All Saints Church of England Primary School, Bexhill

School report All Saints Church of England Primary School, Bexhill All Saints Lane, Bexhill-on-Sea, TN39 5HA

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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 Good 2

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

 There is too much variation in the progress that pupils make as they move up the school.  The work set for pupils in lessons is not always sufficiently demanding or tailored to individual needs.  Sometimes, opportunities are missed for pupils to apply and deepen their learning through investigating problems and finding things out for themselves.  While there is some very good practice in marking, this is not consistent across subjects and year groups.  The pace of some lessons is too slow and pupils do not complete enough work.  Outstanding teaching practice is not yet shared systematically.

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The school has the following strengths

 The headteacher provides strong leadership. In the 14 months that she has been in post, she has made many changes for the better. Importantly, the quality of teaching is strengthening rapidly.  Leaders and governors are working effectively to raise pupils’ achievement. Pupils’ progress is accelerating. Many pupils now make good progress and attainment is rising.  Pupils enjoy school and feel safe in its supportive and orderly environment. They behave well and show consideration and respect for others.  Pupils and staff are proud to be part of the school and understand the role that they play in sustaining its improvement.

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Information about this inspection

 Teaching and learning were observed in 16 lessons and pupils’ work was examined, especially in English and mathematics. Some observations were joint visits with senior leaders. In addition, an assembly for the whole school was observed.  Meetings were held with staff, pupils and three members of the school’s governing body. There were also two telephone conversations with representatives of the local authority. One meeting with pupils was dedicated to a discussion of reading, with an opportunity for pupils to read aloud. Ad-hoc discussions with pupils took place at break and lunchtimes.  Account was taken of the 17 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and 20 staff questionnaires. Parents’ involvement in school life was discussed with senior leaders.  A range of documentation was looked at, including a survey of parental views undertaken by the school and records relating to pupils’ progress, behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Jacqueline White, lead inspector Additional inspector Peter Thrussell Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller-than-average primary school with seven classes arranged in age groups.  Most pupils are White British. Relatively few pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds and for almost all English is their first language.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is well above average. (The pupil premium provides additional funding for children in the care of the local authority, children of parents serving in the armed forces and pupils known to be eligible for free school meals.)  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is above average.  The proportion supported by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The headteacher took up her post in January 2012.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that more lessons are good and outstanding by:  making sure that the work set for all groups of pupils is sufficiently demanding  maintaining a brisk pace for learning and having high expectations for the amount of work that pupils complete in lessons  increasing opportunities for pupils to apply their learning independently through, for example, investigating problems and finding things out for themselves  extending the high-quality marking seen in some books across all subjects and year groups  sharing the outstanding practice that exists within the school, including the work of some teaching assistants, so that staff can learn from each other.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Children start in the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills and abilities which are below the levels typical for their age. Notably, the communication and social skills of many are underdeveloped. The children settle into the Reception class quickly, where well-planned activities and carefully targeted adult support ensure they make good progress in their early reading, writing and mathematics skills.  Attainment at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2 has been below average. The school’s reliable data, pupils’ work and lesson observations show that pupils’ progress is now accelerating and attainment is beginning to rise. Pupils make better progress in English and most make good progress in mathematics. There is still some unevenness in the rate of progress made from one year group to another. In particular, pupils’ progress dips in Years 3 and 4.  The much more systematic approach to teaching phonics (the sounds that letters make), literacy

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

and numeracy is tackling shortcomings in pupils’ skills. Consequently, pupils are gaining confidence in using different mathematical methods and their reading, writing and spelling are improving.  Pupils have good opportunities to read for a variety of purposes in lessons and to enjoy books. In discussion with some pupils who had received help with reading, they talked about books with pleasure, read aloud happily and demonstrated strategies for working out new words.  Pupils’ progress is now monitored very closely and this is helping to ensure that pupils have an equal chance of success and are well prepared for secondary school, including the very few pupils who speak English as an additional language and those from ethnic minority groups.  The school uses its pupil premium funding to provide additional support for pupils who need it. This involves intensive teaching and activities to foster pupils’ social and emotional development.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

Pupils who qualify for the funding make good and better progress than their classmates and all pupils nationally in mathematics. Their progress is not so strong in English but, overall, more attain the Level 4 benchmark in English and mathematics in national tests compared to their classmates. The gap with all pupils’ attainment nationally is closing faster in mathematics than in English.  Pupils who are supported by school action plus or who have a statement of special educational needs make good progress as a result of high-quality interventions. The progress of those supported by school action is more variable.  In lessons, pupils get on well together. They enjoy opportunities to share and discuss ideas. Most are conscientious and want to improve their work.  The parents who responded to the online questionnaire and those who have completed other school questionnaires are pleased with the progress that their children are making. While

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

inspection evidence shows that pupils’ achievement requires improvement, these positive views are in tune with the fact that pupils are doing much better.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The proportion of good and outstanding teaching is increasing but there is still too much variation in practice.  Where teaching is good or better, learning activities are very well matched to the needs of individual pupils. Questioning is used effectively to probe pupils’ understanding and expose any gaps that are then tackled successfully. Pupils receive clear and timely feedback about their next steps in learning and there is the flexibility to allow pupils to move on to more challenging work as they are ready.  These features were particularly evident in the Reception class, where a range of well-designed complementary activities deepened the children’s understanding and promoted their independence. Precise one-to-one interventions from the teacher and teaching assistants ensured high levels of concentration. Expectations were high and met. There were carefully orchestrated opportunities for children to share ideas, and every chance to give them high-

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

quality feedback about how well they were doing was seized. As a result, the children made at least good and, sometimes, excellent progress.  Where teaching requires improvement, the pace of learning is often too slow and pupils do not complete as much work as they should. The time invested in some activities is not well judged and teachers spend too much time talking to the whole class. Activities lack challenge for some pupils, usually those who are most able and those supported by school action. Feedback to pupils is inexact, including in marking, where the next steps for learning are not always clarified.  Some teachers and teaching assistants are expert at helping pupils to extend their learning and gain independence. These skills have not been shared fully across the teaching team.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Relationships throughout the school are positive and caring. Pupils feel very well looked after. They get on well with each other and show respect and kindness to others, valuing differences of age, race and disability. Their enjoyment of school is reflected in their improving attendance, which is now broadly average.  Pupils spoken to during the inspection consider that incidences of bullying are rare. They know about different types of bullying, including homophobic name-calling, racist and cyber-bullying. They demonstrate a good understanding of what they should do if they are bullied and are confident that adults will sort out any issues effectively.  The school’s records indicate that behaviour is typically good. Where it does not meet the clear expectations, it is dealt with appropriately. In surveys presented by the school and the online questionnaire, most parents share the view that behaviour is managed effectively and pupils

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

behave well.  Personal, social and health education lessons help pupils to develop a sensible attitude to risk. They know how to keep themselves safe both within school and in the wider community. The good opportunities for discussion in these lessons help pupils develop a strong sense of right and wrong and the capacity to make measured judgements.  Pupils with behavioural and emotional difficulties are well catered for. The school works very closely with the families of these children to overcome any barriers to their learning.  Occasionally, in lessons where teaching is not well matched to the needs of individuals, pupils adopt very passive attitudes and their engagement with learning diminishes.  Pupils benefit from the wide variety of activities, trips and visitors that expand their horizons and build their confidence.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher provides determined leadership and a clear educational direction for the school. With her staff, she has created a positive and purposeful environment for pupils’ learning and personal development.  Senior leaders and governors have an accurate overview of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. Staff understand that they are accountable for pupils’ progress and strive to do the best for every pupil.  Equality of opportunity is at the heart of the school’s values and Christian ethos. Discrimination of any kind is not tolerated.  The senior leadership team has been restructured to intensify the focus on improving pupils’ achievement. The emphasis on strengthening teaching and learning has been effective. Better teaching is accelerating pupils’ progress and attainment is rising. Leaders, including subject coordinators, observe classroom practice and provide constructive feedback to teachers. Good

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The leadership and management are good

training and support underpin the growing proportion of good and outstanding practice.  A productive partnership with a local school has led to the sharing of teaching practice which has benefited both schools.  Staff promotion and salary decisions are closely linked to teachers’ responsibilities and pupils’ achievement.  Management systems for tracking pupils’ progress and checking the quality of teaching have been greatly improved. Data is used more strategically to identify weaknesses in teaching. However, some teachers’ skills in using information about pupils’ learning are limited and do not maximise pupils’ progress in lessons.  The interesting range of subjects and topics provided supports pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. While the acquisition of literacy and numeracy skills is central, the links made between subjects add meaning and relevance to pupils’ learning.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school works hard and successfully to maintain positive partnerships with most parents. The appointment of parental support advisors ensures good communications and has extended opportunities for parents to be involved in their children’s learning.  The school has a very productive relationship with the local authority. Its advisors have provided a valuable external perspective of the school’s work and have helped to build the school’s good capacity for further improvement.  The governance of the school:  Members of the governing body are reflective and deeply committed to the school. They have recently reorganised how they work to increase their ability to drive the school’s improvement. They readily undertake training in support of this imperative. Governors have a clear overview of pupils’ attainment and progress and how these compare to schools nationally. They also have an accurate view of the quality of teaching. Their good knowledge of the school enables

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The leadership and management are good

them to both hold it to account and support its work. Governors are well informed about the performance of staff and ensure that pay and promotion are linked to pupils’ progress. Their management of the school’s finances is sound, with a close eye kept on how well resources are utilised to promote pupils’ learning and well-being. Accordingly, they check how the pupil premium funding is spent and evaluate the impact of actions on pupils’ progress. Governors ensure that all safeguarding procedures meet requirements.

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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 114491 Local authority East Sussex Inspection number 405517

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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

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School details

Number of pupils on the school roll 201 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jenny Farrer Headteacher Sarah Massheder Date of previous school inspection 22–23 June 2011 Telephone number 01424 219083 Fax number 01424 730917 Email address office@allsaints-bex.e-sussex.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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