Padstow School Ofsted Report

Full report

In accordance with section 44(1) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve leadership and management by ensuring that:
  • evaluations of the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress are accurate
  • those responsible for governance at all levels hold school leaders to account for improving the school
  • those responsible for governance check the accuracy of the information they receive about the school’s performance and make sure that actions bring about the rapid improvement.
• Rapidly improve the quality of teaching and learning so that it is consistently good or better, by ensuring that teachers:
  • make accurate assessments of how well pupils are developing their skills and understanding
  • use assessments effectively to ensure that teaching and learning build on what pupils already know, can do and understand and so enable them to make rapid progress
  • provide teaching and learning that motivate and challenge pupils to engage fully in their work and become resilient, effective learners
  • check that all pupils understand the guidance they receive and heed this advice
  • fully support children in the early years to develop their learning in mathematics and writing.
• Improve pupils’ progress and raise attainment throughout the school by:
  • making sure that all pupils across the range of abilities and starting points make at least good progress
  • addressing shortcomings in pupils’ arithmetical knowledge and developing pupils’ ability to reason mathematically and apply their mathematical skills to solve problems
  • improving pupils’ reading skills by encouraging them to more readily use and apply their phonic understanding when tackling new words
  • further developing pupils’ spelling, punctuation and handwriting skills. An external review of governance and the school’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how these aspects of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

• Leadership and governance, including from the Aspire Academy Trust, have been ineffective. Leaders have not halted the decline in the school’s performance since the previous inspection.
• Leadership and management are inadequate because the school has lacked clear direction, and its weaknesses have not been dealt with quickly and effectively. Leaders have not been able to ensure that their actions result in the consistently good provision needed to secure pupils’ progress.
• Senior leaders have not evaluated accurately the quality of teaching and the impact that this has had on pupils’ achievement. Senior leaders have not supported middle leaders sufficiently in the development of their skills and in identifying and tackling under-achievement effectively. Weaknesses remain. Consequently, leaders continue to have an over-generous view of the impact of actions taken to bring about improvement.
• Leaders have been slow to initiate the 2014 mathematics curriculum. Support from the academy trust in the form of additional training and specialist guidance for school leaders and teachers over the past year has not been effective. For example, steps taken to improve the teaching of mathematics have not yet resulted in good enough learning and progress for pupils across the school.
• Senior members of the Aspire Academy Trust have brought in new staff, including a head of school, at the beginning of this autumn term. These appointments represent more rigorous action taken by the Aspire Academy Trust senior leaders to increase the pace of improvement. The new head of school has a clear picture of what needs to be done to bring about rapid improvement to accelerate pupils’ progress. It is too early to see the impact of this.
• Varied and too often ineffective teaching results in some pupils not always experiencing equality of opportunity in their learning.
• Leaders have not made effective use of additional funding to support the academic progress of disadvantaged pupils or those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. There has been a lack of rigour in checking the impact of expenditure. However, both these groups of pupils receive more effective support for their personal and welfare needs and benefit from being included in all school activities such as the breakfast club.
• Leaders use the primary physical education and sport funding effectively to provide a wide range of clubs and enhance pupils’ fitness and interest in sport. Leaders use funds to provide additional specialist teaching. Pupils take part in a multi-skills festival and have had notable successes in recent years in rugby and football championships and swimming galas.
• The curriculum beyond the classroom is broad. It includes a wide range of clubs and experiences known as ‘magic moments’ outside in the school’s well-equipped gardens, woodland and pond areas. Pupils also benefit from visits locally, including to various beaches.
• Leaders ensure that the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is emphasised effectively within the caring atmosphere of the school. Day-to-day relationships between staff and pupils and between pupils themselves suitably promote fundamental British values such as mutual understanding and respect. Teachers and visiting speakers at school assemblies extend pupils’ awareness of modern Britain through themes such as tolerance and aspiration.
• Parents welcome the diligence of staff in keeping children safe and communicating with parents when they have concerns. Parents also expressed appreciation of the sport and music activities provided by the school and referred to how much their children enjoy them. A small number of parents expressed concerns about the number of changes in teaching staff in recent years.

Governance of the school

• Governance at all levels has not been effective in driving improvements, including those needed to remedy weaknesses identified at the previous inspection.
• Governance is undertaken by the Aspire Board of Trustees and Hub Councillors. Hub councillors, including leaders of the academy trust, have lacked accurate information about the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress. This lack of clarity has impeded their ability to recognise weaknesses in the performance of the school. Consequently, leaders have not been held to account for underperformance and falling standards.
• Hub councillors, including leaders of the academy trust, lack an accurate understanding of the degree to which the external support they provide brings improvement.
• Senior members of the Aspire Trust, led by the chief executive officer (CEO), appointed the new head of school. Leaders have appointed other new staff. This represents strategic actions to tackle weaknesses more effectively.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Staff receive effective training on how to keep pupils safe and secure their welfare. As a result, a clear culture of safeguarding practice exists across the school. The school is quick to take action and consult with outside agencies if any concerns arise about the safety or welfare of a pupil.
• School and academy leaders and administrative staff complete rigorous checks on staff. They keep all other required safeguarding records fully up to date. Staff are well supported by the trust in ensuring that pupils’ safety is never compromised.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

