders’ actions are proving successful; however, outcomes in writing over time are not yet good.
• Pupils’ attainment is improving and now compares well with national figures at the end of key stage 2. Attainment in writing at the end of Year 6 improved considerably in 2017. The school’s efforts to improve writing across the curriculum are also beginning to have a positive impact and contribute well to pupils’ improving progress.
• The relatively small numbers of pupils who are disadvantaged or who have SEN and/or disabilities are carefully monitored. These pupils typically make good progress in the core areas of learning.
• Pupils who need to catch up with their learning are identified and supported effectively to make good progress. This ensures that these pupils’ social, emotional and personal needs are met, and contributes well to their improving academic performance.
• Children get off to a strong start in the early years foundation stage. The good levels of development in, for example, early reading skills are built on in key stage 1. The proportion of pupils achieving the standard expected in the Year 1 phonics screening check is high. Pupils use their phonics knowledge to improve writing skills well.
• Pupils who made expected progress at the end of Reception go on to make good or better progress by the end of key stage 1 in English and mathematics. As a result, pupils read with confidence and accuracy. They read frequently and use their skills well to read across the curriculum. This good early start is now being replicated more by pupils in key stage 2.
• Pupils continue to make good progress with reading throughout key stage 2, and a high proportion attain above national figures. Pupils demonstrate greater depth in their learning through reading than they do in writing or mathematics.
• Due to strong levels of attainment in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6, pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education. However, the progress of pupils who achieved strongly when they were younger is not maintained, particularly in mathematics.

Early years provision Good

• The quality of education provided in the Reception class is good. The supportive environment, which promotes children’s safety, welfare and social skills effectively, ensures that children are happy and get on well together.
• Children in the early years show positive attitudes to learning. They behave well. They are keen to learn and to share their enjoyment with each other and adults. Expectations and routines for children are established quickly. Children listen to adults’ instructions and behave sensibly as they explore and learn.
• Adults make good use of the well-resourced learning environment for children, and teaching is effective. Activities are well matched to children’s learning needs and enable them to get off to a good start in their education.
• Teachers’ careful planning creates interesting starting points from which children can explore their learning. The outdoor learning opportunities enthuse and enable children to develop their language, coordination, cooperation and collaboration skills well.
• The positive behaviour of children and their strong relationships with adults demonstrate their confidence and how safe they feel. Parents feel strongly that their children are safe, happy and well looked after at school.
• The early years leader carefully monitors the performance of different groups of pupils, including any differences between the performance of girls and that of boys. Detailed evidence-gathering and analysis of what children can do is enabling good outcomes. This analysis informs planning and results in faster progress for children.
• The proportion of children achieving a good level of development is consistently above the national average. Children make good progress from their starting points in the Reception class and leave well equipped for learning in Year 1.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 141622 Cornwall 10037840 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 converter 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 104 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Headteacher Matthew Bloomfield Julie Simpson (executive principal) Carly Passco (head of school) Telephone number 01752 812555 Website Email address www.antony.cornwall.sch.uk head@antony.cornwall.sch.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• At the time the school was notified of the inspection, it did not meet requirements on the publication of specified information on its website. In addition, it did not comply with the Department for Education’s guidance on what academies should publish on its website. Information was missing regarding the school’s use of pupil premium and sports funding. No link was available to the Department for Education performance tables. During the inspection, these issues were fully rectified.
• Antony Primary School is a smaller than average-sized primary school. There are four classes.
• The school is part of the St Barnabas Multi Academy Trust. This multi-academy trust comprises six primary schools in the south west of England. The head of school is supported by an executive principal from the trust. The executive principal provides support to five other schools in the trust.
• The proportion of pupils eligible for pupil premium funding is lower than the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is lower than the national average.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6. The school opened as an academy on 1 January 2015.

Information about this inspection

• Very occasionally, Ofsted will delay the publication of a report to ensure full consideration of concerns identified during the quality assurance process. In a rare instance, this process may suggest gaps in the inspection evidence base, which will cause Ofsted to conclude that the inspection is incomplete. This happened at Antony Church of England School. Her Majesty’s Inspectors returned to the school in December 2017 to gather additional information to secure the evidence base. In such cases, the inspection report is not published until Ofsted is satisfied that the inspection is secure.
• Inspectors visited classrooms; some of these visits were made jointly with the head of school and executive principal. Pupils’ learning was observed across the school.
• A range of pupils’ work from all year groups and across a number of subjects was examined by inspectors, together with leaders for English and mathematics.
• The inspectors talked with pupils from different year groups about how they feel about school, how teachers help them with their learning and how the school keeps them safe.
• Discussions were held with school leaders, staff and directors of St Barnabas Multi Academy Trust. The inspectors also took into account responses to questionnaires completed by staff and pupils.
• Documents including the school’s evaluation of its own performance, its improvement plan and a number of key school policies and the minutes of meetings of trust directors were evaluated. Inspectors also considered a range of documentation in relation to child protection, safeguarding, behaviour and attendance.
• The inspectors listened to a selection of pupils read.
• The inspectors took account of 36 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, including a number of free-text responses. The inspectors also spoke to a number of parents during the inspection.

Inspection team

Mike Brady, lead inspector Richard Light Catherine Leahy Her Majesty’s Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Senior Her Majesty’s Inspector