Egerton Church of England Primary School

Egerton Church of England Primary School Stisted Way, Egerton, Ashford, Kent TN27 9DR

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 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 is not yet consistently good in all year groups because it is weaker in some lower year groups. Teachers’ questioning skills are used to better effect among the older pupils than the younger ones.  The teaching of letter sounds has been weak in the past, although current efforts to improve the skills of Year 2 children are now having some effect.  Marking does not always offer precise enough guidance to help all pupils improve their work.  Achievement in Key Stage 2 is not good enough over time, despite some recent improvements.  The majority of six-year-olds last year did not meet expected national standards for being able to recognise individual sounds when they read.  Only a minority of pupils in the middle years of Key Stage 2 are currently making good progress in mathematics.  The current Year 6 pupils are making better progress than those in previous years. However, there are some pupils in this year

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

group who are not yet making expected progress in writing or mathematics.  The monitoring of teaching and pupils’ achievement by senior leaders is not yet sufficiently rigorous.

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The school has the following strengths

 In the Early Years Foundation Stage, children make good progress across all areas of learning as a result of good teaching.  New programmes involve pupils in thinking about their attitudes to learning or choosing the areas of expertise that they want to develop. These are having a positive impact on their social and cultural development.  Behaviour is good. Pupils, known and valued as individuals, enjoy school and their families are confident that they are happy and feel safe.  Committed and hard-working school leaders and governors work together to involve all staff in the school improvement plan, which is helping to improve the quality of teaching.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors spent a total of six hours observing 12 lessons, one of which was observed jointly with the headteacher. Additional activities included shorter visits to a series of other lessons, some conducted jointly with the headteacher and two assistant headteachers, to review the impact of lessons on the progress of specific groups of pupils.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils, senior leaders and subject coordinators. Inspectors also met representatives of the governing body and the local authority..  Inspectors took account of the 58 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View), as well as views communicated by letters and through informal discussions with parents and carers during the inspection. They also took account of the views of staff through meetings and the responses to 25 staff questionnaires.  Inspectors listened to pupils read and scrutinised samples of their workbooks and attended an

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Information about this inspection

assembly.  Inspectors looked at the school’s own records for the current as well as previous academic years in addition to published data on pupils’ achievement. They examined planning and monitoring documents, records relating to pupils’ safety and welfare, including the school’s single central record of checks on staff, behaviour logs and attendance data.

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Inspection team

Patricia MacLachlan, Lead inspector Additional inspector Peter Lacey-Hastings Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 Egerton Church of England Primary is a smaller than average-sized primary school. The Early Years Foundation Stage comprises one Reception class.  The proportion of pupils eligible for support from the pupil premium is much lower than the national average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported at school action is well below the national average but the proportion of pupils supported through a statement of special educational needs or school action plus is in line with the national average.  The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic groups and those who speak English as an additional language are significantly lower than the national average, the largest group being of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils who spend all their primary school years in one school is much higher than the national average.  The school meets the current floor standards, which are the minimum standards for attainment

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Information about this school

expected by the government.  Since the last inspection, additional staff have been appointed to enable two part-time assistant headteachers to lead improvements in teaching and care for pupils.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Make sure that by July 2013, all teaching is at least good or better by supporting and holding all teachers accountable for:  planning lessons and adapting tasks to meet the individual needs of pupils with different starting points, particularly those needing to make more rapid progress over time than their peers  marking work so that very precise steps are identified for pupils to improve on their performance and time is made for pupils to act on that feedback  working with accomplished colleagues to improve the range of questioning during lessons so that pupils are challenged to use their reasoning powers and evaluate what they are learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen the school’s monitoring procedures undertaken by senior leaders so that by July 2013, the number of pupils making good progress increases, by:  checking progress in lessons frequently and taking rapid action if pupils fall below their expected levels  evaluating the impact of those actions regularly with teachers, pupils and their families so that pupils are supported to make the accelerated progress needed for them to achieve well.

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Inspection judgements

The achievement of pupils requires improvement.

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Inspection judgements

 Achievement is not good because it is inconsistent across some year groups. In addition, progress from Year 3 to the end of Year 6 has been significantly below the national average in English since 2010 and in mathematics since 2011.  School leaders have now strengthened systems across the school for moderating teacher assessments. Progress information on the current Year 6 pupils suggests that they are now making good progress in reading and expected progress in mathematics.  In other Key Stage 2 year groups, progress is generally stronger in reading and writing than in mathematics. Currently, higher proportions of pupils in Years 3 to 5 are failing to make expected levels of progress in mathematics than in reading and writing.  Attainment in reading at the early stages of Key Stage 1 requires improvement because systematic routines for blending together the sounds in longer words have not been effectively

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Inspection judgements

taught in the past. Many pupils could not sound out longer new words. The school has recognised this weakness and provided training for teachers and there are now some indications this year that more pupils are becoming competent readers earlier.  Although disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make expected progress, it is not consistent over time or across all the year groups. In Years 1 and 2, achievement is in line with the national trend but in Years 3 to 6, progress varies from year to year. Well-planned changes have been made to the support for this group with better focused activities now integrated into classroom routines, but these have not yet brought about good rates of progress across all years.  Achievement in the Early Years Foundation Stage is good because children join the school with skills in line with age-related expectations but leave the Reception class with levels of

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Inspection judgements

communication, language and literacy that are above the national average.  Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 is also usually above the national average, with the exception of a dip in 2011, which was successfully reversed the following year.  The extra money provided by the government under the pupil premium initiative is used to support individual weekly sessions for pupils in the target group who need to make accelerated progress in English or mathematics. As a result, most pupils in this group now achieve as well as their peers in reading. This additional support is also beginning to narrow the gap between the writing and mathematics scores of pupils in Years 3 to 6 and those of their classmates.  The majority of parents and carers who responded to Parent View believe that their children are making good progress in the school.

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Inspection judgements

The quality of teaching requires improvement.

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Inspection judgements

 Teaching requires improvement because it does not promote good progress sufficiently, especially in mathematics or writing, as a result of historic weakness in assessment.  Marking is inconsistent. Although some is very detailed and helpful, not all teachers indicate to pupils how a piece of work can be improved and then allow them time to develop better responses or check for themselves how well they are doing.  The school’s own evaluation of the quality of teaching shows that some in the past has had a negative impact on pupils’ performance. Teaching has now improved and that seen during the inspection was mostly good, matching the school’s own view. This is helping to improve pupils’ achievement, although evidence does not show that pupils make better than expected progress over time in all years and subjects.  Planning is generally secure and well structured, but does not always include activities that are

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Inspection judgements

precisely tailored to support faster progress among those pupils whom the school has identified as having fallen behind the levels of which they are capable.  The quality of teachers’ questioning is variable. The best teaching poses questions that challenge pupils to apply their knowledge to different situations. For example, in a religious education lesson, pupils were presented with some well-known nativity images and asked to devise the questions to which these paintings could be a possible answer. This stimulated an interesting debate on such issues as navigating by the stars or the best ways of keeping warm outdoors. In other lessons, the pace is slowed by a less focused approach or the pupils are not questioned to help them clarify how they can accomplish tasks.  Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage is good. For example, opportunities in the environment are skilfully exploited to help children develop problem solving with number

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Inspection judgements

through play and exploration.  Teachers and other adults have good subject knowledge. Behaviour is usually well managed to sustain a purposeful learning environment. However, in a few less stimulating or poorly paced lessons, pupils become inattentive. This hinders progress. When teaching requires improvement, the skills of other adults have often not been harnessed effectively during the lesson because they have been assigned to administrative tasks rather than interactions with pupils.  Four fifths of the responses to the parent and carer questionnaire indicated that they believe their children are well taught at this school.

