All Saints Marsh CofE Academy Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Further increase the accountability of new leaders by ensuring that:
  • the trust provides firm challenge to aspiring leaders through its regular meetings and support to the school
  • the trust holds leaders to account for ensuring that their checks on teaching and learning take note of pupils’ starting points, so that pupils’ progress is consistently good for all groups of pupils, including those who have SEN and/or disabilities. 

• Further improve standards in writing across the school by:
  • ensuring rich and varied opportunities to practise writing across the curriculum 

  • raising expectations about the quality and quantity of writing pupils can achieve throughout key stage 1, especially for the most able.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Leaders of the Learning Academy Partnership and the head of academy have an ambitious vision for the school. They understand the school’s strengths and areas where further improvements can be made. For example, during joint observations of teaching and learning, the head of academy demonstrated an accurate understanding of the quality of education throughout the school.
• The level of support provided by the trust has been instrumental in helping the school to move forward. This includes support with the training and coaching of staff to continue to strengthen teaching and learning. Leaders are outward looking and keen to learn from the most-up-to-date research. Regular coaching has focused teachers successfully on improving their teaching and learning by implementing new, effective processes for the teaching of mathematics.
• Aspiring leaders are beginning to take on more responsibility for ensuring that the quality of teaching is consistently good across the whole school. They are growing in confidence as a result of the training they are being given. Currently, however, some are relatively new to their roles and have not yet been able to provide the support to target and improve any remaining weak teaching.
• The school’s curriculum is well balanced. Pupils have the opportunity to gain a breadth of knowledge and skills through a range of topics. Pupils find these topics, for example ‘Ancient Egypt’ and ‘The Americas’, interesting, and are keen to share their learning. Consequently, they have a strong knowledge and understanding of the world in which they live. However, pupils do not have regular opportunities to practise, use and apply their writing skills through their topic work.
• Leaders have successfully built a climate within which pupils and adults flourish. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is central to the school’s ethos and leaders’ vision. Pupils in the ethos committee practise the Christian value of service by creating and maintaining a spiritual area in each classroom. They display prayer beads and share books on Christianity for pupils to use and read at leisure. 

• British values are skilfully promoted through themes and topics. Pupils learn about justice through assemblies and discussions in their family learning groups. Pupils support each other in making the right choices about how to behave well in different situations.
• Leaders ensure that the pupil premium funding is effectively spent to ensure that disadvantaged pupils make at least good progress in English and mathematics. Teachers identify barriers that may hinder learning in weekly ‘praise’ assessments. They use this information to help pupils to overcome difficulties, often by providing additional help from skilled teaching assistants.
• Leaders also make good use of the sport premium. Teachers are trained to use resources that improve the quality of physical education across the school. This gives pupils access to a broad physical education curriculum.

Governance of the school

• The trust has an effective structure in place to support the work of school leaders. They contribute to the strategic direction and vision of the trust. A senior trust leader from a neighbouring hub sits on the standards and curriculum committee. Her strong challenge to the school to meet ambitious targets is having a positive impact on the pupils’ achievement. Consequently, pupils’ achievement in 2017 was strong and demonstrates that this model of local governance is proving highly effective.
• Members of the standards and curriculum committee check different aspects thoroughly, such as the achievement of disadvantaged pupils, the use of additional funding and the impact of actions taken to improve pupils’ achievements and attitudes to writing. They closely scrutinise the systems to ensure pupils’ academic achievement as well as their safety and well-being. The chair of the local committee has a good knowledge of the school because he is knowledgeable and proactive. Consequently, he is able to monitor the school’s performance closely.
• The community and ethos committee works closely with the head of academy to support the trust foundation and they preserve the Christian distinctiveness of this church school academy. The committee is highly effective in checking that leaders implement the trust vision and core values. They are also effective in acting as a strong link between the school and parents, carers and the community.
• The standards and curriculum committee and ethos committee collectively promote the trust motto of ‘Collectively Empowering Excellence’. They make a real difference to the ethos, purpose and direction of the school.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Trust leaders have developed a strong culture of vigilance where the safety and welfare of pupils has a high priority. They check regularly that their policies and systems are followed and are effective.
• Recruitment and vetting procedures for appointing staff are very thorough. Staff are trained in the latest requirements for safeguarding, including how to keep pupils safe from extremism and radicalisation. This ensures that they are very confident in reporting any concerns about pupils. All risks are comprehensively assessed by leaders and updated regularly, for example with regard to fire safety and educational visits. 

