Emmanuel Anglican/Methodist Junior School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment to accelerate pupils’ progress by ensuring that:
  • all areas of the curriculum are planned, structured and assessed to enable pupils to gain a strong foundation of knowledge, skills and understanding appropriate to their age
  • teachers’ very high expectations of pupils’ spelling, written presentation and learning behaviours are consistently applied in afternoon sessions.
• Improve the effectiveness of leaders at all levels, by:
  • developing leaders’ skills so that they can rigorously monitor and evaluate the quality of the school’s work and its impact on pupils’ learning and progress
  • keeping the curriculum under close review so that it is progressively challenging and provides a secure foundation to support pupils in moving on to secondary school
  • extending assessment systems so that the school has a better understanding of pupils’ learning and progress in all areas and subjects of the curriculum and can share this information with parents
  • making sure governors evaluate the impact that additional funding for PE and sport has on pupils’ learning and development and report and publish the findings to parents
  • working effectively with pupils and parents to reduce the rate of occasional absence.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher has worked determinedly to extend the physical environment of the school and develop and improve the quality of teaching to raise standards of education. School plans provide compelling evidence of her ambition to ensure that pupils achieve the best they can.
• Together with governors, the headteacher has correctly identified the school’s strengths and areas of development. She has delegated responsibilities effectively within the senior leadership team to improve teaching, learning and pupils’ achievement. Senior leaders are confident in using their leadership skills.
• With the support of staff, and the family of schools within the trust, leaders are taking effective action to secure improvements in teaching. Standards, particularly in mathematics and reading, are rising.
• A programme of training, and research into initiatives and programmes, has helped teachers and support staff to bring more consistency to the quality of teaching of reading and mathematics. Leaders, particularly the lead teacher for mathematics, are implementing new approaches effectively.
• Teachers and support staff are increasingly confident and have higher expectations of pupils. They are becoming adept in diagnosing the barriers to pupils’ learning in mathematics more accurately as a result of the methods and approaches they have learned.
• Despite much activity taking place, leaders’ checks on learning in subjects other than English and mathematics are not always sharply focused on gathering information about what barriers to learning remain and what works well, to enable pupils to make swifter progress and gain a deeper understanding.
• Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is threaded through the school’s curriculum and extra-curricular activities. School trips and visitors enhance pupils’ learning about topics. Opportunities to develop and progressively deepen pupils’ knowledge about science, art, history, geography, and design and technology are limited.
• Systems of assessing pupils’ attainment and progress are focused on reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils’ progress is carefully tracked to identify any pupil who begins to fall behind in these subjects and early support is put in place. However, the school is at the very early stages of developing assessment systems to identify how well pupils are learning in subjects other than reading, writing and mathematics.
• Parents are highly supportive of the school. They value the difference it is making to their children and most who responded to the Ofsted survey would recommend the school to other parents. Parents would like more information about the progress their children are making.
• The school provides a safe and secure place to learn and work as a result of the investments made and that continue to be made to improve the quality and fabric of the school.

