Callowell Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve leadership and management by:
  • further developing the precision of assessment so that leaders can assure themselves that pupils are achieving their full potential
  • continuing to develop all leaders’ and governors’ monitoring of teaching so that they take swift and appropriate action when teaching needs to improve
  • ensuring that the website is updated.
• Improve teaching, learning and assessment by:
  • further improving the challenge of teaching so that all pupils, particularly middle-attaining pupils, achieve what they are capable of
  • providing well-targeted teaching support which consistently enables disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND to make strong progress and achieve well.
• Improve personal development, behaviour and welfare by continuing to work closely with parents to improve attendance, particularly for disadvantaged pupils, pupils with SEND and pupils who speak English as an additional language.
• Improve the early years by:
  • developing the rigour of leaders’ assessment, so that they accurately identify children’s starting points
  • improving teaching so that children are routinely challenged to achieve well
  • improving the learning environment so that activities provided for children stimulate their curiosity and consolidate their skills, especially in writing. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved. An external review of the use of pupil premium should be undertaken in order to establish how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• The areas for improvement identified in the school’s short inspection in January 2018 have not been consistently met. For example, middle-attaining pupils achieved well in Year 6 in 2018, but were not challenged to achieve their full potential in other year groups. Consequently, only a very small minority of these pupils achieved greater depth in their learning.
• The school’s use of assessment does not enable leaders to evaluate pupils’ progress with the precision required to identify when pupils need to make stronger progress. As a result, leaders miss opportunities to intervene when teaching needs to improve. A large proportion of pupils are not routinely challenged to achieve the progress of which they are capable.
• Additional funding for pupils with SEND and for disadvantaged pupils has not been sharply focused. As a result, the impact on pupils’ progress is variable. Several pupils are making better progress than previously, but half of this group of pupils are still catching up from low starting points. Consequently, they are unable to complete work appropriate for their age.
• There have been several unavoidable changes to staffing over the last year and leadership is not clearly defined. For example, the headteacher oversees the monitoring and evaluation of teaching in the early years and also provision for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND. This means that subject leaders are not given responsibility for checking the impact of teaching for themselves.
• The school works closely with leaders in local schools, including the Stroud Association of Schools, to provide staff with appropriate training. Staff appreciate the opportunities provided for them and feel like well-respected, valued members of the school. However, leaders do not routinely ensure that this training improves the challenge of teaching.
• Leaders have purchased interesting books to promote pupils’ enjoyment of reading in different subjects. Leaders have also improved the teaching of arithmetic to develop pupils’ fluency in mathematics. It will take more time for these improvements to become fully embedded so that they routinely have a positive impact on pupils’ outcomes.
• Leaders have worked hard to manage the school through the period of transition caused by unavoidable staff changes during the last year. Despite the difficulties, leaders have successfully improved much teaching, including for the most able pupils. For instance, more effective teaching in Year 6 led to strong progress in all subjects last year. This resulted in a high proportion of pupils achieving well.
• Leaders make effective use of the physical education and sport premium funding to improve teachers’ skills and increase pupils’ participation in sport. Pupils understand the importance of rules and fair play in competitive sports, such as archery. The school promotes healthy lifestyles with the ‘daily mile’ walking activity and has been awarded the Silver Sports Mark.
• The school’s values of confidence, creativity and caring are woven into the work of the school. The rich curriculum fosters pupils’ curiosity and enhances their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. For example, pupils enjoyed developing their reading and writing skills when finding out about World War I. Pupils observed the natural environment and painted with watercolours during a trip to the Gower coast.
• The vast majority of parents and carers are happy with the school. They typically remark that the school provides ‘amazing opportunities’ and say that their children are ‘extremely happy’. A parent commented on the merits of the ‘ClassDojo’ communication system, which helps them to feel ‘strongly connected to the school day’.