• The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate. The quality of teaching has declined since the previous inspection. Teaching fails to ensure that pupils make enough progress to compensate for previous underachievement.
• Leaders and teachers do not sufficiently assess and record how well pupils develop their skills and make progress. Teachers routinely identify pupils of different abilities in their planning, but some do not have a sufficient knowledge of what pupils know, understand and can do. As a result, the challenge in the work that these teachers present to their pupils is not suited to pupils’ different levels of skill and understanding. Consequently, the quality of pupils’ learning and progress is inadequate.
• The teaching of mathematics is, rightly, identified as a particular weakness and continues to be a key priority in the school’s improvement plan. However, increased training provided for teaching staff over the past year has not yet established good teaching of mathematics across the school.
• Pupils’ work and teachers’ questioning in mathematics are pitched at the same low level for all the pupils in the class. As a result, some pupils, especially the most able, are not required to deepen their thinking. Pupils lose interest, do not try hard to improve their work and make little progress.
• Teachers have strengthened the way in which they develop pupils’ interest in writing. Pupils in key stage 2 make good progress in learning to write expressively. For example, pupils in Year 5 responded well when discussing and writing about pirates.
• Teachers strive to improve pupils’ ability to concentrate, but at times when work is not well matched, for example, in key stage 1 classes, pupils fidget and too readily lose interest in learning. As a result, their progress slows.
• Teaching and learning of phonics are effective. This is because teachers and teaching assistants match learning activities to pupils’ different starting points. This enables them to build and develop pupils’ understanding of the sounds that letters represent. However, teaching is less effective in encouraging and ensuring that pupils use their phonic skills to become confident independent readers.
• Staff gain a clear understanding of the welfare and personal needs of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. This enables them to support the emotional and behavioural needs of pupils effectively. However, staff do not have a good enough understanding of the pupils’ academic needs and developing skills. Consequently, they do not help pupils to make progress well enough.
• Teachers and teaching assistants provide extra support for disadvantaged pupils. However, their use of assessment is not precise enough. As a result, they do not focus closely enough on the particular skills that individuals need to develop, which impedes their progress.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.
• Most pupils listen carefully when teachers discuss the work that is expected of them, but some pupils are slow to begin their work and struggle to sustain concentration during lessons.
• At break and lunchtimes, pupils play amicably. Most show caring attitudes towards each other and a good awareness of each other’s needs. Very occasionally, at breaktimes, pupils exclude others from joining in their games.
• Pupils said that they enjoy being with their friends at school, including when attending the breakfast club. They said that they are treated fairly by adults.
• When questioned, pupils showed a good awareness of fundamental British values, such as tolerance. They expressed strong support for the school’s rules and the need to treat each other with equal respect.
• Pupils value the good care that adults who work at the school provide. They relate warmly towards them. Parents who spoke to an inspector also acknowledged their appreciation of the good care that staff provide.
• Pupils said that they feel safe and showed that they know how to stay safe. Pupils know what bullying is all about. They understand that it can take different forms, for example racial and physical abuse. They know about e-safety and how to use computers safely. Pupils said that there is no bullying and that, ‘We have lots of friends at this school.’

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• Some pupils, particularly in key stage 1, struggle to sustain concentration and do not apply themselves well enough. They lose interest in learning and fidget or chatter, rather than getting on with their work. Consequently, time is lost and they do not make the progress of which they are capable.
• Most pupils attend well. Over time, the rate of attendance has broadly matched the national average, but has been depressed at times by holidays taken during school time.
• Leaders have reduced the amount of persistent absence over the past year by checking and challenging the reasons for absence more rigorously. Records now show that most absences are due to ill health and that the number of holidays during term-time has reduced. .

