St Augustine's CofE VA Junior and Infant School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Strengthen leadership and management, by: ensuring that the curriculum actively promotes pupils’ understanding of equalities ensuring that the monitoring of teaching is rigorous and regular so that it provides an accurate view of where support is required and of the training needs of staff making sure that the assessment of pupils accurately reflects pupils’ learning needs and that this leads to effective support where progress is not rapid enough ensuring that governors can access training which makes them aware of the school’s needs, especially around the curriculum, and so they can provide appropriate support and challenge to leaders ensuring that additional funding for pupils who are disadvantaged or who have SEN and/or disabilities is used well and has a positive impact on these pupils’ development

regularly evaluating the impact of actions implemented to strengthen the provision, to ensure they have a positive impact over time.

• Improve the personal development, welfare and behaviour of pupils, by: continuing to work with pupils and their families to ensure that they understand the importance of pupils attending school every day ensuring that pupils are always provided with clear guidance on how to improve or correct their work so that misconceptions do not persist over time ensuring that pupils are always well engaged in learning, take pride in their learning, and present their work neatly at all times.
• Improve the quality of teaching and, therefore, the rate of progress made and the standards of attainment reached by all groups of pupils in reading, writing, and mathematics, by: having higher expectations of what pupils can do and planning activities which meet their needs closely and which are challenging ensuring that all teachers understand and follow the school’s policies and make effective use of their checks on pupils’ work so that they can move pupils’ learning on more rapidly ensuring that teachers and other adults model the use of spoken and written English to the pupils well, so that pupils’ English develops rapidly and accurately ensuring that phonics learning responds to all groups of pupils’ needs so that they are able to secure this knowledge more quickly ensuring that the broader curriculum is used as an opportunity to reinforce reading, writing and mathematics skills. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved. An external review of the use of the pupil premium funding should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• Over time, leaders have not had an accurate enough understanding of what the school needs to do to improve. They check what teachers do regularly but do not sharply identify what teachers need to do next to improve their practice. However, where teaching has been very poor, the headteacher and other leaders, supported by governors, have acted effectively over the past 12 months to ensure that this has been eradicated. As a result, there are recent improvements in the quality of teaching.
• Appraisal systems are used well and help to make teachers accountable for the impact of their work on the progress of their pupils. Pay increases have not been awarded where progress has not been good enough.
• Middle leaders, working with senior leaders, are now working more effectively to move teaching on, using the appraisal system, and the support of the local authority and the diocese. Middle leaders recognise that improvements are necessary and have responded positively and effectively to support. For example, new systems for teaching phonics and mathematics are in place. The strengths of teaching in these areas are not consistent but improvement over time is clearly apparent.
• The leadership of the spending of the additional government funding to support disadvantaged pupils is not good enough. Disadvantaged pupils do not make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. However, where money is spent to promote experiences such as trips, to support these pupils’ wider understanding of different faiths and cultures, the spending has had a positive impact on disadvantaged pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
• The special educational needs coordinator has a strong understanding of what pupils’ needs are and has worked to improve provision. However, because teaching is not consistently strong, these pupils’ needs are not always closely met in lessons. Therefore, they do not make good enough progress. Where pupils with significant behaviour difficulties have been supported, the work of leaders has been effective.
• Parents largely have a positive view of the school and believe their children do well. They are confident that the school keeps their children safe and happy and that they are well informed by the school.
• Attendance is below the national average. Leaders monitor attendance and communicate their expectations around attendance clearly to parents. They also hold parents to account and provide them with support where attendance is low. However, despite these efforts, attendance remains lower than average because a number of pupils have extended periods of time off for holidays in term time. The school recognises this is an area for improvement. The poor attendance of relatively few pupils has a disproportionately large impact on the attendance figure overall.
• The school actively promotes pupils’ understanding of different faiths and cultures. Many pupils in school are Muslim and can talk very knowledgably about their own faith and, as a result, they are very interested in and respectful of other faiths. They can talk expertly about how their faith differs from others but also of the similarities. They enjoy learning about different faiths and cultures and, through special events and trips, they are excited to take part in and learn about a variety of festivals from different religions, including Christmas and Diwali. However, the curriculum does not do enough to fully promote pupils’ understanding of issues related to some other differences, such as gender.
• The curriculum includes a variety of subjects. However, they are not consistently well taught and the opportunities to reinforce key skills such as reading, writing and mathematics in other subjects are often missed. In addition, some adults do not take the opportunity to use their time with pupils to model standard English which would further support pupils in their accuracy of spoken and written English.
• Recently, improvements have been made to ensure that there are more opportunities within the curriculum for pupils to read, including library sessions where the range of books has been widened. Here, there is useful guidance for the pupils so they can make good choices for their reading material. This serves to develop a stronger passion for reading.
• The sports premium funding is well used and has led to a very high participation of pupils in sports and other activities, such as dance. The funding has been used to pay for high-quality equipment which pupils can use at playtime and which they love to use. This ensures that social times are happy and active with pupils of different age groups mixing well. It has also led to pupils engaging in local competitions where they have been very successful.
• The local authority and the diocese work very closely with the school and each other. This support has been critical to the school’s recent improvements. Both organisations have brokered strong support from external partners to provide professional development opportunities for staff. In addition, they have helped governors to have an objective and more accurate view of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement in terms of teaching and pupils’ outcomes.

Governance of the school

• Governors understand that the school’s provision is not consistently good. They are aware of where teaching needs to improve and that pupils’ outcomes are not good enough. They use the support of the local authority, the diocese and other local schools effectively to understand these issues.
• Governors are aware that the additional government funding for disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities is not well spent. Even so, their work with leaders in school has not yet led to the improvements needed in school to promote better progress for these pupils.
• In addition, governors have not been well trained to understand how the school can actively promote pupils’ understanding of equalities in all areas to ensure that the pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.
• The governors understand their responsibility to work with leaders in school to keep pupils in school safe. This is done to good effect. Governors regularly check that policies and protocols are in place, up to date and fit for purpose. They undertake their own checks with external support of the site to ensure it is safe for pupils.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The school works well with a wide range of external agencies to support and protect vulnerable pupils and to ensure that the staff are well trained. As a result, pupils are safe.
• The staff receive regular up-to-date training so that all adults in school know what to do if they have a concern about a pupil’s safety or if someone reports a concern to them. There are a lot of signs and photographs around the school of the staff who lead safeguarding so that parents and pupils know who to speak to if they have a concern. Pupils also report that they know that they can speak with any adult in school if they are worried about anything.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teaching is not good because it does not consistently meet the needs of different groups of pupils closely enough in reading, writing and mathematics. At times, work is not personalised enough for different groups of learners and so some pupils do not make rapid progress.
• Overall, pupils arrive at the school with levels of development and skills which are below those expected for their age. Because progress is not rapid, pupils’ attainment remains low across the school. This is not the case in Year 1 where pupils arrived with, and continue to reach, better standards of reading, writing and mathematics due to the effective early years provision they received. The quality of teaching is stronger in early years and at key stage 1 than at key stage 2.
• Teachers check and assess pupils work regularly. However, this information is not routinely used to plan activities which meet pupils’ needs. Consequently, work can sometimes be too easy and teachers do not expect enough of pupils. This is why pupils’ attainment is not improving rapidly enough in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Teaching assistants’ work is variable. Some are effective in helping pupils to achieve well and work increasingly independently. In addition, most are skilled in helping pupils who have behavioural difficulties. Teaching assistants work to keep these pupils on task, which also means they do not disturb the learning of others. However, some teaching assistants are less effective in moving pupils on in their learning.
• Teaching of phonics is inconsistent. The school is using a new system to teach phonics and this has helped to provide more personalised support for pupils. For some groups of pupils this is working well. However, the quality of teaching of different groups is too variable, meaning that not all pupils are well taught in this area and so progress is not rapid enough for some.
• Teachers do not consistently adhere to the school’s policy on assessment. As a result, pupils are unclear as to how to improve their work and so errors and their misconceptions persist.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• The school ensures that pupils are safe and feel safe and pupils and parents agree that this is a strength of the school. This includes pupils’ understanding of how to keep themselves safe when using the internet, and when crossing the road. Pupils report that they also feel safe because staff care for them and are easy to talk to. This means they know they can speak with staff if they are worried.
• Pupils also feel safe because there is little bullying in school. When it does occur, it is dealt with promptly and effectively so that the issues do not continue. In addition, behaviour is managed well and so there are very few serious behaviour incidents in school. The school’s work to promote pupils’ physical well-being and their understanding of the importance of being healthy and fit is a particular strength. The sports premium is used well to support pupils’ understanding of these issues and to give them a wealth of opportunities to enjoy and engage in different sports both at school and in competitions. The pupils are rightly very proud of their sporting achievements.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• Attendance is low and there is not a strong enough understanding among pupils and parents about the importance of being at school every day and why long periods of absence hinder pupils’ progress over time. The school has strategies to improve attendance but these are not having a positive enough impact.
• Pupils’ attitudes to learning are not consistently good enough. This is seen in the presentation of their work, which is often very untidy. Pupils’ handwriting is often erratic. This shows a lack of pride in their learning, and that teachers’ expectations of pupils are not consistently high enough.
• Pupils’ conduct is variable. In the playground, pupils behave well and do as they are told immediately. In lessons, pupils do not disrupt the learning of others but are sometimes disengaged and off task. This slows their progress.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• As a result of weak teaching over time, in 2017 pupils’ outcomes at the end of key stage 2 were well below average in reading, writing and mathematics. Although there are signs of improvement in the quality of teaching at key stage 2, progress in reading, writing and mathematics is not consistently rapid enough.
• In 2017, pupils’ outcomes at key stage 1 were broadly in line with the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. As a result of better quality teaching at key stage 1, pupils are reaching the expected standards. However in 2017, no pupils were working at greater depth in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Disadvantaged pupils, those who have SEN and/or disabilities and the most able pupils do not achieve well enough because learning is not always adapted to meet their needs. As a result, work can be too easy, so it does not challenge pupils sufficiently, or it can be too hard.
• In 2017, the proportion of pupils meeting the expected standard in phonics was below the national average at the end of Year 1. However, the proportion who reached the expected standard in phonics by the end of Year 2 was in line with the national average. Phonics outcomes for pupils currently at school are improving. However, the improvements are not consistent and for some pupils: they do not secure their phonics knowledge quickly.
• Pupils are well prepared for their transition to key stage 1 and key stage 2 because the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is stronger in early years and in key stage 1. However, over time, Year 6 pupils have not been sufficiently well prepared for secondary school because of poor outcomes at the end of key stage 2.

