St Martin's CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve attainment and progress, particularly in mathematics, by ensuring that teachers have consistently high expectations of what children in Reception and all groups of pupils throughout the school can achieve.
• Improve the attendance of disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities by working more closely with those parents who do not ensure that their children attend school regularly.
• Improve leadership and management and their impact on achievement by:
  • developing the role of subject leaders in checking and improving the quality of teaching and learning
  • ensuring that staff make better use of assessment data to plan activities that help pupils learn and achieve to their full potential.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Frequent staff changes, both permanent and temporary, have caused disruption that has contributed to the challenge for school leaders in the recent past in introducing and sustaining necessary improvements. These staffing problems have also affected the leadership’s evaluation of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Although the evaluation is very detailed, it has not been fully updated.
• Those staff with middle management responsibilities, principally subject leaders, are hard-working and committed to improvement. However, their checking of the quality of teaching and learning is not rigorous or systematic enough to have a major impact on improvements in their subject areas.
• Senior leaders have carried out significant changes in the collection and analysis of data on pupils’ progress. However, leaders and managers have not yet ensured that teachers use the data as effectively as they might to ensure good progress by all pupils in their classes.
• Governors are active in school and are very aware of the efforts being made to increase progress. However, they are less knowledgeable about the specific impact of the leadership’s initiatives on the learning of key groups of pupils in the school, such as disadvantaged pupils.
• Staff absence has meant that the leadership of the early years has not been as effective as it should have been in improving the progress of children in Reception.
• Leaders have not successfully tackled low attendance. Although attendance has improved since last year, too many pupils, including some disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, do not attend school regularly. This affects their progress adversely.
• Many parents appreciate what the school does for their children, particularly in providing high-quality support and care. However, some parents have expressed concerns about the number of staff changes and the negative impact this has had on their children.
• The headteacher has shown a determination to improve the school since her arrival some three years ago. She has achieved some notable successes, particularly in involving parents more closely in school events, such as open days. She has also developed a more interesting curriculum, which includes whole-school topics. The school now provides a good range of activities. These include many more opportunities for good-quality sport. This is paid for through effective use of the primary sports funding by, for example, employing specialist sports coaches.
• The headteacher has also made music a strength of the school, with every pupil in key stage 2 learning a musical instrument. All pupils have singing lessons.
• The headteacher’s own regular and systematic checking of the quality of teaching and learning has a positive impact on staff morale. Staff value their improvement targets.
• The school uses pupil premium funding effectively to give disadvantaged pupils more opportunities to join in a range of activities. Some of these pupils also benefit from specialist support which helps them in their learning both inside and outside the classroom.
• The school is very inclusive. It provides a haven for several vulnerable pupils. The recently established ‘nurture’ group has been a success in making school a more positive experience for some pupils.
• All staff work very hard to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Inspectors saw this in assemblies, in displays around the school and in pupils’ work. Staff also promote values such as tolerance and democracy, and believe in developing pupils’ ability to think for themselves.
• The local authority recognises some of the difficulties facing the school and has offered support for staff. The leadership also works well with other nearby schools by, for example, encouraging staff to meet their counterparts in those schools and coordinating their approach to assessment.

Governance of the school

• The school governors are mostly very experienced in their roles. They have recently expanded their range of activities. For example, they now visit staff and pupils more frequently. They also liaise more effectively with parents.
• Governors consider the range of activities on offer to pupils and they know some of the strengths and weaknesses in teaching and pupil achievement. However, despite analysing school performance data, they have not got to grips with the precise differences between the progress of different groups of pupils and the impact of this on overall achievement.
• Governors effectively oversee the system by which the leadership matches teachers’ pay to performance and responsibilities.
• Governors now ask more searching questions of the leadership in seeking to move the school forwards. They work closely with the headteacher. Governors have had recent training to update their understanding of child protection and take their responsibilities for safeguarding very seriously.
• Governance is well placed to assist the leadership in its drive for further improvement.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Like the governors, staff have had recent training about safeguarding principles and procedures. For example, staff are aware of issues surrounding radicalisation and forced marriage. They know how they should deal with any concerns about pupils’ welfare.
• Staff are skilled at dealing with complex issues, for example those involving vulnerable pupils. Records are thorough. The school has good relationships with outside agencies. School leaders give parents support on issues such as the safe use of mobile phones and the internet.
• The leadership keeps appropriately detailed records of any incidents which take place in school, such as the use of racist language which occasionally occurs. Staff deal with all incidents appropriately.
• All relevant policies and procedures to ensure secure safeguarding are in place. The school site is also kept secure.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teaching requires improvement because since the previous inspection it has not been consistently good enough to ensure that pupils make sufficient progress and are well prepared for the next stage of their education after Year 6. A major reason for this has been the frequent changes in teaching staff during the past three years.
• The instability in staffing has made it difficult to develop fully the range and depth of pupils’ skills and understanding. Teaching has not yet succeeded in diminishing the differences in attainment and progress between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils.
• Teachers do not have consistently high expectations of what pupils can achieve, for example when writing in subjects such as science. Teachers’ expectations of pupils’ presentation of work are also not high enough.
• Although teachers analyse assessment data of pupils’ attainment and progress, they do not use this effectively enough in their teaching to make sure that work is always matched well to pupils’ learning needs. Some pupils confirmed this to inspectors.
• Teachers have benefited from more opportunities for professional development. This has led to improved teaching of phonics and better progress by pupils. Pupils’ progress in mathematics is also improving as teachers have had the opportunity to develop their confidence and skills.
• Teachers make good use of support staff, such as teaching assistants. This is having a positive impact on the progress of several disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• The teaching of the few most able pupils in the school has improved. As a result, these pupils are now making at least the progress expected of them, although they are not always challenged enough in lessons to produce the best work of which they are capable.
• Most of the time, teachers follow the school’s policy when assessing and marking pupils’ work, and pupils appreciate the feedback they get.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. It is one of the strengths of the school and pupils and parents greatly appreciate it. The school has maintained and built upon these strengths since the previous inspection.
• Pupils told inspectors how much they enjoy the opportunities which the school provides, particularly the sport and activities outside lessons. They enjoy the wealth of music opportunities in the school, including instrumental and singing lessons. They also enjoy trips, such as that to Longleat.
• Pupils enjoy taking on responsibility. For example, they explained to an inspector how the school council got a film club set up after it was suggested by pupils.
• Pupils benefit from the extensive facilities in the school grounds.
• The school provides high-quality care for all pupils, but especially those vulnerable pupils who benefit from additional support. This is evident, for example, in the new nurture facility.
• Pupils feel very safe in the school’s very inclusive environment. Parents confirmed this.
• The school works closely and effectively with outside agencies in promoting pupils’ welfare. Pupils at an early stage of learning English and Travellers’ children get additional support.
• The school lives up to its Christian ethos. This was demonstrated during the inspection in assemblies, in displays around the school and in the relationships between staff and pupils. Provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is very good. The school has a link with a school in Zambia. The ‘forgiveness tree’ in the school hall has ‘forgiveness leaves’ in several languages.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• Attendance in the school has been low for some time and requires significant improvement. Low attendance, particularly of several disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, has been a matter of concern and has severely restricted their progress.
• Attendance has improved recently, although it is still below average. The school recognises attendance as a priority for improvement and works hard to achieve higher attendance. The parent support adviser has achieved some successes, although she has limited time in school. The leadership also works hard to encourage parents to come into school, although some parents do not appreciate the importance of their children attending school regularly.
• Behaviour overall has improved. The number of exclusions has fallen. There have been several incidents, including some racist name-calling. However, the leadership has dealt with these appropriately. Pupils acknowledge that there are sometimes what they call ‘friendship problems’, but say that bullying is not a significant issue for them, which is one of the reasons they enjoy coming to school. Pupils are confident that staff will manage any misbehaviour well, most of the time.
• As the school’s leadership readily acknowledges, the school has several pupils whose behaviour needs to be carefully managed. The school has put considerable resources and effort into dealing with these behavioural needs successfully.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Pupils’ attainment and progress require improvement because for too long pupils of all ages, needs and abilities have underachieved. This was reflected in last year’s low test results and also in the results of other national assessments since the previous inspection, although the current trend shows some improvement.
