St Andrew's CofE Methodist (Aided) Primary School

St Andrew's CofE Methodist (Aided) Primary School Pentland Road, Dronfield Woodhouse, Dronfield, S18 8ZQ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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

 Year 6 pupils attained above national levels in 2013, but writing was not as good as reading and mathematics.  Attainment in Year 2 was lower in 2013 than in previous years.  In Key Stage 2, the standard of writing produced by many pupils, especially boys, is not as good as it should be.  Some more-able pupils are not achieving as well as they should.  Not all pupils take enough care with their work or try their best.  Some teachers do not set work at the right level for pupils. Marking does not always give pupils enough guidance on how to improve their work.  Teachers do not have high enough expectations of what pupils can achieve. Their questions do not make pupils think deeply about their learning.  Leaders, managers and governors have not responded quickly and effectively when weaknesses in teaching have emerged.  The school improvement plan does not include clear success criteria that enable leaders to

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

judge the effectiveness of their actions.  The subject leaders for literacy and numeracy have not had enough opportunity to observe teaching in their subject areas.  Leaders have not ensured that school policies, procedures and assessments are carried out consistently across all classes.

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The school has the following strengths

 Pupils make good progress in reading and developing their skills in phonics (the sounds that letters make).  The school is a harmonious community in which pupils from different backgrounds get on well together.  Pupils are happy and proud of their school. Most conduct themselves well in lessons and around the school.  Pupils feel safe in school. Staff provide very good care for pupils.  Attendance is above national levels.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed eight teachers and visited 15 lessons. Three lessons were observed jointly with the headteacher.  Discussions were held with the headteacher, the English and mathematics subject leaders, and subject and other leaders, pupils and governors. The lead inspector had a telephone discussion with a representative of the local authority.  The inspectors observed pupils’ work, looked at their exercise books, listened to them read and observed them in two assemblies.  A range of documentation was examined, including the school’s analysis of how well it is doing, information on pupils’ progress, and documents related to safeguarding and key reports and policies.  The inspectors talked with parents at the start of the school day and took account of the 93 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View). They also analysed 17 questionnaires completed by staff.

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Inspection team

Andrew Stafford, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Patrick Walsh Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 St Andrew’s Church of England Methodist (Voluntary Aided) Primary is smaller than the average- sized primary school.  The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action, at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs, is below average.  The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium (additional government funding which, in this school, supports pupils known to be eligible for free school meals) is below average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  Two new teachers joined the school in September 2012, following a period of staffing changes involving promotion, retirement and maternity leave.  The school underwent major building work in 2012–2013.  There is a pre-school and after-school club on the school site. It is not managed by the

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Information about this school

