Edward Heneage Primary Academy 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?

• Improve the quality of teaching in order to increase rates of progress and raise standards for all groups of pupils, particularly at the end of key stage 2, by ensuring that:
  • staff have higher expectations of all pupils throughout the school, including children in the early years
  • teachers use assessment information to plan work that accurately meets pupils’ needs and holds their interest effectively
  • teaching challenges all pupils to achieve their best, particularly the most able pupils
  • teachers use questioning effectively to check pupils’ understanding and to deepen and extend their knowledge and skills
  • disadvantaged pupils, particularly at key stage 2, have appropriate and sharply focused support so that differences with all pupils nationally reduce rapidly
  • pupils apply their basic literacy and numeracy skills accurately in their work in all subjects
  • pupils understand clearly how to improve their work and complete their work to a high standard
  • leaders and teachers deploy teaching assistants to their maximum effect to secure higher outcomes for all pupils.
• Strengthen leadership and management by:
  • ensuring that all leaders, including subject leaders, have the skills they need to play a stronger role in developing their areas of responsibility to secure higher outcomes for all groups of pupils
  • evaluating the quality of teaching and learning more closely to ensure that all pupils make the progress they should
  • checking that the additional support given to disadvantaged pupils impacts positively on their achievement, especially at key stage 2
  • holding teachers and teaching assistants to account more diligently for the progress of all groups of pupils
  • ensuring that all plans, including those for pupil premium spending, have precise and measurable targets, so that leaders can keep a careful check on the impact of the actions taken to improve pupils’ progress.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Leadership and management require improvement because leaders have not ensured that pupils’ achievement is good, especially at key stage 2. Since its previous inspection, the school has had many staff changes, particularly among senior and middle leaders. This has hampered the pace of school improvement. While some improvement is evident, for example pupils’ attendance is rising, the leaders’ view of the school’s performance and their own is too positive.
• The principal, with support from the executive principal and academy trustees, has begun to address some of the most urgent improvement priorities, such as improving teaching to secure higher outcomes for all pupils by the end of Year 6. In-year staff changes last year slowed progress generally, but more so at key stage 2. Unreliable assessment information from the past and a lack of confidence among teachers in evaluating pupils’ progress also impeded the school’s overall performance last year, especially at key stage 2.
• Procedures to track pupils’ progress are now more effective and senior leaders know where teaching needs strengthening to help pupils make up the lost ground in their learning. Their actions have been more effective at key stage 1 and in the early years than at key stage 2, where pupils’ achievements last year were very low.
• With the ongoing changes in leadership over the last two years, school leaders, including governors and those from the academy trust, have struggled to improve the school rapidly enough. However, staffing is more stable this year and there is an expectation from school leaders that nothing less than good teaching is acceptable.
• Leaders ensure that staff have the training and support they need to help them to improve their practice. Performance management procedures are applied stringently. Staff know the targets that have been agreed for each class and that any pay awards will be linked to achieving pupils’ progress targets. However, pupils’ targets are not as ambitious as they might be to secure higher outcomes, especially among the most able pupils.
• Senior leaders meet with teachers each week to plan additional support for any pupils not achieving as well as they should. However, when observing classroom practice, leaders do not put sufficient emphasis on the effect teaching has on pupils’ progress. In addition, subject leaders are not as involved as they might be in improving teaching in their areas of responsibility. Many are new to their roles and have not had sufficient time to influence standards at key stage 2.
• The school provides a rich and broad curriculum. Most pupils engage well, but at times what they are asked to do lacks sufficient challenge, particularly for the most able. However, with greater emphasis on reading, writing and mathematics this year, pupils are beginning to make faster progress. Opportunities to deepen pupils’ learning by posing more challenging questions that require them to apply skills to new situations or problems are sometimes overlooked.
• The curriculum promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. Pupils have extensive opportunities to broaden their horizons in school and beyond. Their understanding of life in the local area and beyond is developed well, particularly through participation in the numerous events to do with ‘Hull City of Culture’. Outdoor pursuits and sport are popular and the school provides opportunities for pupils to broaden their skills.
• The school uses its sports funding to employ specialist instructors to extend the range of activities pupils can do, to develop teachers’ skills in physical education and to increase pupils’ participation in competitive events. Pupils know that ‘sport keeps you fit and healthy’ and enjoy the many sports clubs the school offers.
• Leaders use the additional funding received for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities to provide specific staff and resources to support these pupils’ needs. Pupils benefit from this personalised provision to extend their learning. However, over time, pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities have made weak progress. The impact of this funding is inconsistent.
• The school’s funding to support disadvantaged pupils is also used to increase staffing levels. These pupils make similar rates of progress as their classmates. The gap between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and that of other pupils nationally is not closing quickly enough because teaching generally is not strong. The school is committed to tackling any inequality, but leaders agree that pupils of all backgrounds and abilities are not yet achieving as well as they should.
• The academy trust provides some effective support, for example to improve provision for the early years and for reading and mathematics. It also provides relevant training to governors and staff to help them improve the school. However, the trust has not done enough to ensure more rapid progress throughout the school, especially for pupils in key stage 2.
• The few parents who submitted their views during the inspection were mostly positive about the school and their children’s learning. Staff views were also very positive.

Governance of the school

• Governors have a clear understanding of the school’s performance and are keen for pupils to do well. They understand what needs to be done to secure good outcomes, but the high turnover of senior staff has hindered more rapid improvement. They have not been as vigilant as they need to be in checking that leaders’ actions bring about improvements, particularly in the quality of teaching.
• Governors have supported the principal’s efforts to tackle weak teaching and know that pay awards are linked to teachers’ performance. They know that staff receive training to improve their practice but have not checked closely enough that all staff are deployed to maximum effect and held to account sufficiently for the progress of pupils in their care.
• Governors know that the pupil premium spending is helping disadvantaged pupils make at least the same rates of progress as their classmates so that they do not fall further behind. However, given the fact that their classmates are generally making slow progress, it is clear that the impact of pupil premium funding has been limited overall. Governors ensure that all the school’s finances are managed appropriately.
• The governors receive regular reports from the principal, including information about pupils’ progress, and raise pertinent questions. Governors visit the school to check provision for themselves by speaking to leaders and seeking pupils’ views. They, like other leaders, did not expect the low outcomes for pupils in Year 6 last year, and recognise that they need to be more vigilant in holding leaders to account.
• Governors take their safeguarding responsibilities seriously and conduct regular checks to ensure that the school’s systems to keep children safe are up to date and operating correctly.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Systems to check the suitability of adults who work with pupils are thorough. Leaders update all policies regularly. All staff undertake any required training to ensure that they understand their duty of care responsibilities and the school’s procedures to keep pupils safe. Staff know to act promptly if they have any concerns.
• The curriculum is effective in addressing safety issues. Pupils receive guidance on how to stay safe at school and at home. Leaders involve outside agencies to provide pupils with information, such as online safety, and parents are reminded of such matters regularly.

• Pupils say that incidents of bullying are rare and that teachers deal with these promptly. All incidents are recorded fully and dealt with appropriately. Staff encourage pupils to talk about any worries they may have in order to reduce any potential issues.
• Leaders maintain confidential records meticulously. They follow up any concerns about child protection promptly and involve other agencies when appropriate. The school offers effective and sensitive support to pupils and families to quickly address any welfare issues that may arise. Pupils’ attendance is checked closely. Staff act quickly if pupils do not arrive and parents have not notified the school of their child’s absence beforehand.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality and impact of teaching is not consistently good enough to ensure that all pupils make the progress they should, particularly at key stage 2. The activities teachers plan do not always challenge pupils sufficiently to build on their previous learning. As a result, gaps in learning arise and pupils, especially the most able, do not make the progress they are capable of in reading, writing and mathematics. The effectiveness of teaching needs to be consistently good or better if the school is to reverse the trend of underachievement that currently exists. This issue needs prioritising and addressing as a matter of urgency.
• On occasions, the work the most able pupils receive, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, is too easy and fails to extend their knowledge, skills and understanding sufficiently. Teachers do sometimes plan tasks that present extra challenge, but pupils do not move on to these quickly enough. This limits the extent of the progress they make.
• The basic skills of literacy are taught systematically across the school. However, teachers do not always insist that pupils apply spelling, grammar and punctuation accurately, especially when writing in other subjects. Nor do they always make it clear what they expect of pupils in terms of the extent and quality of work they should produce. Pupils’ responses to any feedback teachers provide are inconsistent. As a result, many careless errors go unchecked and so continue to persist.
• While most pupils engage well and try hard, lapses do occur occasionally, usually when learning fails to stimulate pupils’ interest and engage them fully. This sometimes results in restless, inattentive behaviour and slows pupils’ progress.
• Pupils are eager to answer questions and enjoy any challenges teachers pose in lessons to extend their learning. Teachers build on pupils’ answers well but fall short of challenging the most able sufficiently. Time given to class discussion or question-and-answer sessions is often too short for all pupils to contribute and deepen their understanding sufficiently.
• The school has a number of highly skilled and experienced teaching assistants. They are not always deployed to maximum effect to support better outcomes for all pupils during all parts of the lesson. They are more effective when they work with individual pupils or small groups who need to catch up or who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• The teaching of phonics is effective in that it enables pupils in Year 1, despite their often low starting points, to reach the expected standard. Recent improvements mean that children make a more secure start in the early years. Teachers build upon children’s early learning and encourage them to use what they know in their reading and writing. Older key stage 2 pupils, who did not experience this systematic approach, are insecure in their ability to spell accurately when faced with unfamiliar vocabulary. The school has introduced more focused activities to improve pupils’ comprehension skills. Pupils’ achievements in reading are rising as a result. Pupils say that they like reading and talk about characters and plots in reading sessions where teachers ask questions that make them think about the texts and new vocabulary.
• While too few pupils are currently working at greater depth in writing, the teaching of writing is effective in developing pupils’ enthusiasm to compose stories and poems. Teachers encourage pupils to borrow from the styles of various authors to enhance their work and to be more adventurous in using new vocabulary. Pupils often shy away from this latter skill, however, because they lack confidence in applying what they learn through reading into their writing.
• The teaching of mathematics is improving, but many pupils have considerable gaps in their understanding. For example, some pupils lack confidence in place value, multiplication tables and deciding which operations they need to calculate multi-step problems. Teachers are developing pupils’ reasoning and depth of understanding more systematically and bridging gaps in pupils’ knowledge, for example about number facts, which have not been promoted as strongly in the past.
• Pupils trust the staff they work with and say that ‘teachers are here to help you if you can’t do things properly.’ Relationships are positive in class; pupils are sensible when asked to share ideas with others. The majority try very hard and show they want to learn.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. This includes referring some of its most vulnerable pupils to the Western Resource Base so that they can receive the specialist support they need. Staff understand the diverse needs of each pupil and support their social and emotional development effectively. This caring ethos boosts pupils’ confidence and self-esteem. As one pupil stated emphatically, ‘Teachers really care about you and want to help you.’ Pupils feel safe and well looked after at school at all times and trust their teachers.
• Pupils have a good understanding of the different forms of bullying that might occur and explained that teachers deal with concerns quickly, including those that might arise from using technology at home or school. Pupils know not to put private details on the internet.
• Pupils take on responsibilities such as representing classmates as house captains. Through ‘pupil voice’, they contribute ideas to inform decisions such as the play equipment they would like or fundraising events they want to plan. They take pride in their appearance and say that the school uniform makes them look smart and ‘ready for work’. Pupils say that the school has improved this year and behaviour is better. Pupils applaud the new ‘trim-trail’ in the playground and explain how they must share it and play safely, ‘especially if you are little and keep falling off!’ They show care and kindness towards others.
• Pupils understand the values of respect and tolerance and how to demonstrate these. They say that they have ‘done democracy’, and know people have different views and opinions. They know that people may have different cultures, religions or languages, but said, ‘You should respect everyone. It is unkind to treat people differently. We are all the same really.’

Behaviour

Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

• Provisional results from the tests and assessments in reading, writing and mathematics in July 2017 were too low for too many pupils, particularly at the end of Year 6. Pupils did not make enough progress and so underachieved at the end of both key stages. Their achievement was particularly poor at key stage 2. The school did not tackle underachievement well last year.
• At the end of key stage 1, pupils’ overall attainment was low for reading, writing and mathematics last year. From their broadly average starting points at the end of the early years, pupils did not make the progress they should have, and too few achieved at a greater depth at the end of Year 2. The outcomes in the phonics screening check were in line with the national average in 2016. Provisional information suggests that attainment in phonics was similar in 2017.
• Pupils in Year 6 made inadequate progress in reading, writing and mathematics. With only 16% attaining the expected levels when combining all three subjects, their overall performance was extremely low. All pupils underachieved considerably. The most able failed to achieve as well as they should have and the performance of disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities was equally poor. A high number of staff changes in Year 6 and pockets of weak teaching contributed to these disappointing outcomes.
• Over the last three years, progress has not been good. Throughout the school, the most able pupils are not challenged to work at sufficient depth to achieve higher outcomes. Too few exceed expectations in any subject and any key stage, although outcomes generally are higher at key stage 1 than key stage 2.
• The school’s assessment information for current pupils shows that while higher targets have been set for the end of Year 6 this year, these targets are still well below age- related expectations. Too few of these pupils are on track to achieve well because weak teaching in the past has left considerable gaps in their learning. However, based on their current performance, pupils are working at higher levels than Year 6 pupils were at the same time last year.
• In other year groups, particularly Years 3 and 4, and at key stage 1, pupils are making stronger progress, which is giving them a better opportunity to achieve well over time.
• The outlook for current Year 2 pupils is promising. From their broadly average starting points at Year 1, these pupils are on track to make suitable progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of the year as a result of better teaching, learning and assessment.
• Throughout the school, the most able pupils have not been challenged sufficiently, and teachers’ expectations of this group have been too low. Leaders are addressing this by targeting additional support and challenge for these pupils who are behind where they should be. As a result, they are now beginning to make faster progress, and gaps with other pupils nationally have begun to narrow.
• Standards in reading are below the national average, particularly at key stage 2. Older pupils did not have the quality of phonics teaching now evident in the early years and key stage 1 and so lower-attaining readers lack confidence and fluency. Furthermore, the school did not focus sufficiently on pupils’ comprehension skills in the past. Lower-attaining pupils make insufficient use of contextual clues and punctuation to read with greater confidence and accuracy. Pupils’ weaker skills in reading limit their writing and learning in other subjects.
• In writing, pupils at key stage 2, and to a lesser extent at key stage 1, are working at levels below those expected for their age. This is because they do not apply their basic skills of spelling, grammar and punctuation accurately to develop their skills further. These skills are not embedded well among all pupils. A number of pupils in Year 2 are still not forming letters or holding pencils correctly. Teachers’ expectations are not always high enough to challenge pupils and raise outcomes.
• In mathematics, timed tests and more precise teaching of number skills are increasing pupils’ fluency and mental agility. Closer scrutiny of pupils’ progress and more individual support for pupils are also making a difference. However, pupils’ reasoning and problem-solving skills remain weak, and some find it difficult to apply what they know confidently when faced with complex, multi-step calculations.
• Outcomes for the disadvantaged pupils are no lower than those of non-disadvantaged pupils in the school, although they are considerably lower than for other pupils nationally. The support for disadvantaged pupils is not precise enough to pinpoint specific needs, and expectations generally are not high enough. The most able disadvantaged pupils do not make sufficient progress.
• As a result of recent improvements in teaching, pupils are beginning to make better progress in most classes, but this is still not fast enough. Current assessment information and work in pupils’ books show that progress, especially at key stage 2, remains an issue.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• Provision in the early years requires improvement because the most able children are not challenged enough. Occasionally, where children have reached a good level of development, their skills are not sufficiently secure for them to make good progress in Year 1. This is particularly so in their handwriting and number skills.
• Most children start in the early years with abilities below those typical for children at the age of three. While an average number of children attain good levels of development, from broadly typical starting points, too few children exceed these levels.
• The recently appointed early years leader has not yet had sufficient time to modify provision so that all children make good progress. The accuracy and reliability of assessments still need to be checked, and further work is needed to embed good practice in all the areas of learning. An increasing number of children each year attain good levels of development, but the lack of challenge is holding some children back.
• Staff take time to record children’s achievement, but these records sometimes lack precision and detail to make sure that children’s next steps are clearly identified. Planning therefore does not meet their needs fully so that they make good progress.
• Adult-led activities are generally planned well to extend children’s understanding and skills. Children respond enthusiastically when working with staff because they enjoy the support and praise they receive. However, free-choice activities are less well structured; children do not engage as well when left to manage their own learning. In these instances, adults do not always extend knowledge and skills through timely questions and interventions.
• Once they are confident with class routines, children generally organise themselves well, for example when sharing resources or taking turns in role play, when they play sensibly and safely. While staff promote independence well, a number of children struggle to manage themselves without adults to steer them. They disengage when not sufficiently challenged or when they find certain activities difficult, such as number or writing work.
• The early years environment is attractive, well equipped and engaging. New arrivals in the Nursery follow the example of older children to know what is expected of them.
• Care arrangements are good. Children are safe, well supervised and looked after well.
• Safeguarding requirements are secure, and all staff have the relevant training to support young children. Staff encourage parents to support their children’s learning at home and to quickly pass on any cause for concern.

School details

Unique reference number 138857 Local authority North East Lincolnshire Inspection number 10036579 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 Type of school Primary School category Academy sponsor-led Age range of pupils Gender of pupils 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 289 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Principal Paul Ainsworth Dominque Osborne Telephone number 01472 320016 Website Email address www.edwardheneage.co.uk office@edwardheneage.co.uk Date of previous inspection 11–12 May 2016

Information about this school

• The school complies with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school is part of the David Ross Education Trust.
• There have been a number of changes in staffing since the previous inspection, including the appointment of a new principal in September 2016.
• The number of pupils on roll at the school is above average for primary schools.
• Children attend part time in the Nursery and full time in the Reception classes.
• Almost all pupils are of White British heritage. The remaining pupils originate from a range of minority ethnic heritages and countries in South East Asia and Europe.
• The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is above average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above average.
• The school occasionally refers pupils to the Western Resource Base, which is an alternative provision that caters for pupils with particular social, emotional and/or mental health needs.
• The school does not meet the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress by the end of Year 6.
• A greater proportion of pupils join or leave the school at other than the expected times compared with schools nationally.
• The school provides a breakfast club and offers a range of after-school activities.
• The school is receiving support from a national leader of education and a local leader of education.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching throughout the school, including numerous shared observations with the principal and the assistant principals. In addition, the inspectors scrutinised pupils’ workbooks and listened to pupils read.
• Inspectors held meetings with pupils, the chair of the governing body, the principal, senior and middle leaders and subject leaders. The inspectors also had a meeting with the executive principal from the academy trust.
• Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s evaluation of its own performance, current data on pupils’ progress, and planning and monitoring documentation. Inspectors reviewed how well leaders used funding for disadvantaged pupils and for primary school physical education and sport. Inspectors also took into consideration records relating to behaviour and attendance, as well as documents relating to safeguarding.
• There were only four responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View. Inspectors took into account the views of a number of parents spoken to during the inspection and also considered the views of the 12 parents who submitted text messages to Ofsted.
• The inspectors took account of the eight responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire and talked to staff during the inspection about their views of the school. Ofsted received 10 pupil responses and these were taken into account along with views pupils expressed during the inspection on site.

Inspection team

Rajinder Harrison, lead inspector Lynne Selkirk Chris Cook

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector