Ashley C of E Primary School
Review visit
14 July 2014
Introduction
The headteacher and governing body of Ashley Church of England Primary School requested a review of the current provision and outcomes in the school, prior to the formal conversion of the school to academy status. Two consultants visited the school for a day, watching a range of lessons with senior leaders, analysing current data about pupils’ performance, holding discussions with senior and middle leaders, pupils and governors. They also observed behaviour at break and lunchtimes. Discussions were held with teachers after lessons and a verbal feedback summarising judgements was given to senior leaders and governors at the end of the visit.
Context
Ashley C of E Primary is now a larger-than-average-sized primary school. The overwhelming proportion of pupils are from White British backgrounds, with a much smaller number who are learning English as an additional language. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs who are supported through school action is below average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also below average.
The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is much lower than that found in most schools. The pupil premium is additional government funding provided to give extra support to those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and to children who are looked after. There are no eligible pupils in Years 5 or 6.
The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.
Ashley Church of England School is to become an academy school within the Good Shepherd Trust on 1 September 2014.
When the school was last inspected by Ofsted in January 2007, it was judged to be outstanding.
Summary of strengths and areas for improvement.
The school’s overall effectiveness is good, with several outstanding features.
Overall, pupils achieve very well by the time they complete Year 6. Standards across the school are much higher than those in other schools nationally. Whilst performance in Early Years Foundation Stage is good, approaches to extending pupils capacity to learn independently need to be even more explicit.
Teaching is good with some outstanding aspects. Teachers have a very clear understanding of how to promote very effective learning for pupils. This is outstanding in Key Stage 2. The school recognises the need to provide greater challenges to more able pupils on a regular basis.
Pupils show a great enjoyment in being part of the school. They join in enthusiastically with the wide range of opportunities that are provided by the school. The large majority of pupils contribute with great consideration and care towards each other.
Behaviour is outstanding. Pupils can self-correct their behaviour effectively. They understand explicitly how to stay safe and are keenly motivated to learn well.
The school is very well led by the inventive and dedicated headteacher. Staff and governors share his vision of bringing out the best in pupils’ personal development and academic achievement. Whilst the school knows its strengths and weaknesses well, these should be used more robustly to inform the school’s development plan.
All staff, including the governing body, work very well as a team. Their successful actions have a positive impact on improving the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievements. This is an improving school.
The innovative sustainability curriculum provides an extensive range of stimulating experiences within and beyond school which pupils clearly enjoy and makes a very positive impact on the pupils’ understanding of their place in the world. This contributes to the high quality ethos evident in the school, as well as pupils’ achievements.
What does the school need to do to improve further?
- Ensure that teaching in Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 provides even greater opportunities for children to apply what they know with independence and creativity, as well as extending their capacity to think critically about how to undertake tasks.
- Develop the challenges in learning to the most able so that they make even better progress than at present.
- Review how the school’s self evaluation process has a more direct link to its development planning so that it makes a greater impact on improving the marked strengths of the school.
MAIN FINDINGS
Achievement
Overall progress across the school is at least good, with even better progress evident in Years 5 and 6. In the last few years, pupils have maintained high levels of performance by the end of Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, it being significantly above average. In lessons observed and from recent school data, this pattern of performance is generally being sustained well across the school.
Children start school with skills and knowledge typical for their age, although their skills are sometimes higher than this, especially in personal development and communication. This is assessed through a mixture of observations of children at independent play, assessments made when playing games in small groups and more formal assessments. At the end of Reception the current data shows that the overwhelming majority of children make expected progress and many children make better than expected progress. The proportions of children attained a ‘Good Level of Development’ (GLoD) in 2013, was above that recorded nationally.
Outcomes at the end of KS1 are strong, representing good and sometimes better progress from children’s starting points. Only one or two children do not attain at the expected levels with a good percentage of children attaining higher levels. This is particularly evident in reading and maths but there is a significantly lower number in writing. The school is aware of this gap and has made good inroads to improve this shortfall, along with Expressive Arts and Design (EAD), in particular for boys. For example, the school has introduced more opportunities for pupils to write in a wider range of contexts. Equally the strategies to improve spelling, punctuation and grammar are helping to accelerate progress.