Outcomes for pupils

Inadequate

• Outcomes are inadequate because pupils do not make enough progress.
• Pupils’ performance in mathematics and reading at the end of Year 6 in the 2017 national assessments represented inadequate progress through key stage 2. Results, especially in mathematics, continued to show a decline in the proportion of pupils reaching expected standards and at greater depth. Pupils are not sufficiently prepared for the next stage in their education.
• The progress made by current pupils, including the most able pupils, is still not good enough to overcome past gaps in their learning. The most able disadvantaged pupils and other disadvantaged pupils are not progressing well enough, especially in mathematics. As a result, their achievement, although matching that of their classmates, lags behind that of other pupils nationally.
• The shallow nature of pupils’ understanding is evident when they are questioned about their work. In mathematics, the degree to which pupils explain their thinking and can solve problems varies across the classes and is often too low. Pupils’ responses in class, especially in key stage 1, and their work in books, also reveal limited understanding of number for their age.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress in their personal development. However, as with those of their peers, their developing academic skills and understanding are not checked accurately and extended quickly enough.
• This year’s national assessments at the end of key stage 1 showed an increase in standards in reading, writing and mathematics. However, these results indicated weaker progress by some pupils who have lower starting points.
• National assessments at the end of key stage 2 in 2017 also showed improved standards in pupils’ writing. However, checks of pupils’ work across the school show that spelling, punctuation and handwriting skills are still not good. For example, some pupils, especially boys, do not consistently write in a fluent style, and this slows the progress they make.
• In recent years, the percentage of pupils reaching the standards expected in phonics checks at the end of Years 1 and 2 has consistently exceeded the national average. This was mirrored by similarly good performance in this year’s reading assessments at the end of Year 2.
• Pupils in key stage 1 use their phonics knowledge to read familiar words. However, as in key stage 2, some pupils, especially those of lower ability, lack confidence and determination to tackle new words. This continues to slow their progress.
• Teachers encourage parents to provide more assistance with reading at home and present interesting texts to motivate the pupils. These are having a positive effect, but too many pupils are still not developing their reading skills quickly enough, as they move through the school.

Early years provision

• At times, leadership of the early years has lacked effective support from senior leaders. As a result, procedures for recording and assessing the children’s developing skills have not consistently focused well enough on accelerating the children’s academic progress.
• Children’s progress has varied in reading, writing and mathematics, and boys more often do not achieve as well as girls.
• Recent assessments have indicated an increased proportion of boys reaching expected standards, especially in mathematics. However, currently, staff understand the children’s personal qualities, but they do not have enough evidence of their academic starting points. This hinders the staff’s ability to fully challenge some children, especially those who are capable of achieving highly.
• The children freely use the indoor and outdoor resources laid out for them. Currently, staff do not develop children’s writing and mathematical activities through these resources.
• Activities do not sustain children’s interest or support the children to learn at length and depth. The children take part more effectively in learning when listening and responding to adults. For example, children learned well with the teacher when creating shopping lists using a hand-held computer tablet.
• Teaching staff maintain good links with the on-site pre-school. The teaching of phonics is well organised and collaboration between Reception and pre-school staff has enhanced children’s starting points. As a result, current children in Reception across the range of ability are settling rapidly and happily and relating well towards each other.
• Children respond well to the additional support which adults provide. Children learn to stay safe by listening to and following instructions. The Reception has a welcoming and caring feel. Consequently, children in the Reception class attend school punctually, develop supportive relationships and behave well. These qualities reflect the effective way that staff safeguard the children and secure their welfare needs.
• The children’s confident enjoyment of school reflects the supportive communication between the staff and parents that is a strength of the early year’s provision. Most children mix well with their friends. They talk openly with each other and with adults. Children participate enthusiastically and show good levels of concentration when using computers and when painting and modelling.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 137183 Cornwall 10025098 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 175 Appropriate authority The board of trustees Chair of Hub Councillors Cliff Murt Head of School Telephone number Website Email address Kate Whitford 01841 532510 www.padstowschool.co.uk/

secretary@padstowschool.org

Date of previous inspection 20–21 March 2013

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.
• Padstow School is smaller than the average-sized primary school.
• The very large majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is average.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is broadly average.
• Children experience early years provision in a Reception class. The other pupils in the school are also taught in single year-group classes.
• The school provides its own breakfast club.
• There is a separate, privately run pre-school operating from the school site, but this is not managed by the school or a part of this inspection.
• The school is part of the Aspire Academy Trust. This is a multi-academy trust consisting of 21 schools. Governance is provided by the board of trustees.
• The head of school took up the substantive post in September 2017 and has the responsibility for the daily running of the school.
• 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

• The inspectors observed teaching and learning in classes on 22 occasions and saw the work of seven teachers. An inspector also visited the breakfast club.
• The inspectors scrutinised a wide range of documents, including records relating to pupils’ behaviour and attendance, safeguarding procedures and the school’s self-evaluation.
• The inspectors examined the school’s systems for monitoring progress and records of checks on the quality of teaching. In addition, the inspectors scrutinised information about pupils’ recent and current progress as well as the school’s evaluation of how well it is doing.
• The inspectors talked to individual pupils, and an inspector spoke with a representative group of pupils about the school and their work. The inspectors listened to individual pupils reading. The inspectors, accompanied at times by the executive headteacher, looked at samples of pupils’ work across a range of subjects and classes.
• Discussions were held with senior and subject leaders and with members of the hub council, local advisory group and academy trustees.
• The inspectors considered the views of parents expressed in 36 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and 24 additional written comments. An inspector spoke to several parents as they brought their children to school. The inspectors also took note of four staff questionnaire responses.

Inspection team

Alexander Baxter, lead inspector Julie Jane Simon Mower

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector