Moreton Morrell CofE Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Strengthen leadership and management further by ensuring that:
  • monitoring systems take greater account of pupils’ progress in the wider curriculum
  • assessment systems are further developed so that rates of progress for groups of pupils are analysed with greater rigour
  • subject leaders are provided with ongoing support to help them improve their respective areas
  • work to promote fundamental British values is embedded further across the school.
• Improve teaching and learning and thereby outcomes for pupils by making sure that:
  • pupils’ writing, particularly for boys, continues to be well developed across the curriculum
  • standards of pupils’ presentation and handwriting are consistently high
  • learning is sufficiently challenging in wider subject areas such as history and geography.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher took up her post following an internal appointment in January 2016. Along with the senior teacher and governors, she leads the school with considerable enthusiasm and drive. The combined energy and positivity of the whole team have helped secure further improvements at Moreton Morrell.
• The whole organisation is committed to doing the best for the children in its care. Every member of staff takes pride in their work. The site and grounds are well maintained and the school is very proud of its kitchen and home-cooked food.
• Parents are highly supportive and appreciative of the work of the school. Every parent who completed Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, said that they would recommend the school and believe that their children are taught well. Many parents took the time to share their views via Ofsted’s free-text survey. The vast majority of feedback was positive. Comments typical of respondents included, ‘This school allows the children to grow in a safe and caring environment,’ and: ‘The school has a very positive ethos and feeling about it, all the children look out for each other and know each other.’
• Leaders and governors regularly review the impact of their work and are deeply reflective. They are keen to secure further improvements and do not shy away from difficult decisions. Performance management systems are robust and teachers are invited to take a full part in their appraisals.
• Staff that the lead inspector spoke to were highly appreciative of the support that they receive from leaders and governors. They said that great attention is paid to their training needs and that leaders listen to their views and act upon them. As a result, the overall quality of teaching, learning and assessment is constantly improving.
• The school has supported middle leaders to establish themselves in their roles. Leaders have formulated action plans to develop their respective areas and these are securing improvements. For example, the information communication and technology leader has identified wider opportunities for pupils and their families to learn about e-safety and find out how to stay safe online. Leaders acknowledge that subject leaders, and new staff who will lead areas in the near future, will require further support to ensure that they have the skills to embed improvements and fully monitor the impact of their work.
• Leaders have carefully planned the curriculum to take account of the mixed-age classes within school. Programmes of study are planned to avoid any repetition in content. Many aspects of the curriculum are practical and involve pupils taking part in fascinating experiments and high-quality trips. This attention to breadth and balance is supporting pupils’ wider development and progress. However, leaders do not monitor the wider curriculum with the same rigour as English and mathematics. Some aspects of teaching in history and geography do not always offer sufficient challenge. As a result, there is some variation in achievement between different subjects and phases.
• Given the size of Moreton Morrell, specific groups of pupils can vary in number considerably from one year to next. There are currently a very small number of disadvantaged pupils attending the school. Leaders use funding effectively to identify any barriers to learning pupils may have and coordinate appropriate and effective support. Similarly, the proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is also small. The school collaborates with other local primary schools to secure the regular support of a teacher with expertise in special needs. This teacher supports the school in assessing the progress that pupils make and provides recommendations to ensure that any needs are suitably addressed. As a result, pupils are effectively supported within school.
• The physical education and sport premium funding has been used to develop the skills of staff and help them gain confidence in the teaching of a range of skills. Training has included a programme of ballet classes provided by an external agency. This training has provided staff with a greater portfolio of skills and is introducing pupils to new forms of physical education. Funding has also been used to support pupils’ attendance at tournaments with other local schools. Moreton Morrell is proud to have won the Harbury tennis tournament for the last two years.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is well promoted across the school. The school is proud of its Christian ethos. Older pupils are very knowledgeable of a range of faiths and beliefs. They have visited a Buddhist retreat and talk with great enthusiasm and respect about what they have learned. Though work has begun to promote fundamental British values, these are not yet fully embedded. Older pupils are able to talk about their understanding of individual liberty and democracy but this is not consistently strong across the school.
• The local authority has provided ‘light-touch’ support to the school given the consistently strong outcomes over time. The local authority has supported the school to join a cluster of other local schools so that expertise can be shared. This collaborative work is helping the school to accurately moderate its effectiveness. The headteacher has also attended training hosted by the authority to support her in her new role.

Governance of the school

• Like leaders, governors are committed people who want the very best for the pupils and the community that they serve. Governors:
  • have a wealth of skills that are carefully matched to respective areas of the school’s work
  • are honest and frank about the school’s effectiveness
  • are very clear about the school’s key priorities and challenge leaders to ensure that the quality of teaching is constantly developing
  • do not yet make the best use of assessment information to check for any trends in achievement for different groups of pupils.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders and staff understand pupils’ needs well and have strong relationships with parents.
• Staff are very clear about the signs of abuse and recognise the importance of being vigilant regardless of the size or context of their setting.
• Pupils that the lead inspector spoke to, and all of the parents that responded to Ofsted’s survey, believe that Moreton Morrell is a happy and safe school. The school works with parents and agencies to provide pupils with additional support to keep them safe. Support has included fire safety talks, e-safety workshops and lessons that help pupils recognise any situation where they may feel unsafe and practical ways to respond.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers have excellent relationships with pupils. These strong relationships foster enthusiasm and encourage pupils to participate fully in lessons. Teachers’ planning pays close attention to the needs of pupils. Activities are exciting and result in pupils making strong rates of progress.
• Tracking systems are used to identify any pupils that may fall behind. Leaders and teachers regularly discuss pupils’ progress and devise additional activities and teaching to help pupils catch up. However, this tracking has not extended to an analysis of the performance of groups. While school leaders know the performance of individuals well, they are not yet fully comparing the progress of key groups across the school to check for any trends.
• Teachers’ questioning skills are strong. Given their excellent knowledge of pupils, teachers are able to pose well-pitched questions offering an equal measure of challenge and support. In a key stage 2 mathematics lesson, a teacher skilfully supported pupils to undertake complex problem-solving relating to algebra and fractions. Pupils were encouraged to explain their thinking and were given time to collaborate with their peers. Pupils grasped the mathematical concepts quickly and were making rapid progress.
• Strong questioning and encouragement is also evident in the early years and key stage 1. In key stage 1, the lead inspector observed pupils learning about food chains. The teacher had incorporated famous texts into the planning of the lesson to engage the pupils. Pupils were successfully using a range of technical vocabulary. Pupils were also correctly drawing, describing and writing about ‘producers’ and ‘consumers’.
• Teaching assistants contribute considerably to the success of the school. They are well trained and deployed by leaders. Teaching assistants skilfully support at a whole-class level and effectively ensure that the needs of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are met.
• Positive attitudes permeate Moreton Morrell. Pupils are keen to talk about their learning and help one another to get on. The majority of pupils take considerable pride in their work. This pride is evident in high-quality displays and pupils’ books. Presentation and handwriting does, however, lapse slightly in pupils’ writing books in key stage 2.
• Parents say that they receive valuable information about the progress children are making. They particularly appreciate the school’s open-door policy and feel like they are able to talk to teachers at any time. This view was shared by all parents that the lead inspector met with and by every respondent on Parent View.
• Teachers encourage pupils to make the right choices and the school has not recorded any incidents of derogatory or racist language.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• The school has invested in additional training and resources to help staff and pupils develop resilience and greater capacity to learn from mistakes. Pupils are very positive about school life and have great respect for their teachers.
• Pupils are particularly proud of the opportunities they are given to take on additional responsibilities as they move through the school. Many pupils have been trained as sports leaders, peer mediators and ‘buddies’.
• The ‘buddy’ programme is a particularly special and rewarding feature of school life. Year 6 pupils are given the opportunity to ‘buddy’ with new Reception children at the start of each year. This boosts the confidence of the younger children and provides pupils in Year 6 with considerable responsibilities. These responsibilities are taken very seriously and are eagerly anticipated by older pupils. Parents are also positive about this scheme.
• All Year 5 and 6 pupils are trained as mediators. They are given the skills and confidence to help their peers resolve any minor differences. Pupils are also clear that teachers are always on hand to support with any minor problems should they arise. Pupils have complete confidence in their teachers.
• Pupils that the lead inspector spoke to throughout the inspection all said that they feel safe in school. Pupils do not have any concerns about bullying of any kind.
• On occasion, pupils’ handwriting and presentation lapses in key stage 2. This is particularly noticeable in their writing in English lessons.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• The school environment is very orderly and there are no disruptions to learning.
• Parents, staff and pupils have no concerns about behaviour or conduct day to day.
• Leaders keep a record of any incidents of poor behaviour and encourage pupils to reflect on the choices that they make. Additional staff have also been recruited to support pupils with their play at lunchtime. While some patterns of behaviour are known to leaders by virtue of the size of the school, leaders have not yet fully analysed why, when or where incidents may occur.
• Overall attendance at Moreton Morrell is above national figures. Any vulnerable families are quickly identified and supported to ensure that pupils are not routinely late or absent from school. Data demonstrates that attendance has improved for specific families. However, there is some variation between the attendance of different groups. For example, pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities currently have lower attendance than other pupils. Some of the reasons for this difference are known to staff but they have not been fully interrogated. Patterns of attendance for different groups of learners are not yet monitored with sufficient rigour across the school.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Outcomes across the school have continued to improve since the last inspection. Given the size of Moreton Morell, performance data often needs to be treated with caution. One pupil can have a significant impact on outcomes in a small cohort. In 2016, there were too few pupils in the Year 6 cohort for the school to be included within the primary accountability measures.
• In the early years, the proportion of children achieving a good level of development has been close to or above the national level for the last three years.
• All pupils passed the Year 1 phonics screening check in 2016. The teaching of phonics is secure. Pupils read with confidence and love to share books. The lead inspector heard pupils from Year 1 reading. Pupils apply their phonics skills to the texts they read. Pupils have strong comprehension skills and are able to recall key facts and information from a range of texts. Pupils enthusiastically share stories and information texts, which included a fascinating magic book during the inspection.
• In key stage 1, pupils’ attainment is also in line with or above the national standards. However, fewer boys achieved the expected standard in writing in 2016 and no boys achieved at greater depth in any subject.
• Pupils currently on roll make consistently strong progress across almost all year groups and in most subjects. Work in books is testimony to the strong progress that is secured over time. However, progress is not always as rapid in some aspects of the wider curriculum in key stage 2. In lessons such as history and geography, there is sometimes insufficient challenge.
• There are very few disadvantaged pupils in the school. However, leaders are very aware of the barriers that disadvantaged pupils face and have used additional funding effectively to help them make progress in their learning.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make strong rates of progress. A specialist teacher assists the school in tracking pupils’ progress and provides recommendations to secure ongoing improvements.
• The most able pupils are provided with suitable activities and learning to ensure that they achieve at a higher standard. Teachers routinely set additional activities and challenges for pupils to take part in or move onto if they understand a concept quickly. This level of challenge is less evident in the wider curriculum in key stage 2. Some activities in history and geography are relatively easy for pupils to manage. Leaders have not monitored the effectiveness of this aspect of the curriculum with sufficient rigour.

Early years provision Good

• As a result of effective leadership, strong teaching and high expectations, children are fully equipped with the skills to be successful in Year 1 by the time they leave early years.
• Leaders evaluate the effectiveness of provision accurately and identify priorities to ensure that practice is continually developing.
• The proportion of children who have achieved a good level of development has been consistently strong for a number of years. In the past, a lower proportion of boys achieved a good level of development in the writing aspect of literacy. This statistic improved considerably in 2016. Though writing is cited as a key development area within whole-school plans, leaders acknowledge that this must also be carefully identified in early years development plans.
• Staff within the early years are highly skilled. They plan activities that excite and engage children. During the inspection, children were exploring the life cycle of a butterfly. They had recently taken delivery of caterpillars and had captured the changes they were observing in short videos. Children were able to use a range of technical vocabulary to describe the changes they could see.
• Behaviour within the early years is excellent. Children are attentive and enjoy learning together. They make full use of the outdoor learning area. The outdoor area contains a range of challenges for children to explore and think about. This attention to detail demonstrates the school’s desire to help children make strong rates of progress.
• Work in books evidences at least typical rates of progress from children’s different starting points. Some children are not completely confident writing their name when they first arrive in Reception. After two terms of teaching, the majority of children are correctly forming their letters and independently writing short sentences.
• Welfare requirements in the early years are met. Children are well cared for and staff hold the relevant qualifications to ensure that needs are met.
• Parents play a key role in the development of children’s skills. The school uses ‘Wow’ books to encourage families to record learning at home. ‘Wow’ books provide an excellent diary of how learning continues at home. Staff also provide parents with overviews of the early years curriculum. This helps parents target the development of specific characteristics of effective learning at home.
• Leaders track children’s progress and regularly meet to moderate the judgements that staff make. The performance of individuals is well known. However, leaders do not check on the performance of different groups of children. Though any differences between groups of children diminished in 2016, leaders have not used the assessment information to assure themselves that this improvement is being fully sustained.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 125693 Warwickshire 10000855 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 Maintained 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 102 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Owen Pettiford Sarah Eadon 01926 651355 www.moretonmorrell.warwickshire.sch.uk/ Admin5205@welearn365.com Date of previous inspection 9–10 February 2012

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.
• A new headteacher was appointed to the school in January 2016.
• The proportion of girls is well above average.
• A very small number of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
• A very small proportion of pupils come from ethnic minority backgrounds. No pupils speak English as an additional language.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is well below average. The proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is in line with the national average.
• Pupils are taught in mixed-age classes across the school except in the Reception Year.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

Information about this inspection

• The inspector observed teaching in every class across the school. Observations were undertaken jointly with the headteacher.
• During observations, the inspector took account of pupils’ work in books. The inspector also met with leaders separately to undertake a book scrutiny. Pupils’ books were scrutinised in every year group and across a range of subjects.
• The inspector met with pupils from Year 6 and spoke to pupils throughout the inspection.
• The inspector heard pupils from Year 1 reading.
• The inspector held meetings with leaders to discuss the school’s effectiveness and its use of additional funding.
• A meeting was held with representatives from the governing body including the chair of governors.
• The inspector met with the local authority’s learning improvement officer.
• The inspector scrutinised a range of school documentation including: monitoring records, attendance information, behaviour records, assessment information, the single central record, child protection files, personnel files, risk assessments and governing body minutes.
• The inspector took account of the following responses to surveys: none from pupils, five from members of staff and 20 responses to Parent View. The inspector also reviewed the 17 responses on Ofsted’s free text service. The inspector met with parents at the school gate to gather their views about the school’s effectiveness.

Inspection team

Jonathan Keay, lead inspector

Her Majesty’s Inspector