Carterton Primary School

Carterton Primary School Burford Road, Carterton, Oxfordshire, OX18 3AD

p.1

Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Inadequate 4 Achievement of pupils Inadequate 4 Quality of teaching Inadequate 4 Behaviour and safety of pupils Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Inadequate 4

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires special measures.  Pupils’ achievement in Key Stage 1 is inadequate. Attainment by the end of Year 2 in writing is significantly and consistently below national averages.  Rates of progress for pupils, including those who are disabled or with special educational needs, are too variable between year groups. Pupils receiving free school meals make too little progress in their learning.  Teachers do not use the data about pupils’ achievement to plan activities in lessons that match the needs of different pupils. Work is often too easy for the more able pupils.  Pupils are not provided with short-term targets to show them how to improve their work during specific activities.  Pupils sometimes lose focus and do not concentrate on their learning when they are not sufficiently engaged.  The school does not provide sufficient opportunities for pupils to develop skills in English and mathematics across subject areas

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

or through real-world applications.  School leaders at all levels do not use the information that they collect about pupils’ achievement to efficiently monitor the progress of different groups of pupils.  The school’s leadership capacity is stretched. There are too few middle leaders to support the work of senior leaders.  School development plans do not identify how specific actions are going to improve the quality of teaching and outcomes for pupils.  The governing body has not held the school to account sufficiently for the progress pupils make over time.

p.1

The school has the following strengths

 The pastoral support the school provides to pupils is very good, especially to those whose parents are away from home on duty.  Relationships with parents are good and the school works hard to help parents support their children’s learning.  In some cases pupils’ work is well marked, with good feedback to pupils about how they can improve their work.  The pupils get on well with each other and with the adults they work with in school. They feel safe and cared for in school.

p.1

Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 13 lessons.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils, members of the governing body, senior and middle leaders. The lead inspector also held a telephone conversation with a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors listened to pupils read and scrutinised samples of pupils’ workbooks.  A wide range of documents were examined, including the school’s information on pupils’ recent progress, as well as planning and documentation about checks on teaching, and records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding arrangements.  The inspector also took account of the 27 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View).

p.2

Inspection team

David Hogg, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Andrea Curtis Additional Inspector

p.2

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.

p.3

Full report

Newly qualified teachers should not be appointed.

p.3

Information about this school

 The school is situated in Carterton, which is close to RAF Brize Norton. The school draws about two fifths of its pupils from the families of the service personnel based at the air base. As a result the proportion of pupils eligible for extra funding provided for children of service families, looked after children, and those pupils eligible for free school meals (pupil premium) is high. The numbers of pupils eligible for free school meals is close to the national average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs who are supported through school action is well above the national average, as is the proportion of those who are supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is lower than the national average. The numbers of pupils for whom English is an additional language is also low.

p.3

Information about this school

 The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school has a high turnover of pupils due to the redeployment of parents into the base and on to other postings. Since September 2013, the school has gained 63 new pupils.  The school is slightly larger than most primary schools.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the quality of teaching and learning so that it is consistently good or better by ensuring that: – teachers use the information they hold on pupils to plan learning activities that are not too easy or too difficult for the different groups in their classes, especially the more able pupils – pupils are provided with clear guidance on how to improve their work, with short-term targets that are linked to the learning tasks they are working on – teachers check the progress of their pupils more closely in lessons to make sure all groups of pupils are actively engaged in their learning – teachers have high expectations of what pupils of all abilities can achieve, especially the more able

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that all pupils consistently make at least good progress in English and mathematics in all years groups, particularly Key Stage 1, by: – developing and consolidating pupils’ basic skills in mathematics and providing opportunities for pupils to apply their skills with real-world practical tasks and in other subjects – ensuring that pupils are given more opportunities in subject areas other than English to develop their skills in a wider range of writing tasks – ensuring that pupils eligible for free school meals, disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make faster progress and close the attainment gap with other groups.  Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management, including governance, by ensuring that:  school leaders at all levels use information they hold about pupils’ learning more efficiently to compare and evaluate the progress of different groups of pupils

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 a middle leadership team is developed that can effectively evaluate the quality of teaching and learning, and the improvements to the curriculum and so support the senior leaders in their efforts to improve and develop the school  development plans have specific action points that identify how the school is going to move forward and how these initiatives are to be monitored and evaluated  the governing body holds the school to greater account by rigorously monitoring the impact of actions aimed at raising the achievement of different groups of pupils, and the school’s use of additional funds, such as the primary sport grant and pupil premium funding.

p.4

What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of governance, to include a specific focus on the school’s use of the pupil premium, should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

p.4

The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Pupils’ achievement is inadequate because their attainment in Key Stage 1 has been significantly and consistently below national averages, especially in writing. There are significant gaps in pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding.  Outcomes in English and mathematics in national assessments at the end of Key Stage 2 did rise over time, but improvements have not been sustained: pupils’ attainment has fallen back to below national averages.  Children join the Reception class with skill levels that are generally at or a little below those typical for their age. The school’s judgement that pupils join with very low entry points is inaccurate and due to assessments being made too early in Reception: pupils have then not had an opportunity to display the skills they have developed. Pupils make slow progress in areas of literacy and personal development and, by the end of Reception, about a third of them have

p.5

The achievement of pupils is inadequate

made a good level of development; few pupils exceed this.  The results from the national phonics screening check have been disappointing and demonstrate that the school has not been able to effectively teach pupils’ basic letter sounds (phonics). The school is working to raise the quality of the teaching of phonics and there have been some initial improvements.  Across the school, those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals (who receive additional support through the pupil premium funding) are not making sufficient progress. In the Key Stage 2 assessments in 2013, for example, pupils in this group did better than others in English, where they were about one term ahead. However, they had been further ahead at the start of Year 6, so had not built well on this advantage. In mathematics, they were over two terms behind, again having been slightly ahead at the beginning of the year. Pupils from service families generally

p.5

The achievement of pupils is inadequate

make better progress than other pupils.  The rates of progress for disabled pupils or those with special educational needs in Key Stage 1 are slower compared with those of other pupils. Although rates of progress increase as pupils move through the school, they are still too slow, as they are for other pupils.  The presentation of work in pupils’ literacy and numeracy books is too variable. In some cases it deteriorates as they get older and is not always picked up by teachers for improvement.  More able pupils are not challenged sufficiently in lessons and so do not achieve as highly as they should do at both Key Stages 1 and 2. This means they do not develop higher order thinking skills or are unable to apply mathematical skills to real-world or problem-solving tasks.

p.5

The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Over time, the quality of teaching has not ensured that all pupils make sufficient progress from their starting points. This is especially true for more able pupils and those known to be eligible for free school meals and pupil premium support, and applies across both key stages.  The school itself identifies weakness in the teaching in Key Stage 1 but has found it difficult to secure the necessary improvements, due to staff turbulence. The school’s own monitoring identifies that teaching is stronger in upper Key Stage 2. This is supported by information which shows pupils making better progress in the Year 5/6 classes and by lesson observations carried out during the inspection.  Teachers do not make enough use of the information they have about pupils to ensure that activities in lessons match the needs of different abilities. Teachers do not provide sufficient support or challenge to extend more able pupils.

p.5

The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are well supported by teaching assistants in class and in intervention activities where they get extra support. Their progress in Key Stage 1 slows too much when teachers do not adapt the work sufficiently to meet their needs in phases of lessons when they are not receiving targeted support.  Pupils lack short-term goals to help identify how they could improve their work and allow them to reach their longer-term targets.  Pupils are provided with good guidance on how to improve the work in their books in some lessons, but this is too variable between subject areas and teachers.  Activities in mathematics are often mundane and repetitive. Teachers do not give pupils enough opportunities for problem-solving and investigative work. Activities lack real-world applications and pupils do not use mathematics in other subject areas to practise their skills sufficiently.

p.5

The quality of teaching is inadequate

 In the best lessons, activities engage and motivate pupils well. For example, in an English lesson, a commercial advertisement was used very effectively to enthuse pupils as they edited and improved text based on ‘The Bear and the Hare’. Opportunities for extended writing in other areas of the curriculum are not well developed so pupils do not have the opportunity to regularly practise their writing skills.

p.6

The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

 Pupils do not always concentrate and focus fully on their learning. Teachers have a tendency to focus exclusively on target groups of pupils and do not monitor the progress of others effectively. The levels of engagement and pace of work of the other pupils then drops away.  Pupils feel safe in school and well looked after. A small number of younger pupils said some older pupils are too boisterous but, when seen at break and lunchtime, pupils played well together and were well supervised. They are aware of different types of bullying and say there is little unkindness in school and they always have an adult around who will help them. Pupils are aware of how to use the internet safely.  Parents feel their children are well looked after at school. The school works very closely with different groups of parents to support them and their children. Workshops and regular meetings are held. The school and groups of parents coach and help other parents support their children

p.6

The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

to get the best out of school.  The school has a forces family liaison worker who works very effectively to support pupils who may have a parent away on service. This has enabled the pupils to keep in email contact with parents.  Attendance is improving and is generally around the national average. The school does work to keep that figure as high as possible but is sensitive to requests for holidays from service personnel who may have returned from overseas deployment.

p.6

The leadership and management are inadequate

 Leaders’ actions to improve outcomes for pupils have not been effective or speedy enough. A number of development points from the previous inspection have not been addressed. The lack of success in raising standards, limited leadership capacity and the ineffective challenge provided by the governors to the school mean the school is not demonstrating it can improve sufficiently.  Appropriate systems are in place to track pupils’ academic progress. However, the information that is held has not been used effectively to monitor the progress of different groups of pupils.  Analysis of information about pupils’ learning has been carried out by the headteacher and shared afterwards by the class teachers in pupil progress meetings. Not all of the teachers have developed the skills to independently and proactively review the outcomes for pupils and this means they do not set work at the right level of difficulty, especially for more able pupils.

p.6

The leadership and management are inadequate

 The headteacher and other leaders are aware of the need to improve the quality of teaching across most of the school. However, plans to do so are not sharp enough: they are too vague and lack clearly defined actions and outcomes that can be reviewed and measured. Plans for using the primary sports funding are yet to be formalised in an action plan.  Systems to monitor the quality of teaching are in place and linked to the progression of staff along the pay scale and promotion. The targets staff are working towards are suitably linked to the outcomes of the pupils.  The local authority has worked closely with the school and views the school as a high priority for support. Detailed review documents identify the areas to work on accurately to support the school’s improvement.  The curriculum does not fully meet everyone’s needs but does have some strengths. It provides a wide range of opportunities to develop pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural awareness.

p.6

The leadership and management are inadequate

The school is committed to supporting the development of all pupils and challenges intolerance and unacceptable attitudes.  Child-protection and safeguarding arrangements are in place and the welfare of all of the pupils in the school is monitored carefully. The school works very closely with its parents, providing support when families may need it. The school has a number of adults, both parents and others who are volunteers, coming in to the school to help pupils learn.

p.7

The leadership and management are inadequate

 The governance of the school:  The governing body has not held the school to account sufficiently for the progress pupils make. In the past, governors have not reviewed the information on groups of pupils to challenge and hold leaders to account for pupils’ outcomes. They know about the funding available to pupils eligible for additional support through the pupil premium grant but have not reviewed the impact of the interventions. Governors are aware of the performance management systems in the school but are unclear about how effective the quality of teaching is. The governors have reviewed the financial position of the school and in the past have managed the challenges presented by falling rolls. They have not been provided with an action plan to review the primary sports funding. Safeguarding and child-protection arrangements are monitored carefully and ensure pupils are safe and well looked after. There

p.7

The leadership and management are inadequate

have been some recent changes in the membership of the governing body and, through the training they have had, governors now recognise the role they should be playing in the school.

p.7

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

p.8

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.

p.8

School details

Unique reference number 123015 Local authority Oxfordshire Inspection number 426490

p.9

School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

p.9

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 245 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Craig Brown Headteacher Mike Curtis Date of previous school inspection 12–13 October 2013 Telephone number 01993 842502 Fax number 01993 84096 Email address office.2252@carterton-pri.oxon.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 .

p.9

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.

p.10

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

p.10

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

p.10

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’.

p.10

School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.10