Callicroft Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching and raise pupils’ achievements by:
  • making sure that all teachers have high expectations of the work pupils are capable of producing, particularly in their spelling and in their handwriting
  • refining early years teachers’ and teaching assistants’ phonics teaching skills so that children make strong progress in phonics
  • ensuring that disadvantaged pupils make more rapid progress and so achieve at least as well as other pupils nationally.
• Improve pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare by:
  • reducing the number of disadvantaged pupils who are regularly absent from school
  • developing pupils’ speaking and listening skills so that more of them become confident, self-assured learners
  • eliminating the residue of poor behaviour that remains, by supporting those pupils who find it hard to meet senior leaders’ raised expectations of good conduct.
• Improve leadership and management by:
  • providing training for middle leaders to further develop their leadership skills
  • enhancing the effectiveness of the school’s strategy for using pupil premium funding
  • continuing to develop the curriculum so that pupils experience well-planned, high- quality teaching across a wide range of subjects.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Senior leaders have streamlined and simplified many procedures in the school. Staff are clear about their roles and senior leaders’ expectations of them. Senior leaders’ actions have not yet been fully effective, so teaching and pupils’ progress remain inconsistent.
• A large proportion of teachers are new to the school, and many of these are newly qualified teachers. Middle leaders, some of them inexperienced themselves, have not secured consistently good-quality teaching across their teams. Nevertheless, staff morale is strong. Teachers are committed to continuing the improvements that have been made this year.
• Senior leaders accept that pupil premium funding has not had enough impact on the progress of disadvantaged pupils. They recently commissioned a review of the use of pupil premium funding. Their revised strategy for raising disadvantaged pupils’ achievement is coherent and well thought through. However, it has only recently been introduced and has not had time to produce results.
• Senior leaders are developing the curriculum so that it provides coherent learning experiences for pupils as they progress through school. They have initially prioritised the core subjects of English and mathematics. A new mathematics programme and calculation policy, for example, are raising pupils’ achievements. Other areas of the curriculum, such as languages, are not as well developed.
• The headteacher and senior leaders have an accurate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. Their plans for improving the school rightly focus on raising the quality of teaching and learning. Leaders communicate their plans well. As a result, staff share a tangible sense of purpose, and teaching is improving.
• The headteacher’s actions are resulting in a stronger culture for learning. The implementation of well-considered policies and procedures has improved pupils’ behaviour and their attitudes to learning.
• Senior leaders have established a robust system for assessing the impact of teaching on pupils’ learning. This information is used effectively to hold teachers to account for their performance and to identify their professional development needs.
• Newly qualified teachers feel well supported. The trust is playing a strong role in helping them to develop their skills.
• The school is committed to ensuring that pupils develop a good understanding of fundamental British values. The new programme of personal, social and health education and other experiences such as participation in class votes for the school council ensure that pupils are aware of the importance of democracy and tolerance in modern Britain.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding is supported well. A programme of assemblies, visits from outside organisations and involvement in community links, help pupils understand other cultures and points of view. Pupils are provided with wider experiences through a range of extra-curricular activities and use of the extensive grounds for activities, such as forest school.
• Spending of funding to support pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities is overseen well by senior leaders. They continually review their strategy for supporting these pupils as the range of pupils’ needs changes.
• The physical education and sports premium funding is used successfully to give pupils access to a wider range of sporting activities than would otherwise be possible. However, its use is less successful in developing the teachers’ skills. Senior leaders are aware of this. They are taking action, along with other schools in the trust, to develop the physical education curriculum.
• The majority of parents would recommend this school to other parents. Several parents commented on the good relationships between teachers and pupils. For example, one said, ‘My daughter loves attending school and has great relationships with all the staff.’
• The trust’s support for the school has brought about significant improvement. This year, the appointment of an executive headteacher working across the trust has provided senior leaders with robust challenge and support. Staff have access to good professional development programmes through the trust and opportunities to collaborate extensively on curriculum development.

Governance of the school

• Members of the standards board are highly skilled and experienced. They maintain frequent communication with senior leaders and have a clear understanding of pupils’ achievements. The chair of the standards board is taking steps to set up a parent consultative committee that will represent the views of parents.
• The standards board provides good oversight of the use of additional funding for disadvantaged pupils, funding for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities and the primary sport premium. It has taken timely action to renew the school’s strategy for using each of these sources of funding.
• The standards board ensures that staff are suitably trained and performance management arrangements for staff, including the headteacher, are fit for purpose. It ensures that the school meets all of its statutory responsibilities, including the requirements for safeguarding pupils.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Senior leaders ensure that all policies and procedures reflect the latest guidance. A team of staff ensures that records of safeguarding incidents and disclosures are maintained accurately and are followed up appropriately. Senior leaders maintain good communication with outside agencies so that pupils are given specialist help in times of greatest need.
• Senior leaders regularly promote positive messages about safeguarding with parents. For example, recently, they advised parents about the risks of social media use. Parents who spoke to inspectors said that they believe the school is a safe environment for pupils. Pupils’ views and other inspection evidence strongly support this belief.
• Senior leaders follow safer recruitment principles when they appoint staff. All staff are suitable to work with children. They are well trained and kept aware of their safeguarding responsibilities. Consequently, they maintain a vigilant safeguarding culture at the school.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teaching is improving as a result of strong leadership and a focus on fundamental principles. However, it requires improvement because the quality of teaching is still inconsistent across the school, and this leads to variation in pupils’ progress.
• Teachers’ expectations of pupils’ capabilities are not consistently high, particularly in Years 1 to 4. Pupils’ handwriting skills vary considerably throughout the school because not all teachers insist on correct letter formation and spacing.
• Some teaching does not provide pupils with clear explanations of key ideas, and this slows the rate of pupils’ progress. While much teaching ensures that pupils are clear about their learning aims by, for example, modelling excellent pieces of work, some teaching does not provide such clarity.
• In the past, teachers worked to a variety of guidelines and schemes in different years. In many cases, these were ineffective at improving pupils’ progress. Senior leaders now give teachers coherent guidance across the school. Mathematics teaching is now more effective as a result of better planning. However, in other areas of the curriculum, such as spelling, new guidance has not had time to make a positive impact on pupils’ learning.
• The most able pupils benefit from a better-planned curriculum. Many more of these pupils are working at a greater depth because they are being given more demanding work.
• Teachers have good subject knowledge and are well motivated to improve in areas where their expertise is not as deep. Most teachers use questioning well to pinpoint pupils’ misconceptions and so identify where further help is required.
• Senior leaders ensure that assessment of pupils’ work is accurate. They have introduced effective systems for gathering and using information about pupils’ attainment and progress. Senior leaders support other schools in the trust to check that teachers’ judgements are consistent.
• Relationships between teachers and pupils are good in most cases. Pupils respect their teachers and this makes a positive contribution to their rising achievement. Teachers ensure that pupils who speak English as an additional language receive good support and so feel included and learn well.
• Teaching assistants’ work is well organised. They communicate well with teachers and provide good support for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities.
• The majority of parents who responded to Parent View believe that pupils are well taught.

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

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.
• Many pupils start school with limited speech and language skills. For some, poor communication skills persist through the school. This limits these pupils’ self-confidence, and so they are not as well prepared to move on to secondary school as they should be.
• Pupils are proud of their school and take pride in their work, particularly in Years 5 and 6. Pupils’ recent artwork about the northern lights shows good care and attention.
• Pupils feel safe and well cared for throughout the school. Pupils have confidence in their teachers and teaching assistants to look after them well and to help them if they are worried about anything. Pupils are taught about keeping themselves safe in an age-appropriate way. For example, they understand the risks of using social media.
• Senior leaders provide strong messages to all pupils about bullying. Through assemblies and in lessons, pupils are left in no doubt about senior leaders’ expectation that they should act gently towards each other. Incidents of bullying are not common, and, when they do happen, pupils said that their teachers are good at dealing with them.
• Staff are sensitive to pupils’ health and emotional needs. Family liaison work is a strength of the school. For example, the school is responsive to the needs of pupils who start school having physical disabilities and communicates well with parents about their progress.
• Senior leaders are ambitious for pupils. They are working hard to raise pupils’ aspirations. This work is beginning to hit home. The school’s ‘happiness and success’ day successfully raises Year 6 pupils’ awareness of possible future careers.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• Senior leaders’ introduction of a new behaviour code, the ‘golden rules’, has significantly reduced incidents of poor behaviour. Pupils’ attitudes to learning are positive in most cases, and relationships between teachers and pupils are generally good. However, there are examples of poor behaviour. Pupils who spoke to inspectors said that disruption still occurs in some lessons.
• Pupils’ rate of attendance has been well below average in recent years, but this has improved markedly since the arrival of the current headteacher and is rising towards the national average. Even so, disadvantaged pupils’ attendance is too low. The rate of persistent absence has reduced sharply this year for most groups of pupils but remains stubbornly high for disadvantaged pupils.
• The rate of fixed-term exclusion of pupils is low. Senior leaders’ revisions to the curriculum are beginning to pay off as more pupils are interested and engaged by their work.
• Pupils conduct themselves well at break and lunchtime. For example, they line up and wait patiently in the dining hall. Staff supervision is effective. As a result, the school is an orderly environment.
• While some parents believe the school should do more to improve behaviour, many others recognise the positive steps that have already been taken. Many parents commented on the openness of staff. One parent’s comment is typical: ‘All of the teaching staff and teaching assistants are very approachable and I would always feel comfortable to approach them if I had any concerns for my child.’

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Key stage 2 pupils’ progress in reading and mathematics was weak last year. Consequently, the proportion who finished Year 6 having attained the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics was far too low. More pupils are working at the expected standard this year. Even so, too many pupils have not overcome their weak progress in the past and will leave Year 6 without reaching the expected standard in these three key subjects.
• Disadvantaged pupils’ attainment in key stage 1 writing and mathematics was below that of other pupils nationally in 2017. The progress of these pupils in mathematics has improved significantly this year but was not strong enough in writing. Disadvantaged pupils’ attainment in writing still falls short of other pupils’ attainment.
• Pupils’ spelling is frequently inaccurate. The school’s approach to spelling has not been effective in helping pupils understand and apply spelling rules that will help them.
• Some pupils do not habitually use an effective pencil grip when writing. This leads to poor letter formation and an inconsistent quality of handwriting.
• Pupils’ attainment in the Year 1 phonics screening check has been below the national average for the past three years. School information indicates that a larger proportion of current Year 1 pupils are meeting the expected standard.
• The most able pupils’ progress has improved this year, especially in reading and mathematics in key stage 2. More challenging work for these pupils is helping a higher proportion of them attain at a greater depth than in the past.
• The majority of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make good progress from their starting points as a result of the extra support they receive.
• Senior leaders’ actions to improve teaching and introduce better assessment practice is ensuring that pupils’ misconceptions are now being identified quickly and dealt with. This is leading to better progress for pupils across the school.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• Leadership in the early years ensures that both Reception classes run smoothly on a day-to-day basis. Leaders have a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the provision. However, links between the curriculum in Reception and Year 1 are not sufficiently developed and so children’s transition into Year 1 is not as smooth as it should be.
• Phonics teaching in the early years does not develop quickly enough children’s ability to break words down into shorter sounds or to blend sounds together to form words. This contributes to below-average outcomes in phonics for children when they move into Year 1.
• The early years outdoor area is underdeveloped and so opportunities for children to develop their physical and other skills are limited.
• Most children’s skills and abilities are typical for their age when they enter Reception, but many have weak speech and language skills.
• Assessment of children’s progress towards meeting the early learning goals is accurate and recorded well. Staff know the next steps each child needs to work on in each area of learning.
• In recent years, the proportion of children reaching a good level of development by the time they finish the Reception Year has been above average. The proportion of disadvantaged children reaching this level has consistently been below average. Nevertheless, the achievement of disadvantaged children is rising steadily.
• Children’s behaviour is generally good. Staff establish and model rules and routines sensitively and effectively. Most children cooperate well with each other. They share equipment well and learn how to take turns.
• Leaders ensure that children are kept safe and secure. The early years welfare requirements are met fully. Children feel well cared for, and they learn in a positive atmosphere.
• Staff engage well with children’s families. Information about children’s progress is frequently shared with parents through an online system. Parents are pleased with the early years provision and told inspectors that their children settle quickly and enjoy coming to school.

School details

Unique reference number 142342 Local authority South Gloucestershire Inspection number 10053445 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Academy sponsor-led Age range of pupils 4 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 308 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Richard Sloan Headteacher Richard Clark Telephone number 01454 867195 Website http://callicroftprimary.co.uk Email address admin@callicroft.org.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected as an academy

Information about this school

• The school converted to academy status in September 2015. It joined the Olympus Academy Trust in September 2016. The trust is responsible for five primary schools, three secondary schools and one all-though school.
• The school is larger than the average-sized primary school. Its predecessor school, of the same name, was last inspected by Ofsted in June 2015 and was judged to be good.
• The headteacher joined the school in September 2017.
• The trust changed the delegated governance arrangements at the school in January 2018. Local oversight of the school is now carried out through a ‘standards board’, which reports to the trust board. The chair of the standards board is also the vice-chair of the trust.
• The proportion of pupils supported with an education, health and care plan, or through SEN support is above average.
• The proportion of pupils who are supported through pupil premium funding is above average.
• The majority of pupils are of White British heritage.
• A significant number of pupils speak English as an additional language.
• The school runs a breakfast club for pupils who attend the school.
• A pre-school, known as ‘Little Rainbows’, is based on the school site but is not managed by the school.
• In 2017, the school did not meet the government’s floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

Information about this inspection

• Meetings were held with the executive headteacher, headteacher, senior leaders and middle leaders. The lead inspector held meetings with the chair of the trust, the chair of the standards board and the chief executive officer of the trust.
• Inspectors observed learning across all age groups, some of which were conducted jointly with senior leaders, and scrutinised a wide range of pupils’ written work.
• Inspectors looked at a range of documentation including minutes of the standards board meetings, development plans, analysis of pupils’ progress, attendance and behaviour logs, safeguarding documents and the school’s review of its own performance.
• Inspectors listened to pupils read and spoke to many pupils informally at break and lunchtime. A meeting was held with pupils from the school council.
• Inspectors spoke to several parents at the start and at the end of the school day. One email from a parent was also taken into consideration.
• Inspectors took account of 38 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View.

Inspection team

Paul Williams, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Marcia Northeast Ofsted Inspector Jeremy Law Her Majesty’s Inspector