Governance of the school

• Governors work collaboratively with school leaders and are committed to supporting the school. They share their vision with parents and encourage them to share their views. Governors undertake visits to the school, which helps them to gain a broad overview of the school’s strengths and areas for development.
• Governors are limited in the extent to which they can assure themselves that additional funding has sufficient impact because their evaluations of teaching are not incisive enough. For example, governors are unaware that several pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, are making weak progress.
• Governors have not ensured that the website is up to date.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders provide staff with training which ensures that everybody understands their responsibility for keeping pupils safe. Adults know how to recognise the signs that might indicate that a pupil is at risk. They can consistently explain whom to go to if they are worried about pupils’ safety. They are diligent about reporting concerns. Pupils say that they feel safe in school, and parents agree.
• Leaders record their actions meticulously and seek the advice of outside agencies so that pupils receive the help that they need. Leaders routinely follow up their actions to check that they are making a difference.
• Inspection activities revealed some administrative errors in safeguarding records. These were rectified during the inspection.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching is variable. Where teaching is less effective, teachers’ assessment does not take sufficient account of pupils’ starting points. For example, reviews of pupils’ learning confirm that pupils are frequently expected to undertake similar learning tasks, regardless of their ability. This hinders their progress. A pupil commented, ‘Sometimes we get taught things we already know.’ Another pupil added, ‘We did this when we were younger.’
• Adults’ questioning and intervention in pupils’ learning are inconsistent. This limits how well they assess pupils’ progress and plan the next steps in their learning.
• When teaching does not meet pupils’ needs, pupils lose interest and this sometimes results in low-level disruption. For example, when pupils are stuck and adults fail to notice, pupils sometimes tip back on their chairs or fiddle with mathematics apparatus. As a result, learning stalls.
• Some inconsistencies in teachers’ feedback hold pupils back from making the best progress they are capable of. For example, reviews of pupils’ learning show that, occasionally, teachers confirm that a pupil has achieved a task when this is not the case. On other occasions, pupils repeat tasks when a skill has already been secured.
• Additional teaching for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND does not routinely meet their needs. As a result, the proportion of pupils who achieve what is typical for their age over time is inconsistent. Adults’ help is improving pupils’ attitudes to learning and helping some pupils to make better progress. However, half of this group of pupils are making insufficient progress to catch up from their low starting points. As a result, they are unable to complete work appropriate for their age.
• Where teaching is better, adults demonstrate good subject knowledge and plan appropriate learning activities that are well matched to pupils’ needs. In these examples, adults have consistently high expectations of pupils’ attitudes to learning. Effective teaching improved outcomes at the end of key stage 2 last year, including for the most able pupils. Teaching for the oldest pupils remains a strength.
• When teaching is effective, pupils are given opportunities to reflect on their learning and encouraged to respond to feedback. For example, pupils edit their writing or tackle problem-solving challenges in mathematics. This helps pupils to improve their work.
• The curriculum is well planned and enables pupils to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding in a range of subjects. Teaching activities enable pupils to develop and consolidate their reading, writing and mathematics skills in other subjects. For example, pupils draw graphs in science and write reports in history.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.
• Pupils’ personal development is impeded by inconsistencies in teaching. For example, teaching does not routinely enable disadvantaged pupils, middle-attaining pupils and pupils with SEND to make strong progress.
• Over time, the attendance of pupils who speak English as an additional language, disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND has been below that of other pupils. Leaders emphasise to parents the importance of regular attendance. However, some parents choose not to heed this advice. Although attendance has improved over the last two years, several pupils continue to be frequently absent. This means that they are unable to take full advantage of the education that the school has to offer.
• Adults’ expectations of the quality of pupils’ work are inconsistent, which means that some pupils do not take enough pride in their work. For example, some pupils’ presentation deteriorates over time and adults do not encourage them to improve this.
• Pupils are confident and keen to talk about their learning. Pupils have a good understanding of different forms of bullying and know how to keep themselves safe when using the internet.
• Pastoral support is effective because pupils’ emotional, social and mental health is supported effectively. Adults form supportive, caring relationships with pupils, and pupils confirm that there is always someone to go to if they have problems. For example, pupils have the opportunity to attend ‘time to talk’ and ‘knit and natter’ sessions.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• Occasionally, when adults’ expectations of pupils are too low, some pupils lose focus and low-level disruption ensues. This interrupts pupils’ learning and progress stalls. When adults do not intervene in a timely manner, off-task behaviour persists.
• Senior leaders’ records of behaviour incidents are not rigorously monitored. This hampers leaders from identifying the cause of unacceptable behaviour and reducing the likelihood of repetition.
• A minority of pupils are unable to manage their behaviour and, over time, leaders’ actions have not reduced fixed-term exclusions. Strategies to reintegrate pupils into school after exclusion are frequently unsuccessful. As a result, unacceptable behaviour persists and leads to repeat exclusions.
• The vast majority of pupils are friendly and play well together. They enjoy socialising with their friends at breaktime and lunchtime.
• When teaching is effective, pupils listen to instructions carefully and settle to work quickly, because they are keen to learn.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Over time, too few disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND achieve well. Inconsistencies in teaching mean that half of these pupils make weak progress. Consequently, they are not catching up from their low starting points.
• The recommendations of the short inspection have not been sufficiently well met. For example, middle-attaining pupils, who comprise just under half of all pupils, are not challenged to make the best possible progress. As a result, only a very small minority of middle-attaining pupils are working at greater depth in their learning.
• The majority of current pupils make effective progress to achieve what is typical for their age. Several pupils, including the most able pupils, are working at greater depth in their learning. However too few pupils make consistently strong progress to achieve their full potential.
• The teaching of phonics is effective and, as a result, pupils consistently achieve well in the Year 1 phonics screening check. Pupils are improving their ability to apply their phonic knowledge to develop their writing.
• Since the short inspection, leaders have raised the profile of reading. They have purchased interesting books which motivate pupils to read. However, some books are stored among old, unused books. This does little to inspire pupils to choose books for themselves.
• Pupils are provided with opportunities to read a variety of books and are developing their comprehension skills and fluency. However, reading tasks for current pupils are not planned with the rigour needed to enable pupils to extend their reading skills.
• Teachers consistently provide pupils with opportunities to practise and consolidate their basic arithmetic skills. Pupils are developing the ability to apply these skills to reason and solve problems. The most able pupils are provided with additional problem-solving challenges.
• In 2018, all groups of pupils made strong progress in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2. There were notable improvements in outcomes in reading, compared to the previous year. Pupils’ achievement in the combined subjects of reading, writing and mathematics was above average.
• Over time, the attainment of key stage 1 pupils has been broadly in line with that of pupils nationally in all subjects. In 2018, the proportion of pupils who attained well in reading improved considerably from the previous year.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• Leadership of the early years is not fully delegated to the early years leader. This restricts the extent to which she is able to evaluate the impact of teaching.
• Leaders’ assessment of children’s starting points is inaccurate. This limits how well adults plan teaching activities that meet children’s needs. As a result of inconsistent challenge, children are not habitually supported to achieve the rates of progress of which they are capable.
• Teachers do not routinely model or explain learning activities. As a result, children are often unclear what is expected of them. This occasionally results in poor attitudes to learning. When adults do not intervene to correct this, off-task behaviour persists.
• When questioning is used effectively, it helps to develop children’s communication and mathematics skills. For example, children in the Nursery identify colours of objects and count bricks when building towers. However, questioning across the early years is variable. This hinders how well it deepens children’s understanding.
• The extent to which adults intervene in children’s learning varies. This limits how well they can assess children’s understanding and plan their next steps.
• The curriculum is not sufficiently demanding. There is a scarcity of activities that ignite children’s curiosity and motivate them to learn. The spacious, safe outdoor area is little used, and resources provided for children are sparse and uninteresting. Consequently, children are not suitably supported to develop and embed secure skills and knowledge across all areas of learning.
• The school receives specialist support from leaders in local schools. However, leaders do not consistently act on this advice. For example, reviews of current children’s learning show that teachers have lower expectations than last year.
• Improved teaching in 2018 led to positive outcomes. The proportion of children who achieved a good level of development was well above that of children nationally. This was a marked improvement on the previous year, when outcomes had been well below average.
• The teaching of phonics is consistent and enables children to apply their skills to write words and sentences accurately. However, too few opportunities are provided for children to build on these skills and develop their writing in other activities. This impedes their progress.
• Adults are welcoming and form warm and caring relationships with children. They fulfil their responsibilities for keeping children safe.
• Adults communicate effectively with parents to help them understand how to support their children. Children say that they enjoy school, and parents agree.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority 115570 Gloucestershire Inspection number 10053001 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 Maintained 2 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 173 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Michael Anthony and Aimee Lax (co-chairs) Linda Wall 01453 762962 www.callowellschool.co.uk head@callowell.gloucs.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 23–24 October 2013

