The Good Shepherd Trust Academies in partnership with the Guildford Diocese Educational Trust The Education Centre, The Cathedral, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7UP Tel: 01483 450423 Context REPLICA SECTION 8 VISIT TO ST MARY S C OF E PRIMARY SCHOOL 1 December, 2014 Over the last five years there has been a period of significant turbulence within the school leadership. This included the appointment of a short-term interim head, a short-lived new substantive Headteacher appointment, subsequent short and long term sickness and the recruitment of joint, part-time, job-share heads whose partnership was not formalised until February 2013 due to a period of maternity leave. In December 2012, an Ofsted inspection judged the school to have serious weaknesses. The school became part of the Good Shepherd Trust and, at the end of February 2014, the School Governors and Executives of the Good Shepherd Trust together appointed an Interim Head who has now been appointed as the substantive headteacher. Evidence During this third review visit to the school, a consultant observed the school s work and scrutinised documents. Extensive conversations were held with the headteacher and other senior leaders. A detailed discussion was held with two subject leaders and a group of pupils. Parts of four lessons were observed jointly with the headteacher, as well as a learning walk. Pupils workbooks were scrutinised during classroom visits. A telephone conversation with the chair of governors was also held. Feedback was given at the end of the visit to senior leaders and governing body representatives. Summary findings Since the June visit good progress has been made in the school s endeavours to become more effective. All involved with the school show greater confidence to make the progress needed. In particular, the school benefits from the strong leadership of the headteacher. She is ably supported by senior leaders, governors and staff who are all committed to improving teaching and learning. The headteacher s ability to inspire all adults in the school to do better is the main reason why improvements have been made. She wants the best for all pupils in the school. Governance is developing well in its work to challenge the school to even better outcomes. Pupils are now making good progress in many classes. By the end of Key Stage 2, they reach standards that are above average in reading, writing and mathematics. Teaching is now good. Teachers have very good relationships with pupils and plan lessons which capture pupils interest and help them to make good progress. Teachers and support staff work well together to support learning. The monitoring of all aspects of the school s work has improved. From this work, better planning is in place for the curriculum and teaching.
Pupils behaviour is very good, both in lessons and around the school. Pupils are friendly, polite and welcoming. They have a genuine appetite for learning and behave exceptionally well, both in lessons and around the school. Their exemplary behaviour makes a strong contribution to their learning. The Christian distinctiveness of the school makes a very effective contribution to the pupils spiritual, moral, social and cultural education. Attendance is above average and this reflects how much pupils enjoy coming to school. The school makes sure that all pupils are safe and secure. Pupils have a very thorough understanding of how to stay safe and talk readily about the trust they have in the adults who work with them in the school. Parents are increasingly supportive of the school s work. They appreciate the improvements that have been made recognising the leadership qualities of the headteacher.
MAIN FINDINGS The quality of leadership and management The headteacher s unrelenting drive to want the very best for all of the pupils in the school is palpable. She has encouraged teachers and other adults to take greater responsibility for their roles, expecting them to do those well. In this she is very well supported by senior leaders who make a good quality contribution to school improvement. The senior leadership team s analysis of the current strengths and weaknesses as shown in the school s self-evaluation. The summary of this is very helpful and could easily be shown as a front piece to the main document. The effective school development plan stems well from the detailed analysis. This focuses well on promoting better progress for pupils higher standards in all aspects of school life. The headteacher has successfully made changes to the ethos of the school to a cando culture where all want to be more successful than in the past, and now. The emphasis on improving the impact of teaching on learning has raised expectations of what children can achieve across the school, by all involved. The school has responded well to the suggested areas for improvement since last June. Much of this work is excellent and has been significant in underpinning the improvements in the school s work. Hence the school s capacity for further improvement is very good, as it has successfully developed itself very well and is sustaining higher levels of performance. Development planning is more securely based now a detailed and thorough selfevaluation, as well as more evident analysis of data. The school s baseline data provides a good picture to promote next steps in performance. Unfortunately the school has not been well served by the lack of availability of externally validated comparative data. Middle leaders now have a good grasp of the strengths and weakness in, for example, in English and maths. They have been closely involved in curriculum planning and moderation of pupils work. Whilst this work has been effective, planned lesson observations by these colleagues would provide them with an even better understanding of how provision is making an impact on pupils progress. The curriculum is enriched well by music, sport, outdoor learning and visits, for example, to places of historical interest. These opportunities form the basis for pupils outstanding spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. More attention has been given to improving pupils thinking skills and the school is prioritising this work over the year: this will be an important development. The curriculum is well-planned, with a sharp focus on reading, writing, mathematics and communication, and an equal emphasis on the need to be sensitive to the needs of others and those whose beliefs may be very different to their own. As a result, pupils are inspired and engaged by their learning. This helps them being wellprepared for the next step in their education and life in modern Britain. School leaders ensure that there is equal opportunity for all pupils to do well in all aspects of school life. Additional government funding is used very effectively to meet the individual needs of disadvantaged pupils so they achieve better than before, steadily closing gaps between their performance and that of others. The primary sports funding is used to increase the opportunities for pupils to take part in a variety of sports as well as providing specialist sports coaching and training. Parents are increasingly supportive of the school s endeavours in providing a better education. One parent commented how much more settled the school is now as the head has given it real stability. They receive good information about the school through the school website and regular newsletters. The Governors are being informed of the strengths and areas for development by the head and senior leaders. Their skills in supporting and challenging the work of
the school are improving well, and will develop further with appropriate training. Governors make visits to the school and the Chair is in regular contact with the headteacher. Governors ensure that their statutory duties are fulfilled with regard to safeguarding and checks on procedures for managing the headteacher s and teachers performance management. They ensure that the school s finances are well managed, even when information is not always clear to them. Governors are aware of how the primary school sport funding is being allocated and understand the impact of the pupil premium funding on the achievement of disadvantaged pupils. Behaviour and safety of pupils The behaviour of pupils is exemplary. Pupils are very keen to learn and need no prompting to set to work. They often display a thirst to know more and tackle extra challenges with zest. Pupils can be relied upon to behave well throughout the day. They are kind and polite to each other and have excellent manners, opening doors and making way for staff and visitors alike. In lessons and as they move about the school, pupils demonstrate very positive attitudes to learning. Their very good behaviour makes a strong contribution to the learning that takes pace. They value the time given to think about their work. Any pupils who find it a little more difficult to cope with school life are exceptionally well supported. All pupils behave in ways to reflect the core values of trust, respect and care. Everyone s opinions are given equal consideration, and there is an atmosphere of mutual trust that is evident in all aspects of pupils behaviour Pupils relish the responsibilities they have been given for some aspects of behaviour and safety, for example, when they help out with the organisation of playtime activities so that other pupils can enjoy these as much as possible. Those who are peer mediators are extremely effective in their support for other pupils; they are proud to have this role. Pupils generally take good care of the school building and surrounding grounds. Pupils enjoyment in coming to school is evident in the above-average rates of attendance and good punctuality. The school s work to keep pupils safe and secure is well established and very positive. Safeguarding procedures meet all requirements. The school site is safe and secure. Staff are checked rigorously for their suitability and all visitors to the school are carefully checked and monitored. Pupils understand the importance of safe behaviour. They say they have no concerns about life in school and that they feel completely safe and cared for. Pupils show a good understanding of e-safety no matter what their age. Communication between adults about matters regarding safety is very good. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is of high quality. Pupils attitudes are underpinned by the strong Christian ethos that pervades the school. Pupils are very clear about right and wrong. They treat everyone with kindness and respect. Bullying is extremely rare and there have been no incidents or exclusions in the past year. Pupils are confident that adults are always on hand if needed. When asked about this aspect of school life, one pupil said, Adults look after us very well and we have caring friends. The continuing importance of breakfast club is helping to foster good community spirit and is well attended. Equally, agility, balance and co-
ordination (ABC) work brings positive benefits to pupils at the start of the day, as well as enhancing their involvement in school life. Pupils have a secure understanding of the different types of bullying but insist that bullying is not an issue in this school. They say that they would not hesitate to speak to an adult if they were concerned, not just about themselves, but also about any of their friends being bullied. The quality of teaching As a direct result of the headteacher s careful and clear direction about effective learning practice, teaching has improved since the last visit. Work seen in pupils books and on display around the school, observations in lessons and the school s own detailed knowledge about the quality of teaching confirm that teaching is at least good over time; some is outstanding. Teachers convey high expectations about learning and behaviour. Pupils understand the link between the two. Pupils and teachers work hard in lessons which has helped develop a shared determination on behalf of the teaching staff to improve outcomes for pupils as quickly as possible. Teachers have high expectations of pupils and insist on prompt starts to lessons and the highest possible standards in the presentation of work as well as on the amount of work to be completed by pupils in a given time. Pupils meet these expectations very well and work is usually finished to a good standard of neatness and accuracy Lessons are challenging different groups of pupils to do better, and the match of tasks to pupils needs is sharper now. Some headroom exists for more able pupils to be challenged further, about which the school is aware. Good questioning skills are apparent in many rooms with pupils expected to give full explanations in their responses: in turn teachers reshape their questions far better now to extend children s understanding of their learning. The assessment of pupils work has also improved well. A more rigorous approach to marking is making a real difference to pupils performance. More teachers are posing questions to pupils in their marking, expecting a response and/or improved work. The school realises that this important development will extend pupils knowledge and understanding further, yet needs to be more consistent in its application for it to have the impact expected. Achievement of pupils at the school In 2014, standards overall were above national averages in both key stages, an improvement on 2013. In lessons observed across the school, pupils are attaining at levels more in line with national averages yet performance does improve as pupils mature. Standards in both key stages have improved since last year with pupils writing with greater accuracy throughout the school, so that by the time they are 11 many can write in a range of forms, covering different themes. In Key Stage 1 pupils perform relatively well against national expectations in reading, writing and maths: this is welcome and lays a good foundation for the next steps in pupils learning. Girls standards are slightly higher than those of boys in the school, yet both groups do better than the national results show. Checks on their knowledge of phonics (the sounds that letters make) indicate that nearly all pupils meet the expected standard by the end of Year 1. Pupils reading skills improve as they move through the school, especially through a clear concentration on the teaching of a wide range of skills in Key Stage 1, enhanced in Key Stage 2 by reading a wide range of fiction and non-fiction texts.
Achievement in mathematics continues to show the improvements seen in June. This is because the curriculum is now better balanced. The closer link between practical maths activities and paper based learning has encouraged more pupils to enjoy mathematics than before. More pupils have better command of, for example, different calculation methods, as was evident in a Year 6 lesson with pupils able to demonstrate different ways of using the 7 times table in reaching more complex sums. Now, more pupils in Key Stage 2 are making the progress they should in mathematics, reading and writing. Evidence from pupils books shows that this has improved more so recently. This is as a direct result of marked improvements to the quality of teaching in this key stage, especially through the effective use of Big Write. A more consistent approach to developing writing is enabling pupils to sustain extended pieces whilst applying a wider range of vocabulary. Pupils are also demonstrating greater precision in their use of punctuation and grammar, across the school. Although pupils are now writing at length in different subjects, senior leaders know that this needs to be extended further. The progress of pupils in Key Stage 1 has also improved since last June. From the school s own assessment and a scrutiny of pupils workbooks, more pupils than before have made better progress. This shows that more pupils in Year 2 will reach age-related expectations in reading, writing, and mathematics yet progress does need to be sustained better than currently evident. The school s own analysis shows that pupils are now making better progress than previously. Equally pupils made better progress during their time in Key Stage 2 than previous cohorts had. The school will benefit from analysing which older pupils are making three levels of progress now, to indicate where more sustained progress may be needed. Pupils eligible for pupil premium and those identified with disability or special educational needs are performing well in comparison to similar groups nationally. Gaps in performance between those eligible for pupil premium and others, are closing over time. The school knows it has more to do to close these gaps further. Overall, achievement is now likely to be judged as good, following the school s efforts to promote better learning. External support The school s confidence to grow its own capacity to improve for improvement is more apparent now. It continues to make good use of support from the Good shepherd Trust and local authority, to build both middle leadership capacity and to improve the practice of individual teachers. Suggested priorities for further improvement: 1. Continue to improve impact of marking and assessment, so that pupils responses support the next steps in their learning more consistently. 2. Further develop the capacity of mid leaders to judge the overall improvements made in classes through joint classroom observations with the headteacher and/or other senior leaders. 3. Extend curriculum practice further across the school to promote pupils thinking skills more consistently. The Good Shepherd Trust should consider whether the next monitoring visit to the school should be more akin to a replica Section 5 visit. Hugh Betterton, December 2014