Early years provision Good

• Children arrive in the Reception class with levels of development and skills below those typical for their age. From these low starting points, children achieve well. In 2017 more than half the children reached a good level of development by the end of Reception. This means children are well prepared for learning in Year 1.
• Children are regularly assessed by adults, who use the information well to plan activities which engage the children and support the filling of gaps in their development. This leads to good progress over time across the different skill areas, including in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Teaching is strong. All adults in the setting know the children’s needs and the environment is well structured to engage children. Adults also interact very well with children, eliciting their understanding of what they are doing and why. This not only supports adults’ assessment of children’s learning, it also, importantly, allows children to practise their speech and language skills.
• Leadership of the provision is strong. The early years leader has a very close understanding of how to break down the children’s barriers to learning. As a result, children quickly settle into school and this helps them to feel confident and want to do their best. Additionally, assessment is accurate and adults’ support is well pitched to meet children’s needs. In addition, the leader recognises that while attainment has improved, there is still more to be done to ensure that an increased proportion of the most able children exceed the expected good level of development by the end of the Reception Year.
• Children demonstrate positive attitudes to learning because they want to do well and try their best. They also are willing to have a go at activities they have not tried before and show pride in their achievements.
• Well-established routines ensure that children conduct themselves in the correct way and move between activities calmly and efficiently. This also means that they know there are high expectations of them with regard to tidying up and doing things the first time they are asked. The routines in place also help children to take turns and listen to one another.
• Leaders and other adults in the early years engage parents well. Parents are regularly invited to join their children in learning so that parents understand how to support their children’s learning at home. Workshops for certain aspects of the curriculum are also held to help parents, such as to show parents how phonics is taught. Parents report that they are very happy with the provision and feel their children are developing very well.
• Safeguarding in the early years is effective and the statutory welfare requirements are in place and met appropriately.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 107543 Calderdale 10042194 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 Voluntary Aided 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 170 Appropriate authority The governing board Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Ann Mansfield Leona Binner 01422 360615 http://www.st-augustines.calderdale.sch.uk admin@st-augustines.calderdale.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 17–18 October 2013

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• This is a smaller-than-average-sized primary school.
• The majority of pupils are Pakistani. The proportion of pupils who are from minority ethnic groups or who speak English as an additional language is well above average.
• A higher-than-average proportion of pupils is disadvantaged.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is above average. The proportion of pupils who have an education, health and care plan is average.
• Pupils start in the school in Reception on a full-time basis.
• In 2016, the school met the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment in English and mathematics.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching and learning in a range of lessons and from work in pupils’ books.
• Inspectors observed and spoke with pupils during lessons and at breaktime. They also met formally with three groups of pupils from Year 1 to Year 6.
• Inspectors listened to pupils from Year 2 and Year 5 reading.
• Meetings were held with senior and middle leaders. Meetings also took place with members of the governing body, a representative from the local authority and a representative from the diocese. Inspectors also analysed reports from the local authority.
• Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at pupils’ work and a range of documents, including the school’s arrangements for safeguarding, performance management procedures, and pupils’ behaviour and attendance data. Inspectors also looked at information about pupils’ progress and attainment.
• Inspectors considered the views of parents to whom they spoke when parents brought their children to school and through the 30 parental responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View.

Inspection team

Fiona McNally, lead inspector Chris Cook

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector