St Peter's Church of England (VC) Junior School

Fairfield Endowed CofE (C) Junior School Boarstone Lane, Fairfield, Buxton, Derbyshire, SK17 7NA

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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 Good 2 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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

 Senior leaders’ actions to accelerate pupils’ progress have not been effective. Pupils’ progress from their different starting points, in reading, writing and mathematics are not consistently good.  The quality of teaching in Years 3, 4 and 5 is inconsistent. This is because the work which teachers set is not always challenging enough, especially for the most able pupils.  Pupils do not have enough opportunities to respond to teachers’ marking to show how they have improved their work.  Pupils do not develop their skills in solving problems in mathematics as well as they could.  Teachers do not promote the development of pupils’ technical writing skills, including spelling, well enough.  The school’s plans for improvement do not contain frequent measures of success which are linked to pupils’ achievement. As a result, senior leader are not checking regularly enough if their plans are working.  Leaders of subjects do not check upon the

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

quality of teaching closely enough. This reduces their ability to drive improvements in their areas of responsibility.  The partnership with the feeder infant school is not developed well enough to ensure that pupils have continuity in their learning between Key Stage 1 and 2.

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The school has the following strengths

 Teaching in Year 6 is good. As a result, pupils make good progress during their final year at the school.  Pupils behave well and enjoy coming to school. This is reflected in the above average rates of attendance.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well through a wide range of activities, including residential visits.  The school has a good relationship with parents and carers, who are supportive of the schools and its leaders.  The school is making effective use of the primary sports funding to ensure that pupils participate and compete in a wide range of sports.  Leaders responsible for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs ensure that the most vulnerable pupils achieve well.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 30 lessons, including 11 joint observations with the headteacher. The team also observed a small group sessions of the teaching of phonics (pupils learning about letters and the sounds they make) and heard a small group of pupils read from each year group.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, the assistant headteacher who is also the special educational needs coordinator, leaders of English and mathematics, members of the governing body, groups of pupils and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors examined 13 online responses to the online survey (Parent View). They also spoke with a number of parents in the playground and reviewed the school’s own survey of 56 parental questionnaires.  Inspectors looked at a range of school documentation, including data relating to pupils’ attainment and progress, observations of teaching, records of staff performance, logs of pupils’

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Information about this inspection

behaviour and attendance, information on how the school keeps pupils’ safe and recruits new staff, and minutes of governing body meetings.  Following the inspection days on 17-18 June 2014, Senior Her Majesty’s Inspectors identified that some additional inspection evidence was required to confirm the inspection judgements. David Carter and Jan Connor, Her Majesty’s Inspectors, visited the school on 18 July 2014 to collect additional evidence.

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Inspection team

Jane Melbourne, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Susan Wood Additional Inspector David Carter Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is a smaller than average-sized junior school.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for pupil premium funding is above average. This is additional funding provided for looked after children and pupils known to be eligible for free school meals.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported at school action and school action plus is above average. There are currently eight pupils who have a statement for their special educational needs.  Most pupils come from White British backgrounds.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which sets out the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress by the end of Year 6.  The headteacher is a local leader of education. She has provided support to another local school from January 2014, sharing her time equally between both schools. This arrangement ended in May 2014.

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Information about this school

 Most pupils enter the school from Fairfield Infant and Nursery School.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and raise pupils’ achievement by ensuring that:  teachers plan more carefully in all subjects so that activities challenge pupils of all abilities, especially the most-able  all comments in teachers’ marking are clearly expressed so that pupils know what they have to do to improve and have opportunities to show how they have done so  pupils develop their skills in reasoning by applying their mathematical skills to solving problems in a range of subjects  pupils’ skills in spelling, grammar and punctuation are more systematically developed as they move through the school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by:  refining plans for improvement so that they include clear milestones relating to measures of success so that senior leaders can check more readily the rate of improvement  ensuring that leaders of subjects undertake more regular checks on the quality of teaching across the school, so they can quickly address any inconsistencies in practice  working more closely with local authority representatives and senior leaders from the feeder infant school to ensure that pupils have continuity of learning. This should be achieved through moderating assessments so that teachers can build upon pupils’ capabilities and prior knowledge systematically to secure good rates of progress.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 when they leave the feeder infant school is well- above average. Scrutiny of pupils’ work when they join the school however shows that there has been some regression during the summer break. Consequently, most pupils enter the school with knowledge and skills which are at least average and for a large majority, above, but not well-above, average. Pupils do not make consistently good progress as they move through the school. As a result, attainment in reading and mathematics in 2012 and 2013 were slightly below average. Standards in writing were above average in 2012 and average in 2013.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The standards attained by the current Year 6 pupils are higher than in previous years, especially in writing. However, this group entered the school with knowledge and skills which were higher than usual. Consequently, the progress they have made is not good because they have not reached standards of which they were capable.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 More-able pupils do not make good progress. The proportion of pupils who reached the higher levels of attainment by the end of Year 6 was below national averages in 2013, for reading, writing and mathematics, and well-below in spelling, grammar and punctuation. Although the proportion attaining the higher levels in 2014 has risen to being average, this does not represent good progress from their starting points.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 In 2013, Year 6 pupils, for whom the school received pupil premium funding, did not achieve as well as their classmates. Although the attainment of eligible pupils was the same as their classmates in writing, they were two terms behind in reading and mathematics. Similarly, for the current Year 6 pupils, gaps in attainment remain two terms behind. In other year groups however, gaps are beginning to narrow. This is because eligible pupils are making at least similar rates of progress to their classmates, and in some cases, for example in Year 4, better rates of progress.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ skills in reasoning are underdeveloped. This is because they do not apply their knowledge of place value and skills in calculations often enough to solving problems in mathematics and other subjects.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Most disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make at least similar rates of progress to other pupils in the school. As a result of targeted support, pupils who have a statement of special educational needs are making good progress.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils who have not met the expected standard in their understanding of phonics (letters and the sounds they make) by the time they leave the infant school are given appropriate support to help them catch up. By the time they leave the school, most pupils are competent readers.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Staff have investigated and successfully addressed the differences in progress and attainment between boys and girls that were evident in last year’s published data; helping to promote greater equality of opportunity. In most year groups and across all subjects, there is little difference between the progress of boys and girls.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching requires improvement because it is inconsistent through the school. As a result, pupils do not always receive work which is suitably challenging and do not make consistently good progress, especially in Years 3, 4 and 5.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers’ expectation of what pupils can achieve is inconsistent across subjects. Pupils’ skills in subjects other than English and mathematics are not always planned carefully enough to enable pupils to build upon skills they have already acquired.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers’ marking of pupils’ work does not support improvements in their learning well enough. Although teachers mark work conscientiously, they do not always indicate the next steps in learning, especially in subjects other than English and mathematics. There are also too few opportunities for pupils to reflect and act upon teachers’ suggestions for improvement.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers ensure that pupils have regular opportunities to develop their ability to write for a range of purposes and audiences. Pupils in Year 3 in particular, regularly write about a range of subjects. However, pupils’ skills in the technical aspects of writing, including spelling are not developed systematically enough. Consequently, by the time pupils leave the school, their skills in structuring and organising the content of their writing are better developed than those in grammar, punctuation and spelling.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching in Year 6 is good. In both classes, teachers make learning enjoyable through stimulating presentations and interesting activities. Teachers in Year 6 check closely pupils’ progress and intervene quickly to address any misconceptions or provide additional challenge.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching assistants provide effective support especially for those pupils who require extra help to succeed. This includes those pupils who have additional behavioural and learning needs.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils display positive attitudes to learning and school life. The few pupils whose behaviour is challenging are managed very well by teachers, who provide skilled support and quickly involve other agencies and providers when there is a need.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils say they enjoy coming to school. This is reflected in attendance rates which are now consistently above the national average. The school has rigorous procedures for following up non-attendance.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Parents express positive views about pupils’ behaviour both within and beyond the school day.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Safeguarding procedures meet current requirements. Staff training on child protection is up-to-date and staff know what to do in respect of safeguarding eventualities. The school maintains rigorous records and assessments of risk for activities on and off site, and its procedures related to the safety and protection of its pupils is clear and implemented consistently.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school fosters good relations between pupils and between pupils and adults and makes sure there is no discrimination. Pupils understand about bullying and different forms of bullying. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe, including when using the internet.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils have many opportunities to develop their social skills, for instance through undertaking residential visits. Close links with the Parish Church benefits pupils who demonstrate a good understanding of people from similar and different faiths to their own.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 There have been some fixed-term exclusions this year for a very small number of pupils. The school works closely with the parents and carers of these pupils to improve behaviour. The school is highly effective in follow-up working with pupils who have been excluded and has been successful in with helping these pupils re-settle in their classes.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Periodically, a few pupils find it difficult to sustain their concentration during lessons, particularly when teachers repeat instructions or do not present learning in an interesting way. On such occasions, pupils do not complete their work as well as they should.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Since the previous inspection, steps taken to bring about improvement have not been concerted enough in securing good teaching across the school. As a result, pupils’ progress from their different starting points is not consistently good.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher has accurately identified the school’s strengths and areas for development. These are reflected in the school’s plans for improvement however, the plans do not contain regular milestones of measures of success related to pupils’ achievement. Consequently, senior leaders are not checking frequently enough if actions are having the desired impact on accelerating pupils’ progress.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leaders with responsibilities for subjects do not routinely draw together evidence from pupils’ books, direct observations of teaching, and progress data to evaluate the quality of teaching and the extent to which this is having a positive impact on pupils’ achievement. Consequently, they are not collecting or collating sharply enough information to drive improvements in their areas of responsibility.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Senior leaders are not working closely enough with colleagues from the feeder infant school to ensure that pupils have continuity of learning between Key Stage 1 and 2. Assessments of pupils’ work are not being moderated when pupils join the school in order to establish a shared understanding of standards. Consequently, teachers are not able to build upon pupils’ capabilities and prior knowledge systematically in order to ensure that they make good progress.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school has made effective use of the primary school sports funding available to them. This is being used well to offer further opportunities to those pupils identified as being gifted in sports. In addition, the school hosts a range of different sports through lunch time and after school clubs to raise participation in sports more widely, and coaching to support pupils to take part in more tournaments outside of school.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leaders responsible for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are particularly effective in providing bespoke support to pupils who have a statement of special educational needs. Leaders are perceptive about pupils’ difficulties because they know their pupils well.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Pastoral care is a strength of the school. Staff provide effective support for many families who need additional help. Teachers endeavour to involve parents and carers in their children’s learning, for example by providing family learning opportunities and ideas for listening to their children read. Teachers support pupils carefully if they do not receive support from home, in order to further their learning. As a result, parents and carers are supportive of the school and its leaders.  The local authority has provided light touch support for the school, in line with its annual processes for monitoring, challenging and supporting schools. The support has not, however, ensured that the school’s leaders and managers have a fully accurate evaluation of how well the school is doing and a fully robust understanding of the attainment of the pupils on entry to the school.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governance of the school:  Governors have a clear understanding of the school’s context and have been effective in securing the good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils and that the religious ethos of the school is upheld. Governors undertake regular visits to the school and have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development in relation to the quality of provision. Governors are acutely aware of the implications of nationally produced data on the school’s performance, which does not present a positive view of pupils’ progress. As a result, they are determined that a closer working relationship is forged with the feeder infant school. This is sharply focused upon improving the continuity in pupils’ learning as they transfer between the two schools.  Governors are knowledgeable about systems of performance management and ensure the suitability of staff targets and procedures are externally checked to ensure rigour within the

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The leadership and management requires improvement

system. Governors ensure that additional funding, such as the primary sport funding is used well to improve pupils’ personal development. Governors are well informed about how pupil premium funding is spent and know that better use of the funding is beginning to have a more positive impact on narrowing the gap in attainment between eligible pupils and their classmates. All safeguarding requirements are met in full and procedures carefully monitored.

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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 112806 Local authority Derbyshire Inspection number 443665

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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 Junior School category Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 7–11 Number of pupils on the school roll 173 Appropriate authority The local authority Chair Caitlin Bisknell Headteacher Victoria Giliker Date of previous school inspection 24 October 2012 Telephone number 01298 22551 Fax number 01298 22551 Email address info@fairfield-jun.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 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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