Governance of the school

• Governors make a positive contribution to the school’s leadership and management. They are focused on pupils achieving the best possible outcomes. Governors work in partnership with the headteacher to identify the main areas for improvement.
• Governors use their visits to school to supplement a wide range of information they receive from the headteacher.
• Few opportunities exist for governors to hear directly from leaders, other than the headteacher, at their meetings. Responses to governors’ questions do not always provide governors with sufficient detail about the impact of the school’s work.
• Governors ask challenging questions. They have encouraged development of the school’s approach to the teaching of reading and an external review of the use of the pupil premium. However, governors’ oversight of the primary PE and sport premium funding is not good enough. They have not checked the impact that the funding has on pupils’ learning and development, nor published this information on the school’s website.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding pupils are effective. Staff are committed to keeping pupils safe and are fully aware of their responsibilities to do so. Pupils who spoke with inspectors, and those who responded to the survey, feel listened to by adults. They are confident that teachers and support staff care for them and that they can talk to them if they are worried or upset.
• The headteacher, as the designated safeguarding lead, ensures that concerns are reported and acted on quickly so that pupils receive the support they need.
• Governors and the trust make checks on safeguarding arrangements to ensure that they are fit for purpose. All staff are appropriately trained. They are vigilant for signs of concern and know they must report them immediately.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teaching is enabling pupils to learn well in writing, mathematics and reading. Teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve. They plan sequences of lessons that are challenging and carefully attuned to pupils’ next steps. Pupils feel challenged in most lessons and say that teachers help them to do their best.
• The teaching of mathematics is a strength of the school. Teachers are securely building pupils’ skills with work that is well pitched to develop reasoning, fluency and problem-solving skills. As a consequence of the school’s work, pupils in all year groups are making swift progress. For example, pupils in Year 4 quickly developed understanding of place value and multiplication from single to three digits within a term.
• Pupils’ work is pitched at the right level to extend and deepen their knowledge and understanding. For example, pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities say they enjoy the structure of mathematics and feel they are making the most progress in this subject.
• A structured approach to the teaching of reading is implemented consistently across the school. Teaching has helped to better support pupils and, as a result, their reading skills are improving. Books and texts studied in lessons are well chosen by teachers to challenge pupils’ reading skills and extend their range of vocabulary. Pupils show pride in their work and are curious to know the next twist in the stories they are reading in lessons.
• Disadvantaged pupils are supported well and are reading extensively. They have more opportunities to read to volunteers in school during the week. Consequently, many more pupils are gaining recognition for their achievement in becoming regular readers.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are making good progress in reading. The additional support provided through an intensive 10-week programme has helped pupils to move up though reading-book bands. Pupils are becoming more confident learners, as demonstrated in their participation in lessons, answering questions and reading independently.
• The teaching of writing is confident and effective. Teachers insist that pupils write in sentences and generally have high expectations about the quality of work. In all year groups, pupils are planning and organising their writing well and the quality of their handwriting is good. For example, pupils in Year 3 are using a wide range of vocabulary accurately to make their writing about the Ice Palace more stimulating. However, standards of pupils’ spelling and written work across the curriculum start to slip in the afternoons and staff do not always pick up on them.
• Pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills in other subjects are less strong. The quality of teaching in science provides opportunities for pupils to record basic experiments and to learn about a range of habitats. However, pupils’ knowledge of basic scientific concepts is limited.
• Pupils have exciting opportunities to learn about a range of topics such as the frozen planet, the Egyptians and India. Pupils recall experiences such as tying knots and building fires in the frozen planet topic with much enthusiasm and enjoyment. However, this learning is not planned well enough to ensure that pupils are progressively challenged and supported to make strong progress and deepen their knowledge and understanding as they move through key stage 2. Leaders recognise that they need to plan and assess better to make sure that the starting points in the topics are right and build on prior knowledge.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. The vast majority of parents who responded to the inspection survey feel their children are well looked after at this school.
• Many pupils enjoy being at school. Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities feel well supported. They say, ‘It’s really easy to make new friends here.’ The school is inclusive. Opportunities to undertake responsibilities, such as serving on the school council, being a playground buddy, or helping new children to settle in, are extended to a wide range of pupils.
• The school provides good opportunities to develop pupils’ social skills and independence. Pupils understand British values well. This is because teachers actively develop pupils’ understanding of different faiths and cultures and provide many opportunities for them to work cooperatively together in lessons, at playtimes, and through attending the breakfast club and extra-curricular activities. As a result, pupils are developing in personal confidence, and are keen to learn.
• Pupils are developing respect for the views of others. Pupils told inspectors that ‘Bullying isn’t really a problem, but sometimes we fall out.’ However, some pupils also said that they are upset about the unkind remarks other children say to them. Some parents feel there is still more to do to improve this aspect of behaviour. Leaders acknowledge this. Pupils are beginning to respond to and share their concerns with the learning mentor.
• Teachers ensure that pupils know how to stay safe through work in assemblies and topics to alert them to risks and what to do. As a result of the school’s work in this area, pupils said they feel safe in school.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Throughout the day, pupils conduct themselves well around school with minimal direction from teachers and other adults. Most pupils are polite and show respect for each other. They hold doors open and politely thank each other.
• In lessons most pupils listen attentively and are keen to respond to questions, instructions and opportunities to work together. Behaviour is usually very well managed by teachers. Pupils are typically highly engaged in their work and it is rare during morning lessons for attention to slip. If it does, pupils are quick to respond to a reminder about what is expected of them. In the afternoon, pupils’ concentration flags a little and some struggle to keep focused on tasks.
• Expectations of pupils’ behaviour are high. Rewards and sanctions are very clear and opportunities to celebrate good behaviour, or to discuss the consequences of their actions, are used effectively. The school has a secure system for logging behaviour incidents. Incidents of poor behaviour are reducing.
• Pupils’ attendance is broadly average and has improved due to sharply focused strategies to reduce persistent absence by a small number of pupils. Absence rates for disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities are not reducing as swiftly as for other groups. Leaders recognise that reducing rates of occasional absence is very important in sustaining the improvement in pupils’ learning and progress.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Pupils make consistently strong progress in writing and their progress in mathematics has accelerated swiftly since the academy opened in 2015. The proportion of Year 6 pupils achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics improved significantly following a dip in performance in reading in 2016.
• A slightly smaller proportion of pupils were working at a greater depth of understanding in writing and mathematics in 2016 and 2017 compared to pupils nationally. Far fewer pupils work at a greater depth of understanding in reading.
• School assessments show that currently pupils are making better progress in reading. Most pupils are on track to achieve standards expected for their age. Although more pupils are currently working at a greater depth of understanding in reading, this number remains small.
• Throughout the school, pupils are making swifter progress because of the changes made to how reading is taught. Pupils read daily in school. They have copious opportunities to read a wide range of good-quality books, including fiction and non-fiction.
• The most able pupils who read to inspectors read appropriately challenging texts fluently. They used inference and deduction skills confidently and demonstrated a good understanding of vocabulary to retell the story in their own words.
• Lower-ability pupils were keen to read and demonstrate their improving knowledge. They are reading books that include significant amounts of vocabulary, not all of which they fully understand. They know that reading at school is helping them to improve and they are developing the skills to make sense of words.
• Pupils’ progress in mathematics shows much improvement. Across the school, pupils’ skills in mathematical reasoning are developing securely and their knowledge of arithmetic and work with all types of fractions is strong. Pupils are developing fluency and many are working at a greater depth of understanding.
• In writing, pupils are making swift progress to plan and write well. Pupils’ work in books and in lessons shows they are using a wider range of vocabulary accurately to make their writing more adventurous. Pupils are gaining a better understanding of spelling patterns through frequent teaching and testing; however, some pupils, especially in Year 6, have yet to master them well.
• Over time, the difference in the progress and attainment of disadvantaged pupils, in comparison to other pupils, is diminishing. Currently, disadvantaged pupils are making expected progress in reading and writing and swifter progress in mathematics.
• The audit of information provided by the school shows that most pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are making good progress. Their progress equals, or is faster than, that of their peers in reading, writing and mathematics.
• School assessment systems are not sufficiently effective to determine how well pupils are progressing from year to year in a range of other subjects. The school has identified this issue in its evaluation and has plans to develop its assessment approaches.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 140546 Sheffield 10042139 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Junior School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Academy sponsor-led 7 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 198 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Headteacher Geoff Gillard Charlotte Newton-Wall Telephone number 0114 248 3048 Website Email address www.emmanuel.sheffield.sch.uk enquiries@emmanuel.sheffield.sch.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• The school became an academy in February 2015 and is sponsored by the Diocese of Sheffield Academies Trust.
• The proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium funding is above average.
• The school has a higher than average number of pupils who receive support for SEN and/or disabilities. The proportion who have plans or statements of special educational need is below average.
• The school does not meet requirements on the publication of information about the PE and sport premium funding on its website. In this regard, the school does not comply with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

Information about this inspection

• Together with the headteacher and other leaders, inspectors looked at pupils’ progress information, documents relating to behaviour and safety, and documents relating to safeguarding.
• The inspectors observed pupils’ learning in lessons in all year groups and classes, some alongside the headteacher.
• Inspectors listened to Year 4 and Year 5 pupils read, and observed Year 3 pupils in a reading session. Inspectors spoke with pupils in lessons, at lunchtimes, at playtimes and at the breakfast club. They also took account of 161 responses to the online inspection survey.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, senior and middle leaders, the chair of the governing body, another member of the governing body and representative of the diocese. A meeting was also held with three academy trust representatives.
• The inspectors considered the opinions of 50 parents who responded to Parent View and they also met with four parents.
• The inspectors took account of 13 online responses returned by members of staff to the inspection questionnaire.

Inspection team

Gina White, lead inspector Chris Cook

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector