Ingoldmells Academy

Ingoldmells Academy Simpson Court, Ingoldmells, Skegness, PE25 1PS

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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 Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Leaders and managers have improved teaching so that it is now good. In some years it is outstanding.  Pupils make good progress and achieve well from their different starting points. As a result, standards in reading, writing and mathematics are rising rapidly.  Leaders and teachers thoroughly check the progress of every pupil to ensure that nobody falls behind.  Carefully planned help and guidance for pupils who join the academy at different times ensures that they make good progress.  The academy provides a calm and orderly learning environment in which pupils behave well and feel safe.  The academy successfully engages increasing numbers of parents and carers in their children’s education.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well. This contributes to the strong sense of community in the academy.  The high level of challenge and support provided through the Foundation Trust

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

contribute well to the academy’s effectiveness.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 In a few lessons, the support available from teaching assistants is not always fully used.  Not all teaching assistants have the skills needed to teach letters and sounds effectively.  Some weaknesses in spelling, punctuation and grammar are not being tackled robustly enough in subjects other than English.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed teaching and learning in seven lessons. Most lessons were observed jointly with the principal. The principal also joined the inspector in reviewing pupils’ written work.  The inspector observed the breakfast club and one assembly, and made a number of short visits to classrooms.  Pupils were observed at break and lunchtimes.  The inspectors held discussions with the principal, staff and pupils. The inspector also met the executive headteacher and the chief executive of the Greenwood Dale Foundation Trust.  Groups of pupils of different ages were heard reading.  The inspector met with some parents and carers at the start of the day. There were too few responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, to be considered.  The inspector looked at the academy’s policies, teachers’ plans, samples of pupils’ work, academy improvement planning and records on behaviour and safety. Information on individual

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Information about this inspection

pupils’ progress and teachers’ performance were also examined.

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Inspection team

Kenneth Thomas, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The academy is below average in size compared with other primary schools.  Most pupils are White British.  The proportion of pupils for whom the academy receives the pupil premium is high. This is additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those in local authority care.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is well-above average, as is the proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs.  Many more pupils than usual join or leave partway through their primary school education. Forty-five percent of the pupils presently on roll joined the academy at other than the expected times and 24 pupils left the academy in the last school year.  The academy meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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Information about this school

 The academy provides a breakfast club.  The predecessor school converted to be an academy in September 2012 and is part of the Greenwood Dale Foundation Trust group of academies.  The academy does not have a traditional governing body. The Ingoldmells Academy Advisory Council is a small group that has both staff and parental representation, and is chaired by the executive headteacher. It has no legal responsibilities. The legal responsibilities of a governing body are held by the Greenwood Dale Foundation Trust Board.  The academy provides training for new teachers through the School Direct Training Scheme.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching by making sure that the best use is made of the support available from teaching assistants.  Raise standards in English by making sure that: - all staff have the skills needed to teach letters and sounds (phonics) effectively - there is constant emphasis on improving accuracy in spelling, grammar and punctuation in pupils’ writing in all subjects.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children start in Reception with skills that are generally low in relation to those expected for their age. Early reading, writing and number skills, and personal and social development are particularly weak.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children receive good care and support from adults and make good progress in all areas of learning in Reception. However, very few achieve the Early Learning Goals (the standards set for this stage) by the time they join Year 1.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress in Key Stage 1. As a result, standards in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 2 are rising. Current work and academy assessment information shows that pupils presently in Year 2 are on track to reach the expected levels in mathematics and reading. Standards in writing, although showing improvement, are below the expected levels because of weaknesses in spelling, punctuation and grammar.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Although standards in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 6 in 2013 were below average, they represented good progress in relation to pupils’ starting points. Because teaching is consistently good standards are rising more rapidly and in reading, writing and mathematics are now close to average.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 From low starting points in language and communication, pupils make steady progress in learning letters and the sounds they make (phonics). However, this is not rapid enough to make up for the earlier weaknesses. As a result, the proportion reaching the levels expected in the Year 1 phonics screening check was below average in 2013. Virtually all reach the expected standard by the end of Year 2.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The most able pupils make good progress because expectations of what they can achieve are high and the work set for them is challenging so that they exceed the expected rate of progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils or those who have special educational needs are identified early and make good progress because they receive well-targeted support. Pupils are supported both in class and in well-planned work in small groups or on a one-to-one basis. As a result, pupils with additional learning needs make similar good rates of progress to other pupils.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils who are eligible for additional support through the pupil premium make good progress. At the end of Year 6 in 2013, those pupils receiving free school meals were about five terms behind other pupils in reading and three terms behind in writing and mathematics. The most recent information indicates that these gaps have narrowed to about a term behind in each subject. Underpinning this improvement is the very effective use of assessment information to check pupils’ progress and ensure that teaching is effective in raising standards.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils achieve particularly well in art and design. High-quality displays of pupils’ artwork contribute to a vibrant learning atmosphere.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Good and better teaching ensures that all groups of pupils make good progress and achieve well. The vast majority of pupils display positive attitudes to learning and behave well. This enables teachers to concentrate on teaching.  Good relationships form the basis of effective class management. Teachers are energetic and communicate enthusiasm for learning. This helps to develop the positive attitudes to learning and the good behaviour seen in lessons. Pupils are able to concentrate on their work without distraction.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers make good use of their subject knowledge and knowledge of pupils’ attainment levels to ensure that work is suitably demanding for all groups of pupils, including those capable of reaching higher levels. Excellent displays of pupils’ topic, writing and number work make classrooms bright and stimulating, and outstanding environments for learning.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers provide pupils with clear outlines that let them know what they are going to learn. These are referred to regularly so pupils can check how well they are doing and, at the end of the lesson, are able to say what they have learned.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage gives children a secure start to their learning. Adults take every opportunity to develop children’s language and social skills. Good use is made of both the indoor and outdoor areas to provide purposeful learning experiences.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of reading has improved. In well planned reading sessions, adults provide effective support for small groups of readers as they become more competent in the use of context clues and letter and sound relationships in their reading. As a result they become more confident in tackling increasingly more demanding texts on their own. This, supported by the academy’s ‘Reading Royalty’ scheme, which rewards pupils for reading regularly at home, has made a marked contribution to the rapid rise in reading standards.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The academy’s strategies for improving writing include the use of paired discussion to help pupils to organise the language they need before writing. This is particularly helpful to pupils with weaknesses in language and communication. For example, in a particularly successful Year 6 English lesson, the use of talk partners led to more lively writing through the use of a wider range of adverbs and adjectives.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Literacy and numeracy are generally taught well, although not enough attention is given to the development of spelling, punctuation and grammar in subjects other than English.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of physical education and sport is a particular strength. Specialist teachers from Skegness Academy work each week with pupils and share their specialist knowledge with teachers, helping to improve their teaching.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs have well-constructed individual support plans. These are used by teachers in planning to make sure that the work set is well matched to pupils’ needs. Pupils’ progress is checked at regular intervals to make sure that no one is falling behind.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The effectiveness of the support of teaching assistants for pupils’ learning is occasionally limited because their role when teachers are introducing or explaining the tasks pupils are to attempt is not always clear. In a few instances teaching assistants are unable to contribute to the development of pupils’ phonic skills (understanding the sounds that letters make) because they do not have a good enough understanding of how letters and sounds should be taught.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils’ books are marked thoroughly and provide pupils with clear feedback on how they can improve their work.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. The vast majority of pupils display good attitudes to learning and behave well, both in lessons and around the academy. Parents and carers, staff and pupils agree that behaviour is typically good.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 All pupils spoken to said that they enjoy being at the academy. This is evident from the improvement in their attendance, which is now above average. Persistent absence is very low and very few pupils have been excluded in the past two years.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are friendly and care for each other well. Pupils from all backgrounds get on well with each other. New pupils are made very welcome and given good support. They soon become part of the community.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The emphasis on good behaviour begins in Reception and is reinforced throughout the academy. Because most pupils conform to adults’ consistently high expectations of behaviour, the academy has a calm and purposeful learning environment.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The academy’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils feel safe in the academy and are confident that adults will look after them well if they have any concerns. The fact that bullying or harassment of any kind will not be tolerated is made very clear.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils understand about different kinds of bullying, including physical bullying and persistent name-calling, and are emphatic when they say that they cannot think of any incidents of this type.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils respond well to opportunities to take on responsibility. Through, for example, their roles as academy councillors or junior leaders, they develop self-confidence and make positive contributions to the academy community.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The breakfast club is well supervised and provides the pupils who attend with a very welcoming, friendly and nutritious start to the day.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The principal and staff, with excellent support from the executive principal and the Greenwood Dale Foundation Trust, have taken action that has rapidly improved the quality of teaching and raised achievement.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Action to raise reading standards has been particularly effective. The academy works very closely with families to support them in helping their children learn. This has been particularly successful in obtaining parents’ and carers’ support for listening to their children read at home. As a result, many more pupils develop a love for reading and this is having a positive effect on standards.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 There is a sharply focused plan for continuing the academy’s rapid upward trajectory which takes full account of the training for teaching assistants and improving spelling, grammar and punctuation. Staff morale and ambition are consistently high and all are committed to ensuring that every pupil has an equal opportunity to achieve. Participation in the Foundation Trust has increased the resources available and provided a high level of administrative expertise. These have been used exceptionally well to increase capacity and speed improvement.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The effective management of teachers’ performance has considerably improved the quality of teaching. Very effective training is provided for teachers to help them to continue developing their skills to ensure pupils are well taught. The very good quality of the training the academy provides is also seen in the training of new teachers as part of the School Direct Training Programme.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Teachers are encouraged to take on leadership roles. Subject leaders and others responsible for particular aspects of the academy are increasingly responsible for the quality of teaching and learning, and raising standards.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The curriculum engages pupils’ interest and promotes achievement well and effectively prepares pupils for the next stage in their education. Through participation in the Foundation Trust, pupils have access to an excellent range of enrichment opportunities, for example in music, art and sport. The curriculum is enhanced through visitors and visits to places of interest, which broaden pupils’ horizons and promote self-confidence.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well through the academy’s clear vision and beliefs. Pupils strive for success because they are educated in a climate in which they thrive. They accept clearly defined boundaries of what is right or wrong. Pupils develop a good understanding of religious and cultural diversity in modern Britain.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The academy makes excellent use of the primary sports funding to raise the quality of physical education teaching in the academy, with specialists working alongside teachers to provide on- going training in specific sports. This has already increased pupils’ understanding of the benefits of physical exercise and participation rates in sporting activities.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The governance of the school:  The academy benefits from the strong support of the executive headteacher and the board of directors. They have an excellent understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the academy. They fully understand how its results compare with those of other schools and hold leaders to account for pupils’ performance. Directors are well informed about the quality of teaching and make sure that pay and promotion are justified by the impact of teaching on pupils’ progress and achievement. Directors are able to draw from an excellent range of professional expertise and skills that allow them to review key aspects of the academy, including the impact of pupil premium and primary sports funding on performance. Financial management is secure and all requirements, including those relating to child protection and safeguarding procedure are met.

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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 138444 Local authority Lincolnshire Inspection number 424938

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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 sponsor-led Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 120 Appropriate authority Greenwood Dale Foundation Trust Chair Emma Hadley Principal Rona Pryme Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 01754 872989 Email address rpryme@ingoldmellsacademy.org 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 and 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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