Salcombe Church of England Primary School

School report Salcombe Church of England Primary School Onslow Road, Salcombe, TQ8 8AG

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected 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:

 Since opening as an academy, efforts to establish consistently good teaching and pupils’ progress in mathematics have been constrained due to a period of significant staffing changes. Steps taken to bring about improvement have not been operating long enough to secure pupils’ good achievement.  Pupils are not being challenged enough in mathematics to apply their basic numeracy skills with problem-solving activities. This is especially the case for more-able pupils who are not achieving as well as they should.  The proportion of pupils who are making more than their expected progress in mathematics is less than the proportion nationally and less than the proportion of their peers in reading and writing. This has resulted in a gap in attainment at the end of Year 6 between English and mathematics.  The quality of written feedback provided by teachers is inconsistent.

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The school has the following strengths:

 The executive headteacher and head of teaching and learning provide good leadership. They are supported by a strong team of leaders and federation governors who have worked with determination through a period of change to bring about improvement. This has resulted in rapidly improved teaching, which although still requiring improvement is now much better than it was.  Programmes introduced to improve pupils’ writing have had a substantial effect and have successfully closed the gap between pupils’ attainment in reading and writing.  Pupils attend regularly and arrive at school promptly, ready to learn. They enjoy their lessons and their attitudes towards learning in lessons are good. The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils say they feel happy and very safe at school, a sentiment shared by parents and carers. Pupils’ behaviour around the school is good.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage

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The school has the following strengths:

achieve well because the provision is consistently good, having rapidly improved since the appointment of the new early years leader.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector visited seven lessons and observed four teachers. The executive headteacher and head of teaching and learning joined the inspector to observe some of the lessons. The inspector looked at the teaching of phonics (linking letters and sounds) being delivered by teachers and teaching assistants.  Discussions were held with the executive headteacher, head of teaching and learning, staff, pupils, Chair of the Federation Board of Directors (governors) and parents and carers.  The inspector observed the school’s work and looked at a range of documents, including the school improvement plans, priorities for development, achievement data and documents relating to safeguarding children.  The inspector took account of the 25 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, and the eight responses to the staff questionnaire during the inspection. The inspector also spoke to some parents and carers at the start of the school day.

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Inspection team

John Cavill, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Salcombe Church of England Primary School converted to become an academy school in November 2011. When its predecessor school, of the same name, was last inspected by Ofsted it was judged to be good.  It is a smaller than average-sized primary school.  The school joined The First Federation, which includes five other Church of England primary schools in Devon, in 2009. The federation, with a single governing body, was originally established in 2006. In 2013 the federation adopted Trust status.  The federation is led by an executive headteacher. A head of teaching and learning leads the school on a day-to-day basis. The current head of teaching and learning took up her post in September 2012.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are taught with pupils from Year 1. Pupils in Years 2 and 3 are taught together and Years 4, 5 and 6 are also taught in one class.  Almost all pupils are from White British backgrounds.

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Information about this school

 The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is above average. The proportion supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average.  The proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for groups of pupils, including those known to be eligible for free school meals, those who are looked after by the local authority and pupils with a parent in the armed services is below average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  A privately run pre-school is based on the school site. It did not form part of this inspection.  The school has experienced significant staff changes, including at senior level since opening as an academy.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality and consistency of teaching and learning in mathematics to raise achievement and close the gap that exists with English by:  ensuring teachers transfer their good practice in English to accelerate pupils’ progress in mathematics  making sure teachers challenge and accelerate the progress of the most able pupils in providing them with harder work, checking regularly on their progress and moving them on more quickly when they demonstrate they understand what they are doing  providing pupils with more opportunities to develop their mathematical skills with problem- solving activities that reflect real life.  Strengthen the quality and consistency of the written feedback provided by teachers when they mark pupils’ work; ensuring next-step comments are written clearly, so pupils are able to review, respond and so improve their work.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 In 2013, pupils’ achievement and progress in Year 6, from their different starting points in Year 3, were below expectations in mathematics. Attainment in mathematics at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2 was below average.  Over time too few pupils have exceeded the expected rate of progress in mathematics by the end of Key Stage 2. However, following the arrival of the head of teaching and learning, substantially increased expectations have been demanded and the quality of teaching has rapidly improved. This has resulted in improved progress. A scrutiny of current pupils’ work in books indicates that similarly good progress is now being made in reading, writing and mathematics.  The progress made by the most-able pupils in mathematics is not as good as in English. This is largely due to teachers not challenging them or moving them on quickly enough to harder work. This is limiting their ability to achieve as well as they could in the subject.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Efforts to raise pupils’ achievement in writing have been highly successful. Whole-school actions to develop pupils’ phonics skills and the introduction of regular opportunities to write unaided and at length have rapidly improved progress in writing. This has effectively closed the gap in attainment that used to exist between reading and writing. Attainment in writing at the end of Year 6 is above the national average.  Achievement in reading is good. Results of the Year 1 phonics screening check exceeded the national average in 2013 and were substantially better than in 2012. This reflects the successful work to support the teaching of reading and writing that has been implemented since the school became an academy. As a result, pupils are very confident readers and are able to use the phonics sounds well.  When children join Reception their skills and understanding are typically similar to those that

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

would normally be expected for their age. Good teaching and interesting learning activities ensure children make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage.  There is an inclusive ethos within the school. Staff promote equality of opportunity and include disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs in all activities. As a result, all groups of pupils now make similar progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Similarly the few pupils who are eligible for additional funding from the pupil premium receive effective additional support from teachers and teaching assistants and make at least similar progress to their peers.  Pupils’ good participation in sport has been enhanced through additional sports provision and achieved by planning with other schools in the federation.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching has not been consistently strong enough over time. It has also been constrained by significant changes to staffing. Consequently, teaching has not been good enough to help pupils sustain good progress and achieve well.  Following the appointment of the head of teaching and learning at the start of the last academic year, and improved stability in staffing, teaching has improved rapidly. This has resulted in better progress being made by most pupils across the school. However, the progress made by the most able pupils in mathematics is not as good as it could be due to teachers not always challenging them to move onto harder work quickly enough.  Teachers mark pupils’ work regularly and provide them with written feedback about their work. In the best examples, comments clearly identify the next steps pupils need to take in order to improve their work or progress further. However, too often marking does not give a clear

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

indication of what pupils have to do to improve. This limits the ability of pupils to review and improve their work.  Pupils often spend too much time repeating basic skills with numerous sums in their books, which limits their progress. However, in Reception and Year 1 pupils developed their skills in using money, estimating and basic proportions recently when they visited the local shop to buy ingredients to make porridge for ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’.  In another effective mathematics lessons, learning was seen to be good because teachers challenged pupils to apply their basic skills to real-life problem-solving activities and this extend their investigation skills well. For example, in Year 6 pupils applied their prior learning of fractions to help them calculate the areas of different sized triangles of ‘origami’ flowers made from a square of paper. They demonstrated enjoyment and determination to work out the

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

problem and as a result they all made accelerated progress.  In English lessons teachers have high expectations of their pupils and lessons are planned well to reflect the wide range of abilities that are in each class. Tasks are provided for pupils to extend their learning well. For example, pupils in Years 2 and 3 had to work on spellings appropriate to their ability. The most able pupils moved on to additional work provided for them as soon as they had finished, which accelerating their progress.  Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage is good which ensures that children make good progress. Teachers make effective use of the outside and inside spaces, using resources well to promote children’s development towards the early learning goals.  Most parents and carers who spoke with the inspector or completed the online questionnaire, Parent View, said their children are taught well at the school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils enjoy coming to school and in lessons they demonstrate positive attitudes to their learning. They work together well and are highly respectful and courteous. The relationships between pupils and adults are exceptionally strong reflecting the high expectations and the inclusive nature of the school.  Pupils are extremely proud of their school. They were quick to say to the inspector that it was a ‘nice friendly school’. Parents and carers who spoke with the inspector also agreed.  Behaviour around the school is good and pupils support each other and play well together. Good routines are established quickly in Reception and children understand the rules of good behaviour. There are almost no instances recorded of poor behaviour.  In lessons, pupils are eager to get started and teachers encourage them to do well. Pupils settle quickly and are able to recognise unacceptable behaviour. It is only on a rare occasion that there

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

is any low-level inappropriate behaviour, such as pupils chatting socially to each other during lessons. When this occurs teachers quickly deal with the issue and pupils return to their work.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. All pupils, including those in Reception, are positive about how the school keeps them safe, a view shared by most parents and carers.  Pupils fully understand what constitutes bullying and are able to recognise the different forms of bullying, including cyber bullying. During discussions they say that there is no bullying at the school, a view confirmed by school records. Pupils say that the adults in the school ‘keep us safe and cheer us up’, resolving any problems they may have swiftly and effectively.  Pupils’ attendance is above average and they are punctual arriving at school.  Pupils are keen to represent the school and enjoy the additional activities that the school

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

provides for them such as the cookery club and sports clubs such as ‘boogie pump’.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has benefited from some expertly focused leadership from the executive headteacher and the head of teaching and learning. Along with other committed leaders and governors, they have ensured that there is a clear focus and determination to secure sustainable improvement at the school. This approach has been fundamental in securing the rapid improvements in teaching seen since becoming an academy and despite a period of substantial staff changes.  All leaders and governors know the school well, recognising its strengths and areas to improve further. Leaders are able accurately to prioritise strategies and monitor them accurately to ensure actions impact directly on pupils’ outcomes.  Staff morale is high and they are all committed to work together with colleagues across the federation to ensure continuous improvement. Increased challenge and support from governors support the ambition of all leaders to continually strive to improve the school and reinforce a

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The leadership and management are good

commitment to improve the life chances of all its pupils, particularly by challenging weaker teaching. This has been fundamental to securing the improvements at the school, especially in the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement in writing. Teaching in mathematics has been inconsistent. However, following efforts by leaders to address this, it has improved and consequently, pupils’ achievement in mathematics is accelerating and closing the gap with English.  Leadership of the Early Years Foundation Stage is good and has improved rapidly since the arrival of the current leader. Well-planned learning activities ensure children settle into school quickly and make progress in the Reception class.  Pupils’ progress is checked regularly and analysed rigorously by leaders to check performance. Leaders use this information to ensure that challenging targets are set for pupils. Additional activities are provided to support identified pupils, including those who are disabled or have

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The leadership and management are good

special educational needs. Their targets are monitored closely to ensure that the additional provision pupils receive is having maximum effect.  Effective systems to check on targets for teachers are monitored and coordinated across the federation. By taking part in regular reviews conducted by the executive headteacher and external consultants, leaders understand pupils’ and teachers’ performance well. Leaders ensure there is a good match between how well teachers are paid and how well pupils learn. Training undertaken by teachers is monitored for its impact on pupils’ outcomes and school improvements.  Subjects are enriched by a wide-ranging and interesting variety of activities, including opportunities to take part in day trips relating to their lessons such as, a recent visit to the Theatre Royal in Plymouth where pupils watched a production of ‘War Horse’ as part of their topic work on theatre and the performing arts. Residential trips, such as the Years 5 and 6 visit

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The leadership and management are good

to London with pupils from other schools in the federation, provides good opportunities for pupils to develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding.  Leaders are making good use of the primary school sports funding. Working with the other schools in the federation, the school is using a specialist sports teacher to provide both additional provision and support the training of staff and volunteers to secure on-going sustainability. This additional resource is increasing pupils’ participation in sport and improving their health and well-being.  The governance of the school:  The federation governors clearly understand the school well, supporting and challenging school leaders to strive for continual improvement. Governors understand how well pupils achieve when compared with other schools nationally by regularly reviewing performance data. They challenge school leaders effectively to expect high-quality teaching from all

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The leadership and management are good

teachers. Governors make sure that teachers’ pay progression reflects their teaching performance and leadership roles. Areas for further development are clearly understood and they are fully involved with the improvement plans for the school within the federation. Governors understand how the pupil premium is allocated and its impact on improving levels of pupils’ attainment. The governing body ensures the school meets its statutory safeguarding requirements. Governors use the expertise available from within the federation to support their own training needs along with additional support from external agencies.

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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 137662 Local authority Devon Inspection number 440441

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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 Academy converter Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 75 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Nick Maguire

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Head of Teaching and Learning

Paul Jones Heather Slater Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 01548 842842 Fax number 01548 843921 Email address admin@salcombe-primary.devon.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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Head of Teaching and Learning

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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Head of Teaching and Learning

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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Head of Teaching and Learning

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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Head of Teaching and Learning

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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Head of Teaching and Learning

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

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