All Saints Maldon Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

All Saints Maldon CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School Highlands Drive, Maldon, CM9 6HY

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Regular checking of teaching by the school’s senior leaders, with many opportunities for staff training, has resulted in consistently good teaching, and some outstanding teaching.  Achievement is now good. The rate of progress made by pupils is improving and is now good in all year groups.  Pupils are very proud of their school and thoroughly enjoy coming to school so that attendance is consistently above average.  Pupils have excellent attitudes to their learning and are keen to improve their work and achieve well.  The headteacher, governing body and staff all work well together as a team. Relationships throughout the school, including those with the pupils, are excellent so that the school is a happy and welcoming place to be.  Behaviour is good and sometimes it is excellent. Pupils are extremely polite. They concentrate and listen well to their teachers and to each other and work very well together.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school has excellent relationships with the parents, who are united in their delight with what the school provides for their children.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The school does not yet have a secure track record of pupils achieving better than expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  The quality of teaching is still variable and there is not yet sufficient outstanding teaching. Teachers do not always pitch lessons at the right level or help pupils understand what they have to do to improve their work to enable them to make more rapid progress in their learning. Inspection report: All Saints Maldon CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 8–9 November 2012 2 of 10

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching in all classes.  Inspectors met with the Chair of the Governing Body, the headteacher, the co-headteacher, subject leaders, the special educational needs leader and two members of the local authority.  The views of 65 parents submitted to the Parent View website were analysed. A range of other parents’ views were sought as they dropped their children at school and through emails and letters sent in to the school. Outcomes from the school’s most recent parent questionnaire were also looked at.  Inspectors scrutinised a wide range of documents, including the school improvement plan and the school’s self-evaluation. They also examined work in pupils’ books and on displays.  Inspectors listened to pupils from Year 1 and Year 6 read, as well as to pupils reading as part of their lessons.  Inspectors met with groups of pupils, including representatives of the school council.

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Inspection team

Nichola Perry, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Sa'ad Khaldi Additional Inspector Ken Parry Additional Inspector Inspection report: All Saints Maldon CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 8–9 November 2012 3 of 10

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than average.  The school currently operates on a split site, with pupils in Years 5 and 6 housed in a building some 500 metres away from the main school site. An extension to the main school, which will see the school on a single site, is due to be completed early in the New Year.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and for whom the school receives additional income (the pupil premium) is significantly below the national average.  Most pupils are White British. There are significantly fewer pupils from minority ethnic groups or who speak English as an additional language than in most schools of this size.  The percentage of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs who are supported by school action is lower than that found nationally.  The proportion supported by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs

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Information about this school

is slightly higher than average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise attainment in reading, writing and mathematics so that the majority of pupils in all year groups make better than expected progress by:  increasing the proportion of outstanding teaching  making sure that teachers use assessment information about the pupils more precisely in order to enable pupils to make more rapid progress each year  making pupils more aware of their personal learning targets so that they are very clear about what they have to do to improve their work. Inspection report: All Saints Maldon CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 8–9 November 2012 4 of 10

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children settle very quickly in the Reception classes and make good progress from their below average starting points in all areas of their learning. They make especially good progress in their personal, social and emotional development. Attainment by the time they leave the Reception classes is broadly in line with that expected

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ rate of progress in the current Years 1 and 2 has improved significantly so that they are now achieving well from their starting points. Although standards by the the end of Year 2 are broadly average overall, the trend is one of improvement and mathematics is now above average. The school’s assessments, supported by inspection evidence, show that the upward trend is continuing.

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The achievement of pupils is good

By the time pupils leave the school, standards are in line with those expected for their age. In the past, pupils’ rate of progress has been erratic across Years 3 to 6, leaving much work to be done in Year 6. Progress is now good in all year groups so that pupils are achieving well and school assessments show a significant rise in standards for the current Year 6 pupils, particularly in reading and writing.  Pupils are developing into confident, accurate and increasingly fluent readers. They read regularly in school, both formally and informally, and at home to family members. Pupils heard reading during the inspection made good use of their knowledge of letters and sounds (phonics) to help them interpret unfamiliar words and understand the text. The school has put in place a rigorous programme of teaching letters and sounds, and already there is good evidence of improvement. Increased emphasis on reading is also contributing well to pupils’ confidence and

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils thoroughly enjoy their learning and make good progress in most lessons. Pupils are very keen to do well and are encouraged to take responsibility for their own work and learning. Teaching is adapted well to ensure pupils of all abilities can achieve well. This includes many opportunities for one-to-one and group learning, as well as whole-class sessions. The excellent opportunities for discussion in a range of situations are extending pupils’ learning effectively.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The use of extra funding provides wide-ranging additional activities, both in school and in the wider community, to support pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals. Well- focused additional sessions and, in particular, high levels of excellent adult support ensure that these pupils, as well as disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, make equally good progress and achieve well from their own starting points.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching is good. Some teaching is outstanding. Good planning demonstrates that assessment information is being used increasingly to ensure a better match of work to pupils’ individual needs, although the use of this information is not yet used well enough to bring about more rapid progress year on year. In some lessons, teachers are still not pitching the level of work sufficiently high so that pupils spend too much time consolidating their learning rather than extending their learning.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In the outstanding lessons’ teachers’ expectations of what pupils can do are consistently high and this results in work of a high quality and pupils achieve very well. This is because these teachers make excellent use of all the assessment information they have on each pupil so that Inspection report: All Saints Maldon CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 8–9 November 2012 5 of 10

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The quality of teaching is good

they understand how to plan work which really challenges pupils in all ability groups.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching styles are increasingly variable to reflect the needs of pupils, particularly in outstanding lessons. The greater emphasis on practical learning, very much enjoyed by pupils, brings learning alive and enables pupils of all abilities to flourish. A very good example of this was in a lesson where pupils were examining various styles of performance poetry. The teacher resisted the need to interrupt pupils’ super and confident experimentation in their performance, simply to ‘check on their progress’ so that the magical moment of their learning was not broken. Where teaching styles adhere to a more traditional approach, teachers spend too much time talking which detracts from pupils being actively involved in their own learning.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching places strong emphasis on developing all aspects of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness uniformly throughout the curriculum and in lessons. In particular, pupils’ social and communication skills are being very well extended across the school. To this end, many good examples were seen in lessons where pupils were encouraged to rehearse their ideas, either in pairs, or in small groups or with the whole class. The teaching of art and music are also strengths; there are many attractive displays around the school and pupils play instruments or sing confidently in assembly.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers’ ongoing feedback in lessons is good and always positive. Marking is good; it is encouraging and in some cases includes guidance on how pupils can improve their work. However, marking has not yet established an ongoing dialogue with pupils and makes no clear reference to specific learning targets for improvement. Discussions with pupils shows that they do know how well they are doing and how to improve. What they do not know is exactly what it is they have to do to achieve the next level in their learning in the form of any target to work towards.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are very proud of their school and there is a real sense of them wanting to do well for themselves and for the school. The pupils themselves and their parents are unanimous that behaviour is consistently good. Pupils have a crystal clear sense of right and wrong and demonstrate very high standards to judge their own behaviour, and that of others.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are extremely polite to each other and to adults wherever they are around the school. This reflects the high expectations of staff. Pupils understand how much they and their contributions are valued so that they are very relaxed and speak confidently to adults in a range of situations.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school places high emphasis on pupils’ personal development. Pupils operate as a community with strongly internalised values, including strong Christian values. The nature of the split site prevents the older pupils being fully involved with the main site but this is overcome by teams of Year 5 and 6 pupils eating regularly on the main site and helping the younger pupils to play and to sort out any problems at lunch time.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils demonstrate a very strong tolerance of difference. Pupils who may be different in any way are welcomed and accepted without question. The school is at the heart of the community and regularly celebrates local history as well as a link with a school in a very different area of the country.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Records show that bullying of any sort is rare. Exclusions are also rare. Pupils speak with good confidence and understanding about bullying, including homophobic bullying, and what to do Inspection report: All Saints Maldon CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 8–9 November 2012 6 of 10

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

should it occur. They are unanimous that bullying is not an issue in the school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils show an excellent understanding of how to live healthy lives and keep themselves, and others, safe. They have a clear understanding of e-safety. Parents, including those spoken to during the inspection, and those who contributed by letter, feel very confident that their children are safe and well cared for in school. Excellent safety procedures were evident throughout the school during the inspection. All aspects of safeguarding meet requirements.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance is consistently above average, reflecting pupils’ love of their school. There has been much good work to promote good attendance and punctuality. Monitoring of attendance has been particularly effective in improving a few pupils’ regular absence.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school has developed a reputation of providing strong support for pupils and their families whose circumstances may make them vulnerable. Pupils, particularly those who have social and emotional difficulties, and who may not have had a positive experience elsewhere, thrive in this school when given a fresh start.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher has managed the split site arrangements outstandingly well so that there has been no lost learning time or consequent curriculum issues. Similarly, the building of the school extension has not impeded improvements in teaching or pupils’ achievement.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and staff work together well as a team to ensure that the school is a welcoming and exciting place to be and has good capacity to improve further. There is a keen sense of community, commitment and pride evident in all who are involved in the school. New staff feel welcomed and part of the team.

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The leadership and management are good

 Development planning focuses on continual improvement and raising standards and involves staff and governors fully. Self-evaluation is based on secure evidence, although there is further work to be done to sharpen up the judgements of school improvement.

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The leadership and management are good

 Improvement has been good since the previous inspection. The senior leadership team has worked well together to ensure that good structures are in place to help staff perform as well as they can. Relevant training to develop teachers’ practice and rigorous checking of how well staff are performing have led to improvements in teaching and leadership. There are good whole- school monitoring procedures to hold staff to account for improvement. Regular meetings are held to track pupils’ progress and to set clear objectives for further improvement. Teachers show that they are reflective about their performance in the classroom because they receive regular feedback on how well they are doing.

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The leadership and management are good

 Subject leadership of English and mathematics is good. Resources have been significantly improved. There are high expectations of all staff to improve their teaching and to ensure that learning continues to be relevant and enjoyable for the pupils. Leaders demonstrate good subject knowledge and ensure that staff feel well supported through a wide range of training to bring about further improvement.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leadership of special educational needs is effective. Pupils’ progress is tracked very closely, including their attendance, so that pupils achieve well from their starting points and attend school regularly. Good training is provided for support staff so that they are highly effective.

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The leadership and management are good

 Good leadership of the Early Years Foundation Stage ensures that children get off to a good Inspection report: All Saints Maldon CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 8–9 November 2012 7 of 10

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The leadership and management are good

start and achieve well. The curriculum is comprehensive and well resourced. Regular assessment ensures that progress is well monitored and activities planned accordingly.

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The leadership and management are good

 The good curriculum incorporates a range of themes and topics and makes good links between the different subjects. This ensures that learning is relevant to the pupils’ own experiences and motivates them to want to learn. Through the curriculum, pupils’ learning is extended beyond the individual subjects, so that their spiritual, moral, social and cultural learning is strong. Delightful displays around the school demonstrate the richness of the curriculum and show how all groups of learners have equal access to learning.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority has had limited involvement in the school since the previous inspection, the school preferring to use its own external adviser and the local school cluster for advice and support

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The leadership and management are good

 Partnerships with parents are excellent. Parents responding on Parent View as well as those spoken to during the inspection and those who wrote in with their comments are almost unanimous in their praise of the school and what it provides for their children, They make good use of the school’s comprehensive website and feel very involved and informed about all school matters

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governance is effective. Governors are well trained and articulate and demonstrate good knowledge of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. They are fully involved in evaluating and monitoring the school’s performance, as well as their own performance. The individual skills of governors are used well so that relevant expertise is used to good effect and has the necessary impact on school improvement. They have a secure understanding of progress and attainment data as a result of training and frequent updates from the senior leadership team. Subject leaders also make regular presentations to governors. They have a regular programme of visits to the school to provide them with first-hand experience. Governors ensure prudent financial management through ongoing liaison and regular reports from the school’s business manager. The school’s close monitoring of pupils’ progress, including that of

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The leadership and management are good

pupils receiving the pupil premium, keeps governors appraised of how effectively the school is using this additional funding. Governors are fully involved in performance management and see its impact through the significant improvement in teaching since the previous inspection and the improvement in the school’s understanding of assessment and performance data. Inspection report: All Saints Maldon CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 8–9 November 2012 8 of 10

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. Inspection report: All Saints Maldon CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 8–9 November 2012 9 of 10

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School details

Unique reference number 115103 Local authority Essex Inspection number 401492

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 306 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Roz Blackboro Headteacher Michele Williams Date of previous school inspection 14 December 2009 Telephone number 01621 853519 Fax number 01621 851977 Email address admin@allsaints-maldon.essex.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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School details

telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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