• Parents are confident that their children are kept safe. Pupils know how to get help and are sure that they would be listened to. Vulnerable children are well supported, and record-keeping and liaison with outside bodies are well documented. 


Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• The quality of teaching and learning is good and this leads to pupils throughout the school making at least steady progress. Teaching is particularly strong in key stage 2, especially in Years 5 and 6, and pupils are making very rapid progress in mathematics and reading.
• Teaching and learning in key stage 1 classes is more variable and this is borne out in the pupils’ books, where the evidence of progress in writing also varies. Their progress is never less than that expected by the school, however, and is often good, especially for the middle-ability pupils.
• The quality of assessment is good. Consequently, teachers are clear when pupils do not understand something they have been taught. Disadvantaged pupils are monitored particularly closely. When teachers become aware that a pupil is falling behind, they make sure that they are given extra support. However, assessment for pupils with SEN and/or disabilities is not as accurate. As a result, pupils do not benefit from teaching that is precise enough to meet their individual needs. Activities planned for pupils with SEN and/or disabilities are not broken down into the small steps required. Consequently, their learning and progress are not as strong as for other pupils.
• The teaching of writing is effective, and teachers ensure that pupils learn and practise different kinds of writing. Pupils develop and apply an appropriate range of vocabulary and punctuation in their writing as they move through the school. However, some teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve in writing in key stage 1 are not high enough. This limits the amount of progress pupils make and the quality of their writing.
• Mathematics teaching develops basic arithmetical skills and pupils’ reasoning abilities. Teachers typically make effective use of a range of well-researched resources to support learning. Nevertheless, leaders acknowledge that the school’s new approach to mathematics is not yet fully embedded in some classes. As a result, on occasions, some teachers do not set work that consistently meets the needs of all pupils.
• Work in subjects such as science, history and geography is not routinely challenging enough for the most able pupils. The progression and development of skills in these subjects are often not clear and assessment of them is in its early stages.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils show respect for others’ ideas and views. Older pupils can discuss their experience of school and reflect upon the positive impact it has upon their lives. The ethos committee provides pupils with responsibilities which they rise to and value. Pupils are proud of their school’s ‘family feel’.
• Pupils know how to keep themselves safe. Bullying is rare, and pupils are confident that teachers will deal well with any issues should they occur. Teachers also put an emphasis on internet safety. Pupils are taught about how to keep themselves safe when online. Pupils know not to give out personal information and to report cyber bullying should it occur.
• The head of academy keeps careful records to make sure that behaviour and welfare concerns are noted, analysed and acted on when appropriate.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils’ conduct around the school is polite, orderly, happy and friendly. They offer a warm welcome to visitors to their school. Pupils are thoughtful and go out of their way to ensure that visitors are included as a part of their school community.
• Behaviour in lessons is good. There is little disruption in lessons and pupils react quickly to their teachers’ instructions. Occasionally, however, when teaching is weaker, some pupils lose concentration and become disengaged.
• There are good systems to support pupils who find managing their own behaviour difficult. Consequently, there are no recorded exclusions for very poor behaviour. There are very few incidents of poor behaviour because of the successful action taken by the school to encourage pupils to be responsible for their conduct.
• Leaders are rigorous in their record-keeping on attendance. They use these records to robustly challenge pupil absence and lateness. This has enabled the school to take swift action in dealing with pupil absence and lateness. Consequently, attendance is improving quickly and is in line with the national average. The attendance of the few pupils who are persistently absent is rising quickly.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Over the past two years, pupils’ progress has improved rapidly due to better teaching, with teachers focusing more incisively on meeting the needs of the pupils to enable them to reach the expected standard. By the end of key stage 2 in 2017, the proportion of pupils who reached the expected standard or above in reading, writing and mathematics was higher than the national average. However, trust leaders are aware that there is still room for further development to support and challenge the pupils with SEN and/or disabilities so that the highest expectations become routine practice. 

