Egerton Church of England Primary School

School report Egerton Church of England Primary School Stisted Way, Egerton, Ashford, Kent TN27 9DR

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 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.  Teaching has improved since the previous inspection and is now consistently good.  Pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics across the school and attainment is rising.  Teachers welcome and benefit from a wide range of professional development that has helped them to develop their skills and knowledge quickly to help raise standards.  Teaching is interesting and helps pupils make good progress. Teachers provide detailed feedback to help pupils to improve. They plan carefully to meet the needs and interests of pupils.  Harmonious relationships between pupils contribute strongly to good behaviour and positive attitudes to learning.  Pupils enjoy coming to school, as can be seen by the improved rates of attendance. They say they feel safe and are treated as individuals.  Swift and determined action from the headteacher, senior leaders and governors has ensured that teaching and achievement have

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

improved across the school since the previous inspection.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teaching is not yet outstanding and does not enable pupils to make extremely rapid and sustained progress.  Pupils’ progress in lessons is not always maximised when the teacher’s use of questioning does not extend their thinking or deepen their knowledge.  The checks on how well pupils are doing throughout lessons are not yet consistent and sometimes this slows down pupils’ progress.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 14 lessons, five of them jointly with the headteacher and senior leaders. In addition, inspectors observed the teaching of sounds and letters (phonics) and listened to pupils reading.  Inspectors looked at the work in pupils’ books and around the school.  Inspectors read the school’s policies and documentation relating to safeguarding, how the performance of teachers is led and managed, and pupils’ attainment, progress, attendance and behaviour.  Inspectors met with pupils and talked to them about their work. Meetings were held with senior and middle leaders, members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  The 70 responses from the online questionnaire (Parent View), as well as the school’s own surveys, were taken into account.  Inspectors also considered the 23 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Narinder Dohel , Lead inspector Additional Inspector David Westall Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The majority of pupils are of White British heritage. The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and those who speak English as an additional language are significantly below the national average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported at school action is below the national average. The proportion supported at school action plus or by a statement of special educational needs is similar to the national average.  Very few pupils are known to be eligible for the pupil premium, well below the national average. This is additional government funding which, in this school, supports pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals.  The school provides a breakfast club and after-school provision.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching from good to outstanding by: – making sure that teachers regularly check and adjust the work provided for groups of pupils during lessons so all make good progress – ensuring that teachers’ questions more consistently challenge and extend pupils’ thinking.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Most children start school in the Reception class with skills and knowledge expected for their age. Since the previous inspection, standards have improved. Almost all pupils currently in the school, including those from minority ethnic backgrounds and those who speak English as an additional language, make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Attainment at the end of each key stage is at or above the national average.  Considerable attention has been given to ensuring that standards, particularly in mathematics, improve. The school’s regular checks of pupils’ abilities and accuracy of teachers’ planning and assessment are helping to raise standards. Work in books shows that attainment and progress in writing and mathematics are now consistent across subjects and classes.  The stronger progress in reading, writing and mathematics than in previous years means that the proportion of pupils attaining at the higher levels is also increasing in these subjects.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 There has been a rapid and strong improvement in the teaching of the blending of sounds. This has led to a significant increase in the proportion of pupils achieving the required standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check. Pupils are able to confidently apply what they know about sounds and blend them together to make words. In Key Stage 1, they use these skills increasingly well to help them with their reading and writing.  Literacy skills are systematically developed throughout Key Stage 2 through a planned programme of spelling, punctuation and grammar, resulting in increasing levels of attainment in reading and writing for pupils currently in the school.  Good learning and rapid progress were seen in lessons and books during the inspection. For example, in one mathematics lesson for older pupils, they used strategies systematically to solve problems relating to shapes. They worked hard to find the most appropriate way to record their

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The achievement of pupils is good

calculations. This demonstrated pupils’ good understanding.  The most-able pupils make similar progress to other pupils. This is because teachers have raised expectations of how much pupils can achieve over time. However, this expectation is not yet applied consistently throughout individual lessons for all groups of pupils.  The progress made by disabled pupils and those with special educational needs has accelerated since the previous inspection. They make similar progress to other pupils because teachers and other adults are well informed and have a good understanding of pupils’ needs.  The pupil premium funding is used effectively to ensure any gaps in attainment have been closed for pupils currently in the school. In 2013, results showed that the attainment of those eligible for the pupil premium was three terms behind that of their peers in reading. It was one term behind in writing and three terms behind in mathematics. The school’s information on the

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The achievement of pupils is good

progress of eligible pupils currently in the school shows that the gaps are closing and that they make similar or greater progress than their peers.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching has improved since the previous inspection because teachers have developed their skills in marking, and increased their subject knowledge and use of information about pupils’ abilities to help plan lessons.  The quality of marking has improved. It is detailed, effective and consistent in helping pupils to understand what they need to achieve, how well they have achieved it and providing a next step for improvement. Pupils are given time to reflect, and to respond to marking in books and the feedback they are given during lessons. Pupils are also being taught strategies to provide them with the skills and confidence to give each other constructive feedback.  Pupils take great pride in their work. They know their individual targets and know what they need to improve in their work. One result of this is that presentation and handwriting are of a high standard across the school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage achieve well because adults have an astute understanding of how young children learn. They provide a full range of appropriate activities to develop children’s basic skills and their personal development.  Teaching is planned carefully to consolidate and extend pupils’ learning and to help them catch up. In one writing lesson, for example, pupils used the information they had acquired through their class topic to generate rich vocabulary that they went on to use in writing descriptive paragraphs. Some pupils used a thesaurus, while others drew on their rich reading experience to further develop language and ideas.  However, in some lessons, adults missed opportunities to ask probing questions to deepen pupils’ knowledge and understanding. On occasions, this limits how much pupils might achieve within a lesson or to be able to demonstrate the full extent of their abilities.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In a few lessons, some pupils make slightly slower progress. This is usually because the learning within the lesson is not adjusted quickly to help pupils move on in their work.  The support provided by additional adults is particularly effective in developing pupils’ ability to catch up or discuss their ideas.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good, and sometimes exemplary, in lessons and around the school. Pupils listen attentively to their teachers and show positive attitudes to learning. For example, pupils give each other feedback to help improve the quality of their work. Pupils at Egerton are welcoming and courteous.  The school teaches pupils the skills of resilience, resourcefulness, reflection and reciprocity from the moment children join the school. These attributes can be seen in the respectful and mature relationships pupils have with each other and in their attitudes to others. They accept and discuss differences of opinion and willingly provide help to their peers in school.  Pupils’ understanding of how to stay safe is good. They say they are well looked after and cared for by adults. They are able to explain a range of strategies they have for ensuring their personal safety. The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Incidents of bullying are rare. Pupils have a good understanding of different forms that bullying might take and are thoughtful in their responses to how this should be dealt with. They are also clear that adults will act quickly and effectively to any reports of unacceptable behaviour.  The Parent View survey and the school’s own information show that some parents and carers have reservations about pupils’ behaviour. School leaders have started to address these concerns. These parents’ and carers’ reservations are not endorsed by the evidence gathered by inspectors.  Attendance has been broadly average in recent years. The school has taken effective action to improve this and attendance is currently above average.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and senior leadership team have acted quickly on the recommendations from the previous inspection and have made significant improvements. Leaders have successfully refocused plans to secure rapid improvements to the quality of teaching. They have raised teachers’ expectations of how much pupils can achieve. Through an effective programme of training, they have helped teachers to develop their skills and knowledge to raise pupils’ achievement.  Since the previous inspection, pupils’ achievement has improved, and pupils of all groups and abilities across the school are making good progress in their reading, writing and mathematics. This demonstrates that the school has good capacity to continue to improve.  Pupils’ skills in reading, writing and mathematics are being developed well through a range of subjects. This is because subject leaders make sure that links are made between subjects, and

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The leadership and management are good

that marking and expectations of standards of work are consistently applied.  Senior leaders manage teachers’ performance well. They set targets for teachers linked to pupils’ progress and school improvement plans.  The intensive support provided by the local authority has helped leaders to refine priorities and has been effective in supporting improvements in the quality of teaching.  The school has worked successfully in partnership with local schools to develop the quality of teaching, and marking and assessment.  Parents and carers who were spoken to, and those who responded to the online survey, are generally positive about how the school helps their children’s academic and personal development.  The school provides an interesting range of subjects and topics such as ‘Rainforests’ that provide an opportunity to develop creative language, learn about the world and express the richness of colour through art. Pupils enjoy the additional trips and activities. These include music, sporting

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The leadership and management are good

events and visits to local places of historic interest, as well as residential trips further afield. Opportunities such as these contribute well to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Discrimination of any sort is not tolerated. The school demonstrates a firm commitment to equality of opportunity.  Leaders make good use of the primary sports funding. The school has invested in a training programme to develop the confidence of staff. The funding also provides an increased range of after-school clubs and competitive sporting opportunities. As a result, pupils’ standards and participation in sport are rising.  The governance of the school: – Governors remain highly committed. They have extended the range of activities they engage in to make sure that improvements are made, such as attending pupils’ progress meetings. They have worked closely with the headteacher to make sure that the

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The leadership and management are good

achievement of pupils across the school in reading, writing and mathematics is good. They are provided with information about the quality of teaching and are clear that any underperformance will be addressed, and they have tackled this in the past. They have an agreed policy on when to make pay awards or, if required, how to address any underperformance. They set objectives for the performance of their headteacher and know about the setting of targets for teachers. However, further work is required to ensure objectives set for teachers are clear enough to continue recent improvements. Governors access training, which helps them to understand published data about their school and the school’s own data. They receive updates from the headteacher on pupils’ progress and attainment. Safeguarding arrangements meet statutory requirements. Governors know how the pupil premium is spent and that it is making a difference to raising standards.

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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 118702 Local authority Kent Inspection number 446154

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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 controlled Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 180 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Graham Jones Headteacher Lee Selby Date of previous school inspection December 2012 Telephone number 01233 756274 Fax number 01233 756175 Email address office@egerton.kent.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 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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