Shurdington Church of England Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve teaching so that all groups of pupils make at least good progress by ensuring that teachers:
  • develop the ability to provide the right level of challenge for the different groups of pupils, especially the most able, in mathematics
  • raise their expectations of pupils’ presentation of their work and their handwriting teach the basic skills of grammar, punctuation and spelling thoroughly so that pupils become accomplished writers.
  • Increase the impact of leadership and management by ensuring that:
    • leaders evaluate precisely the impact of teaching on pupils’ achievement, to enable them to identify weaknesses and address them promptly the skills and expertise of middle leaders are further developed, in order to increase their impact on the quality of teaching
    • governors systematically check the work of the school for themselves so that they are better able to hold leaders to account. 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

• Leadership and management require improvement because, until recently, leaders have not secured enough effective teaching to ensure that all groups of pupils make consistently good progress.

• Leaders check regularly on teaching, but they do not always measure its impact accurately enough in terms of pupils’ achievement. As a result, they do not identify precisely where there are any weaknesses in teachers’ practice and address them promptly.
• School leaders and governors recognise that achievement should be better, but considerable staff changes have slowed progress. Recent appointments have strengthened the quality of teaching and the pace of improvement is increasing.
• Recent changes to improve the quality of teaching in mathematics are making a difference. Rates of progress are improving and a greater number of pupils are now on track to achieve at least the expected standard by the end of key stage 2. This strengthening picture, together with the rising trend of children’s achievement in the early years, indicates that the school has the capacity for further improvement.
• Middle leaders, some because they are relatively new to their roles, have had limited opportunities to work alongside colleagues to improve their practice. Their checks on the quality of teaching are not incisive enough for them to be clear about the difference their work makes to pupils’ achievement.
• The leadership of special educational needs has transformed the provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Well thought out strategies and effective use of external expertise help pupils overcome their difficulties. Detailed monitoring shows they are making good progress.
• The school promotes equality of opportunity at all times and tackles any discrimination effectively. Leaders tailor the support for disadvantaged pupils precisely to maximise their learning and promote their personal development successfully.
• Checks on the use of the physical education and school sport funding show that pupils participate in a wide range of sports and competitions. Staff work alongside specialist coaches to increase their skills in order to sustain these developments.
• The curriculum stimulates pupils’ interest and increasingly motivates them to try hard to be successful in their work. This, together with educational visits and the wide range of after-school clubs, such as archery and photography, has a positive impact on broadening pupils’ horizons and developing their personal skills.
• The promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is strong and pupils demonstrate a clear understanding of British values. For example, as one of the ‘forty acts of generosity’ for Lent, pupils were enthusiastic in nominating others in recognition of their considerate behaviour. Such activities ensure that pupils are prepared well to be caring, responsible citizens of the future.
• Support from local authority advisers and other external consultants has helped leaders, including governors, to introduce strategies to increase their effectiveness and gain an accurate view of the school’s performance.
• Most parents are positive about the work of the school. They are appreciative of the approachability of the headteacher and his staff, and welcome the opportunities to be involved in their children’s learning.

Governance of the school

• Governors are well organised in their work and have a clear understanding of where the school needs to improve. They have undertaken relevant training provided by the local authority, in order to evaluate how well pupils are achieving compared to national figures. They ask leaders challenging questions about why teaching and pupils’ achievement are not better. However, until recently, they did not check the school’s work systematically for themselves. As a result, their ability to hold leaders to account for the school’s performance was limited.
• Governors have a clear understanding of how the performance of staff is managed to address any underperformance promptly and to reward effective practice. They set challenging targets for the headteacher.
• Governors’ financial management is sound. They know how additional funds are spent to help disadvantaged pupils and to develop sport. They are aware of the impact the funding is having on pupils’ achievement and their levels of participation in sport.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders have created a culture where pupils’ safety and well-being are of high priority. Safeguarding procedures are well organised and reviewed regularly. Leaders and staff have undertaken a range of safeguarding training, including how to keep pupils safe from radicalisation and exploitation. Weekly briefings keep their knowledge and skills up to date. There is good support available for parents to help improve attendance.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement. Until recently, there has not been enough effective teaching to ensure that all groups of pupils make good progress and achieve well.
• Although teaching shows improvement, teachers do not consistently set work at the right level for all groups of pupils. On occasions the most able pupils complete the work too easily, while others find it too difficult. This slows the pace of learning.
• Teachers do not teach the basic skills of grammar, punctuation and spelling thoroughly enough. They do not routinely insist on high standards of presentation and handwriting in pupils’ work. This prevents some pupils from becoming competent and fluent writers.
• In mathematics, teachers are developing pupils’ fluency in calculation effectively. However, they do not plan enough challenging tasks that require the most able pupils to extend their thinking and deepen their understanding in other areas, such as geometry and statistics.
• Effective teaching in phonics underpins the development of reading skills well. As a result, Year 1 pupils in the phonics screening check, and key stage 1 pupils, achieved above national figures in 2016. Older pupils are encouraged to read widely across a range of literature, helping to develop their comprehension skills effectively.
• Disadvantaged pupils benefit from carefully tailored support that ensures both their academic and emotional needs are met, enabling them to become confident learners.
• Teachers and teaching assistants work effectively to support learning, especially where pupils require extra help or guidance. Precisely targeted teaching helps pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities to make good progress.
• Teachers are keen to improve their practice. They readily engage in training activities, such as those designed to improve their effectiveness in teaching mathematics. This is leading to faster rates of progress across the school.

