Doxey Primary and Nursery School

Doxey Primary and Nursery School Doxey Road, Doxey, Stafford, ST16 1EG

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Inadequate 4 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.  Attainment is rising owing to good teaching, effective monitoring and careful planning.  Good teaching means that pupils are making much better progress than in previous years, with all pupils making at least expected progress and a significantly increased number making good progress.  Effective training ensures that all teaching assistants support learning well, particularly in supporting pupils learning to read.  Pupils behave well and feel safe.  The headteacher has a very clear vision and strong sense of purpose in bringing about school improvement. With the senior leadership team, the headteacher regularly monitors the quality of teaching and learning. She ensures that good practice is spread throughout the school and effective support is provided to remedy weaknesses.  Relationships throughout the school are good and contribute to the good progress pupils make in lessons.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 More-able pupils do not do as well in subjects such as history, geography and information and communication technology (ICT) as they do in English and mathematics.  There are insufficient opportunities for pupils to experience the full range of investigative work in mathematics.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors visited 14 lessons and observed all eight teachers in the school at least once. They also visited 12 sessions where teachers and teaching assistants were teaching early reading.  Inspectors heard a small number of pupils read from Year 2 and Year 6.  Meetings were held with members of the governing body, the headteacher other leaders, a representative from the local authority, staff and pupils.  Inspectors took account of the school’s own parent questionnaire because there were too few responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View).  Inspectors looked at a range of documents provided by the school, including the school’s records of pupils’ progress, pupils’ work and senior leaders’ records of teaching observations.

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Inspection team

Jacqueline Wordsworth, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Mary Maybank Additional Inspector

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Full report

In accordance with section 13 (4) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires special measures.

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Information about this school

 This is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  In the last inspection of 2011, the school was placed in special measures.  The proportion of disabled pupils, those with a statement of special educational needs or those who need extra support at school action plus, is in line with the national average.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action is below the national average.  The proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals, for whom the school receives additional income (the pupil premium), is above the national average.  The school meets the current government 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?

 Improve teaching and learning so that all pupils make rapid progress by:  providing more investigative work in mathematics to challenge pupils’ understanding of problems involving logic and those that require more than one operation and, in particular, give further opportunities for higher-attaining pupils to investigate independently  setting harder work for more-able pupils in subjects such as ICT, history and geography.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In the past, as pupils have moved up the school, their progress has been inadequate with pupils being over a year behind where they should be. Teachers have worked successfully to raise standards in reading, writing and mathematics to be in line with those found in other schools nationally.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In 2012, the proportion of pupils making the progress they should in English and mathematics increased and matched the national expected levels. Results are set to rise again strongly this year with school assessments showing that a good proportion of pupils are making much better than expected progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Current work in pupils’ books shows an increasing number of pupils working at above-average standards, particularly in Years 4 and 5, where a number of pupils are the equivalent of a year ahead of pupils in other schools nationally.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The majority of children joining the school in the Nursery class start with skills and abilities that are below, and sometimes well below, those expected for their age. Children achieve well in the Early Years Foundation Stage because the adults have high expectations that they will behave, play and learn well. Children like to learn, concentrate well and persevere to complete tasks.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The good improvement in pupils’ progress in reading owes much to the well-taught daily sessions on phonics (the sounds that letters make) that provide short periods of highly focused teaching. Younger pupils have an increasingly secure understanding of letters and sounds and are becoming more confident in applying their knowledge when reading unfamiliar words. Many confidently ‘have a go’ at independent writing and at trying to spell words for themselves.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress in reading. In Year 2, they are able to read a range of texts with suitable accuracy, enjoy books and offer opinions when talking about the plot or the characters. By the time they leave at the end of Year 6, most are able to read with expression and confidence, and higher-attaining pupils are able to recognise and discuss different types of books and illustrate their comments by finding appropriate references from the text.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils have a good knowledge and understanding of numbers and arithmetic. They develop speed and accuracy in their calculations and have a good understanding of place value. Their mathematical vocabulary is developed effectively. Stronger teaching of mental approaches to mathematics provides pupils with more interesting and harder activities that improve their ability to manipulate numbers quickly and efficiently.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Investigative tasks to challenge pupils’ mathematical thinking and make use of their knowledge and understanding of numbers are not taught often enough. Insufficient use is made of ICT skills to support learning in mathematics and so pupils do not do as well in these important areas.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils eligible for additional government funding (pupil premium) are progressing well. These pupils are now achieving much better than their classmates and are around two terms ahead of their classmates in reading and mathematics. In some cases, they are attaining above other pupils nationally. This is because pupil premium funding is spent wisely to provide additional support for individuals and small groups.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress over time because of effective provision. Teachers ensure that these pupils are fully involved in the work the class is doing.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers have a good understanding of the subjects they teach, particularly reading. They have high expectations, plan effectively and make clear what they want pupils to learn and achieve.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils respond positively to the lively and challenging lessons that characterise most teaching. They listen well and are keen to contribute their own ideas to any discussion. There is a good balance between the teacher talking to the whole class and working with groups and individuals.

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The quality of teaching is good

 A consistent approach to the teaching of handwriting has led to better presentation, including the use of a fluent, joined handwriting style. Well-planned, highly structured activities serve to improve pupils’ basic punctuation and sentence construction. This enables pupils to write increasingly complex pieces of work. Teachers successfully encourage pupils to express their ideas well and to select words carefully for their effect.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The pupils’ confidence and willingness to engage actively in class activities reflects the warm and trusting relationship pupils have with their teachers and the sense that everyone’s contribution is valued. Good levels of concentration also extend to those times when the pupils are working independently, in pairs or in small groups.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Questions are used in different ways throughout lessons and, most notably, they are used very skilfully to encourage pupils to think and to help teachers to check on pupils’ knowledge and understanding.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers track pupils’ progress conscientiously. They set work at the right level for groups of pupils in English and mathematics and make good use of meetings to discuss the progress of individual pupils with the headteacher and other senior members of staff.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The work provided for different groups is well considered and enables all pupils, including the higher-attaining pupils and those known to be eligible for free school meals, to achieve well in English and mathematics.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers mark pupils’ work regularly and provide comments that help them to understand the next steps in their learning. For example, pupils could show improvement in their writing when the teacher had given them a prompt or question to respond to in order to improve their work.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Information from pupils’ learning in books and from tests is used well to set targets for improvement in reading, writing and mathematics, and this is beginning to happen in other subjects.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Well-trained adults are used effectively to teach reading to groups and individual pupils of different abilities. They work closely with teachers to plan and carry out programmes to support disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. They help to make sure that these pupils have the same opportunity to learn as their classmates.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers are getting better at setting work of the right level in subjects such as history or geography, but they do not always make sure that those who find learning easy are challenged enough.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils behave well. Good behaviour is reinforced throughout the school by praise and rewards.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils say that any instances of bullying are taken very seriously and are dealt with promptly and effectively. Procedures for monitoring and eliminating deliberately hurtful or oppressive behaviour, including bullying, are effective.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The provision for pupils’ spiritual and cultural development has improved since the previous inspection. Pupils’ moral and social development receives good attention and this contributes well to the positive attitudes of the pupils towards their learning.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils understand the importance of listening to the views of others and appreciate how their actions can affect other people. They can explain why there need to be rules based on safety, protection and fairness and, as a result, they follow the school’s code of conduct without any fuss.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils know how to keep themselves safe in a number of situations, including when using the internet.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils in Years 5 and 6 speak well of their recent popular and successful residential trip to promote pupils’ leadership skills. Pupils are taking an active part in the school council.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Although attendance is below average, it is improving as result of the effective work of the learning mentor.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and deputy headteacher lead the school well and provide a clear educational direction. Together they have built a happy, committed and hard-working team. All are highly motivated and manage change well, adding impetus to the drive for further improvement whatever their role in school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The leadership of the development of early reading is effective, and has directly led to an improvement in the teaching of reading across the school. Similarly, the leadership of English is a strength.

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The leadership and management are good

 Very careful attention is paid to training, and this is a significant factor in maintaining and enhancing the school’s rapidly rising standards. Staff, including teaching assistants, have received intensive and effective training in the teaching of writing, mathematics and phonics. As a result, the quality of teaching has improved significantly in these key subjects.

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The leadership and management are good

 Teachers’ performance in the classroom is rigorously checked, with systems well established to link teachers’ pay to pupils’ achievement.

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The leadership and management are good

 The curriculum is broad and balanced and there are good links between different subjects. There is a good emphasis on planning activities that are meaningful to the pupils but these activities are sometimes not hard enough for the most-able pupils.

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The leadership and management are good

 The quality and range of the activities in the Early Years Foundation Stage are good, with the exception of the opportunities for children to use large play equipment. Adults have a good understanding of the principles that underpin young children’s learning and these are used well to plan the experiences and activities they provide.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher makes good use of support from the local authority and that provided by several National Teaching Schools and this has been a key factor in the significant improvement in the quality of teaching, standards and leadership.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Members of the governing body have made sure that all of the required policies are in place and are up to date. Governors have an accurate understanding of how well the school is doing and they work closely with the headteacher to make the school better. They are well informed of the work of the school through regular reports from the headteacher and subject leaders, as well as from their own visits. They are involved with checking that pupils are making at least the progress they should. Governors have a good understanding of how the pupil premium money is spent and where it is having the most impact. They have a good understanding of the quality of teaching and how this is linked to teachers’ pay. They have taken decisive action to eradicate inadequate teaching. Governors ensure that safeguarding procedures meet current 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 124200 Local authority Staffordshire Inspection number 410204

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 187 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Charles Soutar Headteacher Janet Baker Date of previous school inspection 3 March 2011 Telephone number 01785 356100 Fax number 01785 356100 Email address headteacher@doxey.staffs.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

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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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