St Edmund's CofE (C) Primary & Nursery School

St Edmund’s CofE Primary School Church Hill Avenue, Mansfield Woodhouse, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire NG19 9JU

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a good school

 Parents hold the school in exceptionally high regard. Parents are particularly impressed by how much the school has improved over the last year. One parent’s view reflects the views of many when she said, ‘They are doing an amazing job at turning this school around! Well done!’  The headteacher, since his appointment in January 2015, has provided the key inspiration for the many improvements made. He has ensured that leadership roles are shared out and that the quality of leadership and management provided by all other leaders is now good.  Governors, senior leaders and staff are united in their desire and drive to continually improve the school. The school is well placed to continue to improve in the future.  Teaching and learning are now good. All groups of pupils make good progress in mathematics, reading and writing.  Governors know the school well. They are well organised and have appropriate skills to support

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This is a good school

and challenge school leaders effectively.  In the early years, children make good progress and are well prepared for Year 1.  Pupils are polite and behave well. They enjoy school, attend regularly, work hard and say that the school is much better than it used to be.  Pupils feel safe, know how to keep themselves safe and act with respect for the safety of others.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is strong. They show a good understanding of British values. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education and life beyond school.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Although the most-able pupils now make good progress in the majority of classes, in some classes, not enough is expected of these pupils. Outcomes are not yet outstanding because more pupils, especially the most able, could make better than expected progress.  In some classes, teachers do not fully implement the school’s policy on assessment by ensuring that pupils are given sufficient time to respond to teachers’ oral and written feedback on their learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and outcomes for pupils by ensuring that still more pupils make better than expected progress and ensure that teachers’ expectations for the learning of the most able are consistently high.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further improve leadership and management by ensuring that all teachers adopt the school’s policy that pupils are given sufficient time to respond to the oral and written guidance teachers provide to improve their work.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The headteacher, working in close partnership with the deputy headteacher and other leaders, has worked very effectively to improve all aspects of the school’s work. Governors and staff are now united in their intention to provide the best for the pupils. They have established an ethos of high expectations. Pupils respond well to these and make good progress, behave well and enjoy school and learning.  Senior leaders know the school inside out. School improvement work is based on an accurate and comprehensive view of where improvements are needed. Regular and detailed checks are made on the quality of teaching and if any weaknesses are identified, urgent action is taken to provide appropriate support, challenge, advice and training.  As soon as he arrived, the new headteacher led a thorough analysis of the attainment and progress of pupils throughout the school. Key weaknesses were identified. For example, although attainment in national

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

assessments in 2015 was higher than in 2014, he recognised that attainment was still not good enough and that pupils could do much better, especially in their writing. Senior leaders, including the subject leaders for English found out exactly what was going wrong. They implemented an effective plan to bring about the necessary improvements in pupils’ writing. All staff were given appropriate training and policies and teaching were improved.  Pupils’ work and the school’s accurate records indicate that pupils, throughout the school, this year are making much better progress in writing, and standards by the end of the year are set to be much higher than last year in Year 6 national assessments.  Subject and other leaders manage their areas of responsibility well and the headteacher regularly holds them to account for the quality of teaching and learning in their specialist areas. All leaders frequently

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

analyse pupils’ work, observe teaching and provide useful guidance on how to improve things. Teachers say that they find this guidance helpful and support for newly and recently qualified teachers is very good. However, teaching observations and work scrutiny reports do not place sufficient emphasis on the progress of different groups of pupils in the class.  The subject leader for mathematics has brought about a range of improvements in the teaching of mathematics. The school has developed a calculation policy that guides teachers on the school’s approach to teaching pupils number. The teaching of reasoning in mathematics has improved this year. The mathematics leader recognises the need to introduce a policy to guide teachers on how to help pupils solve problems to ensure a progressive and consistent approach across the school.  Because teaching and learning are well led and managed, the quality of teaching is much improved since the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

previous inspection and is now good. Although pupils are mainly taught in line with school policies, some teachers do not fully implement the school’s policy on assessment by providing sufficient time for pupils to improve their work in the light of the oral and written guidance for learning they receive.  The curriculum is much improved. It has been changed to reflect the higher expectations of the new national requirements. Good emphasis has been placed on improving pupils’ basic skills of reading, writing and mathematics. This has not resulted in a narrow curriculum, however. Pupils enjoy their weekly Spanish lessons, their guitar classes and the regular visits and visitors to school that form part of the school’s normal curriculum. Music, art and technology have a prominent part in the curriculum and pupils enjoy the wide variety of learning and their interesting lessons.  Sport has a much stronger part in the school curriculum than previously and pupils particularly enjoy the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

greatly extended place of competitive sport in the school’s programme. The school has spent its additional funding to improve physical education and sport in primary schools wisely. This has included the use of external coaches, staff training and many new clubs. Many pupils and parents say how pleased they are with these.  The curriculum to promote pupils’ personal development is a strength and contributes to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to learning are carefully managed and pupils respond well to the extensive range of rewards for good conduct, attendance and behaviour that are on offer. Due to much improved procedures to assure regular attendance, rates of attendance have improved well this year and poor attendance has been eradicated.  The curriculum is now much better modified to meet the learning needs of all pupils. Pupils who have special

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

educational needs or disability, the few at the early stages of learning English, and those at risk of falling behind are given frequent additional support in the mornings in classes and in the afternoon during extra lessons, often with well-trained teaching assistants. This helps all these groups of pupils achieve well. The school has made some progress with modifying the curriculum to ensure that the needs of the most able are better met, but recognises there is more to be done to ensure that in all classes the most able reach their full potential.  Effective attention is paid in the curriculum to ensuring that pupils learn and adopt British values and are thoroughly prepared for life in modern Britain. The school appropriately plans to provide pupils with more experiences and knowledge of the wide variety of cultures and ways of life in modern Britain during the next academic year.  Pupil premium funding to support the learning of disadvantaged pupils is used effectively. Throughout the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

school, pupils’ work and school records show that the gap between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and other pupils, both in the school and nationally, is closing well.  The school has formed strong partnerships with two other primary schools which have supported the school in bringing about so many rapid improvements. The headteacher also regards the support of the local authority highly and points to many examples of how effectively the local authority school improvement adviser has supported and challenged the school to improve.  The governance of the school Governors are knowledgeable about the performance of the school and have a clear understanding of how it compares with other schools nationally. They know which groups make the best and least progress and which subjects need improvement. They also check that the actions the school takes have the desired effect on improving pupils’ progress.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

Governors also have a detailed knowledge of the quality of provision, particularly the quality of teaching at the school, and regularly check that all is being done to continually improve it. They show good awareness of the way that salary decisions are made and check that the best teaching is appropriately rewarded. They have taken great care with the many appointments of leaders, teachers and teaching assistants that have taken place and have played an important part in improving the quality of teaching and learning at the school. Governors allocate school money effectively. They have increased the amount of teaching assistant support provided in the afternoons and enabled the headteacher to increase the amount of additional support provided for pupils at risk of not doing their best. This has helped improve the progress of these pupils. They carefully check that additional funding, such as pupil premium and primary sports premium

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

is used to good effect.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, fully meet requirements and are implemented consistently well by all staff. The school works well with parents to maintain a safe and happy school. Pupils say that they feel safe in school.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 The quality of teaching is much improved throughout the school. Many parents comment on how much teaching has improved over the last year or so. Teachers have good subject knowledge and effectively bring this to bear to ensure that pupils are well taught and make good progress.  Teaching assistants are well trained and effectively deployed throughout the day. They provide particularly good additional support for disadvantaged pupils, pupils who have special educational needs or disability, those at the early stages of learning English and those identified as being at risk of falling behind. All these groups of pupils make good progress throughout the school.  The teaching of reading, mathematics and, in particular, writing is much improved and accounts for the much improved progress pupils are making this year throughout the school.  Staff, in all classrooms and other areas such as corridors and group rooms, develop a strong ethos for

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

learning and good behaviour. Attractive and useful displays help guide pupils’ learning and set high expectations. Teachers use rewards well to motivate pupils to do their best. All staff implement the school’s behaviour policy effectively and pupils are expected to behave well and develop positive attitudes to learning.  Lessons are interesting and motivate pupils well so that they want to learn. Teachers question pupils carefully and use their responses to deepen their understanding.  In a minority of classes, teachers’ expectations for learning of the most-able pupils are not always high enough and the work they do is sometimes too easy to enable them to make outstanding progress.  In all classes, teachers provide pupils with regular and accurate feedback on their learning, both orally in lessons and when marking their work. In some classes, however, teachers do not fully implement the school’s policy that sufficient time be provided to pupils to improve their work in the light of the guidance

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils enjoy lessons and school. They develop as confident learners and well-rounded individuals. They show respectful attitudes to adults and to one another.  Older pupils enjoy taking responsibilities in school, for example as members of the school parliament or as play leaders.  Pupils understand what bullying is and proudly say that there is none at their school. They are fully confident that if any bullying did happen that staff would deal with the problem quickly and effectively.  They know about safety and are aware of the various dangers in modern life. They are, for example, clear about how to keep themselves safe on the internet.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. They are welcoming and polite and sensitive to the feelings of others.  Pupils’ behaviour around school, in assembly, in the dining hall and on the playground is good. Pupils were proud to tell inspectors that behaviour is always good at their school and the older pupils are pleased to say that behaviour is now much better than it used to be.  Attendance of all groups of pupils is much improved this year and reflects improved procedures to assure that pupils attend regularly. Pupils value the rewards they receive, such as day trips, for high levels of attendance.  Pupils almost always show very positive attitudes to learning, except on the few occasions when teaching is not sufficiently clear or demanding. For example, in a guided reading lesson pupils lost concentration because they were not given enough instruction on what was expected.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 The new headteacher and senior leaders soon recognised that pupils were not achieving as well as they could in all national assessments. An urgent programme was introduced to improve the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement throughout the school.  Pupils’ work and the school’s accurate records point to substantial improvement in both pupils’ attainment and their rates of progress this year. Many more pupils than previously make expected progress and better than expected progress and progress is good in reading, writing and mathematics throughout the school and pupils are now well prepared for the next stage of their education by the time they leave the school. However, the school is aware that outcomes are not yet outstanding because still more pupils could make better than expected progress.  Pupils with special educational needs or disability now make good progress due to the much improved

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Outcomes for pupils are good

additional support they receive.  In the 2015 national assessments, the gap between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and other pupils was too large, especially in Year 2. Much work, often funded through additional pupil premium funding, has been undertaken to improve the quality of teaching and level of additional support these pupils receive. Consequently, this year pupils’ work and the school’s records indicate considerable improvement in the progress of these pupils throughout the school and a narrowing of the gap between their attainment and that of other pupils.  In most classes, the most able make good progress. For example, in Year 6, the most-able pupils undertake very demanding work and respond very well to this high level of challenge. More pupils in Year 6 are attaining above the expectations for their ages in reading, writing and mathematics. However, in some classes, the most able are sometimes given work which is too easy for them to fully extend their learning.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 National assessment results in 2015 indicated that writing was the weakest subject. In particular, too few Year 6 pupils attained the higher levels 5 and 6 in writing in national tests. This year, not only in Year 6 but in other year groups, attainment in writing is much improved and more pupils are set to attain above standards expected for their ages.  Standards of reading have improved throughout the school. Improved teaching of phonics (letters and sounds), daily guided reading sessions and a well organised home reading programme have helped accelerate pupils’ progress in reading.  Progress in mathematics is much improved. The subject leader has helped improve the teaching of calculation and reasoning and further improvements are planned to help pupils improve their skills in problem solving.

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Early years provision is good

 Children join the early years with skills and knowledge which vary from year to year, but are mostly typical for their age.  In 2014 and 2015, a below-average proportion of children attained a good level of development by the end of the Reception year. The quality of provision has improved this year. Children are now achieving well in both the Nursery and Reception years. Current information and the quality of teaching indicate that, in Reception, considerably more children are on track to attain a good level of development by the end of this year. Children are thoroughly prepared for Year 1 and school life beyond.  Teaching is good and assessment is used well in the early years. Staff know the children well and they plan learning activities that interest and inspire them and help them make good progress in all aspects of their learning. Teaching assistants make a consistently good contribution to children’s learning, both in the

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Early years provision is good

Nursery and in Reception years. Basic skills are well taught. For example, children are taught to hold their pencils correctly so that they make a good start to learning to write neatly. They are effectively taught to use letters and the sounds they make to help them read and spell.  The indoor and outdoor areas provide good facilities and stimulus for learning and are well organised and effectively used.  Parents regard the early years provision highly and the school works in close partnership with parents to keep children safe and happy in school and to help them learn. There is a well-developed home reading programme and many parents make an important contribution to the good progress their children make in their reading, for example, by hearing them read regularly at home.  Relationships between children and staff are good and the children are kept safe and looked after well throughout the early years. Children mostly behave well. However, occasionally, in the Nursery year, during

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Early years provision is good

whole class sessions, not enough is expected of children’s behaviour and they do not behave as well as they could. Expectations are consistently high in Reception and pupils are polite and well-mannered to each other and to adults both when working as a class and during independent sessions.  Leadership and management in the early years is good. The early years leader keeps a close eye on where further improvements are needed and is currently planning further improvements to outdoor provision so that outdoor areas can be used in inclement weather. The headteacher is knowledgeable about the quality of provision and the progress of children in the early years and effectively checks on the pace of improvement.

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School details

Unique reference number 122741 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 10009112

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School details

This inspection 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 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 220 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Kenny Nelson Headteacher Nadeem Shah Telephone number 01623 646624 Website www.st-edmunds.notts.sch.uk Email address office@st-edmunds.notts.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 4–5 March 2014

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Information about this school

 In this smaller than average-sized school, only a few pupils speak English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is below average.  There is a broadly average proportion of pupils who are supported by the pupil premium throughout the school but a well below average proportion of disadvantaged children in the early years. The pupil premium is additional funding for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those children who are looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disability is a little above average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  There have been many staff changes since the previous inspection. Since January 2015, the new

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Information about this school

headteacher, deputy headteacher and other senior leaders have taken up their posts and also the majority of teachers have been appointed since January 2015.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors saw teaching and learning in all classes, including jointly with the headteacher. In addition, a number of shorter visits were made to see particular aspects, such as the teaching of reading. A range of other school activities including playtimes, lunchtimes and an assembly were observed.  Inspectors scrutinised past and current work of pupils of different abilities in all year groups and heard some pupils reading.  An inspector met the chair and vice-chair of the governing body.  Inspectors analysed documents, including plans for school improvement and reports showing the school’s view of its own performance, safeguarding documents, and policies and records relating to personal development, behaviour, welfare, safety and attendance. Inspectors analysed information on the performance of the school in comparison with other schools nationally. Inspectors also considered the school’s records of pupils’ progress.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors held short discussions with 44 parents of 61 children at the beginning of the second day of the inspection and considered the views of the 17 parents who responded to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View. The 101 returns from a school survey conducted in February 2016 were also analysed.  Inspectors received the views of staff through discussions. They also received the views of pupils through both informal and pre-arranged discussions.  The lead inspector met the local authority representative and held a telephone conversation with a representative of the diocese.

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Inspection team

Roger Sadler, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Mathew Spoors Ofsted Inspector guidance 'Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . 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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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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Inspection team

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, further education and skills, 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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