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Inspection judgements

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good.  Pupils’ attitudes to learning are mostly good, and sometimes exemplary. This is helped by the enthusiasm with which many have embraced habits of self-evaluation according to the ‘4 Rs’ of resilience, resourcefulness, reflection and reciprocity. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, children show good social skills, sharing responsibilities like tidying their classroom or their thoughts with talk partners.  It is only when teaching is less than good that pupils’ attention wanders. Behaviour is good rather than outstanding because pupils identify some behaviour that distracts, albeit not very often.  Pupils feel well looked after by the adults around them. Pupils who previously displayed challenging behaviour speak of the very supportive and creative ways in which they have been helped to improve. Well-mannered, courteous behaviour is typical.  Bullying is rare and parents and carers have expressed satisfaction with the school’s prompt

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Inspection judgements

response to, and good management of, unkind behaviour. Pupils understand what bullying means and the school’s key values of respect for others enable them to express disapproval of bullying linked to disability.  Pupils have a good awareness of personal safety, including cyber safety, and respond well to situations by avoiding unsafe behaviour. For example, on a snowy playground, they chose activities sensibly. Parents and carers rightly believe that their children are safe at school.  Attendance is broadly average and improving each year. Pupils know right from wrong and daily assemblies encourage deeper reflection and kind actions. This reinforces moral development.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 Leadership and management are not good because leaders have not fully addressed weaknesses in teaching and achievement.  In the past, expectations have not been ambitious enough because they were based on pupils making expected rather than more than expected progress between Years 3 and 6. The headteacher and the restructured senior leadership team are beginning to raise the standard of teaching. This has had some positive impact on pupils’ progress but, as the team’s own monitoring shows, not consistently across the school. However, it is still too early to see the full impact on raising attainment and securing good progress.  Subject leaders have also been instrumental in recent improvements in teaching, analysing pupils’ performance and monitoring teaching. They increase colleagues’ expertise, for example in using the new calculations policy and extending and improving writing across the whole

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The leadership and management require improvement

curriculum.  There is a determination to further develop the school’s effectiveness, and self-evaluation focuses accurately on the areas requiring improvement, indicating the school’s capacity to improve. Staff are fully supportive of the drive for improvement.  Members of the governing body and senior leaders have begun to make effective use of performance management targets. Increases in salary are now linked to teachers’ impact on pupils’ achievement.  Curriculum developments, including the introduction of weekly ‘Smart’ lessons, where pupils choose to work in mixed-age groups on literary, mathematical, musical, artistic or nature projects, are both enthusing learners and supporting their cultural development well. Fondly recalled residential visits and assemblies, such as the Remembrance service led by the pupils themselves, encourage spiritual reflection.  A systematic programme of coaching teachers has been spearheaded by an assistant

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The leadership and management require improvement

headteacher and this has increased the proportion of good teaching.  The work of the assistant headteacher responsible for inclusion ensures there is no discrimination and secures equal opportunities for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs. Safeguarding systems are robust.  The local authority provides good support for subject leaders and members of the governing body. However, it was previously less effective in challenging and supporting the school regarding its history of poor progress in Years 3 to 6.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 The governance of the school : – The extremely committed and supportive governing body fulfils its statutory safeguarding obligations, by training in safer recruitment and appointing a member with specific oversight for keeping pupils safe. Members carefully review the impact of the pupil premium funding in raising achievement for targeted learners through regular reports from the headteacher. They have been trained to understand the school’s progress tracking system and their challenge and support effectively focus on what is being done about pupils’ underachievement. Because members of the governing body also contribute to a development plan for an alliance of local schools, they have an understanding of the school’s performance relative to that of its rural neighbours and to similar schools nationally. They recognise how performance management is being used to improve teaching and pupils’ achievements and its link to salary progression.

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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 118702 Local authority Kent Inspection number 401781

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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 206 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Graham Jones Headteacher Lee Selby Date of previous school inspection 22–23 March 2010 Telephone number 01233 756274 Fax number 01233 756175 Email address headteacher@egerton.kent.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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