King's Stanley CofE Primary School

King’s Stanley Church of England Primary School Broad Street, King’s Stanley, Stonehouse, GL10 3PN

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 This inspection: Inadequate 4 Achievement of pupils Inadequate 4 Quality of teaching Inadequate 4 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Inadequate 4

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires special measures.  Pupils’ achievement is inadequate because too many pupils do not make the progress of which they are capable, especially in reading.  Teaching, particularly in Key Stage 2, is not good enough. Many teachers do not stretch the more able pupils sufficiently to enable them to achieve their best. They do not give pupils enough opportunities to respond to their marking and make improvements to their work.  There are wide gaps in the achievement of different groups of pupils. For example, pupils supported by pupil premium funding are not given the precise extra help they need to catch up with their classmates.  Senior leaders have not tracked pupils’ progress closely enough to know how well they are doing. They have not checked the quality of teaching thoroughly enough.  Since the previous inspection, pupils’ progress and the quality of teaching have declined. School leaders have not done enough to

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

reverse this decline, especially in reading.  The school’s judgements on how well it is doing are not accurate and too generous. As a consequence, improvement plans have limited impact as they lack the correct priorities and clear targets for raising achievement.  This inadequate track record means that the school does not demonstrate it can improve further.  Governors do not have a clear enough view of how well the school is doing. They do not challenge the school’s leaders effectively about why pupils do not make better progress.

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The school has the following strengths

 The Reception class provides children with a good start to their education.  Pupils feel very safe, have good attitudes to their learning and behave well.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 10 lessons, of which one was a joint observation with a senior leader. In addition, inspectors made a number of short visits to lessons.  Meetings were held with pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body, and the school’s senior staff. Also the lead inspector met with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the 50 responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) as well as consulting informally with parents before school.  They observed the school’s work and looked at a range of documents, including the school’s improvement plans, data on pupils’ current progress, planning and monitoring files, minutes of the governing body meetings and records relating to special educational needs, behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.  The inspectors heard pupils read, talked to them in lessons and evaluated samples of their work.  The headteacher was absent for the duration of the inspection.

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Information about this inspection

 During the inspection, Year 6 pupils were undertaking an outdoor activities week and some other year groups were taking writing tests.

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Inspection team

Sandra Woodman, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Cliff Mainey Additional Inspector

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Full report

In accordance with the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

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Information about this school

 This school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils supported through the pupil premium, which is additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, children in local authority care and children with a parent in the armed forces, is below the national average. Currently there are very few children with a parent in the armed forces and no children in local authority care.  The proportion of pupils with special educational needs supported at school action is below the national average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also below average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching, particularly in Key Stage 2, by ensuring teachers:  do not talk for too long and allow pupils to start their learning activities more promptly  assess pupils’ attainment frequently and accurately, and use this information to provide activities that extend all abilities  make sure pupils know their targets and what they need to do to work towards them  give pupils sufficient opportunities to respond to their marking and make the necessary improvements.  Improve pupils’ achievement, especially in reading, by:  ensuring teachers teach higher-level reading skills effectively and give pupils the opportunities to apply these skills when reading in other subjects  providing more opportunities for pupils to explain their thinking and reflect on their learning.  Improve leadership and management by:  ensuring that school leaders track pupils’ progress more efficiently and accurately

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 making sure leaders check the quality of teaching more thoroughly, and use performance management better to drive up the quality of teaching  making sure that checks on how well the school’s actions are working are accurate and based on the measurable impact on learning, in particular the checks on the support for pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium  making sure that improvement plans are based on the correct priorities, have clear targets for raising achievement and are implemented rigorously  developing the skills and knowledge of the governing body so they can check the school’s work for themselves and hold leaders to account more effectively.  An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Pupils’ progress is too slow, especially in reading. The progress made in English by pupils in Key Stage 2 was below the national average in 2011 and 2012. Lesson observations and scrutiny of pupils’ work show that too many current pupils are making slow progress. Progress is strong in Year 6 but in other year groups it is not rapid enough to raise attainment further. At Key Stage 2, too few pupils are reaching the higher levels of which they are capable, particularly in reading.  Attainment has declined since the previous inspection at both key stages. Pupils’ standards at the end of Key Stage 1 are broadly average. The percentage of pupils who reached the expected Level 4 at the end of Key Stage 2 was above average in writing and mathematics in 2012 but in reading, it was below the national average, with a widening gap. These standards represent inadequate progress from pupils’ starting points.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Pupils supported by the pupil premium are not achieving as well as they should. In 2012, the attainment of pupils who benefited from the pupil premium, including those eligible for free school meals, shows they were a year behind the other pupils in the school in both English and mathematics. This is a wider gap than seen nationally.  The quality of pupils’ learning, attainment and progress is variable across year groups and subjects. Too often, more-able pupils are not given enough opportunities to extend their thinking or reflect on their learning. Insufficient time is allowed for pupils to make improvements to their work.  Children join the school in the Reception class with skills that are in line with the expectations for their age. They make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage and are well prepared for the next stage of their education.  The school’s results were in line with the national average in the Year 1 phonics (letters and the

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

sounds that they make) screening check in 2012. Action taken to strengthen the teaching of phonics means that younger pupils are better able to use their phonics knowledge to decode unknown words but this has yet to impact on the attainment of older pupils. Higher-level reading skills, such as the ability of pupils to understand what text implies, are not well developed and pupils have insufficient opportunities to practise these skills when reading across other subjects.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are making better progress than their classmates, particularly in writing and mathematics. They receive small-group teaching that is targeted effectively on what they need to learn next, and which challenges them to develop their learning skills. In class, the support they receive from additional adults usually means they are able to make some progress even where activities are not well targeted to their needs.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Over time, teaching is inadequate because it is not good enough to secure the rapid progress necessary to improve the outcomes for pupils. Consequently pupils are underachieving, especially in Key Stage 2. Most are making inadequate progress and not reaching the levels of which they are capable.  Frequently, teachers do not have high enough expectations of what pupils, particularly the more able, can achieve in lessons. Teachers do not take enough account of what pupils already know and can do and so they fail to ensure that activities meet precisely the needs of different abilities. Often the work is too easy for more able pupils and too difficult for others.  Too often, teachers talk to the whole class for too long in lessons, which limits the time that pupils are actively and independently learning and results in slower progress. The rate at which pupils learn is often slow and they spend too long on activities that do little to extend their

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

thinking or develop their skills. Too often, teachers allow insufficient time in lessons for pupils to think about what they have been learning, to consolidate their knowledge and understanding. Frequently, teachers fail to capitalise on the pupils’ positive attitudes to learning.  The new system of targets for pupils has not been implemented thoroughly enough to make sure pupils know how well they are doing nor does it motivate and guide pupils to achieve further. Teachers’ marking provides helpful comments but insufficient time is allowed for pupils to respond and make the necessary improvements to their work.  Assessments are too infrequent to enable teachers to adjust their teaching and accelerate pupils’ progress. Too often, assessments are generous and not supported by robust evidence, so they can give an inaccurate view of pupils’ attainment.  The pupil premium funding is used to provide individual or small group teaching for those pupils

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

eligible for support. The impact on pupils’ progress varies as the support has not been focused closely enough on meeting pupils’ precise needs.  Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage is good because it provides the right balance of adult-directed activities and opportunities for children to explore and find out for themselves.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Pupils’ behaviour in and around the school is typically good, characterised by friendliness and good manners. Pupils say they feel very safe in school because the adults look after them well.  Pupils have positive attitudes to their learning and most sustain their concentration well, even when the pace of learning is slower and their thinking is not fully extended. They enjoy working cooperatively and are able to work independently. Pupils are keen to learn but the lack of clear guidance through the target-setting system and insufficient opportunities to respond to teachers’ marking limits their ability to take the initiative in their learning.  Pupils, their parents and the staff are positive about standards of behaviour. The school’s records show that poor behaviour is very rare and there have been no exclusions in recent years.  Pupils report that bullying seldom happens but any problems are sorted out quickly by the

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

adults. Pupils are aware of the different forms that bullying can take, such as racist name-calling and cyber-bullying. They receive good guidance on how to keep themselves safe and combat bullying, for example in how to maintain their safety when using the internet.  Teachers manage behaviour well and there is a clearly understood system that works effectively. Teachers use the rewards system appropriately to motivate pupils. There have been marked improvements over time for individuals who have particular needs related to their behaviour.  There is a wide range of interesting extra-curricular and enrichment activities, of which the school is rightly proud, that help to develop personal skills and interests, such as playing musical instruments, conservation and recycling, and gardening.  The attendance rate is high and pupils are punctual to school.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The quality of education has declined since the previous inspection and inadequate progress has been made by the school leaders in dealing with the areas that were identified for improvement at that time.  The school’s checks on how well it is doing result in judgements that are too generous. Leaders do not analyse precisely the impact of their work on the quality of the pupils’ learning and the teaching. Consequently they do not identify the correct priorities for improvement. Plans lack clear targets for raising achievement and improving provision and so have a limited effectiveness.  Checks on the quality of teaching have not been rigorous enough to ensure that achievement is improving, because checks are not frequent enough and judgements are not formed on a wide base of evidence of pupils’ progress. Performance management is not being used effectively to drive up the quality of teaching as advice to teachers is not followed up effectively and teachers’

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The leadership and management are inadequate

targets do not link clearly to the Teachers’ Standards. As a result, pupils’ experiences vary too much between classes and subjects.  The system for checking the progress pupils are making is not efficient or effective enough to enable the school’s leaders to gain a clear view of attainment and progress across the school. This means that leaders were not sufficiently aware of why achievement has declined and have not taken timely or robust enough steps to accelerate pupils’ progress, particularly in reading, in order to raise attainment.  The local authority has taken a light touch approach to this school. However senior leaders, staff and governors have taken the opportunities provided by the local authority for support for newly qualified teachers, improving the accuracy of assessments in writing, boosting girls’ achievement in mathematics and the new arrangements for managing performance.  The school states its commitment to promoting equality but this is not translated into practice.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

While disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are achieving better due to individual provision, pupils supported by the pupil premium are not doing as well as their classmates and the gaps in their attainment in English and mathematics are not closing.  The broad and balanced curriculum promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well through a range of interesting and inspiring activities such as the link with another primary school in Kenya.  All statutory requirements for safeguarding are met. Staff and governors receive regular training in respect of health and safety and child protection.  Newly qualified teachers should not be appointed.  The governance of the school:  Governance is inadequate because governors have not challenged the school’s leaders strongly enough about the quality of teaching and the decline in pupils’ achievement. They are not using data well enough. Despite their desire to be involved in checking, the vagueness of

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The leadership and management are inadequate

improvement plans impedes their ability to verify the school’s work for themselves. Governors are aware of the way the performance of staff is being managed and the links to pay. Financial management is secure, as is the management of safeguarding. Governors have accessed local authority training in these aspects of their work. The governing body knows how the school is using the pupil premium funding to boost the attainment and progress for those whom it is intended. However, the governors have not probed senior leaders about the difference this is making and why those pupils do not achieve as they should.

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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 135266 Local authority Gloucestershire Inspection number 412208

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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 204 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Philip Battrick Headteacher Barbara Deacon Date of previous school inspection 15  16 October 2009 Telephone number 01453 822570 Fax number 01452 822570 Email address admin@kingsstanley.gloucs.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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