Cavendish Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

In accordance with section 44(2) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances reasonably be expected to perform.

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Urgently implement effective safeguarding systems, ensuring that:
  • a culture of vigilance is embedded in the school
  • leaders review all safeguarding policies and practices
  • staff receive immediate training to provide them with suitable knowledge of the risks pupils may face and the indicators of such harm
  • designated staff follow up concerns about pupils with rigour
  • records in relation to safeguarding are detailed and well maintained
  • designated staff act with tenacity in following up concerns with external agencies
  • governors responsible for safeguarding hold leaders to account effectively for this aspect of work.
• Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that:
  • the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is at least good
  • governors are clear about their responsibilities and are effective in holding leaders to account
  • improvement plans are precise and are tightly linked to pupils’ outcomes
  • pupil premium funding is spent effectively, and this leads to rapid improvement in disadvantaged pupils’ attendance and achievement
  • the quality of plans and provision to support pupils with SEND is carefully checked and enables pupils to make strong progress to achieve their full potential
  • middle leaders are further developed to enable them to take responsibility for leading improvements in the areas they oversee
  • the early years leader receives appropriate support to enable the identification of priorities and the improvement of the quality of teaching and learning in the setting
  • the proportion of pupils who are regularly absent reduces rapidly.
• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment so that they are consistently good or better, and improve pupils’ outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics further by ensuring that:
  • teachers have suitable subject knowledge in all curriculum areas
  • pupils, particularly the most able, receive work that is appropriately challenging, especially in writing
  • lower-attaining pupils are supported effectively to make rapid progress
  • teachers are effective in steering and extending pupils’ learning
  • the books pupils use to practise their early reading are precisely matched to their phonic knowledge. An external review of the school’s use of 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 Inadequate

• Leaders have failed to ensure that the arrangements to keep pupils safe are effective.
• Leaders have not responded fully to the demands of the national curriculum introduced in 2014. As a result, the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes are variable.
• Leaders have not placed sufficient emphasis on improving the educational experiences of disadvantaged pupils. Middle and senior leaders are clear in their view that disadvantaged pupils have not been their focus because there is only a small proportion of disadvantaged pupils in the school. Consequently, leaders have not identified that, for some disadvantaged pupils, low attendance is hindering their learning. Additionally, no consideration of disadvantaged pupils’ access to extra-curricular activities, educational visits or learning resources is evident. Provision is not in place to enable disadvantaged pupils to make accelerated progress. As a result, their outcomes lag behind those of other pupils nationally.
• Leaders’ plans for improvement lack precision and are not tightly focused on improving pupils’ outcomes. Consequently, their plans do not enable governors and senior leaders to hold members of staff to account effectively.
• Leaders carry out frequent checks on the quality of teaching and are accurate in their evaluations. They provide clear advice to teachers about how to improve their teaching. In some year groups, this has been crucial in improving teaching and enabling pupils to make more rapid progress. However, leaders’ advice is not always responded to swiftly and inconsistencies remain in the quality of teaching.
• The headteacher has developed a clear assessment system, which allows leaders and teachers to identify pupils who are making weak progress. She has also ensured that pupil-progress meetings are used to hold teachers to account for pupils’ progress. However, because the quality of teaching remains variable, successes in enabling targeted pupils to make accelerated progress are limited.
• Leaders of reading and mathematics have introduced new approaches to teaching which are beginning to provide pupils with an appropriate level of challenge. For pupils in some year groups, this means that they have the knowledge to reach a higher standard of learning. However, leaders are clear that there is more work to do to ensure that these early positive signs are embedded across year groups.
• Many middle leaders are new to their role. As such, they are not currently able to evidence the difference they have made to the quality of teaching within their area of responsibility.
• The systems and procedures that are used to identify pupils with SEND are not fit for purpose. Leaders often simply look for a pupil’s lack of progress as an indicator of special educational needs. Leaders have not ensured that all pupils with SEND have appropriate targets to work towards. Additionally, they have not checked that the teaching that pupils with SEND receive is effective in meeting their needs. As a result, the quality of provision for pupils varies, as does the progress that they make.
• Leaders introduced a new approach to teaching curriculum subjects beyond English and mathematics this academic year. They have involved teachers in planning topics which link subjects, such as history, geography and science, together to make learning more meaningful to pupils. As a result, pupils hold very positive views about their topic work. Although this new approach is in the early stages of implementation, leaders have ensured that plans are detailed to enable pupils’ progression in building knowledge, skills and vocabulary. Leaders are keen to involve parents and carers in their child’s learning. To this end, they have started to invite parents into the school at the start of each term for the launch of new topics.
• Pupils have good opportunities for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. For example, members of the school choir benefit from performing at the City Hall and at homes for the elderly. The high expectations that leaders have for pupils’ conduct ensure that pupils show care for each other. Pupils have a secure understanding of right and wrong. One pupil represented the views of many through the comment: ‘There are rules in place and we all follow them.’
• Leaders ensure that systems are in place to check carefully on the outcomes of children looked after. Individual pupils access targeted interventions to support their learning or emotional development. Consequently, this small group of pupils make strong progress to fulfil their potential.
• The primary physical education (PE) and sports funding is used well. Leaders bring external specialist coaches to the school to provide professional development for teachers. Leaders also provide additional opportunities for pupils to participate in extra-curricular clubs and tournaments. However, they do not check on pupils’ participation rates to identify whether the impact of their spending is being maximised.

Governance of the school

• Governors have not ensured that arrangements for safeguarding are effective. They show a lack of understanding of their role in holding leaders to account in this respect. Furthermore, they hold only limited knowledge of their legal duties in keeping children safe.
• Having recognised weaknesses in governance during the previous inspection, governors commissioned an external review of their effectiveness. This review has since been completed and an action plan drawn up. However, governors are honest and accurate in their assessment that progress towards securing improvements has been slow. It is not possible for them to evidence any impact of the action plan at this stage.
• Governors receive limited information about the spending of pupil premium funding and the difference this makes to disadvantaged pupils. They lack understanding of the purpose of the funding, not realising that the aim is for disadvantaged pupils to catch up with other pupils nationally. As a result, they are not able to evaluate whether the funding is spent well.
• Some governors show a high level of commitment to developing suitable expertise in order that they can hold leaders to account effectively. These members have high expectations for the school and are eager to play a crucial role in steering the school’s strategic direction.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.
• Leaders have not ensured that all staff, including staff with designated responsibility for safeguarding, receive frequent, high-quality safeguarding training. Although members of staff are clear about who to go to with concerns, some are not suitably knowledgeable about the risks pupils may face. They are also unsure about the possible indicators of harm to watch out for. Some members of staff express complacency in their approach to safeguarding, believing that certain risks are unlikely to affect their pupils. A culture of vigilance has not been developed in the school.
• Leaders are not fulfilling their legal duties in relation to keeping children safe. During the inspection, the child protection policy was rewritten so that it included the full range of risks to children and reflected current statutory guidance.
• Records compiled by designated staff show that concerns relating to child protection are not followed up rigorously enough. Where other agencies are involved with pupils and families, designated staff lack resolve in finding out the details of incidents and the outcomes of assessments. Similarly, it is not evident that concerns reported by members of staff in school are followed up appropriately. This places pupils at risk of harm.
• Leaders have not ensured that effective systems are in place to check that actions, communications and records in relation to child protection are appropriate. For example, communications with families and with children’s services are not recorded consistently. Leaders do not hold each other to account to ensure that all concerns are followed up thoroughly.
• Leaders have ensured that members of staff are vetted to ensure that they are suitable to work with children.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Although there have been recent improvements in the quality of teaching in a number of subjects, it remains inconsistent across subjects and year groups. Leaders have focused their attention on the priorities of reading and mathematics and have experienced some success in improving teaching and learning in these areas.
• The quality of teaching in writing is particularly variable. Teachers do not always demonstrate key aspects of subject knowledge which are crucial in moving pupils’ learning on. Too often, teachers are not explicit in explaining to pupils how they can be successful in creating a style of writing. Although pupils’ books do show that their skills improve, this progress is not maximised for all pupils. For example, the most able pupils do not consistently receive suitable challenge to enable them to write at a higher standard. Similarly, lower-attaining pupils are not supported consistently to develop the writing skills which are expected for their age.
• Professional development opportunities for teachers in mathematics have resulted in pupils having frequent opportunities for problem-solving and reasoning. However, these opportunities are not always effective in developing pupils’ skills and understanding. This is because some pupils start lessons on tasks which are too easy for them and then do not have sufficient time to tackle the more challenging aspects of work. Too frequently, pupils who do attempt these aspects are not taught how to justify their answers. Their responses reflect a lack of depth of understanding and this often goes unaddressed by their teachers.
• Leaders have introduced a new approach to the teaching of reading. As a result, teachers ensure that pupils are taught a range of reading comprehension skills, including retrieval, prediction, sequencing and inference. This approach has ensured that the majority of pupils are now making better progress in reading. While teachers are becoming increasingly adept at recognising where pupils’ answers require more detail, pupils’ progress is not maximised.
• Teachers select class novels, books and texts which are linked to the current curriculum topic as the basis of reading lessons. However, the lower-attaining pupils cannot always read the ambitious texts chosen by teachers fluently and, therefore, their progress in developing their comprehension skills is hindered significantly.
• The teaching of phonics has improved over time. Almost all pupils acquire the phonics skills they need by the time they enter key stage 2. Adults have secure knowledge of phonics. They ensure that pupils have frequent opportunities for sounding out and reading of words. In addition, the words that pupils decode during phonics lessons represent a suitable level of challenge. However, within phonics sessions, pupils do not have opportunities to write words or sentences. This limits the opportunities for them to consolidate their phonic knowledge, as well as developing their writing and spelling.
• For lower-attaining pupils, the progress they make in developing phonic knowledge is not as rapid as it could be. This is because the books they use to practise their early reading skills are not matched precisely to the sounds they know. Although they read regularly at home, their books contain too many words which they are not able to read, or which take considerable time and effort to sound out. This means that they do not develop fluency and confidence quickly.
• Pupils’ presentation of their work is improving. Very recently, leaders introduced handwriting lessons and higher expectations for the presentation of work across subjects. Although this initiative is in its infancy, pupils are already taking more pride in their work.
• Leaders and teachers have made helpful links between subjects across the curriculum. As a result, pupils are motivated to learn about their topics. For example, key stage 1 pupils were enthused about learning about outer space in science, reading and writing. In addition, these connections mean that pupils secure their knowledge, skills and understanding in wider curriculum subjects increasingly effectively.
• In some year groups, teaching assistants provide vital support to pupils with SEND which enables them to make good progress. In these cases, the teaching assistants have a detailed understanding of pupils’ needs. They are skilled in providing appropriate support to develop pupils’ independence and promote their inclusion in the class, as well as extending their knowledge and skills. However, due to the variability in the quality of teaching, provision is not as effective for all pupils with SEND. As a result, the progress of some pupils is hampered.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Leaders have been very effective in their work to prevent bullying. Pupils on the school council have taken responsibility for teaching their peers about how to prevent, recognise and deal with bullying through their ‘STOP’ campaign. This has ensured that pupils have a good understanding of the different types of bullying and they know what they would do if they encountered such behaviours. As a result, instances of bullying are rare.
• Pupils have frequent opportunities to develop their social and teamwork skills, for example through group work and enterprise projects. As a result, they cooperate well with others. Leaders place a heavy emphasis on pupils learning to treat others as they would like to be treated. Pupils develop strong empathy for others and demonstrate good interpersonal skills.
• Pupils are encouraged to develop healthy lifestyles and are knowledgeable about how their choices influence their health and well-being. At breaktimes, they benefit from the wealth of equipment on offer. Pupils enjoy being active at these times.
• Pupils can take on leadership roles, such as play leader or playtime mediator. They receive training to enable them to support other pupils by organising games or resolving any disagreements. As well as ensuring that breaktimes run smoothly, this also contributes to the high levels of respect that pupils demonstrate towards each other.
• The child and family support officer makes a crucial difference to pupils and their families, particularly those whose circumstances may make them vulnerable. He provides effective emotional support for individual pupils which often enables them to improve their behaviour and avoid exclusion.
• Teaching in religious education (RE), geography, history and in assemblies has equipped pupils with a secure knowledge of different faiths and cultures. Pupils show mature and tolerant attitudes and are welcoming of diversity.
• Leaders ensure that a range of extra-curricular activities is on offer for pupils. For example, pupils enjoy learning new skills at cookery or gardening club. However, leaders have not checked which pupils and groups participate in these clubs. They have not identified and targeted pupils to ensure that all pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils, benefit from such provision.
• Pupils learn how to stay safe in a range of different contexts through personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education. Pupils spoken to during the inspection were clear about the actions they would take if they were presented with inappropriate content online. However, some pupils are unaware of the potential risks presented by strangers they could communicate with while using the internet.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Leaders have secured improved attendance rates overall, bringing the school in line with the national average. However, the attendance of disadvantaged pupils remains below average and leaders have not taken decisive action to improve this. Additionally, the proportion of pupils who are regularly absent from school remains above average and is not reducing quickly enough.
• On the whole, pupils show positive attitudes to learning and they are eager to succeed. However, where the teaching they receive does not meet their needs well enough, they often become off-task and sometimes disrupt the learning of others. This leads to learning time being wasted.
• Pupils are polite and well mannered. Their conduct as they move around the school and at breaktimes is calm and orderly. Older pupils are regularly seen caring for the younger pupils and this reflects the mature and responsible attitudes which are fostered through the school’s ethos.
• Leaders have rigorous systems in place to spot any patterns of negative behaviour from pupils. They deal with behavioural incidents swiftly and with suitable stringency, keeping parents well informed. As a result, occurrences of poor behaviour and derogatory language are rare.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Outcomes for pupils across year groups and subjects have been variable over time. Pupils’ outcomes in reading at the end of key stage 2 were below average in 2016 and 2017. However, following leaders’ improvements to this aspect of teaching, in 2018, pupils’ progress improved to be in line with the national average. Consequently, the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard was above average and the proportion reaching the higher standard was average.
• Improvements were seen in pupils’ progress in mathematics at the end of key stage 2 in 2018, reflecting stronger teaching in this subject. However, pupils’ progress in writing has been below the national average for the last two years. This has meant that too many pupils have not reached and exceeded the standard expected for their age.
• Over the last three years, in key stage 1, outcomes for pupils have been variable. The proportion of pupils who reach the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics is often just below average. During this period, the proportion of pupils reaching a higher standard of learning has not been consistently high enough.
• Leaders and inspectors recognise this picture of inconsistency in current pupils’ books and assessments across year groups. Progress for pupils capable of reaching a higher standard of learning is particularly hampered because they do not always receive teaching which moves their learning on quickly.
• Outcomes for the small number of disadvantaged pupils in each year group are variable. Too often, their progress is not strong enough to reach the higher standards of learning. They are not being supported effectively to make the progress to catch up with other pupils nationally.
• Some pupils with SEND make good progress from their starting points. This is because they have appropriate targets to work towards and the support they receive is effective in enabling them to reach their targets. However, the teaching of pupils with SEND overall is variable. Some pupils do not make the progress of which they are capable.
• Leaders have started to prioritise the development of pupils’ love of reading. To this end, they have revised the curriculum to centre on reading. They are also beginning to ask pupils for their reading preferences so that the range of books available can be improved. However, in key stage 2, for many pupils, the current books on offer do not capture their imagination and motivate them to read. Pupils told inspectors that they prefer to read their books from home.
• Following improvements to the quality of phonics teaching, the proportion of pupils meeting the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check has increased considerably and is now above average. By the end of key stage 1, almost all pupils have the phonics knowledge and skills they need.

Early years provision Inadequate

• While provision and outcomes for children in the early years require improvement, weaknesses in the effectiveness of the school’s work to safeguard children mean the overall judgement for early years is inadequate.
• Leaders have not identified improvement priorities accurately in the early years. Because of this, they have not taken the necessary actions to ensure that the quality of teaching is consistently good.
• Children enter the early years with knowledge and skills which are typical for their age. Adults do not identify children’s next steps in learning precisely enough. As a result, the provision on offer for children to initiate their own learning does not always present sufficient challenge. This means that children are not always able to consolidate and extend their learning independently. Instead, they need high levels of direction from adults.
• Adult-led activities are often effective in stimulating children’s thinking and talk. Some adults are highly skilled in steering and extending children’s learning. For example, during the inspection, an adult effectively extended a child’s number recognition and counting skills through the questions she asked. However, some adults take too much control of children’s learning. Consequently, many children show an over-reliance on adults and their confidence to choose and tackle activities independently is limited.
• Children enjoy learning in the outdoor provision. Adults lead activities which are effective in developing children’s social communication skills. As a result, children cooperate well with each other. The adult-led activities also incorporate some opportunities for children to develop writing and number skills. However, for most children, there are few outdoor opportunities to develop their learning independently in reading, writing and mathematics.
• In the indoor classroom, adults ensure that there is a wide range of activities to support children’s early writing development. During the inspection, a small group of girls enjoyed a word hunt, where they had to find and copy words which were ‘hidden’ around the classroom. For this group, not only did they practise their pencil control and letter formation, they also consolidated their phonics learning from that morning. However, too often, activities are not planned with a clear purpose in mind and are, therefore, not as effective in supporting children’s development across the areas of learning.
• Children behave well. Adults have high expectations of their behaviour and have clear routines in place which children follow. However, activities are often not linked to children’s interests and are, therefore, unenticing. Consequently, some children find it difficult to sustain their concentration and spend considerable time flitting between activities. This results in lost learning time and hinders children’s progress.
• Parents appreciate the opportunities they have to share and receive information about their children through regular communication with adults in the setting. They find the online assessment tool a helpful way of keeping up to date regarding their child’s development.
• Relationships between adults and children are secure. Children are well cared for and their welfare requirements are met.

School details

Unique reference number 117719 Local authority Kingston Upon Hull City Council Inspection number 10053045 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 Community 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 390 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Christopher Lefevre Machaela Heavens Telephone number 01482 374675 Website Email address www.cavendish.hull.sch.uk head@cavendish.hull.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 1 March 2018

Information about this school

• Cavendish Primary School is a larger-than-average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils receiving support for special educational needs is above average. The proportion of pupils who have an education, health and care plan is average.
• The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage and very few pupils speak English as an additional language.
• The school has a breakfast club and after-school childcare provision.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning across the school in a range of subjects. Many of these observations were carried out jointly with senior leaders.
• Inspectors looked at pupils’ work, talked to them about their learning and listened to them read. They observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school, including at playtimes and lunchtimes. Inspectors gathered pupils’ opinions about the school through formal and informal discussions. They also considered the 39 responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey.
• Inspectors met with senior and middle leaders, a group of governors, a local authority representative and a group of staff. They also considered the 26 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.
• Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation and improvement plans, minutes of governing body meetings, safeguarding documents and monitoring records of the quality of teaching and learning. Inspectors also evaluated information relating to pupils’ outcomes, behaviour and attendance.
• Inspectors gathered the opinions of parents at the start and end of the school day. They also took account of the views of 58 parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and the 19 free-text responses.

Inspection team

Karine Hendley, lead inspector Adrian Fearn Angela Harper Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector