Ilchester Community School

Ilchester Community Primary School Somerton Road, Ilchester, Somerset, BA22 8JL

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Overall effectiveness

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

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

 Pupils make slower progress in mathematics than in reading and writing. The proportion of pupils exceeding expected progress in this subject is below the national figures.  The most able pupils, who find the work too easy, are not given the extra challenge in mathematics that is necessary to help them do even better  In mathematics lessons, teachers do not check pupils’ learning thoroughly to find out if they have gaps in their understanding. Pupils who are struggling are not given support quickly enough to help them understand and so speed up their progress.  Attainment at the end of the Reception year has been below average for at least the last two years. The school has not used the information that it has about progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage to identify gaps in children’s learning and to plan activities that enable them to catch up.  Pupils’ behaviour and safety require improvement. Some pupils do not always do their best work, even

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

though they know their targets and what is expected. Not all are confident about who they can to go to if they have any concerns.  Governors and senior leaders do not always check with enough rigour that members of staff apply school policies and procedures consistently. This includes procedures relating to assessment and to behaviour and safety.

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The school has the following strengths

 The school’s leadership, strengthened by new appointments, has an accurate understanding of the school’s work. Key priorities for improvement in the school’s development plan match those identified in the inspection.  Pupils make good progress in phonics (letters and the sounds that they make) in Years 1 and 2. This is helping pupils across the school to make good progress in their reading and writing.  Disabled pupils, those who have special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language make good progress because of the well- matched support that they receive.  Attendance is improving and is now above average.  Systems to support and check staff performance are resulting in improvements to the quality of teaching in reading and writing over time, and in mathematics this year.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching in 21 lessons taught by 14 teachers. In addition, they made a number of short visits to lessons to observe work in phonics, mathematics, English, science, religious education, physical education and topic work linking a number of different subjects.  The inspectors looked at past and current information about pupils’ progress and at pupils’ work in books and on display.  The inspectors also looked at the school’s own assessments of its strengths, school improvement planning and documents relating to behaviour and safeguarding.  The inspectors met formally with small groups of pupils as well as meeting pupils informally at playtimes and lunchtimes to talk about their learning and to find out what they thought of the school. Inspectors also met with staff and a group of governors.  Inspectors talked to parents informally at the start and end of the school day. They considered 38

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Information about this inspection

responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and also took account of the school’s own recent survey of parents.  The inspectors took note of 23 staff questionnaires.  During this inspection, inspectors asked additional questions designed to ascertain the school’s view of the impact and effectiveness of local authority services to support school improvement for children looked after, those receiving free school meals and the most able pupils. This information will contribute to work being carried out by Ofsted to assess the use, quality and impact of support services.

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Inspection team

Georgina Beasley, Lead inspector Additional inspector Roberta Camble Additional inspector Ann Sydney Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 Ilchester Community Primary School is an average-sized school.  Most pupils are from White British backgrounds. Just over half are from services families.  Compared to other primary schools, more pupils than usual join and leave the school throughout the year and across all year groups.  A small number of pupils speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is below that found in most schools. This is additional government funding provided to give extra support to those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and to children who are looked after.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is below average.  The school meets the government floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ progress and attainment in reading, writing and mathematics.  An on-site before- and after-school care club is managed independently of the school and was not

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching to be at least good in mathematics so that more pupils exceed expected progress by making sure that teachers always:  use the information that they have about pupils’ learning to plan activities that are challenging enough, especially for the most able pupils  make regular checks of pupils’ learning in lessons and provide additional support to help fill any gaps in their understanding.  Improve teaching, leadership and management in the Early Years Foundation Stage so that most children reach the levels expected for their age by:  strengthening the systems for checking that children are making enough progress in all areas of learning  using this information to identify gaps in children’s learning, knowledge and understanding  planning learning activities to address any gaps in children’s learning so that they make at least good progress.  Strengthen leadership and management by ensuring that:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 leaders use the information available about pupils’ learning to identify gaps and improve teaching so that pupils are enabled to catch up  teachers follow procedures for checking that pupils are making enough progress and that subsequent actions to boost this to good are working.  Improve behaviour and safety by ensuring that:  pupils always strive to do their best work in all classes  governors and leaders check that all staff implement agreed policies and procedures consistently relating to behaviour and safety.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 Leadership and management require improvement because concerted action to improve teaching and progress in mathematics, and to improve the effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage, has been slow until last year. Leaders have not acted quickly enough in the past to tackle the weaknesses flagged up by the information they have about pupils’ learning to ensure good progress over time.  Procedures for checking pupils’ progress lack rigour. Pupil progress meetings take place every term to identify those pupils not on track to reach the levels expected in reading, writing and mathematics. Subsequent actions are recorded in most but not all year groups. Checks to make sure that the agreed actions are implemented and are working are not followed up with enough rigour.  The local authority gives the school minimal support. Governors and the headteacher report that there are no formal procedures for challenging the school. No targets are agreed to raise the attainment of the most

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The leadership and management require improvement

able pupils in mathematics and for children in the Reception year, including disadvantaged pupils. The local authority is available should the school have any concerns, and some early work with consultants to improve progress in mathematics has started.  Over the last year, the headteacher and both deputy headteachers have responded to an accurate and honest review of the school’s performance by asking searching questions of teaching and learning and implementing actions to drive improvement. Self-evaluation is accurate and targets in the school development plan are sufficiently challenging and accurate.  The school’s recent systems to check the quality of teaching have challenged teachers and leaders to raise their expectations. As a result, there has been improvement in the teaching of reading and writing. Governors use evidence from performance monitoring to gain a clear understanding of the quality of

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The leadership and management require improvement

teaching. This and teachers being required to meet challenging targets for pupils’ progress inform decisions about whether staff are awarded a pay rise. The current members of staff have been fully involved in school improvement planning so they are clear about what the school is trying to achieve.  Middle leaders have played an important role in improving the quality of teaching. The work of the curriculum teams in checking subjects has enabled the school’s middle leaders to carry out their role more effectively.  The inclusion leader ensures that pupils who speak English as an additional language, disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs receive well-matched support. Changes are made to teaching activities and/or resources as soon as progress slows. As a result, these pupils make sustained good progress throughout the year regardless of their disability or additional needs.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 The school fosters equality and diversity through well-planned subjects that promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and respect for British values. Pupils are developing a strong respect and tolerance for each other’s differences, religions and beliefs. The school ensures all pupils are able to take part in all activities by making adjustments as necessary to ensure their involvement.  The school has used government funds for sport education to pay for a specialist coach to lead lessons and provide additional training for teachers. The funding also provides additional opportunities for pupils’ increased participation in clubs, including cycling club and a range of sports.  The governance of the school:  Governors are fully involved in ensuring that policies and procedures, including those for safeguarding pupils, meet statutory requirements. They do not always check that the school

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The leadership and management require improvement

ensures that staff follow procedures consistently, including those relating to assessment and behaviour and safety. Governors check to make sure that money is spent properly, including that for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, the extra funds for sport and funding to support disadvantaged pupils. Their involvement in school improvement planning means that they are clear about what is going well, but are less clear about all of the aspects that require improvement. Governors have attended training to help them understand fully the progress that pupils should be making and the standards and quality of teaching they should expect. Consequently, they have asked the school probing questions about the progress of different groups and why pupils make slower progress in mathematics. Governors have yet to challenge the school with the same level of probing questions about why attainment at the end

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The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Most pupils have positive attitudes to their learning but some are slow to settle to learning tasks in lessons without reminders from teachers. While some pupils strive to do their best, some pupils do not always do their best work even though they know their targets and what is expected.  The school records all behaviour incidents it considers serious. However, not all instances are recorded when pupils ‘fall out’ with each other, even when these recur. Pupils report that members of staff sometimes respond to reports of misbehaviour in different ways rather than taking a consistent approach.  Pupils new to the school are made to feel welcome and given good support from their ‘buddies’. Pupils from different backgrounds generally get along well together. No incidents of a racist nature have occurred for the last three years.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure requires improvement. A few pupils said that they do not

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The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

feel safe. Pupils understand the different forms of bullying but not all are confident about raising their concerns with an adult.  Pupils have a good understanding of how to stay safe when using computers. E-safety workshops have raised their awareness of the dangers of searching on and using the internet.  Pupils are developing a good level of respect for people from different backgrounds, beliefs and religions. They are particularly respectful of disabled pupils and adapt their play and games so they can join in. They have a good understanding of British values such as a keen sense of fairness, understanding the voting system for becoming a house captain and/or a school councillor.  Attendance has risen for the last two years and is now above average. Nearly all pupils arrive on time. Pupils walk sensibly into class at the start of the day and after playtimes. Most settle quickly to their early

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching requires improvement because although improving, it is not yet good in mathematics and in the Early Years Foundation Stage. The most able pupils in all groups, including those in receipt of additional funding, are not always given hard enough work to challenge their thinking and so fewer pupils than nationally make better–than-expected progress.  In mathematics lessons where pupils are not being supervised closely, teachers and teaching assistants do not regularly check to make sure the pupils understand what they are asked to do. At these times, pupils who are struggling or who have gaps in their understanding are not given the additional support they need quickly enough to help them make good progress.  Teachers follow the school’s policy for checking pupils’ work in all subjects and pupils generally respond well to any guidance to improve their work at that time. The teachers’ expectations are not always

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

transferred to later pieces of work and so some pupils continue to spell words or use punctuation incorrectly, even though they know how to do it.  The teaching of reading is good and so pupils are able to look up information about their topics independently. Pupils confidently record the information in writing or on computers. Most have a clear understanding of how to write for different purposes and audiences.  Adults support disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs well when working with them on a specific task and activity. As a result, pupils develop new learning and skills quickly in a range of subjects. Pupils who speak English as an additional language also make good gains in their learning because of effective teaching and support.  Teachers plan topics that link different subjects and that respond to pupils’ interests. Home learning projects and regular opportunities to talk about their learning and to apply their reading and writing skills

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

in a number of different subjects help them to make good progress in literacy.  The atmosphere in most classes is positive and so pupils are confident to ask for help if they get stuck. Positive relationships with each other ensure that they support each other well when working together on a group task or in a team.

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requires improvement

 The achievement of pupils requires improvement because the proportion of pupils exceeding expected progress in mathematics has been below national figures for the last three years and shows little sign of improvement. This is because the most able pupils do not always do challenging enough work in some year groups.  The proportion of pupils making expected progress in mathematics in Key Stage 2 has also been lower than the national average for two of the last three years. Attainment at the end of Year 6 is average but this does not represent good achievement in mathematics for all pupils. Across the school, gaps in pupils’ knowledge and understanding of numbers and calculation methods are still evident.  The gap in attainment between the small number of pupils in receipt of additional funding and other pupils is closing. In 2013, eligible Year 6 pupils did as well as their classmates, and did better than other

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requires improvement

pupils nationally by almost a term in reading and two terms in writing. They still lagged behind other pupils nationally and at the school by almost a year in mathematics because the most able pupils did not reach the higher levels.  Progress in reading is now good. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected level in the Year 1 phonics check has been above national figures for the last two years. Attainment in reading and writing at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 is above average. The achievement of pupils from service families and those who leave and join the school at different times throughout the year is similar to their classmates; they make faster progress in literacy than they do in mathematics.  Progress in writing has improved since the previous inspection and is now good in most year groups. Weaknesses in grammar and spelling remain because pupils do not always remember to always use the

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requires improvement

punctuation and spellings that they should and do know correctly.  The small number of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress, especially those who work individually with an adult on specific skills and learning. Most make at least expected progress from their starting points and some make faster progress than this.  Pupils new to the school and those who speak English as an additional language receive effective support. They start to make good progress quickly. They record their work in their home language on tablet computers before the software translates this into English so that teachers can check their learning, and this helps them to achieve well.

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requires improvement

 Achievement in the Early Years Foundation Stage requires improvement because during their time in the Reception year, children do not make consistently good progress, especially in reading, writing and mathematics. The proportion of children reaching the early learning goals in personal, social and emotional development, physical development, communication and language, reading, writing and mathematics by the end of the Reception year has been below average for the last two years.  The leadership and management of the Early Years Foundation Stage require improvement because systems for checking whether children are making enough progress in all areas of learning have not been rigorous in the past. Teaching also requires improvement. Information about children’s learning has not been collated to help adults identify gaps in children’s knowledge and skills and to plan activities that help children catch up and reach the levels they should for their age by the end of the Reception year. The

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requires improvement

school has put new systems for checking children’s progress in place this year but it is too soon to measure the difference being made to the quality of teaching and the children’s learning.  On a day-to-day basis, adults work alongside children, talking to them about their learning and helping them to improve their skills, knowledge and understanding in the activities they take part in. Careful note is taken of what the children can and cannot do.  Positive relationships ensure children quickly become confident to ask for help and to join in with the activities organised for them. Encouragement to respect each other’s likes, dislikes, differences and similarities ensures good promotion of positive attitudes.

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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 123735 Local authority Somerset Inspection number 448533

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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 Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 272 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair John Elliot Headteacher Nick Heath Date of previous school inspection 3–4 February 2010 Telephone number 01935 840568 Fax number 01935 840249 Email address office@educ.somerset.gov.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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