St Andrew's CofE Primary School

St Andrew's CofE Primary School King Edward Crescent, , Woodhall Spa, LN10 6RQ

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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.  This is an improving school. The headteacher, governors and all staff have successfully worked together to raise achievement and improve teaching.  Pupils make good progress as they move through the school and reach above-average attainment in English and mathematics at the end of Year 6.  Teachers plan lessons and manage their classes well. Their enthusiasm, lively teaching and use of interesting resources all ensure that pupils enjoy learning.  Pupils are keen to learn. They are courteous and respectful towards each other, staff and visitors. They feel very safe in school.  Pupils and staff feel valued and morale is high. An exciting curriculum and many extra activities, particularly in music and sport, all add to pupils’ enjoyment of school and make St Andrew’s a happy place to be.  Governors, leaders and managers have an accurate view of the school’s work. They celebrate its strengths but any weaknesses are

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

quickly and successfully tackled. Consequently it is well placed to improve further.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teaching is good rather than outstanding. A very small amount of teaching requires improvement. Teachers’ best skills are not yet fully shared.  Extra help for pupils supported by the pupil premium, those who join during term time and the most able is not yet fully effective in ensuring they all make the very best progress of which they are capable.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 18 lessons and part-lessons. They also observed the teaching of literacy and mathematics to small groups of pupils. The headteacher and lead inspector made several shorter visits to classrooms. Inspectors listened to pupils read.  Discussions were held with parents, pupils, staff, governors and the academy adviser.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at pupils’ books, progress data, safeguarding information and other documentation.  Ninety-two responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, were considered as well as those from the school’s own parental surveys and from school staff.

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Inspection team

Ann Ashdown, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Michael Appleby Additional Inspector Mike Williams Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 St Andrew’s Church of England Primary School converted to become an academy school on 1 August 2012. When its predecessor school, of the same name, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be satisfactory.  This school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for children in the care of the local authority, pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those from service families, is average.  A well-below average proportion of pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds, while a below- average proportion speaks English as an additional language.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs who are supported at school action is average as is the proportion supported at school action plus and with a statement of special educational needs.

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Information about this school

 An above-average proportion of pupils, some from service families, join and leave the school part-way through their education.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The on-site provision for childcare, Woodhall Wizards Children’s Centre, is inspected separately. Its report is on the Ofsted website.  A new assistant headteacher joined the school in January 2014.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further improve the quality of teaching so that it is never less than good and more is outstanding by:  sharing the good and outstanding skills of teachers within school and enabling teachers to visit other successful schools to observe best practice elsewhere  providing more coaching, mentoring and constructive advice to help teachers improve their skills  ensuring that all teachers check pupils’ learning regularly and quickly move them on to the next task when they are ready.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Maintain the current focus on accelerating the progress of pupils who are supported by the pupil premium, those who arrive part-way through their education and that of the most able by:  making fully effective the extra help pupils are given to make sure that it is always timely, of high quality, and ensures pupils’ attainment improves further.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Work in pupils’ books, that displayed on walls and the school’s own tracking data all confirm that pupils are achieving well. The proportion of pupils making expected and better-than-expected progress in both English and mathematics is greater than that found nationally.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children enter the Reception class with skills which are in line with those expected for their age. Good induction procedures ensure that they quickly settle into school routines and become confident learners who make good progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ good progress continues as they move through Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. In 2013, pupils reached above-average standards by the end of Year 2. In the national tests in Year 6, they were considerably ahead of the national average in mathematics, reading and writing.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils are given good opportunities to practise their well-developed literacy and numeracy skills across all subjects. For example, Year 5 and 6 pupils successfully practised their literacy skills on an exciting diary extract of a visit to Antarctica when studying cold climates and exploration of the South Pole.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 National test results for 2013 showed a gap of over three terms in both English and mathematics between the attainment of pupils eligible for the pupil premium and their classmates. However, several of these pupils had learning difficulties and struggled to reach similar standards to those of other pupils. Also other pupils joined the school late and did not have time to take full advantage of the good teaching available to reach higher levels in the time they had available prior to the tests.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupil premium funding is helpful in providing eligible pupils with additional help to make good progress. Currently, the tracking of the progress of eligible pupils shows gaps in attainment between different groups of pupils are narrowing rapidly. However, the extra support for all groups eligible for the pupil premium has not yet shown the full impact intended on raising their attainment. Nevertheless, the inspection found eligible pupils’ progress good in lessons and in the work they were producing.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs and the few who speak English as an additional language make good progress. They receive sensitive and skilled support from both teachers and teaching assistants if and when this is needed.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The most-able pupils make good progress. However the school is not complacent and continually strives to find ways of giving these pupils even more help to reach the higher Level 6 in mathematics and English and so make even more rapid progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is good overall and in a few lessons it is outstanding. It ensures pupils’ good progress and achievement. In a few lessons, teaching required improvement. Teachers manage their classes well and pupils respond by working hard and enjoying learning. Lessons are conducted in an atmosphere of respect and trust.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers use exciting resources and varied teaching methods to engage the interest of their pupils. Teaching in the Reception class is good. In this class, children were seen to enjoy diverse activities. For example, those who were studying the Chinese New Year enjoyed dragon dancing, serving in their Chinese restaurant and using chopsticks to pick up noodles.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is very knowledgeable and clear explanations develop pupils’ understanding well. For example, Year 2 pupils were helped to use adverbs and connectives with confidence to improve their writing. In Year 1, teachers guided pupils’ understanding of how to organise clear written instructions to make a pizza.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Most lessons are briskly paced and teachers’ good questioning makes pupils think hard and deepens their understanding. In a Year 6 mathematics lesson, for example, well-structured questions prompted pupils to give clear explanations of what was meant by squared and cubed numbers. Challenging activities keep pupils focused on learning and help them to make good progress and achieve well.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching assistants give good individual support to pupils, particularly disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. Their sensitive and constructive help builds pupils’ confidence and develops their learning skills.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In a few lessons, progress is slower when work is not as challenging, learning is not checked as regularly and pupils are not moved on quickly enough to the next activity as soon as they are ready.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers mark pupils’ work regularly and give clear pointers for improvement. Consequently, pupils know how well they are doing and how to improve their work.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Creative teaching approaches involving the use of music and information and communication technology help small groups of pupils, who need extra help, to make faster progress. Skilled, specialist mathematics teaching is providing the most-able pupils with even greater challenges. However, the school continues to monitor how well these approaches are working and seeks ways to accelerate the progress of pupils further.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Support for pupils supported by the pupil premium and those who join the school late is effective because of the good teaching given by teachers and teaching assistants. However, the school has recognised that work can be even more challenging to stretch these pupils further by the teaching and support provided so that progress is accelerated.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. They are proud of their school and enjoy wearing their smart uniform. In the dining hall, the school playground and classrooms pupils show respect for each other and for staff. In an assembly, the relaxed, calm and orderly atmosphere was as noticeable as the high quality of the pupils’ singing.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Records show that incidents of poor behaviour, including bullying, are very rare and are effectively dealt with. Pupils have a good understanding of different types of bullying and are rightly confident that in school it would always be dealt with swiftly and fairly.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils have good attitudes to learning. For example, in a Year 6 class observed, pupils showed great enthusiasm to answer questions and demonstrate their ability to solve equations. Work in their books was detailed and very well presented and high-quality work on classroom walls demonstrated just how much they had learnt.  Pupils are punctual to school and attend regularly.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Leaders are effective in ensuring the school is secure and all staff are rigorously checked prior to appointment. Pupils say how very safe they feel in school and parents are also confident that their children are well cared for and kept safe.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils have a sensible attitude to taking risks. They are well informed about the dangers of, for example, fire, water and drugs. They know how to keep themselves safe when using the internet.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils relish taking responsibility. They talked enthusiastically of the training they had received as ‘young leaders’ and of their work on the school council. The youngest children work well together and act very responsibly when putting out and putting away their physical education equipment.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, very well supported by governors, senior and subject leaders and all staff, has created a culture in which good teaching and good behaviour can flourish. Both senior and middle leaders are effective in monitoring the work of their areas of responsibility and bringing about improvement.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders and managers evaluate the work of the school accurately. They know its strengths and weaknesses well but are not complacent and are always striving to improve achievement further. For example, the school is continually seeking even better ways of giving extra help to any pupils, including the most able, those eligible for free school meals and those who arrive during term time who need it.

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The leadership and management are good

 Teaching is carefully monitored and teachers’ performance is well managed. Teachers are given appropriate training to improve their skills and this has brought about improvements in their practice. However, the school’s best teaching skills and practice are not yet shared enough across the staff. Further coaching and mentoring of staff to help them enhance their classroom practice and the opportunity for them to observe best practice in other successful schools are not yet applied fully to improve teaching even further.

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The leadership and management are good

 At St Andrew’s, the views of all pupils, parents and staff are valued. The many and varied talents of all pupils are nurtured and discrimination of any kind is not tolerated.

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The leadership and management are good

 All pupils are given good opportunities to succeed and resources are used effectively. For example, the primary school additional sports funding is used to provide coaching, staff training and transport to give pupils a wide range of high-quality sporting opportunities, which promote their healthy lifestyles and physical well-being.

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The leadership and management are good

 The curriculum gives pupils a wide range of learning opportunities and effectively promotes their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Leaders continually review the curriculum and ensure that it not only develops pupils’ basic skills very well but also provides a wealth of other exciting subjects for them to study. High-quality music, excellence in sport and opportunities to make films are just a selection of what the school offers.

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The leadership and management are good

 Safeguarding meets requirements. Staff are well trained and highly aware of child protection and risk assessment procedures.  The school receives good support from its own academy adviser, who provides advice on improving teaching and on leadership and management.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors are well trained and very knowledgeable about the school’s work. They know how well the school is performing in relation to schools nationally by their analysis of data showing pupils’ progress and attainment. They know what the quality of teaching is across the school and are clear about the performance management of teachers, including that of the headteacher. They make sure that teachers are rewarded only when they have the impact intended on pupils’ progress and attainment. Governors have monitored the use of pupil premium funds very carefully and hold leaders to account for the impact of the funding on the achievement of pupils eligible to it. This matter is discussed in detail at most governors’ meetings and governors are determined that these pupils’ achievement will rise to be outstanding.

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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 138487 Local authority Lincolnshire Inspection number 428881

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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 Academy converter Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 271 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Iain Burnley Headteacher John Whalley Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 01526 352705 Fax number 01526 353770 Email address enquiries@st-andrews-woodhall.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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