St Margaret's Academy

St Margaret's Academy Barewell Road, Torquay, Devon, TQ1 1PA

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected 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 good progress and by the time they leave in Year 6 they achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics.  The quality of teaching is good, and some is outstanding. Good support is provided for pupils with special educational needs.  Senior leaders have taken appropriate action to improve teaching and this has resulted in more progress being made by pupils.  Extra-curricular and inter-school activities make a strong contribution to pupils’ enjoyment of school, as well as to their good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Pupils feel safe and well cared for, and the school is rigorous in implementing systems for their safety. Pupils behave well, showing respect and courtesy towards adults and each other.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage settle quickly due to the welcoming environment and good relationships formed between them and the staff.  The school has a strong commitment to equal

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

opportunities and ensures that disabled pupils and those with special educational needs or disabilities are fully included in all activities.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 There are some variations in the rate of progress made across the school because not all teaching has enough pace.  Not all work provides challenge for higher attaining pupils.  School targets are not ambitious enough in relation to national standards.  Governors have not been given enough detail on pupils’ achievements.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 18 lessons or parts of lessons, 10 of which were joint observations with the headteacher or deputy headteacher. In addition, inspectors visited a number of intervention groups for shorter periods of time to look at the learning of individual pupils.  Inspectors listened to pupils reading from Years 1, 2 and 6, and held discussions with pupils to gain their views about the school.  Inspectors looked carefully at pupils’ work in books and at the displays of pupils’ work around the school.  School documentation was examined including monitoring records of the quality of teaching, the school’s data on pupil progress, the school improvement plan, and minutes of governing body meetings. Inspectors also looked at the school’s records on behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.  The inspectors held meetings with members of the senior leadership team regarding pupil progress in literacy and numeracy.

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Information about this inspection

 A meeting was held with the Vice-Chair of the Governing Body, and a telephone conversation was held with the Chair of the Governing Body.  Information from the 62 responses to Parent View was taken into account, as well as the opinions of parents spoken to on the playground.  In addition, inspectors took account of the 11 responses to the staff questionnaire.  The breakfast and after-school club was visited.

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Inspection team

Anne Newall, Lead Inspector Additional Inspector Stephanie Thomas Additional Inspector Fran Ashworth Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a larger than average primary academy, which opened in April 2011. When its predecessor school, St Margaret’s Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be outstanding overall.  There is specialist provision for hearing impaired pupils.  There are two classes in each year group, including the Early Years Foundation Stage.  The proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is above the national average.  There is an above average proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium (which is funding provided by the government to support pupils, including those entitled to free school meals, those in the care of the local authority or children of service families).  Fewer pupils than the national average speak English as an additional language, and the proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is also much lower than the national average.  The proportion of pupils with disabilities or special educational needs supported at school action,

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Information about this school

school action plus and those with a statement of special educational needs is above the national average.  The school meets the government’s current floor target, which sets the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  There is an on-site breakfast and after-school club managed by the governing body.  St Margaret’s Academy is not part of an academy chain, and is not supported by the local authority.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen the quality of teaching so that it is all good or outstanding by:  ensuring there is a suitably brisk pace to all lessons so that all pupils can achieve their full potential  making sure that work provides more challenge for higher ability pupils.  Ensure leaders and managers make more effective use of the school’s information by:  reviewing school targets regularly so that they are more aspirational in relation to national standards  providing governors with more detail about the school’s performance so that they can more systematically hold leaders to account.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children join the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills and abilities which are generally well below those expected for their age. They make good progress during their first year, benefiting from a well-resourced environment and regular assessment of their needs. They enter Year 1 with improved skills, although still slightly below the expected level for their age.  A strong focus upon pupils’ personal development as well as their academic skills means that they continue to make good progress throughout the school and leave Year 6 having achieved standards close to the national average in reading, writing and mathematics.  The progress of pupils entitled to support from the pupil premium is similar to that of their peers, and the gap between their attainment and that of their peers, which was wide in 2012, is now much narrower and they attain standards closer to the national average.  Pupils make good progress in reading due to the recent focus on reading sessions within class.

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The achievement of pupils is good

The introduction of bronze, silver and gold awards for reading has really captured pupils’ interest and has promoted regular reading at home.  Progress in writing is now more rapid throughout the school because of the introduction of regular ‘big writing’ sessions, where pupils apply the skills they have learnt to a more in-depth piece of writing.  The needs of pupils who have a hearing impairment are well provided for and they make good progress due to the close liaison between their teachers and the academy’s specialist teacher.  Teaching assistants provide strong support to individual pupils, as well as to groups of pupils, enabling them to make good progress.  Parents and carers who spoke to inspectors, as well as the majority who responded to the on- line parent survey, said they feel their children make good progress. In addition, the pupils who met inspectors were very positive about their lessons and the progress they make.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Overall, teaching is good across all key stages, including in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Imaginatively planned activities capture the pupils’ interest in Reception. For example, children outside used pegs and materials to create a dark tunnel on their slide, and excellent interaction with their teacher encouraged their imaginations and creativity.  The best lessons ensure that pupils’ needs are met through well planned learning sequences. For example, in an outstanding English lesson, pupils were working in pairs looking at instructions, such as recipes. The interest of higher ability pupils was maintained by giving them a separate task, which they presented to their classmates at the end of the lesson. The whole class was fully engaged in this active and interesting lesson, which also highlighted the excellent relationships between adults and pupils.  Pupils with special educational needs are enabled to succeed in mainstream lessons because of

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The quality of teaching is good

the high quality support provided by the teaching assistants, under the guidance of the teacher. The specialist teacher for the hearing impaired provides very good advice. Pupils with hearing impairment achieve well because they receive support from specialist staff within school.  Where teaching is not as good as the best, the pace of learning slows, and some pupils lose a little interest. Also, the needs of higher attainers are not always met. The academy’s leaders have begun a programme of coaching, supported by an external consultant, which is already leading to improvements.  Clear learning objectives were common features of all the lessons observed and in the best lessons these were referred to frequently to remind pupils of the purpose of their activities. The use of regular check-up points was an excellent way to remind pupils to remember what they have been taught. For example, in one lesson, the teacher reminded pupils that proper nouns

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The quality of teaching is good

have capital letters by saying, ‘St Margaret’s Academy is an important place, so it needs an important letter.’  Older pupils are aware of their targets, and the academy has implemented clear policies for marking and feedback to pupils.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are consistently polite and courteous to adults and to each other. In assemblies their behaviour and attitude were very positive.  Pupils have a good understanding of bullying and the various forms it takes, including cyber bullying and racist bullying; they report that there is not any bullying in the school, ‘It’s just people sometimes having a quarrel, and it quickly gets sorted out.’  Within lessons, pupils cooperate when working together on an exciting task; however, the behaviour of a few deteriorates in lessons when the pace of activities slows. Older pupils respond well to having responsibilities, such as being peer mediators on the playground or being responsible for setting out the hall and organising the music for assemblies.  Pupils show good manners during lunchtime, and when out at play they are considerate towards each other, playing safely with the wide range of attractive facilities and equipment.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 All parents and carers spoken to by an inspector and the majority of those who completed the on-line Parent View survey were positive about pupils’ behaviour and how it is managed.  Attendance is improving and is now average.

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The leadership and management are good

 School leaders have successfully developed a staff team whose commitment to improving their own practice has led to increased pupil progress, particularly in English.  Staff who responded to the inspection questionnaire were overwhelmingly positive about the school.  Continuing professional development for staff has brought about improvements in the quality of teaching by giving teachers more strategies and skills to plan lessons which meet the needs of most pupils.  Effective use is made of information about pupils’ progress to set teachers’ performance management targets and to identify their training needs. As a result of carefully targeted support, the quality of teaching has been improving over time.  Although there is now clearer information on pupils’ achievements, it is not reviewed regularly and targets set by the school are not as high as they could be in relation to national standards.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school makes strong provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development through interesting interactive assemblies, and through opportunities within the curriculum to learn about other cultures.  The breakfast and after-school club, managed by the governing body, is appreciated by parents, and provides a safe and attractive environment for their children to enjoy, with a good range of games and activities and opportunities to develop social skills.  Safeguarding procedures meet statutory requirements, and staff are vigilant in all safety matters.  The improvements made since the establishment of the academy indicate that there is capacity for further improvement.  The governance of the school:  Governors receive a wide range of information which is discussed at their meetings. However, some information provided by the school is not detailed enough, particularly regarding the

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The leadership and management are good

standards achieved by pupils, this affects their ability to fully hold leaders to account on how the school’s performance compares with other schools nationally. Governors know that pupils supported by the pupil premium are now making similar rates of progress to other pupils in school. The governing body sets appropriate performance management targets for the headteacher, and they are fully aware of the quality of teaching in the school and how this is being improved through a scheme of coaching and mentoring. They make pay decisions based upon the performance of teachers.

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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 136602 Inspection number 411970

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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 Non-maintained Age range of pupils 4  11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 396 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Myles Key Headteacher Rob Breeze Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 01803 327090 Fax number 01803 322168 Email address admin@st-margarets.torbay.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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