Boys’ overall attainment is just behind that of girls in school at the end of Year 2, but is better than the national picture. Girls do much better than boys in writing, however. All evidence shows that different groups of pupils perform above similar groups nationally, except the very small number who are learning English as another language. Pupils identified with disabilities and special educational needs achieve well in comparison to national figures.
By the end of Year 6, pupils attain standards well above the national averages in reading, writing and maths. No difference is evident in the attainment of boys and girls. The overall progress that pupils make is high, with the best progress seen in writing. High levels of progress over the last year was also seen in Years 5 and 6. Current data indicates that progress has improved this year to be even better than in 2013.
Throughout Key Stage 1 and 2, a growing number of pupils are currently working at levels higher than is typical for their age in reading and mathematics. Whilst more able pupils are expected to aim high, the school recognises that even higher performance could be achieved, especially through more challenging tasks being set for the more able to encourage deeper thinking, extending vocabulary and more problem solving.
Current data and pupils’ work show that the current Year 6 pupils are on track to reach above average standards in reading, writing and mathematics. This demonstrates good, and for some outstanding, progress from their starting points. Throughout almost every year group there is evidence that most pupils are making at least good progress in writing and for many better in reading and mathematics.
Across Key Stage 2, the very few pupils who are eligible for pupil premium funding receive good quality support so that they make equally good or better progress as their peers in reading, writing and mathematics.
The quality of teaching
Teaching is at least good across the school, with a growing amount of it being outstanding. It inspires and motivates pupils extremely well. The excellent relationships between adults and pupils mean that there is a very purposeful and happy atmosphere when a class is working. Pupils willingly try out new work because they know they can do this without fear of failure. As one pupil said, ‘If we are finding something difficult, the teachers help us until we get it.’
In the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 teachers and teaching assistants teach effectively and support children during whole class, group and 1:1 teaching sessions. As a result children make good progress in learning phonics, reading and writing skills and mathematical operations. Much of the teaching affords children high-quality support when they are working in small groups with adults. Whilst opportunities for children to apply and use these core skills independently are evident, they are less well developed. Where tasks and activities, including continuous provision, inside and outside, are over-organised with too many ‘pro-forma’ which create closed activities, then children’s capacity to think critically, creatively and to make choices about how to undertake tasks is reduced.
Throughout the school, whole-school projects based around sustainability themes are used to allow pupils to use and apply their literacy and numeracy skills, and the activities that are provided ignite pupils’ enthusiasm for learning. For older pupils much of the content of this curriculum challenges them well to think about global matters in detail.
Across the school, pupils’ books show that reading, writing and mathematics are taught well with skills improving very quickly. Teachers have very high expectations of pupils and do not willingly accept second best. When pupils are working, teachers check their understanding regularly so that they can adjust work if need be. Consequently work mostly provides the right level of challenge for pupils. However the school also realises that more intense challenges are needed to extend more able pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding further.
Pupils’ work is marked regularly and there is usually good quality written advice given to pupils on how to improve their work. Pupils usually respond to teachers’ marking and comments in books so that they can learn from their mistakes, yet this is not always reflected in planning the next steps in children’s learning.
The teaching is consistently good due to well-focused training. Any inconsistency in teaching identified through rigorous monitoring and regular appraisal is quickly identified Appropriate training is provided which has proved successful, demonstrating the school’s capacity to improve.
Teachers use a variety of methods to ensure that pupils apply what they have learnt to a range of situations. In a numeracy lessons in Year 6, for example, pupils made rapid progress in calculating how many chairs would be needed for a school production in the hall with practical application of perimeter measurements and estimation. Pupils learn well because of the clear explanations given by teachers. They understand what they have to do and quickly get on with their work.
A high emphasis is placed on learning through talking. Pupils have opportunities to talk to their peers before they write anything, ensuring that they feel secure in learning. This helps to promote their social development as well as their speaking and listening skills.
The teaching of reading, writing and mathematics is effective, and pupils generally make good gains in acquiring basic skills which ensure that they are well prepared for secondary school.
The behaviour and safety of pupils
The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Most of them behave impeccably throughout the school day. They have excellent attitudes to learning, are enthusiastic and hardworking in lessons, and they work and play together extremely well. Pupils are able to sustain concentration for extended periods of time and are so engaged that they do not even consider behaving badly.
The school is a very happy place. Pupils are welcomed at the door and they come into school with smiling faces. They are eager to get into their classes and settle quickly to their work. Pupils show great respect for each other and for all adults, and this respect is mutual. Teachers manage behaviour with a minimum of effort because there is no need for anything else. Good behaviour is publicly acknowledged through the praise pupils receive on a day-to-day basis when they are polite and supportive of each other.
They try hard all of the time and are very proud of their school. They work unflaggingly in lessons, tackling work with enormous determination. As one said, ‘We need to work hard to do well.’
The school promotes extremely good relationships and tackles discrimination very robustly. Pupils from differing backgrounds get on very well together. Pupils say that ‘bullying doesn’t really happen here’ but they are very confident that any ‘falling out’ is tackled very quickly. They like the ‘worry box’ where they can write down their concerns and they are certain that if they do this, ‘adults will sort it out.’ Pupils know where they can go for help if they feel anxious.
Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe, including when they are on the internet, and they are able to recognise discriminatory behaviour in a mature and responsible way. They are encouraged to be good citizens in the school, through their work on sustainability and out in the wider community.
The emphasis on sustainability through growing of vegetables, fruit and flowers reflects the importance the school places on its Christian values and ethos. An assembly that considered how courage can be shown in different forms also strongly emphasised the significance of belonging to a community that sustains itself. Year 6 pupils visit Chamonix to extend their understanding of, and commitment to well-being for themselves, each other and their world.
Attendance is consistently above national averages.
The leadership and management of the school
The headteacher has a very clear vision of how successful this school can be and this is shared by all staff and governors. The commitment and enthusiasm of the senior leaders is echoed well by other adults in the school, as well as many of the children. This is reflected in good quality provision in all aspects of the school’s work, especially the commitment to sustainability in all its forms.Development planning focuses well on priorities that reflect the headteacher’s and governors’ vision for the school. However self-evaluation is not well enough used to inform these priorities, or as an important tool in summarising the current strengths and weaknesses in the school.
Leaders work together well to check provision and to find out what still needs improving. Already strong, this has been improved further in the current year for checking the progress of individual pupils to identify any who would benefit from extra help.
Improving the quality of pupils’ learning teaching has been raised because of accurate and robust checks on the performance of individual teachers and pupils’ learning. There has been high quality training for staff when needed. Importantly, leaders are successful in ensuring that pupils achieve well. They have done this without losing their focus on developing pupils’ love of learning and valuable personal skills such as perseverance and resilience.
There is a wide range of visits and visitors to the school which contribute extremely well to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils have a high level of awareness of global issues and they contribute to taking responsibility for the well-being of the environment.
The school has a very good track record for improving teaching. Middle leaders, such as teachers in charge of key stages, play a key part in this process.
The school is using new funding provided by the government to very good effect to extend sporting opportunities and to enhance the skills of teachers.
The curriculum (subjects and topic enquiries taught) helps pupils to develop extremely good literacy and numeracy skills. The outstanding focus on developing pupils’ understanding of the wider world through sustainability is seen in the high-quality art and written work on display around the school. Activities in lessons, and clubs and visits, contribute extremely well to pupils’ great enjoyment of school and to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. They leave school as well-adjusted, happy and very confident individuals who have been very effectively prepared for the next stage of their education.
Safeguarding arrangements meet requirements. Members of staff are carefully checked for suitability for working in school and are very well trained in how to care for the pupils.
The governance of the school: