The Avenue Primary School and Children's Centre Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve leadership and management by ensuring that:
  • senior and middle leaders’ monitoring of teaching and learning includes clear focus on outcomes for different groups of pupils, especially the most able
  • development plans state precisely how and when leaders, including governors, will check that actions are improving outcomes for all groups of pupils and across all year groups
  • leaders plan with precision how funding for disadvantaged pupils will be used to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils, including the most able disadvantaged pupils.
• Improve teaching, learning and assessment by assuring that all teachers:
  • provide greater challenge for the most able pupils so that they make even stronger progress across all subjects, especially in subjects other than mathematics and English.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The partnership and dynamic teamwork of the headteacher and deputy headteacher have been instrumental in rapidly improving this school. They are both unwavering in their commitment and ambition for the school to be the best. They are supported well by governors and the Acorn Education Trust.
• The headteacher and deputy headteacher are ably supported by a highly skilled and enthusiastic team of senior leaders. Staff are proud to work at the school and are keen to ensure that pupils make the best possible progress. As a result, pupils’ achievement in reading, writing and mathematics continues to rise.
• Performance management of staff links closely to school priorities and training is tailored to meet the individual needs of staff. Leaders provide a range of opportunities for staff to develop their practice. For example, leadership training with the Acorn Education Trust supports new subject leaders to carry out their roles and responsibilities effectively.
• Subject leaders are aware of the strengths and weaknesses of their areas of responsibility. For example, they have correctly identified the need for improvements to further challenge the most able pupils across subjects other than mathematics and English. Consequently, leaders demonstrate good capacity to drive forward further improvement.
• The additional funding the school receives to support pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is used effectively. Well-considered and effective actions are put in place to meet their needs, and consequently pupils make good progress.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding is developed well through a broad curriculum which engages and excites them. They speak enthusiastically about their enjoyment of a range of subjects and opportunities such as attending local sporting events.
• The curriculum supports the understanding of fundamental British values well. For example, pupils recently held their own debates and elections in response to the general election. Through these experiences, they learn the importance of democracy and equality of opportunity.
• Pupils develop a good understanding of other faiths and cultures. Those spoken to unanimously agree that their school is a fair place and discrimination is never tolerated. They recognise the positive impact that the school’s values, including aspiration and respect, have on their moral and social development. Consequently, pupils are prepared well for life in modern Britain.
• The physical education and sport premium is used well to provide professional development for staff and to extend opportunities for pupils to attend additional coaching sessions and enrichment activities, including a dance festival. As a result, participation in competitive activity has increased and pupils express appreciation of the range of activities on offer.
• Most parents speak positively about the school and appreciate the quality of care and teaching that their children receive. ‘The school is a vibrant, happy and a safe learning environment for children,’ was a comment which typifies the views of many parents.
• Typically, additional funding for disadvantaged children is used effectively to provide targeted interventions. As a result, pupils make good progress across the school, and differences in progress are quickly diminishing. However, leaders, including governors, do not sufficiently evaluate the progress of the most able disadvantaged pupils to check that these pupils are making the progress of which they are capable.
• Self-evaluation is broadly accurate, and development plans identify areas for improvement. However, these plans lack precision. They do not demonstrate precisely how and when leaders, including governors, will check on what is working well and why. Leaders do not assess sufficiently the impact of actions to improve teaching and progress for all groups across all classes, and in all subjects.
• Leaders do not consistently analyse information on how all groups of pupils across the school are progressing from their different starting points well enough. This limits their ability to challenge teachers to ensure that pupils make the best possible progress, especially for the most able.

Governance of the school

• Governors share leaders’ ambitions and high expectations. They know the strengths and weaknesses of the school through the information provided by leaders. However, they do not always provide robust challenge to school leaders about the progress of all groups of pupils from their starting points, including the most able.
• With the support of directors of the Acorn Education Trust, governors ensure that performance management procedures are effective in securing improvements to teaching and learning.
• Information about the planned use of pupil premium funding and its impact is not sufficiently precise for directors of the trust or governors to know whether disadvantaged pupils across the school are making enough progress. They do not know how well groups of disadvantaged pupils are progressing, including the most able disadvantaged pupils. This means that leaders are not sufficiently held to account for diminishing gaps in progress between disadvantaged pupils and others within the school.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Pupils in the school are known well by staff, who are not only attentive, but are knowledgeable about pupils’ circumstances and issues that might affect them. Staff receive high-quality training to help them keep children safe. They understand their individual responsibilities and know the procedures to follow should they have concerns.
• School staff work effectively with local authority agencies to ensure that pupils who are at risk of harm receive swift support. Records of child protection concerns are thorough and well reviewed by the safeguarding lead to protect pupils against all possible risks.
• Pupils told inspectors that they feel safe and that staff in school help them if they have concerns about safety. Most parents who responded to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View, agree that their children are safe at this school.
• School leaders are aware of the need for safer recruitment and carry out necessary checks on the suitability of adults to work with children. Some records of checks were not complete or immediately available at the start of the inspection. However, this was resolved rapidly.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers’ subject knowledge is secure and they have a good understanding of the age-appropriate expectations of the pupils they teach. They plan learning which builds on what pupils already know, can do and understand. Consequently, those at risk of falling behind are given additional support quickly. Effective use of assessment ensures that learning is typically matched to pupils’ needs well.
• Teachers use questions to check pupils’ understanding effectively and extend their skills and knowledge. This was particularly evident in a Year 6 mathematics lesson, where pupils were asked to prove their ideas, and in the resource base, where skilful questioning helped pupils to extend their sentences orally before writing.
• Additional adults are deployed well and have a positive impact on learning. They too question skilfully and provide very effective support to pupils who have additional needs, enabling them to participate more fully in lessons.
• The teaching of phonics is structured and effective. Pupils in Year 1 apply their knowledge of letters and sounds well to sentence writing. As a result, their progress in reading and writing is strong.
• Reading is taught well across the school. Pupils read widely and often, and make good progress as a result of well-planned teaching and assessment. The library is very well resourced and used extensively to promote reading. The most able readers are challenged effectively to develop their inference skills and widen their vocabulary.
• The quality of science teaching has improved, resulting in increased opportunities for pupils to work scientifically by planning and reviewing practical investigations.
• Pupils’ writing skills are developed well across the school. Teachers plan engaging contexts for writing and the quality of handwriting, sentence structure and vocabulary is typically of a good standard. Pupils are given targets for improvement and precise criteria for what to include in their writing. Pupils describe how teachers’ feedback helps them to know exactly how to improve. However, some targets do not challenge the most able to develop more complex writing skills or to write at greater length.
• In mathematics, number and calculation skills are taught well across the school. This ensures that pupils are well placed to solve more complex problems and to reason mathematically. Opportunities for this deeper thinking are variable across classes. This means that not all pupils receive the challenge that they need to make rapid progress.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils are confident and self-assured. Pupils who spoke to inspectors expressed their largely positive views of the school. For example, they say that they, ‘can trust all the teachers and the children’.
• Pupils take pride in their work and present it well. Typically, they work hard, and are attentive and focused in their learning.
• Pupils feel safe and well cared for. They are confident that adults in school will take their concerns seriously. They say that incidents of bullying have decreased considerably and that adults act rapidly and effectively to resolve any issues.
• Pupils have a good understanding of how to stay safe when using the internet, and how to deal with and prevent cyber bullying. They recognise how the personal, health and social education curriculum helps them to cope with conflicts or difficult situations.
• The school provides very effective support to pupils of military families who may be affected by their parents’ deployments. Parents speak very highly of the effective links between home and school that have developed as a result of the appointment of a military liaison teaching assistant.
• The majority of parents who spoke to inspectors or responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, agree that their children are safe in school. However, a small number do not share this view. School leaders recognise that more work needs to be undertaken to regain the confidence of a small number of parents.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Teachers have high expectations of children’s behaviour. Pupils told inspectors that behaviour has improved. They say that the new behaviour system works well and has made a positive difference. Consequently, disruption to learning is rare.
• School records show that incidents of poor behaviour are dealt with swiftly and leaders are taking effective action to make lunchtimes happy and enjoyable for all classes.
• School records also show that individuals who need support with their behaviour receive effective interventions.
• Attendance is broadly in line with the national average, although it remains low for some groups of pupils. Records show that the school works effectively with families to improve rates of attendance and as a result, it is rising steadily.

Outcomes for pupils

Good

• The progress pupils make has improved significantly as a result of the effective teaching they receive.
• The percentage of pupils meeting the required standard for the phonics screening check is rising. Current Year 1 pupils have made strong progress and they apply their phonics skills well in reading. Pupils who read to inspectors showed confidence in tackling unfamiliar words, and expressed enthusiasm for reading. Workbooks show their increasing understanding of how sounds are represented in writing and this leads to rapid progress in forming sentences.
• At the end of key stage 1, outcomes are at least in line with national averages and many pupils are making strong progress from their starting points, particularly in reading. This is because of the very well-planned activities which teachers provide to develop pupils’ comprehension skills, and effective interventions for those who struggle to learn new sounds.
• Current work in books in Years 1 and 2 shows strong progress in mathematics and writing across the key stage. Pupils receive feedback from teachers which is used well to help them to make rapid gains in their learning.
• Published data for 2016 shows that pupils made better progress than others nationally in reading, writing and mathematics. Current school performance information and the work in pupils’ books indicate that standards continue to improve. Year 6 pupils are very well prepared for the next stage of their education.
• Pupils with lower starting points in key stage 2 make particularly strong progress in writing because of high-quality teaching and support. Teachers make sure that basic skills of handwriting, spelling, sentence structure and punctuation are prioritised in their teaching, and that feedback for improvement is bespoke. Consequently, most pupils can write fluently in a range of contexts.
• Disadvantaged pupils make good progress. Published data in 2016 showed that the most able disadvantaged pupils made slower progress than others nationally in reading. Currently, the most able disadvantaged pupils are making strong progress in reading because of effective support to develop their range of reading experiences and their vocabulary. Across the school, disadvantaged pupils are making good progress from their starting points in all subjects.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress as a result of teachers’ very detailed knowledge of their needs and teaching which breaks down tasks into manageable steps. Pupils in the resource base receive precisely planned teaching and are making good progress, for example in writing correctly punctuated sentences and speaking in full sentences with a range of descriptive vocabulary.
• Current pupils’ workbooks in key stage 2 show strong progress in knowledge of number facts and written calculations. Pupils in Year 6 use these skills well in mathematical challenges which extend their thinking. However, where teachers do not provide sufficient opportunities for pupils to apply their mathematical knowledge and to think more deeply, progress is slowed.
• Workbooks show that typically, pupils across the school are making good progress in a range of subjects. For example, pupils develop their skills of scientific enquiry effectively as a result of frequent opportunities for practical investigation. However, progress is stronger in mathematics and English than other subjects. This is because the most able are not consistently challenged in a few subjects to extend their thinking, and develop their writing and mathematical skills in other subject areas.

Early years provision Good

• Leadership of early years is good. Staff know the children well and plan accurately for their development. Teachers develop a stimulating learning environment, which provides a wide range of interesting activities to support learning both inside and outside.
• Relationships between staff and children are strong. This enables children to thrive and develop in a nurturing environment where they feel safe and secure. These supportive relationships help children gain confidence and develop positive attitudes to learning.
• Adults achieve a good balance of activities that include those which children lead for themselves. As a result, children direct themselves well and work collaboratively with others. For example, a group of children organised themselves well as a team to scrub and clean a learning hut, allocating roles and sustaining enthusiasm and commitment to the task.
• Many children enter Nursery with skills and knowledge below those typical for their age. Through high expectations and strong teaching, they make good progress. Their speaking, listening and number skills are particularly well developed: adults model language effectively and question well. For example, children were bursting with enthusiasm as they explained the intrigue surrounding a huge footprint which had appeared in the playground. This stimulating context, and effective modelling of talk by adults, promoted use of a high standard of vocabulary and speaking in sentences.
• Children enter the Reception class with skills and knowledge typical for their age. They make good progress and the majority attain a good level of development. Current school information shows that differences in achievement between boys and girls are quickly closing, and outcomes for the small number of disadvantaged pupils are improving.
• The early years leader has accurately identified progress in writing as an area for development, as well as increasing demands on the most able children so that more exceed the expected standards for their age. Plans are well founded and the leadership of the early years has resulted in rising achievement. This means that children are well prepared for Year 1.
• Phonics is taught effectively and systematically in early years. This is beginning to have an impact on the quality of writing.
• The safety of children is good. Staff carefully monitor children and are confident in the actions to take if they have any concerns about a child’s safety. Staff receive good-quality training in all aspects of keeping children safe, including child protection and paediatric first aid.
• Case studies show very effective involvement of parents with their children’s learning, for example through ‘home comment boxes’ for parents to contribute their observations of children’s learning at home. Parents are appreciative of the care given to their children and the particularly effective assessment and support for those who have additional needs.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 141619 Wiltshire 10036959 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 sponsor-led 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 315 Appropriate authority Acorn Education Trust Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Mrs Susan Whitehead-Whiting Mr Stuart Porter 01985 213383 www.avenue.wilts.sch.uk admin@avenue.wilts.sch.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• The Avenue Primary School and Children’s Centre is larger than the average-sized primary school.
• It opened as an academy sponsored by the Acorn Education Trust on 1 January 2015.
• The vast majority of pupils are White British and most pupils speak English as their first language.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils eligible for the pupil premium is slightly lower than the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above the national average.
• The school includes a provision for pupils who have special educational needs. This is a resource base for pupils who have complex needs and which caters for up to 10 pupils from Years 1 to 6.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school does not fully comply with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish about the planned use and impact of pupil premium funding on its website.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed lessons or parts of lessons, some of which were joint lesson observations with the headteacher and deputy headteacher.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, staff, governors and representatives of the Acorn Education Trust. Inspectors took into consideration the responses to questionnaires completed by 26 members of staff.
• A wide range of documentation was scrutinised during the inspection, including the school’s evaluation of its own performance, the school development plan, and data relating to pupils’ attainment and progress. Inspectors also checked the effectiveness of the school’s safeguarding arrangements.
• Inspectors talked with groups of pupils to seek their views about the school. They took into consideration the 23 responses to the pupil questionnaire. Inspectors listened to pupils read.
• The 65 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, were taken into account. Inspectors considered comments provided by text message and also spoke to parents informally at the start of the school day.

Inspection team

Claire Mirams, lead inspector Bill Jerman Deborah Wring

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector