East Worlington Primary School

East Worlington Primary School East Worlington, Crediton, Devon, EX17 4TS

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Teaching over time requires improvement. Latterly, the school has gone through a period of difficuly during which teaching has been weak. Teaching is now improving.  Pupils’ progress and achievement have faltered as a result of weaknesses in teaching. Gaps in learning are inhibiting the progress of some pupils, especially in Year 4.  Pupils are not always given enough help so that they can set their own learning targets and judge for themselves the progress they make.  Planning to meet the needs of different groups is not always sharp enough and there are times in lessons when pupils’ learning is too slow. For example, pupils sometimes spend too much time being taught as a whole class.  Although leaders and governors have been quick to take action to arrest declining teaching and achievement, teaching is not yet consistently good because improvements have not had time to work as intended. Leaders’ monitoring of lessons has rightly identified that

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

there are occasions when more-able pupils are given activities that are too easy.

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The school has the following strengths

 The school is drawing well on the expertise and experience of other staff in the academy to promote improvement. This is making a difference to the progress and achievement of the pupils and, as a result, attainment is now rising across the school. Pupils’ progress is strongest in Year 6.  Staff new to the school have settled quickly and working relationships are positive and productive. They welcome the support that has been provided through the academy.  Teaching is improving. There is an increasing proportion of lessons in which the pupils learn well and make good progress. Reading skills are taught well.  Pupils demonstrate a strong desire to learn. They enjoy coming to school, behave considerately and attend very regularly. Relationships are based on respect and courtesy.  The way the school tracks the progress of pupils has been strengthened.

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Information about this inspection

 Nine lessons were observed, of which seven were joint observations with senior staff. The inspector also observed an assembly.  Meetings were held with staff, members of the governing body (trust directors) and groups of pupils.  The inspector took account of the 31 responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) and information from the school’s recent survey of parents’ and carers’ opinions. Parents’ and carers’ views were also garnered from nine letters which were written during the inspection.  The inspector observed the school’s work and looked at documents, including the school improvement plan, school checks on teaching and progress, records relating to attendance, the school’s numerical data on pupils’ progress, and analysis of samples of their work .

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Inspection team

Peter Clifton, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller-than-average primary school. The pupils are taught in three classes.  The school converted to become part of the Chulmleigh Academy Trust on 1 August 2011. When it was last inspected by Ofsted, as the predecessor school, it was judged to be satisfactory overall.  The Chulmleigh Academy Trust is a group of five schools working together. The headteacher took over leadership responsibility of the school in January 2012.  Two out of the three classes have new teachers who joined the school in September 2012.  Nearly all pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils who are disabled and those who have special educational needs supported by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is average. The proportion supported through school action is above average.  There are no pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium (extra funding provided to

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Information about this school

support certain groups of pupils).  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  Pupils are educated onsite. There is no regular alternative provision offsite.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching so that learning and achievement are, at least, good by:  leaders, driving through the improvements in teaching and learning by using strengths from the academy trust – including coaching of staff, visits to other schools and close checking on the learning of different groups in lessons – to improve performance  ensuring that the activities provided for different groups of pupils are not too difficult or too easy so that they are able to learn as well as they are able, particularly the more-able pupils  giving pupils better information about targets to improve their work so that they can be more involved in identifying for themselves what they should improve, and judge how well they have done  making sure that learning in lessons moves along at a brisk pace at all times, for example by using the time when the class is taught as a whole more effectively and moving on to individual activities more quickly.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Learning and achievement observed in lessons in different subjects during the inspection, and as seen in school monitoring records over time, require improvement. In the lower year groups in Key Stage 2, learning sometimes slows because pupils have gaps in their knowledge and understanding, and newly appointed staff do not yet have full awareness about where these gaps are.  The school’s records of progress for individuals and groups of pupils show that achievement is improving, but is not yet consistently good across all year groups. The boost in progress is most noticeable in the current Year 6, where accelerated gains have been made over the last six months. The pupils in Years 5 and 6 are confident in their use of vocabulary in literacy and have good calculation skills. They are currently working at or above age-related expectations.  Although parents and carers remain very supportive of the school, they have expressed some

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

concerns about progress and achievement in the recent past. Pupils also comment that they are now enjoying school more because more is expected from them and they are doing much better.  Children start school with knowledge, skills and understanding that are typical for their age. Over the past two years, pupils’ attainment by the end of Year 2 and Year 6 has been broadly average. Year 6 pupils, who have just left the school, made the expected two levels of progress from their starting points in Year 3.  In Reception, the children are keen to show that they know letters and their different sounds. They are beginning to use these to write out simple words. In their artwork, they take turns and listen to instructions carefully. They play confidently in the outside area.  Less-able readers in Year 1 use their knowledge of the sounds of letters securely to help them to read simple words such as ‘hat’ and ‘mat’. Books chosen are at the right level of difficulty. By

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

Year 2, these skills have developed well and more-able readers read a range of books fluently. Less-able readers in Year 2 apply their knowledge of the sounds of letters but read with less fluency. Older pupils have good reading habits and read a wide range of books. They discuss how authors use humour and description to grab the attention of the reader.  Pupils make expected or better progress in their writing and mathematics skills. In Years 3 and 4, pupils used different connectives to join sentences together, and calculation skills to work out different times. Year 1 and Year 2 pupils developed their understanding about writing instructions and the properties of different shapes.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make progress that is similar to that of other pupils. There are times when additional adult help enables them to make good progress, for example when discussing how to sequence different events in Year 3.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching over time has not been strong enough to promote pupils’ good achievement and, therefore, requires improvement. Additional support in literacy and numeracy from January 2012 helped to boost the progress of older pupils who have now left the school.  There are occasions when learning is affected because the planning of it is not sharp enough. For example, tasks are, sometimes, made too complex for the pupils to follow, or not sufficiently well adapted for pupils with disabilities and those with special educational needs to learn confidently.  The match of work to pupils’ different abilities is not always close enough. More-able pupils are not always given enough opportunity to tackle more demanding work. Teachers’ expectations about what different groups should achieve in their writing are not always clear enough.  There are also times when learning slows. Examples of this include when pupils finish work in

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

groups quickly and sit waiting for further instructions. Teachers sometimes talk for too long and pupils are prevented from tackling work actively and independently.  In the best teaching observed, which accounted for the minority, learning moved at a brisk pace because learning was well planned and delivered. Pupils made good progress in their learning, for example in Years 5 and 6 when they solved division sums in different ways and discussed different materials to use to make a menorah (an ancient lampstand) in design and technology.  Activities take place in a positive learning environment. Pupils enjoy being in lessons and are confident that their views and ideas will be valued. Relationships between staff and pupils are strong. Older pupils, in particular, work with confidence.  Marking is a strength. Teachers’ comments are detailed and helpful and identify how improvement can be made. Pupils appeciate the positive comments (stars) and information

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

about what they can improve (wish).  Pupils have some information which they can use to decide for themselves what they need to do to improve. However, this is not used well enough to help them set their own learning targets. Strategies for the pupils to develop assessment skills, for example through looking at each other’s work, are underdeveloped.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ good manners and politeness reflect their often excellent behaviour in and around school. The size of the school enables all of the pupils to get to know each other and they enjoy being together. Older pupils confirm it is a happy and friendly school where older pupils are quick to help the younger children if the need arises.  In lessons, pupils respond well to any request made by the teacher. Most groups of pupils work well together, particularly the older ones. They are keen to show what they know when answering questions and discussing their ideas. However, a few pupils do not settle quickly enough and do not concentrate and complete enough work. This is why behaviour and safety are not yet outstanding.  Parents, carers and staff express the view that pupils’ behaviour is a strength of the school. The school’s written records have very little evidence of any serious misbehaviour or bullying. Pupils

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

comment that they feel safe and that their teachers are fair.  Pupils understand that the internet can be misused, including the potential dangers of social network sites. Although they say they have not experienced any unfriendly messages, they are aware that this can occur when using mobile phones. They have learned about the dangers of smoking and alcohol.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The staff team has quickly developed a positive and constructive working relationship. The team welcomes the support that has been provided using expertise from the academy trust and through monitoring and regular staff meetings.  Leaders have taken robust action to tackle areas of significant weakness in teaching over the past year. The quality of teaching has been monitored and evaluated regularly. The school’s recent records and inspection evidence show that teaching is not yet consistently good. Observations identify, for example, that pupils are not always given sufficiently demanding work. Leadership and management are not yet good because improvement has not yet been driven through and fully reflected in pupils’ good achievement.  The academy trust gives the school good support. Consequently, plans for improvement are well focused and draw on the strengths from the trust. A significant barrier, which the trust has

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The leadership and management requires improvement

helped to overcome, has been the reliability of some of the information available which is used to measure how well the pupils are doing. As a result, only fairly recently have leaders had an accurate evaluation of how well pupils achieve so that they can apply what they know accurately to promotion and pay of staff.  Opportunities through the trust are not yet fully exploited, such as coaching of teachers and visits to other schools to observe good practice.  Leaders have reviewed the school day and how different subjects link together. Improvements have been made in reading and writing. Older pupils, for example, write at length in their science topic.  School self-evaluation accurately identifies that work is not always demanding enough for more- able pupils. Lessons provide a reasonable range of opportunities for different groups of pupils to learn.  The school helps pupils to deepen their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding well.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

There is an established moral code which is well understood. Pupils are keen to learn about different cultures and talk knowledgeably about their work on Diwali. Discrimination is not tolerated.  The governance of the school:  Governors are fully familiar with the difficulties in teaching that have been tackled. Their knowledge about how well different groups are achieving has been constrained by the lack of reliable progress information. They are fully behind plans for the future and are rightly ambitious for the school. There is now a clear procedure and good information which can be used to make well-informed decisions about teachers rising up the salary scale. Governors have maintained the strong support of parents since the previous inspection. They undertake training to enhance their skills. They monitor the budget closely and identify ways to use strengths from the academy to help the pupils improve and develop, but such action does not

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The leadership and management requires improvement

yet fully exploit the opportunities available. The governing body ensures that safeguarding requirements are met and effective. All staff are appropriately trained to identify any child protection concerns.

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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 137025 Local authority Devon Inspection number 406655

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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 Academy converter School category Non-maintained Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 46 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Steve Baber Headteacher Michael Johnson Date of previous school inspection 7–8 July 2011 Telephone number 01884 860567 Fax number 01884 860567 Email address admin@east-worlington-primary.devon.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

to 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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