St Andrew's Church of England Primary School, Oxford

St Andrew’s Church of England Primary School London Road, Headington, Oxford, OX3 9ED

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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.  Pupils make outstanding progress in reading and good overall progress in writing and mathematics. Consequently, pupils reach standards above that normally expected in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs learn well in lessons due to the good support they receive from adults.  The quality of teaching is good. As a result, pupils are eager learners and enjoy coming to school. Their attendance is above average.  The governors know the school well and plan actions carefully to further improve the school. As a result they check and question senior leaders to ensure pupils are doing as well as they can.  The curriculum is excellent because it is highly successful at stimulating pupils’ imagination and developing their artistic skills.  Pupils feel safe and are confident that any bullying is dealt with very effectively.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Senior leaders monitor teaching and check that lessons are good and that teachers are helping pupils to do their very best.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teaching and learning are not consistently outstanding because not all pupils are fully challenged in lessons to learn for themselves.  Pupils do not make outstanding progress in writing and mathematics.  The rate at which pupils make progress in mathematics in Years 3 and 4 is not as fast as in other year groups.  Not all subject leaders thoroughly check pupils’ progress and robustly question teachers about how well pupils are doing, especially those who are given extra support.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited 26 full and part lessons and observed nine teachers. Two lessons were jointly observed with senior leaders.  Inspectors heard a sample of pupils read.  Meetings were held with the Chair of the Governing Body, headteacher and other leaders and a group of pupils.  A telephone conversation was held with a representative from the local authority.  Responses from 48 parents’ and carers’ questionnaires, which were completed online (Parent View), were analysed.  Inspectors looked at a range of evidence including: the school’s own evaluation; the school’s development plan; the school’s data for tracking pupils’ progress; work in pupils’ books; and the documentation relating to safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Pervina Saunders, Lead inspector Additional Inspector James Henry Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an average-sized primary school.  The number of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is below the national average. The pupil premium provides additional funding for children in local authority care and pupils known to be eligible for free school meals as well as for pupils from service families.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action and school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below the national average.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups and those whose first language is not English is above the national average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  Children are taught in a Reception class on a separate site at a local nursery school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and learning so that it is typically outstanding by:  ensuring all groups of pupils are consistently challenged in lessons through being given more open-ended tasks that allow them to learn for themselves  thoroughly checking that pupils consistently apply the guidance they are given in marking  ensuring questioning in lessons provides the challenge to fully extend pupils’ thinking.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the rate at which pupils make progress in mathematics, particularly in Years 3 and 4 by:  ensuring pupils are given a consistent approach to tackling basic number calculations  ensuring pupils are given regular opportunities to develop their mental calculation skills and apply them in problem-solving activities.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen the role of middle leaders by:  ensuring they thoroughly check pupils’ progress and question teachers about the progress of their pupils to ensure all pupils are doing as well as they can  ensuring they check thoroughly any extra support given to pupils to make certain they are quickly catching up in their learning.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children join the Reception class with skills and abilities which are expected for their age. They make good progress and leave the Early Years Foundation Stage with reading, writing and mathematical skills above the expected level.  Pupils, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs and those from minority ethnic groups, continue to make good progress across Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. Although progress for all groups is good, including those from minority ethnic groups or pupils who speak English as an additional language, progress is faster in reading than in writing and mathematics.  Pupils’ attainment when they leave the school is consistently above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics.  Pupils known to be eligible for support under the pupil premium make good progress at a rate similar to the rest of their peers. As a result, the school is successful in closing the gap between

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The achievement of pupils is good

the attainment of these pupils and all pupils nationally.  Pupils make outstanding progress in reading at Key Stage 2 because there is a consistent system for the teaching of early reading and this is built upon during regular reading sessions as pupils get older. For example, in a Year 6 lesson a group of pupils were enthusiastically and carefully analysing the language used in two very different texts.  The school has successfully worked on improving pupils’ writing and consequently pupils’ work shows that the progress they make in writing is steadily catching up with their progress in reading.  Progress in mathematics is good overall although school assessments measuring the progress of pupils show that progress in mathematics is not as rapid in Years 3 and 4 as in the rest of the school. Pupils do not make outstanding progress in mathematics because there are a few inconsistencies in the way pupils are taught basic calculation skills across the school and

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The achievement of pupils is good

opportunities are missed to develop and apply their mental calculation skills, particularly when solving problems.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is typically good because teachers know the pupils well and plan activities that enable all groups to make good progress.  Teaching is not consistently outstanding because there are occasions when lessons are too teacher-led and opportunities are missed to give pupils more open-ended activities that challenge their thinking and allow pupils to learn for themselves.  Teachers have good subject knowledge and use question-and-answer sessions to assess pupils’ understanding. However, opportunities are missed in lessons to fully challenge and extend pupils’ thinking.  Teachers consistently share with pupils the purpose of lessons and this allows them to understand what they are learning.  Teachers regularly mark the pupils’ work, praise what has been achieved and point out how pupils can improve their work. However, teachers do not always check that pupils consistently apply the guidance given in order to ensure marking is fully effective in helping pupils to learn.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Support staff provide good support to pupils in lessons and they are particularly effective in enabling disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, including those on school action and school action plus as well as those eligible for the pupil premium to be included in lessons and feel valued.  Almost all parents and carers that responded to the Parent View questionnaire said that their children were taught well. Work in books and observations of lessons confirm this evaluation.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils have good attitudes to learning and so very little inappropriate behaviour interrupts lessons. However, on occasions when the pace of a lesson slows some pupils’ attention can wander. Generally, staff manage the behaviour of pupils well with appropriate rewards for good behaviour. As a result, there have been no exclusions in the last three years.  Pupils are respectful and courteous. All groups of pupils get on well with each other. Pupils say that bullying is rare and that they are confident that staff will deal with any problems.  A large majority of parents and carers that responded to the Parent View questionnaire said that the school deals effectively with bullying and that their children feel safe. Pupils are very positive about school and say ‘it is fun’. This is reflected in the above average attendance and very few long-term absences. Some of the pupil premium money is used to fund a home–school worker

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

who provides valuable support for vulnerable pupils so that they can continue to access learning. This is an example of how the school ensures that all pupils have an equal opportunity to learn and none is discriminated against.  The school is a very caring place where everyone is valued. For example, pupils from Years 5 and 6 called ‘Sunshine Friends’ help to make playtimes an enjoyable time for all pupils.  Pupils enjoy school and know how to keep safe. They say that the school helps them keep safe through providing activities such as cycling proficiency, talks from the local police about strangers, and lessons about internet safety.  Behaviour is not outstanding because pupils are not given enough opportunities, particularly in lessons, to be responsible for their own behaviour when learning for themselves.

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The leadership and management are good

 Since the last inspection the headteacher and governors have continued to have high aspirations for the school and have driven improvement further so that the standards reached by the pupils are higher than previously. Other senior leaders and subject leaders are enthusiastic and ambitious and consistently look for ways to improve the way their areas are taught and to make learning more enjoyable.  The headteacher and senior leaders manage the performance of teachers effectively by checking the quality of teaching through looking at the pupils’ work, observing lessons, and looking at the planning and the progress made by pupils in each class. This information is used to give teachers guidance on how to improve lessons and targets to ensure their pupils make at least good progress. While this is consistent across the school, some targets for improving the quality of teaching are not sufficiently clear so that staff are not always sure of their meaning. Leaders

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The leadership and management are good

provide support to teachers when needed and organise appropriate professional training to help staff improve their subject knowledge and understanding of what they are teaching. For example, staff are very competent at delivering the early reading programme which has increased the rate at which pupils learn to read.  Some middle leaders check on the learning in lessons and look at pupils’ books to judge their progress over time. They then guide teachers to develop even more effective lessons through providing advice and support. However, not all middle leaders consistently use teacher assessments to check thoroughly that all pupils are doing as well as they can.  Self-evaluation is accurate and this informs action plans that help the school to improve further. For example, the school has accurately identified that there needs to be a more consistent approach to the teaching of mathematics across the school to ensure all groups of pupils make

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The leadership and management are good

typically outstanding progress.  The curriculum is a clear strength of the school because it is accessible to all groups of pupils. It develops pupils’ international understanding and very successfully promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. For example, there are numerous activities for pupils to take part in during and after school, such as sporting activities, chess and art clubs. There are lots of musical activities and many pupils learn to play musical instruments. An example is the Gamelan music club which got through to the National Festival of Music for Youth.  Safeguarding policies and procedures are fully in place and are effective in keeping pupils safe. Staff and governors are appropriately vetted and receive child protection training. Governors have a nominated governor responsible for safeguarding arrangements and members of the governing body have undertaken safer recruitment training.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority provides good support when it is requested by the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The governing body is fully aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the school, including where teaching is better in some classes than in others. This is because governors visit the school regularly and question senior leaders about their work in school. They do not, however, always vigorously hold subject leaders fully to account for progress in their subjects. They analyse data to ensure pupils are mostly achieving as well as they can and challenge any areas that need improving such as the gap between pupils’ progress in reading and in writing. They effectively hold the headteacher and teachers to account through good performance management procedures. These procedures enable the governing body to check that any salary increase for teachers is fully justified. Governors have a good understanding of how the pupil premium funding is spent and have used the money appropriately and effectively, for

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The leadership and management are good

example by employing extra staff to support vulnerable pupils. This has enabled the school to close the achievement gap for pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium. Governors undertake professional training to ensure they are well qualified to fulfil their roles and responsibilities. They also keep a close eye on how the budget is managed.

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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.

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School details

Unique reference number 123140 Local authority Oxfordshire Inspection number 403513

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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 239 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Kevin Burrell Headteacher Susan Baker Date of previous school inspection 18 September 2007 Telephone number 01865 762396 Fax number 01865 760771 Email address office.3211@st-andrews-pri.oxon.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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