governing body and did not form part of this inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and increase the proportion of pupils making consistently good progress, particularly in writing, by ensuring that:  more-able pupils are challenged in their work  marking shows pupils what they have done well, and what they need to improve further  activities in lessons develop pupils’ skills in spelling, punctuation and grammar, so that they are able to vary sentences for clarity, purpose and effect  all groups of pupils are interested and involved in their lessons and develop positive attitudes to their learning  teachers have high expectations and insist on high standards of presentation in pupils’ books.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen the effectiveness of leaders and managers by:  ensuring that the school improvement plan is sharply focused, with precise success criteria  making sure that school policies and procedures are consistently carried out  developing the role of subject and key stage leaders in checking pupils’ progress and the quality of teaching.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ achievement is not yet consistently good across the school. More-able pupils are not given challenging work, particularly in Key Stage 2 and in writing, and this is hampering their progress.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ current attainment in writing is not as good as in reading and mathematics. Too many pupils, especially boys, lack confidence in their spelling, punctuation and grammar. This limits their ability to complete more challenging writing tasks successfully.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 In Key Stage 1, pupils’ attainment declined in 2013, having been above average in the previous two years.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 In 2013, attainment at the end of Year 6 was above national levels overall in reading, writing and mathematics, but with girls’ attainment well above that of boys. While most pupils made the progress they should, few did better than this to reach the highest level of attainment.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Samples of pupils’ work seen and the school’s tracking show that while pupils’ progress across most year groups is now improving, there are significant proportions of pupils in each year group who are not making good progress. Progress varies too much between groups and across different subjects.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Children start at the school with levels of development that are broadly typical for their age. Their curiosity and willingness to learn are made the most of by staff so that they do as well as they can. The achievement of children in the Reception class has been consistently good.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 There were too few pupils in Year 6 in 2013 who were eligible for the pupil premium funding to compare their attainment with that of their classmates without risk of identifying individual pupils. Pupils currently in the school who are eligible for the pupil premium make similar progress as other pupils in the school in English and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are almost all making good progress from their varying starting points in reading, writing and mathematics. This is because of the effective leadership and management of this aspect of the school’s work, and the high quality support that these pupils receive from well trained staff.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The school has worked effectively to improve the teaching of phonics, and this has started to develop pupils’ knowledge of letters and sounds more securely. As a consequence, there was strong improvement in 2013 in the marks attained by Year 1 pupils in the phonic screening check to well above national levels.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils have many opportunities to read for a variety of purposes in lessons. The improvements in guided reading were evident in the activities provided in some classes. The additional support provided for pupils who do not read with confidence has ensured that their progress is similar to their classmates. Attainment in reading is above the expected levels for most age groups across the school.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching is not yet consistently good enough to ensure that all pupils achieve well throughout the school. In particular, despite training in the use of assessment information, planned activities do not provide sufficient challenge for more-able pupils.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers do not always explain activities clearly enough to ensure that pupils know what is expected of them. Neither do teachers routinely check to see if pupils are finding tasks too hard or too easy. The result is that some work too slowly because of lack of understanding, while others do not complete tasks to the high standards of which they are capable.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Despite recent improvements, not all teachers follow the school’s assessment policy closely. Most provide comments in marking which acknowledge what pupils have done well, but there is insufficient guidance to pupils on what they need to do to improve further.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The most effective teaching is based on good relationships and the positive engagement of pupils in their work. In the Reception class, for example, children were enthralled in retelling the story of The Rainbow Fish. A teaching assistant dressed as a character from the story and children asked her questions about being under the ocean. This reinforced children’s knowledge of the story and how to retell it, and the activity ensured that children had good opportunities to discuss and share their ideas with each other before starting to write.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Most of the parents and carers who responded to the Parent View survey believe that teaching is good. Inspection evidence did not confirm this view. However, school records of the monitoring of teaching and work in pupils’ books show that teaching is improving, and this is having an increasingly positive impact on pupils’ achievement.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Children’s ‘Learning Journals’ are good indications of the impact of good teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Adults intervene at appropriate points to enhance children’s learning and regularly assess and record their progress.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Although most pupils conduct themselves well around the school, their attitudes to learning are more variable. Not all pupils take sufficient care with or pride in their work. Work in books is sometimes scruffy, untidy and presented poorly. A few pupils can be silly in lessons.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 A few members of staff express reservations about pupils’ behaviour and the way leaders manage it. Rewards are used to encourage good work and positive attitudes to learning, but overall, their impact is limited.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Around the school and in the playground, pupils from different backgrounds relate well to one another, taking good care of younger pupils. They learn to appreciate difference and diversity. The school is effective in promoting positive relationships. Discrimination of any kind is not tolerated.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Teachers encourage pupils to discuss their work, and to work together. This develops their social skills well.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils take on some responsibilities; for example, as buddy readers with children in Reception and as school councillors. Pupils spoken to expressed pleasure at fulfilling responsibilities that made them feel more grown up.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 School records confirm that pupils’ conduct is good on a daily basis and is improving over time. The few pupils who find it difficult to manage their own behaviour are supported well.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils learn how to keep safe; for example, when using the internet. They have a good knowledge of all forms of bullying. Pupils say bullying is rare and have confidence in school staff to sort it out should it happen.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Attendance is above average, which reflects pupils’ enjoyment of school, the effective work of school leaders in tackling absence, and the support they provide for individual pupils and their families.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Strong links with health and social care professionals, together with staff who know their pupils well, help to give sensitive support for pupils whose home circumstances may make them vulnerable.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership and management are not good because the quality of teaching and the school’s systems and policies have not been monitored effectively to ensure consistent approaches across the school. The school’s leaders have not responded quickly and effectively when weaknesses in teaching have emerged.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Improvement in pupils’ reading and mathematical skills is not yet matched by equal success in raising writing skills across the school. The teaching of writing is not secure. In 2013, too few Year 6 pupils made better than expected progress in writing and, although the school has introduced a specific focus on writing, this is not being carried out effectively across all year groups.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Senior leaders’ evaluation of the school’s overall effectiveness is too generous. They have not taken a balanced view of past performance and the strengths and weaknesses of current provision and the progress made by all pupils in the school.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 School improvement plans do not specify clearly the outcomes against which planned actions are to be judged, such as precise targets for pupils’ achievement by which their success could be measured.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school has not fully developed the skills of subject leaders or involved them in checking the quality of teaching or standards in their subject area. The introduction of phase leaders with responsibility for age groups is having a positive impact on the improvements made in teaching and learning for the younger pupils.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 In the past, the school’s monitoring of assessment data, pupils’ work and the quality of teaching has been inconsistent. The school now carries out detailed analysis and highlights the progress of all pupils in each class, including a focus on specific groups or individuals. These provide the basis for half-termly discussions between class teachers and senior leaders but have yet to fully show their success in addressing inconsistencies in standards and pupils’ progress.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school’s relationships with parents and carers have improved since the previous inspection and the vast majority are very appreciative of the school’s positive values, although a few would like more appropriate homework for their children and additional information on their progress. A few do not think the school responds quickly enough to their concerns. Those from families whose circumstances make them vulnerable speak highly of how well their children have settled and the progress they make. Inspection evidence supports this view.  The funding available through the pupil premium is used appropriately to help pupils known to be eligible for free school meals to take a full part in school life, and receive, where appropriate, specific resources and adult time. The data on the progress made by these pupils are analysed in detail to judge the effectiveness of the extra support provided.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher uses monitoring activities to check the performance of staff against targets; new targets for individual staff ensure a sound focus on school priorities.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The curriculum is well planned, includes a good range of activities which pupils find enjoyable and promotes well their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Effective use of visits, locally and further afield, including residential camps, enriches the curriculum and enhances the pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the wider world.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school makes effective arrangements to see that pupils are safe and that adults appointed to work in the school are appropriately qualified and experienced.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 School leaders are strongly committed to ensuring equality of opportunity and recognise that the more-able pupils, and some boys, do not achieve as well as they could. Leaders are now focusing on individual pupils in danger of underachieving. This is in order to allocate resources, including the pupil premium funding, as effectively as possible.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school has used the new primary school sports funding to arrange for sports coaches to increase participation in after-school sports and inter-school competitions. The headteacher and leader of physical education have appropriate plans to check regularly what impact these initiatives are having on pupils’ well-being and healthy lifestyles. At this stage, it is clear that participation rates in a range of sporting activities have increased.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Regular visits from the School Improvement Partner have helped leaders to manage the school during staffing changes. They have supported the school in addressing the decline in the quality of teaching, although the impact of this has not been fully successful. The skills and expertise of the headteacher are used in his work within the diocese to support another denominational school in the local area.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governance of the school:  Governors spoken to during the inspection know the school’s strengths and what it needs to do to keep improving. They play a key role in sustaining strengths in promoting pupils’ health and welfare and developing close links with parents. Governors are supportive and some visit the school regularly. They are increasingly well informed about the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement, enabling them to become better at holding the school to account. Governors, particularly those most recently appointed, are making the most of their training. They are gaining understanding of the management of teachers’ performance and the implementation of the national Teachers’ Standards and how these affect pay rises and promotion. They carefully check the effect of support for pupils supported by the pupil premium. They are becoming more involved in school self-evaluation, checking the school

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The leadership and management requires improvement

improvement plan and evaluating their own effectiveness. Governors monitor spending carefully. They ensure that the school fulfils statutory duties, such as meeting safeguarding requirements.

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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 112913 Local authority Derbyshire Inspection number 441159

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was deemed a section 5 inspection under the same act.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 188 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Patrick Naylor Headteacher John Clapham Date of previous school inspection 8 March 2011 Telephone number 01246 417243 Fax number 01246 417243 Email address info@st-andrewscofe.derbyshire.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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