Information about this school

• The school, which includes a Nursery, is smaller than the average-sized primary school. The majority of pupils are White British. Very few pupils speak English as an additional language.
• The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium is below that of pupils nationally.
• The proportion of pupils who receive additional support for special educational needs, or who have an education, health and care plan, is above the national average.
• The school runs a breakfast and after-school club.
• The school had a short inspection in January 2018, during which a number of areas for development were identified. At that time, it was recommended that the school’s next inspection should be a section 5 inspection.
• The school is part of the Stroud Association of Schools collaboration. This is an informal partnership between local schools which provides training and support for leaders and teachers.
• The headteacher began a period of long-term sickness absence the week before the inspection. The governors have asked the deputy headteacher to take on the role of acting headteacher. He will be supported by leaders in the Stroud Association of Schools and the local authority.

Information about this inspection

• The headteacher of Stonehouse Park Infants School, part of the Stroud Association of Schools, supported the acting headteacher during the inspection.
• Inspectors observed a variety of lessons in all classes. The majority of observations were carried out alongside the acting headteacher or the headteacher of Stonehouse Park Infants School. During the time spent in classes, inspectors reviewed pupils’ work in a variety of subjects. Together with leaders, inspectors also carried out a focused scrutiny of pupils’ work in the early years, Year 2, Year 4 and Year 6.
• Inspectors met the acting headteacher to discuss the school’s latest assessment information, the school’s self-evaluation and action plans. The inspection team also reviewed a range of other documentation, including safeguarding records, behaviour logs and attendance information.
• Inspectors held meetings with the early years foundation leader, the special educational needs coordinator and the physical education subject leader. An inspector also met with a group of teaching assistants.
• The lead inspector had a formal meeting with a group of pupils from Reception to Year 6. Inspectors also had informal discussions with pupils during lessons and also at breaktime and lunchtime. An inspector observed pupils reading to a teaching assistant.
• An inspector met with two governors, including the co-chair of governors. A separate meeting was held with the local authority representative who is supporting the school.
• Inspectors visited the breakfast club and after-school club. They also observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons and at break and lunchtime.
• Inspectors talked to parents at the start of the day and took account of 32 responses to the online survey, Parent View, along with 21 free-text comments. Inspectors also considered 15 responses to the online staff questionnaire.

Inspection team

Catherine Beeks, lead inspector Linda Rowley

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector