Queniborough Church of England Primary School

Queniborough Church of England Primary School Coppice Lane, Queniborough, Leicester, LE7 3DR

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected as an academy This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher and other senior leaders form an effective, professional team. They make well- judged decisions about the school and evaluate teaching and the school’s effectiveness accurately.  Leaders are focused well on enabling pupils to make good progress.  Leadership in the early years is good and ensures that most children make good progress; the majority reach a good level of development by the end of the Reception year.  There are robust systems for the monitoring and tracking of pupils’ progress throughout the school, and these are used well to improve teaching and raise standards.  Pupils’ attainment and their achievement overall are good and improving steadily because of consistently good teaching and the pupils’ good attitudes to learning.  Well-designed provision for any pupils at risk of falling behind helps them maintain good progress.  An atmosphere of mutual respect exists across the

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

school, and pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted very well.  Pupils’ behaviour is good, and they demonstrate practically their understanding of how to keep themselves and others in their community safe.  There are excellent, and mutually beneficial, partnerships with other local academy schools.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Some teaching does not provide sufficient opportunities for pupils to develop their writing skills in subjects other than English.  Pupils are not always given sufficient time to act upon the marking of their work in the ways that their teachers expect.  A few subject leaders do not yet have the full range of skills needed to help senior leaders to monitor and improve teaching and pupils’ achievement.

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Information about this inspection

 During the inspection the school suspended parts of its normal timetable to celebrate its harvest festival. On the morning of the first day, the whole school went to their local church to hold a special service; this was also attended by parents. Pupils and their families were also involved in a lunchtime ‘bread and cheese’ lunch. During the afternoon of the second inspection day, pupils organised a ‘Fair’ in the school to raise money for charity.  The inspectors were able to observe learning and teaching in 15 lessons; a third of these involved joint observations with members of the school’s senior leadership team.  All seven classes were observed at least twice each. In total, seven teachers and their teaching assistants were seen. Registration times were also observed.  Inspectors looked at examples of pupils’ work, and heard a sample of pupils from Key Stages 1 and 2 reading.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils selected at random by the lead inspector. In addition, many

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Information about this inspection

informal opportunities were taken to talk with pupils.  Inspectors looked at a wide range of school documents, including improvement plans, policies and reports on the school’s strengths and aspects for development, monitoring records and reports, safeguarding records, curriculum materials, information provided for families, and documents from the Academy Trust and the governing body. The school’s data, including records of pupils’ progress, were reviewed.  Discussions and conversations were held with the headteacher and assistant headteachers, one of whom is the early years coordinator. A meeting was also held with the special educational needs coordinator and a group of teaching assistants.  In addition, discussions were held with subject leaders, class teachers, administrative staff, and members of the governing body.  A meeting was also held with two headteachers representing the Syston & Thurmaston Education

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Information about this inspection

Partnership (STEP). This group is comprised of ten local primary schools and two secondary schools which have converted to academies. STEP facilitates consultancy and advisory services for the whole group.  Inspectors took account of the 26 responses to an inspection questionnaire for school staff.  The 68 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, were taken into consideration. In addition, the 42 responses to the school’s own survey of its parents, carried out earlier in the year, were taken into account. Inspectors took the opportunity to speak with parents and grandparents at the school gate, and during the various harvest festival celebrations, in order to canvas their views about the school.

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Inspection team

Michael Miller, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The school converted to become an academy school in November 2012. Its predecessor school, also known as Queniborough Church of England Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted in May 2011 when it was judged to be good.  Most of the pupils come from White British backgrounds; almost all speak English as their first language. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well below average.  Very few pupils currently at the school are at an early stage of English language development.  A few pupils come from other heritage backgrounds, mainly from Asian or Asian British heritage; a few pupils come from Mixed heritage backgrounds and a very few originate from other ethnic backgrounds.  The proportion of pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium (additional funding for particular groups, including those known to be eligible for free school meals), at around 10%, is below average.

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Information about this school

 At some 12% of the number on roll, the proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported at school action is above average.  More than 12% of pupils is disabled or has special educational needs and is supported through school action plus or has a statement of special educational needs. This proportion is well above average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for the attainment and progress of pupils by the end of Year 6.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Provide increasing opportunities for pupils to develop their writing skills across the full range of the subjects being taught.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that all marking reflects the school’s best practice, and that teachers make sure that pupils have sufficient opportunity to act on any advice in teachers’ marking.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Help those less-experienced subject and other leaders to develop fully the skills they need to support the experienced senior leaders in checking and evaluating pupils’ progress and thus help raise further pupils’ achievement.

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The leadership and management are good

 The effective leadership of the headteacher is helping to underpin the success the school has achieved since it became an academy. A strength of the school is its teamwork approach; this has enhanced leadership at all levels. Senior leaders monitor teaching regularly and supportively; there is a positive approach to professional development. Working relationships throughout the school are good and this contributes to pupils’ good behaviour.

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The leadership and management are good

 Subject and key stage leaders take their responsibilities very seriously; they are open to the school’s ways of ensuring accountability for their work. A few are still developing the skills necessary to support fully the senior leadership team in their monitoring of teaching and the analysis of performance. Not all are in a position to contribute fully to the school’s management and have sufficient impact on raising achievement.

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The leadership and management are good

 As a ‘stand-alone’ academy, the school works closely with the STEP group of other local academies. This provides the school with an excellent level of support; discussions with headteacher representatives from STEP confirm this is mutual. Staff from all the STEP schools are involved in regular monitoring visits, and participate in the sharing of good practice. Collectively, STEP teachers are particularly effective in enabling the independent moderation of each other’s assessments across all key stages.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school is exploring, along with its STEP partners, the ways it can develop a new system of assessment to gauge pupils’ attainment as ‘levels’ are being abolished. This is still a work in progress. The STEP group is looking to develop a common system across all its 12 local schools. The aim is to develop their approach by Easter 2015, for full implementation in the autumn term 2015.

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The leadership and management are good

 This is an inclusive school and it was the pupils themselves who were the first to talk about this with inspectors. They commented on how this approach, and the fairness of staff, helps them to achieve, enjoy learning and make a positive contribution to the school community; any discrimination is not tolerated. Pupils are being prepared well for life in a contemporary British society.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has developed a good curriculum which it has ensured is relevant to its pupils. Its approach provides a wide range of interesting and relevant work for them across all year groups.

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The leadership and management are good

 In their responses to ‘the on-line ‘Parent View’ survey, a minority of parents expressed some concern about the information provided about their children’s progress, and any matters raised with the school. This contrasts with the discussion inspectors had with parents, who were happy with communications.

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The leadership and management are good

 One parent summed up what was found to be typical of parental views: ‘While we recognise that no school will be absolutely perfect we have always felt that our comments and opinions have been treated with respect, appreciated and acted on where appropriate. When problems have occurred they have been dealt with swiftly, fairly and effectively.’

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The leadership and management are good

 A random sampling of the annual reports provided to parents show that these give a good account of children’s achievement right from the start in the Reception year. They are individual, and often show that each class teacher has a real understanding of the pupils’ strengths and aspects for development. In addition to daily opportunities to talk informally with teachers, there are two parents’ evenings each year and a termly ‘Looking at Learning’ evening where pupils show their work to their families.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school pays close attention to the care and welfare of its pupils. It ensures that the various arrangements for safeguarding pupils are met. Senior leaders and governors also check that pupil premium funding has a good impact on the achievement of eligible pupils. Such funding is being used effectively, particularly in ensuring additional, staffing and resources to provide extra tuition and to ensure that no pupils are disadvantaged.

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The leadership and management are good

 Good use is being made of the primary school physical education and sport premium. This is enhancing the opportunities for pupils to participate and do well in sports and physical education. The school uses qualified sports staff effectively to help lead sports development. An excellent example of this was seen in the use of a professional coach from a major national rugby club. After six weeks of training, both boys and girls are proving most enthusiastic about tag rugby; their teamwork and passing skills are first-rate.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The governing body, both individually and collectively, work closely in partnership with the school. Governors visit frequently, and a number act as regular volunteers. Such links have enabled the governing body to develop a detailed and accurate understanding of the school and how it works. This is reflected in the various reports governors provide following their visits. Staff find these helpful.  Monitoring and a firm grasp of the school’s data, ensure that governors know and understand how the school is performing in relation to others nationally. The governing body also ensures that teachers’ salaries are linked to pupils’ progress, teaching quality and the national Teachers’ Standards. In pursuit of this the governing body is involved fully in monitoring teachers’ performance management. The governing body places a clear priority on ensuring the school’s legal requirements are met in full.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils’ attitudes to learning are also good. Teachers and other adults work together to ensure good teamwork and positive working relationships. The pupils sense this, and these qualities are reflected in the pupils’ attitudes towards each other.

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Behaviour

 A strong sense of community within the school is enhanced through ‘friendship groups’ where pupils from different classes and age groups sit together in assemblies and take part in school competitions. As one parent commented: ‘The children represent a broad range of backgrounds; however, the way the school is structured enables integration and encourages the children to build relationships across the year groups and with children they would otherwise not have mixed with.’

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Behaviour

 During the harvest assembly pupils not only sang heartily about ‘each tribe and tongue and nation’, but subsequently showed that they know and understand what this means in terms of appreciating cultural diversity in contemporary society.

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Behaviour

 Pupils show high levels of mutual respect; they listen to each other’s views and ideas both thoughtfully and reflectively. Pupils understand the point of a notice in the main corridor which states: ‘Aspire not to have more but to be more’. This maturity of approach shows the overall strength of their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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Behaviour

 The pupils themselves admit that they are not perfect and that they sometimes have arguments and the occasional disagreement which may get a little out of hand. Pupils appreciate the ways that staff help them to resolve and respect differences. In this, pupils are being prepared well as future young citizens.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Almost all parents responding to both ‘Parent View’ and the schools own survey, confirm that their children are happy at the school and feel safe. This makes an important contribution to helping pupils make good progress.

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Safety

 No pupils spoken with thought that bullying was an issue at the school; this is supported by the school’s own records. Pupils of all ages show that they have a good understanding of the hurtful nature of the different types of bullying. Older pupils, in particular, have developed an appreciation of e-safety and the dangers and benefits of their use of the Internet. They are aware, for example, that the thoughtless use of texts or social media outside of school may have repercussions for the school as a community.

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Safety

 Pupils of all ages demonstrated their good understanding of being safe when walking through the village to the church for the harvest service. Discussions with the Year 5 and 6 pupils taking charge of Reception year children showed they take their responsibilities for the care and welfare of the children very seriously. When talking with their Reception teacher before setting off the children knew that they should hold the hands of the older pupils tightly so that they did not fall over or be in danger from traffic.

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The quality of teaching is good

 When describing to inspectors the things they thought were best about the school, most pupils pointed to their teachers. Pupils confirm not only that they are expected to work hard, but also that their teachers help them to have fun in learning. Smiles, laughter and eager chatter about their work are encouraged.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Discussions with parents show that they find teachers to be accessible, and helpful. Good quality guidance is provided by teachers as to how families may help their children’s learning at home, for example through the guidance on mathematics and calculation work available on the school’s website.

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The quality of teaching is good

 A good number of parents volunteer to support the school, and enhance the teaching, on a regular basis by coming in and hearing pupils read. This has played a valuable role in helping the teaching of reading, developing pupils’ love of books and generally helping raise standards and pupils’ confidence in reading.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Over the two years since becoming an academy, the teaching has had an increasingly positive impact on improving pupils’ learning and progress. Attainment in reading has improved because, right from the Reception class, pupils are encouraged to develop a love and value of books. Standards in mathematics have been accelerating because of the ‘mighty maths’ challenges which teachers set all Year 1 to 6 pupils each week. Attainment in writing has been slightly weaker than in reading or mathematics; the school’s work to widen opportunities for pupils to develop their writing skills is aimed firmly at closing this gap.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The impact of the good teaching and the school’s chosen curriculum was seen in a Year 6 design and technology lesson. Pupils were designing a model guillotine. They made excellent progress in this not only because they were attracted to the ‘gory’ nature of the task, but also because of their previous work on ‘Crime and Punishment’. This gave them a good understanding of the nature of the French Revolution. Discussions with the pupils showed the strength of their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development in their individual responses to the seriousness of the human tragedy of ‘The Terror’ during 1793-4.

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The quality of teaching is good

 There are two aspects of the teaching which the school has challenged itself to improve further. The first involves broadening opportunities for pupils to develop their writing skills across the full range of subjects. The school is aiming to secure 40 pieces of writing work, by each pupil, which it can assess each year. However, ensuring consistent opportunities across all subjects and year groups is not yet established fully.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The second point involves assessment. This is accurate and marking is both regular and helpful in the ways teachers provide both written and oral feedback to their pupils to help them improve. School policy is that pupils should undertake corrections, re-draft and review their work as necessary. Some time is provided for this, often during registrations and activity time at the start of the school day, when pupils can come fresh to the task. Pupils appreciate this, but the time is not always sufficient.

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The achievement of pupils

 Pupils make good progress, and improve their attainment, in each year group. They achieve this because the school sets pupils clear targets. They are challenged to make the equivalent of at least half a term’s better progress each year than expected nationally. In this the school has been largely successful.

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The achievement of pupils

 At the end of Key Stage 2 in 2014, school data show that the attainment of Year 6 pupils was around a term ahead of all other pupils nationally in both English and mathematics. In order to achieve this they had made the equivalent of nearly two terms’ better progress since the school became an academy than normally seen nationally.

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The achievement of pupils

 Although the school’s roll is increasing, the number of pupils in each year group is often low; since autumn 2012 there have only been between 20-22 pupils in Year 6. It is therefore difficult to make specific comparisons for the performance of groups of pupils such as the more able, disadvantaged and those who may be disabled or who have special educational needs. However, given their individual starting points, such pupils make good progress along with their classmates.

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The achievement of pupils

 The most-able pupils make good progress. On average, these pupils have made seven terms progress in the six terms that the academy has been open. Higher attaining pupils are usually challenged well at this school.

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The achievement of pupils

 It is not possible to comment on the gap in attainment on leaving the school between disadvantaged pupils and others without identifying individuals. However, across the school such pupils make good progress and make up the ground they have previously lost.

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The achievement of pupils

 Pupils, who require additional support with their learning, because they are disabled or have special educational needs, make good progress. They are carefully guided by teaching assistants who make them think for themselves.

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The early years provision is good

 Since becoming an academy, the knowledge, skills and understanding of children joining the early years has been below those expected for their age. Around a third of the children are not attaining securely enough for children aged 30-50 months when they first join the Reception class. However, by the time the children transfer to Year 1, most have made good progress, are ready for this next stage, and the proportion reaching a good level of development matches the national average.

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The early years provision is good

 The effectiveness of the leadership of the Reception year is shown in the care and preparation taken to help transition into this first year at the school. There are good links established with pre-school and nursery settings. The coordinator takes the information provided, and the profiles of the children written by their parents, and uses this to good effect alongside the school’s own assessments of the children.

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The early years provision is good

 Teaching in the Reception class is consistently good. Good tracking of children’s early development enables the Reception staff to intervene quickly when they identify gaps in children’s learning or where children are exceeding expectations. Staff are observant, and this helps them to know and understand the individual children’s strengths and aspects for development very well. ‘Learning Journeys’ and other information provided for parents are of good quality.

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The early years provision is good

 Good provision and attention to their safety enable children to thrive. The emphasis on the children’s personal, social and emotional development ensures children quickly develop and interest and enjoyment in learning; consequently, their behaviour is good and they have no time to get bored at school. They also make a positive start in developing their understanding of letters and sounds, early reading, writing and number skills. Staff provide ample opportunity for children to practise and consolidate new skills.

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The early years provision is good

 Children are also encouraged to choose from a range of good quality resources, and varied activities, to explore new things and to develop their ideas. Adults know well when to join with children in play, or to take the opportunity to check on, and record, developing skills and introduce new ones.

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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 138931 Local authority Leicestershire Inspection number 449214

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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 converter Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 205 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Rita Laughton Headteacher Joy Hardy Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected as an academy Telephone number 0116 2606700 Fax number 0116 2606500 Email address office@quenischool.org.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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