• Attainment and progress in mathematics have been particular problems for the school. Until recently, all groups of pupils made significantly less progress than they should have done. This was partly due to weaknesses and lack of confidence in the teaching of mathematics. It was also partly due, as the leadership acknowledges, to the school’s focus on improving other aspects of the curriculum, such as writing, to the comparative neglect of mathematics.
• Instability in staffing has been another cause of underachievement. Although the leadership has worked hard to develop teachers’ confidence and subject knowledge, this has been hampered by frequent changes in staffing.
• Until recently, although the school identified those pupils who needed additional support in order to succeed academically, this support was not targeted effectively enough. Pupil premium funding is now used more precisely, and the achievement of disadvantaged pupils is improving, although progress is variable. This is also the case for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Some of the leadership’s initiatives are relatively recent and are not yet embedded enough to make up for all of the previous deficiencies in achievement.
• Writing has improved, as evident in recent assessment results for most pupils. However, the range and quality of writing in subjects other than English shows low expectations, and the quality of handwriting and presentation is variable.
• Progress in mathematics is improving for all pupils, although there is still a legacy of underachievement to be overcome as teachers get to grips with all the demands of the mathematics curriculum, such as the practical application of mathematics to problem-solving.
• Reading is variable in quality, although many pupils are making better progress than before. Levels of confidence, fluency and accuracy in reading vary. The school encourages regular reading, although pupils indicated to inspectors that the level of parental support for reading and involvement at home is very variable.
• Phonics skills have improved as a result of more skilled teaching.
• There are particular strengths in some subjects. Pupils do particularly well in music and sport. Other subjects are taught partly through topics devised by the school, but there is limited evidence of pupils’ work to enable staff to assess progress in these subjects.
• The very few most able pupils in the school are now making at least the expected level of progress and are on track to reach higher standards than before.
• The school takes in a much larger percentage of pupils other than at the usual times compared to most schools. However, because the school successfully integrates most of these pupils quickly, their rates of progress are similar to those of pupils who have been in the school for much longer.
• Pupils who speak English as an additional language make progress mostly at a similar rate to other pupils, although some of them make rapid progress and achieve well.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• The provision in the early years requires improvement because leadership lacks clarity or strategic vision. This is partly due to the absence of an early years leader. Currently, school leaders do not have an accurate enough picture of the strengths and weaknesses of provision in Reception. For example, although staff speak positively about extra support in teaching phonics, there is little evidence of its impact. The early years action plan describes actions but is not specific about their expected impact.
• In recent years, all ability groups have underachieved, although progress in reading is showing some improvement. However, mathematics skills have been weak, as also demonstrated higher up the school.
• Some of the school’s assessment information suggests that early writing skills are improving, but this is only partially reflected in children’s books, where the work is not very challenging. Expectations of the children are not very high, and learning journals are not up to date. There is very little writing to show the progress from emergent writing into complete words and sentences, especially for the most able.
• The school’s system for tracking progress in Reception is not as effective as it is higher up the school. Currently, progress in the early years is not being assessed as securely as it should be.
• The majority of children in Reception join the school having come up through the on-site nursery. However, the school recognises that the links with the nursery could be stronger, particularly in preparing children in early reading and mathematics skills.
• Changes to phonics teaching introduced in 2015 have resulted in a better link with what is happening higher up the school, so that children now in Reception are on track to be more ready to learn when they join Year 1.
• Staff now have good opportunities for training to increase their expertise. The teacher in Reception deploys other adults in the class to support learning well.
• Relationships between staff and children in lessons are good. Children settle quickly into established routines, although during the inspection some children arrived late.
• Children enjoy the opportunities they have to plan their own activities.
• Evidence shows that progress is improving. For example, more children are now on track to achieve a good level of development in mathematics. The leadership is considering how Reception children might join Year 1 phonics groups.
• Parents appreciate the way that they are welcomed into the early years setting.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 126413 Wiltshire 10025089 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 aided 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 174 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address The Reverend Canon Michael Goater Kate Chisnall 01722 554300 www.stmartinsprimaryschool.com admin@st-martins.wilts.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 11–12 April 2013

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of pupils who come from minority ethnic backgrounds is above average.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is above average.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported through pupil premium funding is well above average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above average.
• The school meets the current floor standards, which are the government’s minimum expectations for attainment and progress for pupils by the end of Year 6.
• It is a one-form-entry school. Children in the Reception class attend full time.
• The headteacher was appointed after the previous school inspection. Since then, there have been several changes in staffing both at senior level and lower down the school.
• There is an independently run nursery on the school site. It was not part of this inspection.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in several lessons. The headteacher carried out some of these visits jointly with the lead inspector.
• Inspectors heard pupils reading. They also looked extensively at pupils’ work.
• Inspectors held meetings with teachers, other members of staff and pupils. They talked informally with parents. The lead inspector met with six governors, including the chair of the governing body. He also met the school’s improvement partner.
• Inspectors looked at a range of documentation, including the school improvement plan, the school’s evaluation of its own performance, governing body minutes, information relating to safeguarding and the school’s assessment data on pupils’ current progress.
• Inspectors analysed 12 responses to the online pupil questionnaire, Parent View.

Inspection team

John Laver, lead inspector Jan Isaac Gina Cooke Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector