All Saints National Academy Ofsted Report

Full report

In accordance with section 44(1) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by:
  • swiftly clarifying roles and responsibilities for the leadership of the school
  • tackling quickly, systematically and effectively the weaker teaching which continues to inhibit pupils’ progress
  • managing the performance of teachers effectively
  • developing the capacity to support and challenge leadership at all levels
  • improving both the core and wider curriculum so that planned learning successfully builds on pupils’ prior knowledge and understanding, meets the needs and interests of pupils and enables them to make good progress
  • ensuring that the provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities supports them to make good progress.
• Improve the quality of teaching so that it is consistently good or better by making sure that:
  • teachers are equipped with a deep understanding of how pupils learn and strong subject knowledge that will support them in delivering high-quality learning for all groups of pupils
  • all teachers plan a coherent teaching sequence which enables pupils to deepen and develop their skills and knowledge over time, building on prior learning
  • all teachers insist on high standards of presentation in pupils’ work and tackle errors and misconceptions at the earliest opportunity.
• Raise pupils’ achievements in reading, writing and mathematics by making sure that:
  • pupils rapidly acquire and deepen their comprehension skills in reading
  • pupils have frequent opportunities to develop and deepen their skills in writing in a range of subjects and genres
  • teachers provide regular opportunities for pupils to apply their calculation skills to investigate, solve increasingly challenging problems and develop their reasoning skills in mathematics.
• Work closely with parents so that attendance levels rise and fewer pupils are persistently absent. It is recommended that newly qualified teachers should not be appointed.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

• Over time, leadership has been ineffective in providing an adequate standard of education. The lack of a systematic, robust challenge by the trust led to a further decline in standards. This is now being addressed. However, there is much to be done and it will take time to put right all that has deteriorated over the last few years.
• At the time of the inspection there was no substantive headteacher in place. A new headteacher has been appointed for September 2018. Although the trust has secured additional leadership support during this interim period, it is not clear with whom responsibility for securing improvements in outcomes, behaviour and the quality of teaching lies. This is hindering the drive for rapid school improvement.
• Teachers’ performance has not been well managed in the past. They have not had the support and guidance needed to develop their roles. Leaders have not held staff to account to make sure that pupils make appropriate progress.
• Leaders have halted the decline in standards and behaviour in recent months. Those providing leadership support are setting higher expectations for pupils and adults. Working with staff, they are beginning to improve the quality of teaching and raise standards across the school. A clear vision is being shared. Staff say that there is more direction now and they know what is expected.
• Middle leaders are relatively new to their leadership roles. However, they are committed to improving work in their subject area and are clear about what needs doing. They are beginning to manage their area of responsibility more effectively. They develop action plans based on focused monitoring. Only recently have they begun to hold teachers to account and the impact of their leadership is yet to be realised.
• External support is helping to improve the leadership of special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities. There is a better understanding of the difference between pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities and those who are low-attaining. Standard assessments are now used to identify the needs of individual children. As a result, the SEN and/or disabilities register is currently being updated. However, not all pupils are receiving the right level of support or challenge yet.
• The curriculum is inadequate. It has not been updated or revised to reflect fully the national curriculum introduced in 2014. There is no coherent plan in place for the core subjects or the wider curriculum. Consequently, pupils do not have sufficient opportunities to develop their skills in a wide range of subjects. There are occasional visits, theme weeks and special days, but these are not offered equally across the school to all pupils. Pupils are not well prepared for life in modern Britain.
• Parents have mixed views about the school. The majority agree that their child is happy at school and well cared for. Many parents state that the school is improving since the recent change in leadership. They say that communication has improved and their children are making better progress. However, others are rightly concerned about the low standards and the quality of education that their children receive.
• Until this year, leaders did not deploy the additional funding for disadvantaged pupils well. They were not clear about the barriers to learning experienced by some pupils. As a result, these pupils make even less progress in reading, writing and mathematics than other pupils in key stage 2.
• The school uses additional sports funding effectively. Pupils enjoy working with the sports coaches. A wider range of sporting opportunities are now provided, including inter-school competitions. A paralympic sports day has been introduced. This is helping pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities develop greater confidence in their physical skills and abilities.
• Newly qualified teachers should not be appointed.

Governance of the school

• Governance of the school is carried out effectively by the local academy committee. An experienced, knowledgeable and highly skilled chair of governors was appointed by the trust in September 2017. This is making a significant difference to the challenge provided to leaders. The committee now holds leaders, including the trust, to account in a rigorous and systematic way.
• Members of the committee are acutely aware of the failings in the school. The chair has put in place systems to ensure they monitor effectively. Through regular monthly meetings, they question the impact of actions taken by leaders. They track pupils’ progress over time and check the quality of teaching. They know where improvements are needed.
• The chair of governors has completed an extensive review of the use of the pupil premium funding. A detailed action plan is in place to ensure that pupils’ individual needs are met and their progress accelerates. Thorough reviews ensure that the funding is used appropriately.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders take appropriate steps to protect children at risk of harm. Record-keeping systems have recently been improved and strengthened. Staff are appropriately trained and understand their responsibilities. They know what action to take if they have a concern about a child. Safety around the school site is taken seriously and leaders respond to parents’ concerns and take action – for example the new fence being installed around the front of the school.
• The capacity to safeguard children has been strengthened in recent months. A local children’s centre and another school in the trust provide effective support for the designated safeguarding lead. Two additional deputy safeguarding leads have been trained. The case load is now shared. This is resulting in more rapid action being taken and families receiving help more quickly.
• There is some provision within the curriculum for pupils to learn how to keep themselves safe. Pupils learn about stranger danger and keeping safe on the internet. They participated in a recent ‘keeping themselves safe’ day run by the NSPCC. However, curriculum opportunities such as these need developing further.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

• Teaching over time has been inadequate. Although this is beginning to be addressed, there is still too much variability in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment between classes and subjects. Consequently pupils do not make strong progress.
• Teachers do not demonstrate a deep understanding of how pupils learn. Learning does not routinely build on what pupils already know, understand and can do. Until recently staff had only a shallow grasp of end-of-year expectations. Subject knowledge remains weak. As a result, planning is limited and has no clear teaching sequence. Pupils do not have an opportunity to deepen their understanding over time.
• Where teaching is weakest, teachers do not make their expectations clear to pupils. Modelling is limited and pupils are unsure of how to start and complete their work. They waste learning time trying to find out what to do. This contributes to the lack of progress.
• The teaching of reading is weak. There is no evidence of a cohesive strategy for improving reading, despite the school being in the bottom 20% of schools nationally for reading. Pupils have individual reading books to take home. Adults read regularly to pupils. However, opportunities to teach specific reading skills, including comprehension, are missed. Many pupils say that the books they read are too easy. They state that they would like to do more comprehension work as that helps them understand what they are reading.
• The teaching of writing is poorly planned. Pupils have not been supported to develop their skills over time. Ideas and themes are not developed well enough. Some teachers are not yet skilled in knowing how to help children to improve their work. A lack of direct instruction in handwriting is resulting in poor presentation and limited skills for a large proportion of pupils across the school. Basic errors in spelling and punctuation and grammar are not routinely addressed by adults. As a result, pupils make little progress in writing over time.
• The lack of coherence in teaching mathematical concepts is limiting pupils’ progress. Pupils do not have sufficient sustained opportunities to deepen their understanding. They do not regularly use their skills to solve problems and explain what they are doing. A lack of access to appropriate practical mathematics resources is further hindering their ability to secure key mathematical skills quickly. Pupils’ books show that they have insufficient opportunities to use and apply their skills. Misconceptions are not picked up quickly enough. As a result, pupils continue to make the same mistakes over and over again.
• The teaching of English and mathematics has been prioritised to help pupils catch up and halt the decline in standards. However, work in other subjects is sparse. For example, pupils’ topic books show that in some classes science has not been taught regularly over a long period of time.
• Where there is effective teaching, pupils are helped to make links with what they have previously learned. Adults challenge them to explain and think deeply about that they are doing. Pupils experience that ‘light bulb moment’ when they suddenly fully understand what they are doing.
• Recent guidance and training provided by leaders has been very well received. The majority of staff welcome feedback and are keen to develop their skills and subject knowledge. Staff told inspectors that previously there was a lack of direction and clarity over what was to be taught. Regular meetings and training opportunities help staff to understand the improvement priorities now. Staff are fully committed and want to work together to improve the school for the pupils.

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 are confident and enjoy sharing their learning. They cooperate with others in lessons.
• Pupils say that they feel safe in school. They know why the fence is being erected around the school. They know that adults will help them sort out problems they may have. They learn how to stay safe on the internet.
• Supervision at breaktimes is appropriate. Sports coaches engage pupils of all ages in a range of small games. Pupils know that it is important to exercise. They say that they would like more equipment out at breaktimes to help themselves keep fit.
• Pupils enjoy taking on responsibility in school. For example, Year 5 pupils reliably collect money and deliver toast at morning break. However, some pupils said that although they had a responsibility they were not called upon to put it into practice.
• Relationships between adults and pupils are warm and friendly. Pupils say that the school has improved since the leadership changed. Pupils talk about a new headteacher, however, they are not sure who that is.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is requires improvement.
• Behaviour has improved since the change in leadership. Pupils are polite and well mannered. They walk around school and hold doors open for visitors. They understand the expectations of behaviour.
• Almost all pupils try hard in their lessons. They listen to the teachers and do their work. When the work is too hard or too easy, pupils’ attention wanders and some low-level disruption occurs. Pupils say that this is not as bad as it used to be.
• The majority of pupils are reliant on adults telling them what to do. Their resilience is developing but they are yet to develop fully the ability to work on their own.
• Attendance remains well below national. Over the last year the attendance rate fell and the proportion of pupils who are regularly absent rose significantly. Recently leaders have challenged parents about their children’s non-attendance at school. Fines are issued and support is given to families where children’s attendance is particularly low. As a result, attendance is beginning to slowly improve.

Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

• Outcomes are inadequate because for too long pupils have underachieved. Pupils across the school do not make consistently good progress. They attain standards which are well below national averages at the end of both key stage 1 and key stage 2.
• Pupils’ outcomes over time at key stage 1 have been too low in reading, writing and mathematics. Writing improved in 2017 by 19% but remained below the national average. There was no improvement in outcomes in reading or mathematics in 2017.
• For the last two years, pupils’ progress and achievement at the end of key stage 2 have been poor, particularly in reading and mathematics. Only a third of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics. The school sits in the bottom 20% of all schools for progress in reading, writing and mathematics. As a result, pupils are not well prepared for their move to secondary school.
• The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in the phonics screening check has been below national averages for several years. In 2017, the proportion meeting the standard fell to 53%, which is well below the national average. Leaders are ensuring that a new approach to the teaching of phonics is now having a greater impact, with more pupils reaching the expected standard.
• Writing outcomes are of particular concern across the school. Over the last two years, the proportions of pupils achieving at the expected level was well below national at the end of both key stage 1 and key stage 2. No pupils achieved greater depth in writing at the end of key stage 2 in 2016 or 2017. The progress of current pupils in writing is not yet strong and varies across the school. Pupils are not catching up quickly enough in some classes.
• Different groups of pupils make inconsistent progress, including the most able and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. Low expectations result in a lack of challenge and progress slows.
• Outcomes for disadvantaged pupils are particularly poor. In 2017 they made significantly less progress than other pupils nationally. Very few disadvantaged pupils reached the expected standard in mathematics. Too few pupils reach the higher standards or achieve the depth of learning that they are capable of. As a result of more purposeful intervention this year, some pupils are beginning to make faster progress. However, the gap is not closing consistently across the school.

Early years provision Good

• The early years is a strength of the school. The children get off to a good start in the Reception classes. A team of skilled and dedicated staff know the children well. They ensure that children’s individual needs are met. As a result, outcomes for the youngest children have improved steadily over the last four years. The proportion of children reaching a good level of development has risen and is now almost in line with national averages. They are well prepared for their move to Year 1.
• Leadership of the early years is highly effective. As a result of effective coaching and mentoring, a strong staff team has been created. Staff know how young children develop and learn. Adults carry out regular observations and discuss what children can do. This helps them plan carefully to meet individual needs. Additional intervention is provided throughout the day for specific children so that they are not left behind. Adults have high expectations of what children can achieve.
• Routines are well established. Children know what is expected. For example, children line up sensibly when moving to a different room. They sit smartly on the carpet. Staff repeat instructions and show children what to do. They praise children appropriately and give gentle reminders when necessary. As a result, children behave well.
• The learning environment has developed steadily over time. It now provides a space in which children are encouraged to become independent. Resources are appropriate and placed where children can access them easily. The most able children use the ‘enabling table’ phonics resources to support their own writing. This helps children write by themselves.
• Children have access to a wide and varied curriculum. Themes such as food, superheroes and bonfire night interest and engage the children. Children develop their knowledge and understanding of the world through topics such as Italy and Africa. They are highly engaged in the weekly music lesson led by a specialist. Children’s learning journals reflect the interesting curriculum. They enable parents to see what their child is learning over time and how well they are doing.
• The teaching of phonics in the early years has improved this year. Teaching groups have been adjusted in order to provide more effective support and challenge. Adults model sounds effectively. They ensure that children say the sounds correctly. Consequently children are making strong progress and using these sounds when writing.
• Relationships are very positive. Adults ensure that children are safe and well looked after. The majority of children cooperate and take turns. Most children are kind to each other. Adults encourage children to try and do their best. Children quickly respond to this approach and grow in confidence.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 141410 Walsall 10048330 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 5 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 308 Appropriate authority Chair Principal Telephone number Website Email address Academy trust Hillary Hastings Sue Wedgwood 01922 710210 www.asna.walsall.sch.uk postbox@asna.walsall.sch.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• The school converted to an academy in 2015. It is part of the St Chad’s Academies Trust.
• At the time of the inspection, there was no substantive headteacher in post. The previous headteacher left the school in March 2018. A new headteacher has been appointed and will start in September 2018. Leadership support is currently provided by two local headteachers, one belonging to the same trust.
• A new chair of governors was appointed by the trust in September 2017.
• All Saint’s National Academy is slightly larger than the average primary school.
• The large majority of pupils are white British heritage.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is significantly below average.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is above average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is much higher than the national average. The proportion of pupils who have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is below the national average.
• The early years provision consists of two full-time Reception classes. The school does not have a nursery or provision for two-years-olds.
• The school did not meet the government’s current floor standards in 2017. These are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics for pupils by the end of Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors held meetings with the chief executive officer and the head of school performance from the St Chad’s Academies Trust and two headteachers currently providing leadership support. The diocesan school improvement advisor also spoke with the inspectors. A separate meeting was held with seven members of teaching and non-teaching staff. The lead inspector also spoke with two members of the governing body including the recently appointed chair of governors.
• Inspectors made visits to classrooms on both days of the inspection. Some of these visits were with the head of school performance from the trust.
• Inspectors scrutinised a wide selection of pupils’ books.
• Pupils were spoken to formally and informally. A group of pupils met with an inspector. Inspectors heard pupils read. They observed behaviour in classrooms, in corridors and outside on the playgrounds.
• Inspectors were unable to consider the responses on Ofsted’s website Parent View as there were not enough to generate a report. No parents responded to Ofsted’s free-text service. However, inspectors did talk to parents during the inspection.
• Various school documents were scrutinised, including the school’s self-evaluation and school improvement plan and records of monitoring. Minutes of governor’s meetings and information about pupils’ progress, behaviour, attendance and safety were also analysed and discussed with leaders.
• Documents relating to safeguarding were checked and inspectors looked at published information on the school’s website.

Inspection team

Nicola Harwood, lead inspector Brenda Titley Kate Hanson Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector