St Edmund's CofE (C) Primary & Nursery School

St Edmund's CofE (C) Primary School Church Hill Avenue, Mansfield Woodhouse, Mansfield, NG19 9JU

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 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 Requires improvement 3

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Since the previous inspection, pupils’ achievement, particularly those who need extra help with their work and the most able, has not been as good as it should have been. Not enough pupils exceed the level of progress excepted of them by the end of Year 6.  Not enough pupils attain highly enough in writing.  Pupils do not have enough opportunities to use their mathematical skills to solve real-life problems.  Teacher’s marking of pupils’ work does not provide them with the guidance they need to help them to improve the quality of their work  Teaching has not been good enough across subjects or year groups to lead to pupils’ good progress over time, especially for high attaining pupils. Some activities are too easy or difficult for some pupils, which reduces their progress.  Subject leaders are not involved fully in checking the quality of teaching or how well pupils learn.  Leaders have not yet secured consistently good

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

teaching and achievement for all pupils.

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

The school has the following strengths  Pupils enjoy school, are well behaved and try hard. Pupils are very polite, friendly and curious about life. They are eager to learn and attend well. Pupils feel safe in school  The new Chair of Governors has acted swiftly to set up procedures to hold the school to account over its actions, particularly in relation to pupil progress.  Attendance has improved since the last inspection and is now above average.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 12 lessons or part lessons, five of which were carried out jointly with the headteacher or deputy headteacher.  Inspectors heard some pupils read individually and groups of pupils in lessons.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, teachers, a group of pupils, governors and several parents.  The inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at documentation, including: the school improvement plan, records of monitoring and safeguarding, minutes of the governing body’s meetings, the school’s evaluation of itself, data on pupils’ current progress and samples of pupils’ work.  The inspectors were unable to take account of parent responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) because not enough parents responded. However, inspectors did speak to parents informally before school to ascertain their views. The inspectors also considered 21 staff questionnaires returned by members of staff.

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Information about this inspection

 They also spoke with a local authority adviser, parents and pupils.

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Inspection team

David Edwards, Lead inspector Additional Inspector David Westall Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller than average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is in line with the national average. The pupil premium is additional funding for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals, children from service families and those children who are looked after by the local authority.  Almost all pupils are White-British in origin.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is slightly above average. The proportion of pupils at school action plus or with a statement of educational need is below average.  A breakfast club is provided for pupils during term time.  Since the previous inspection, the senior leadership team has been restructured following the appointment of a new deputy headteacher in January 2014. Two key leaders are currently not in school. There have been other changes of staffing since the last inspection.

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Information about this school

 The school meets the current government floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  The school has entered into a working partnership with a local school which was judged to be outstanding at its previous Ofsted inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching to be consistently good or better to raise achievement so that more pupils make good or better progress from their starting points, particularly in mathematics by ensuring that:  teachers raise their expectations of what all pupils can achieve and ensure pupils, including the most able, quickly settle to more demanding work.  work that is set is at the right level of challenge for all pupils, so that it is neither too easy or too hard.  the marking of pupils’ work by teachers always informs them about how well they are doing and what they need to do next to improve.  pupils always respond to teachers’ marking of work and use the guidance given to improve their later work.  pupils have more opportunities to practise their grammar and sentence construction skills in writing and that they use their writing skills more extensively in other subjects of the curriculum.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 teachers create more opportunities for pupils to use and apply their mathematical skills in real- life problems solving tasks.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of leadership by:  developing subject leaders’ skills so that they have a more accurate understanding of what is working well in the school and what needs to improve to inform their actions in leading and guiding improvement in teaching and achievement.  give subject leaders more opportunities to observe teaching in lessons so that they have a clear view of standards in their subject and can set appropriate action plans for improvement.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Since the previous inspection, all groups of pupils have not made good or better progress in reading, writing and mathematics in Years 1 to 6. This is because the work set in some lessons does not allow all pupils to achieve the best they can.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Children start in the Early Years Foundation Stage with the knowledge, skills and understanding broadly typical for their age. Children make good progress during their time in Nursery, but less so in Reception. They enter Year 1 with average attainment in most areas of learning, other than writing, where attainment is below average.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ attainment is average at the end of Year 2 and by the time they leave the school in Year 6. In 2013 pupils did not make the progress expected of them from Key Stage 1 to the end of Key Stage 2, because some underachievement occurred during their time in Years 3 and 4.The school recognised this and this cohort did make good progress in mathematics and reading and better than excepted progress in writing from Year 4 to 6.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Inspection evidence from observations of lessons, school records and pupils’ current work in their books shows that achievement in Years 3 to 6 is now rapidly improving because of recent improvements to teaching. Pupils who need extra help are well supported in their work so that they are able to make the same level of progress as others in the school.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Achievement in mathematics has improved steadily in all year groups, because the school placed a heavy emphasis on pupils improving their calculation skills. However, pupils do not have enough opportunities to use and extend the calculation skills they already know to solve real-life problems in mathematics lessons. This is preventing pupils from achieving what they are capable of, particularly the most able pupils.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils read widely and often. A high proportion of pupils read frequently at home and those who do not are often heard at school. Achievement in phonics (the sound which letters make) is improving because many staff have had training in this. The proportion of six-year- old pupils who do well in the phonics’ screening check rose considerably in 2013 and is now virtually in line with the national average. Reading standards are broadly in line with those expected nationally at both Key Stages.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Attainment in writing lags behind that in reading and mathematics, in particular for more-able pupils. Consequently, pupils in each year group do not achieve as well as they could because there are not enough opportunities for them to develop and extend their writing skills in all their studies.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 There is now no difference in the attainment of boys and girls which, demonstrates the school’s commitment to equality of opportunity.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The achievement of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is improving across the school because of extra support given to this group. The latest school data for the current Year 6 shows the gap in attainment between pupil Premium funded pupils is closing between them and other pupils in school. In maths they are around one and a half terms behind. In reading they are one term behind and in writing they are just over one term behind. This is significantly better than the cohort at the end of Year 6 in July 2013. When those pupils supported by the extra funding were four terms behind in mathematics and three terms behind in reading and writing.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 School records, observations in lessons and pupils’ work show that disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are making the progress they should. This is because their work is planned in small, but achievable steps and they are well supported in lessons by able teaching assistants.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Over time, teaching has not enabled pupils to make good progress. The majority of teaching enables pupils to make no better than expected progress and therefore requires improvement. While there are examples of good teaching, the quality of teaching is not consistently good enough to raise pupils’ achievement to good.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Not enough pupils make good progress across the school from their starting points, particularly in writing. In some lessons, teachers do not give pupils enough time to practise their sentence construction, punctuation and grammar skills at length. This has an impact on the quality of pupils’ writing and slows their progress in the subject.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Activities in lessons are sometimes too difficult or too easy for some pupils. For example, in a Key Stage 2 mathematics lesson, all pupils except the very least able did the same task. Some pupils found this task difficult and made little progress, whereas some who were more able found the task too easy and they were not given more difficult work which slowed their progress.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers care about the pupils and ensure that they are happy and secure in lessons. They give pupils much encouragement and see to it that they have enough time to complete their work. Some are skilled at checking how well the pupils are getting on; for example, appropriately interrupting the lesson to give additional explanations as required.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Some good teaching was observed during the inspection. In a Key Stage 2 guided reading lesson, pupils worked effectively on their own to read and analyse a text and answer questions to demonstrate their understanding of what they read. One group worked with the teacher. The pupils were thoroughly engaged by the book they were reading. The teacher used his good subject knowledge to ask questions which probed pupils understanding of what they read, so that they could demonstrate the good progress in their reading. He had high expectations of the pupils and they responded appropriately. This practice is not consistent in all classes.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 There are some good examples of teachers’ marking of pupils’ work which informs those pupils how well they are doing and advises them what they need to do next to improve. Unfortunately this practice is not consistent in all classes and pupils are not given enough time to follow up on the advice given.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Learning support assistants provide good levels of care so that pupils who need extra help become more engrossed in their learning although work is not always hard enough for them to achieve their best.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Pupils’ progress is now being tracked closely and extra help is put into place for those who need it. There are good partnerships with other agencies such as behaviour support the local authority special needs department, the partner school, social services and the educational psychologist.  Teaching in the Nursery class is good and leads to good progress, because the teaching is engaging and grasps children’s’ interests and hence meets their needs. However it is not as effective in the Reception class.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The new physical education funding has allowed the school to employ teaching of specialist coaches both in and out of school. This has widened the sporting opportunities available to pupils. The funding is also being used to enhance the expertise of staff in school. It is too early to judge the full impact of spending in this area.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils have positive attitudes to learning. Almost all the pupils stay focused and continue to try hard, thus making the most of opportunities provided. They are proud of their school and want to do their best.

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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 ensure that entry to the school is secure and that staff are rigorously checked prior to appointment. Pupils say they feel safe in school and are overwhelmingly confident in school staff to deal with any concerns they may have. They report that bullying is not a problem in school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils behaviour at lunch and break times is good. During the inspection, pupils were fully absorbed with play equipment .Relationships are excellent, as pupils of all ages and all groups play extremely happily together with adults and with each other.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils enjoy taking responsibility. They are proud of being ‘reading buddies’ and helping out in the dining room.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are keenly aware of the dangers they face in their everyday life and how to deal with them. These include the use of the internet and social networking sites; cyber bullying and the use of mobile phones.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Staff are skilled at managing pupil behaviour. Relationships between staff and pupils are strong and pupils like their teachers. When pupils find school life difficult, they are given the support they need to help them to manage their behaviour successfully in lessons and on the playground.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage behave well. They are keen to learn and form good relationships, playing and working happily together.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 A daily breakfast club gives pupils a good start to the day and has contributed to improved punctuality. This facility and a wide range of sporting activities, attended by a significant proportion of pupils, make a good contribution to pupils’ personal well-being.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance has risen rapidly since the last inspection in October 2012. It is currently above the national average for the first time in many years. This is because staff are vigilant in dealing with non-attendance and the range of rewards on offer for those whose attendance improves.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Exclusions of any kind are very rare as are incidents of poor behaviour. There are no recorded incidents of a racial nature.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership and management require improvement because the actions they are taking to improve the teaching and achievement for all pupils have not yet had enough impact on creating enough good teaching to raise pupil achievement to good.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 There has been a significant amount of turbulence in the teaching staff, which has slowed down the improvements that senior leaders were seeking to make. The recent appointment of a new deputy headteacher has helped to create a clear plan of what needs to be done to improve teaching and pupils’ learning. Clear actions for improving the quality of teaching to make sure that pupils’ achievement becomes good or better across the school are now in place.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Not all middle leaders have the skills to check that teaching and pupils’ learning are good enough. They look at teachers’ planning and work in books but are not experienced in holding teachers to account for pupils’ performance.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The local authority recognises that although achievement is improving in some subjects, progress in addressing all the priorities from the previous inspection has not been fast enough. It arranged for Saint Edmunds’ to work in partnership with a local outstanding school. This is having a positive impact on the quality of teaching and learning. The local authority has also given governors good support in setting up procedures which are beginning to hold the school to account more effectively.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school has reviewed its use of the pupil premium funding from the previous year and leaders and managers are determined to use this more effectively to further close gaps in eligible pupils’ achievement. In some year groups and subjects they are attaining more highly than other pupils in school and there is clear evidence that the gap in attainment is closing.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Targets set for teachers concentrate more closely on improving pupils’ achievement, and are linked to training and to teachers’ salary progression.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Safeguarding meets all statutory requirements because the school gives a high priority to keeping pupils safe.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The curriculum covers all the necessary subjects well. It promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well because good opportunities for pupils to extend their artistic, musical and sporting skills are built into lessons. However, it does not provide pupils with enough opportunities to develop and extend their writing skills in all the subjects they study

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The significant improvement in attendance demonstrates the school’s capacity for further improvement.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governance of the school:  Governors are very committed to the school and are passionate about supporting the social and emotional needs of the pupils. They ensure that all safeguarding requirements are met. They also understand how the pupil premium is spent, and understand the impact it is having on pupil progress. In the past they were not provided with enough accurate information by school leaders about how well pupils are doing and did not, consequently, were not able to hold leaders fully to account for pupils’ progress. However, since the new Chair of Governors was appointed they have introduced more effective monitoring procedures to hold the school to account but these procedures are not yet fully embedded. Governors were very influential in the drive to raise pupils’ attendance to above the national average. Governors generally ensure that the arrangements for paying increases to individual teachers are implemented

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The leadership and management requires improvement

appropriately and used to reward good teaching.

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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 122741 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 431705

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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 aided Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 223 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Kenny Nelson Headteacher Mykela Horton Date of previous school inspection 30 October 2012 Telephone number 01623 646624 Email address A.Duce@st-edmunds.notts.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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