• Achievement at the end of key stage 1 is good. In 2017, almost all pupils achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics. However, some current pupils in key stage 1 are not achieving the higher standards of which they are capable in writing. This is because teachers have low expectations about the quality and quantity of writing the most able pupils can achieve.
• In 2017, disadvantaged pupils made less progress than other pupils in the early years. School leaders have improved the support for disadvantaged pupils. Teachers and leaders track the progress of this very small group and have focused on strategies to improve pupils’ learning. These pupils are now making accelerated progress in Year 1, especially in reading. However, these pupils still currently attain less well than their peers.
• Improved approaches to teaching led to a rise in attainment in mathematics at the end of key stage 2 in 2017. However, trust leaders recognised that more work was needed to accelerate pupils’ progress in mathematics further. The head of academy, with support from the trust leaders, has implemented a new teaching programme in mathematics effectively. This has helped pupils to master mathematical skills in greater depth. As a result, progress and attainment in mathematics are improving rapidly, especially in key stage 2. Teachers plan more opportunities for pupils to apply their mathematical knowledge and practise their skills through problem solving. For example, during the inspection, pupils used their knowledge of equivalent fractions to solve problems.
• The teaching of writing is good. As a result, most pupils reach the standards expected for their age. The most able pupils complete lively pieces of writing, using their knowledge of punctuation and grammar correctly. Pupils use their improving knowledge of sophisticated vocabulary in their writing, but this high standard is not consistently applied across other areas of the curriculum. 

• Pupils achieve well in reading and make strong progress, especially in Years 1 and 2. Phonics is taught effectively, with all pupils reaching the expected standard in the phonics screening check by Year 2. Pupils are reading regularly, which has resulted in confident readers who enjoy reading across a wide range of genres.
• Achievement across curriculum subjects, such as history and geography, is not as strong as in English and mathematics. Learning across these subjects is not developed quickly enough. Teachers do not provide pupils with enough thought-provoking and demanding activities to deepen their understanding and skills in these subjects. 


Early years provision Good

• A higher proportion of children reach expected rates of development than the national average. There is an appropriate emphasis on developing literacy. Children are expected to learn their letters and sounds and to practise their phonics in reading and writing. As a result, they are well prepared for a good transition into Year 1.
• A high priority is placed on professional development. The early years teacher is supported well by another leader in the trust. She has used this support to help her accurately evaluate strengths and weaknesses and implement positive changes. This has led to significant improvements to the improved teaching of early writing in Reception.
• Children often start school with low scores on some of the baseline assessment aspects, particularly in language, communication and personal and social skills. The trust’s early years leader makes sure that the provision of rich learning experiences helps children to reach their potential.
• Children in Reception engage well in their learning. Learning is well matched to children’s abilities and interests. Good links between the activities help to develop good reading, writing and mathematics skills as well as providing experiences to make, do and enjoy learning. For example, children talk with enthusiasm about their ‘Paddington Bear’ topic.
• Disadvantaged pupils make good progress, from often very low starting points, because teachers give them the extra support they need. Teaching assistants work closely with teachers to give children the stimulus and support they need to make progress. 

• Adults ensure that safeguarding procedures are followed rigorously. All adults are clear about safeguarding procedures. Risk assessments and training are in place. Children are taught how to keep themselves safe in the classroom and beyond.
• The head of academy makes sure that children’s transition into the school is smooth. Relationships with families are good. Parents value the information they receive from the school about the progress their children make.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 142251 Devon 10048401 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 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 92 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Mr John Gentry Headteacher/Principal/Teacher in charge Miss Lesa Garside Telephone number 01626365293 Website Email address http://www.allsaints-marsh.ik.org/ allsaints@lapsw.org Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• All Saints Church of England Primary School (Marsh) converted to become an academy school on 1 September 2015. When its predecessor school All Saints Church of England Primary School (Marsh) was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to require improvement.
• The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school and some pupils are taught in mixed-age classes. There is provision for children in the early years in the Reception class. These children attend full time.
• Most pupils are of White British background and very few speak English as an additional language. 

• The proportion of pupils eligible for pupil premium funding is above average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is below average. The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities who are supported by an education, health and care plan is well below average.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards. These set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6. 


Information about this inspection

• The inspector looked at a range of documentation including development plans, analysis of pupils’ progress, attendance and behaviour data, safeguarding documents and the school’s review of its own performance.
• The inspector observed learning across the range of age groups, and scrutinised a wide range of pupils’ written work. All of the observations were conducted jointly with senior leaders.
• Meetings were held with the chief executive officer and members of the Learning Academy Partnership, the head of academy, parents and groups of pupils.
• The Inspector took account of parents’ texts and the 46 responses to the online questionnaire Parent View.

Inspection team

Susan Costello, lead inspector

Ofsted Inspector