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 introduced a consistent approach to developing the core values of the school that helps pupils become successful learners and considerate members of the school community. Pupils are able to describe these values; they say, ‘even if you fail at first, persevere and you will do well’.
• Warm and effective relationships between staff and pupils characterise the school’s culture, which pupils explain is like a ‘big family’. These contribute greatly to pupils’ enjoyment of school. Pupils say that their teachers are very kind and always take time to help and explain any difficulties in their learning.
• Pupils are positive that they are safe in school. Parent who completed the online questionnaire or who spoke to the inspector agree that their children are happy and secure.
• Pupils understand about the different types of bullying, including racist name-calling and aggressive language. Pupils say that there is very little bullying and school records support this view. They trust staff to sort out any ‘falling-out’ between pupils should it occur.
• Online safety has a high priority in school and pupils receive regular training about how to keep themselves safe when using the internet. They know not to give out personal details to strangers and to report any concerns they have straight away.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Their positive attitudes to learning contribute to the better progress now being made. The school’s system for managing behaviour is effective and encourages pupils to apply themselves well in lessons and concentrate hard on their work.
• Pupils speak enthusiastically about the school and their achievements. They listen respectfully during discussions, and are considerate of each other’s feelings. They take pride in their various responsibilities, such as leading assemblies and acting as house captains.
• Occasionally, a few pupils are inattentive in lessons when teaching is less effective. This slows their progress, which is why behaviour has been judged good rather than outstanding.
• Pupils enjoy coming to school and this is reflected in their regular attendance and good punctuality.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Outcomes for pupils require improvement because, until recently, not all groups of pupils made enough progress to ensure that they achieve well. While there is still some unevenness between classes, better progress is leading to rising standards in both key stage 1 and key stage 2. However, too many of the most able pupils are not fully extended in their work and not making the progress they could.
• When writing, pupils do not demonstrate consistently good skills in grammar, punctuation and spelling. They do not always take sufficient pride in presenting their work and the quality of handwriting is inconsistent. These weaknesses hamper their progress in becoming accomplished writers.
• Achievement in mathematics shows improvement and pupils demonstrate competency in their calculation skills. However, the thinking of the most able pupils is limited by a lack of appropriate tasks that require them to apply their number skills across other aspects of mathematics. Consequently, they are not achieving as highly as they could.
• In the past two years, more pupils than average achieved the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check, helping them to become fluent readers.
• Older pupils read confidently and capably, with a clear understanding of their reading. They enjoy the greater levels of challenge they are presented with across a wide range of literature.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are provided with well-targeted support that is matched to their needs. Their progress is checked carefully and necessary changes are made quickly to ensure they make good progress from their starting points.
• Disadvantaged pupils, including the most able disadvantaged pupils, make good progress and achieve as well as, and sometimes better than, others in school from similar starting points. Extra help to improve attitudes to learning and self-confidence is successful in speeding up academic progress.

Early years provision Good

• Parents appreciate the effective arrangements for starting school and welcome the opportunities to contribute to their child’s learning. Routines and expectations are quickly established so that children soon become self-assured and ready to learn. As a result, they settle happily into school and behave well.
• Often from starting points that are below those typically seen for their age, children make good progress. They catch up quickly, especially in their personal development and their speaking and listening skills. As they leave Reception, the number of children who have achieved a good level of development, meaning that they are well prepared for Year 1, is above national figures.
• The early years leader has created a cohesive staff team. Increasing use is made of visits to see best practice in other schools to gather ideas to improve teaching. Good attention is paid to safeguarding and children’s welfare.
• Learning journeys track children’s achievement precisely through the year. Careful assessment of progress enables staff to adjust teaching to provide suitable challenge for the most able children. Children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged children have their needs supported well.
• Teaching is consistently good and children have appropriate opportunities to think up their own activities and follow their interests. Children also benefit from well-planned adult-led teaching, including in phonics which underpins early reading skills successfully.
• The story-telling approach to teaching writing is effective and enables children to produce good-quality stories of their own, such as those about ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. However, the way children form their letters is not always accurate and staff do not routinely address these errors.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 115649 Gloucestershire 10000786 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 Voluntary controlled 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 146 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Neil Martin Jon Millin Telephone number 01242 862420 Website Email address http://www.shurdingtonceprimary.co.uk head@shurdington.gloucs.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 1 2 May 2012

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• This school is smaller than the average primary school. Pupils are organised in five single-age classes and a mixed Year 5 and 6 class.
• Most pupils are of White British heritage.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is above the national average.
• An above-average proportion of pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• The school does not meet the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations of pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• This inspection took place over two days. The inspector observed teaching and learning across the school, most in conjunction with senior leaders. In addition, she made visits to the dining hall and the playground, as well as attending an assembly.
• Meetings were held with pupils, governors and school leaders. The inspector also spoke with an adviser from the local authority, who provides support to the school.
• The inspector took account of the 55 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View), and written comments. She also took account of the 18 responses to the Ofsted staff questionnaire and the 91 responses to Ofsted’s questionnaire for pupils.
• The inspector observed the school’s work and looked at a range of documents, including the school’s improvement plans. She examined information on current pupils’ progress, minutes of the governing body meetings, safeguarding procedures and the plans for the use of the sport premium.
• The inspector listened to pupils read, talked to them in classrooms and evaluated samples of their work.

Inspection team

Sandra Woodman, lead inspector

Ofsted Inspector