Kensworth Church of England Primary School

Kensworth Church of England Primary School Common Road, Kensworth, Dunstable, Bedfordshire LU6 3RH

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders, managers and governors have failed to establish effective procedures for ensuring pupils’ safety and welfare.  Concerns about children’s welfare are not always reported effectively or quickly enough to the appropriate designated safeguarding staff member or, if needed, to other agencies.  Following changes in staffing, the quality of teaching varies widely across key stage 1 and key stage 2. Teaching does not support pupils, including the most able, to develop their skills and knowledge across a wide range of subjects. Consequently, pupils do not make enough progress in mathematics, reading and several of the foundation subjects.  Checks made on pupils’ progress do not lead to effective improvements in teaching which could help to improve pupils’ achievement.  Expectations are not high enough for pupils of different abilities, including disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

needs and/or disabilities. Too few pupils are given targets which challenge them to make good progress.  The pupil premium is not used effectively. As a result, the difference between the progress of disadvantaged pupils and others nationally is not reducing.  Arrangements for the performance management of staff are not effective because they do not take sufficient account of the progress made by pupils.  Leaders’ views about the school’s performance are not accurate enough and improvement targets are not precise. As a result, the school is not improving quickly enough.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The progress of children in the early years is good because of effective leadership, accurate assessment and well-planned activities. As a result, their personal development is good and their early reading development is effective.  The behaviour of pupils is good and the school’s promotion of their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is effective.  Pupils’ progress in writing is good. They are taught to write well, with purpose, across a range of subjects.

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Full report

In accordance with section 44(1) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that safeguarding procedures meet statutory requirements because all staff understand and fulfil their responsibilities to protect children by rigorously recording and reporting any concerns.  Improve the quality of teaching by making sure that all teachers: – use their subject knowledge and assessment information to plan challenging work for pupils of all abilities – plan tasks in mathematics which help pupils to fully develop their skills, by applying their knowledge to an increasing amount of problem-solving and investigative work – plan activities which help pupils to develop their skills more thoroughly across subjects including history, geography and languages.  Improve the rates of pupils’ progress and so raise attainment in key stage 1 and key stage 2 by: – setting targets that are sufficiently demanding for all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

disabilities – improving the reading skills of lower-attaining pupils in key stage 2 by carefully supporting their development of phonics knowledge.  Rapidly improve the quality of leadership and management, including governance, by: – making certain that leaders’ evaluations of the quality of teaching take sufficient account of the progress made by all pupils – making sure that arrangements for checking on the impact of improvement work are thorough and have precise targets in mind – making sure arrangements for monitoring pupils’ progress are formal and timely, so that teachers and leaders can agree clear action points for improving teaching – making sure that all teachers are subject to rigorous performance-management arrangements which gather sufficient evidence about the impact of teaching on pupils’ progress, as well as teachers’ wider work – improving the capacity of governors to challenge leaders more effectively and hold

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

them fully to account. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved. An external review of the use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 Leaders and governors have not fulfilled their duty to safeguard pupils who attend the school. As a result, leadership and management are inadequate.  Leaders have not secured a vigilant school where pupils’ welfare is actively promoted. Consequently, procedures and systems for safeguarding children are not effective. Arrangements for reporting and recording concerns about children have not been rigorous in school. Actions taken by leaders to raise concerns with the appropriate authorities outside school have been too slow.  Not all of the required vetting checks to ensure the suitability of staff to work with children were complete at the start of the inspection.  Leaders have not been able to secure sufficient improvements to the overall quality of education provided by the school since the previous inspection. There have also been significant changes in staffing which have hindered leaders’ and governors’ efforts to

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

improve the work of the school.  Leaders have not demonstrated an accurate understanding of the school’s performance, particularly when judging pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching. This has resulted in improvement planning which does not currently set out clear targets or include effective arrangements for checking on how well those targets are being met.  Arrangements for managing the performance of teachers and improving the quality of teaching lack rigour. They do not take enough account of the impact of teaching on pupils’ learning. Although leaders set targets which take pupils’ progress into consideration, insufficient evidence of the progress pupils actually make is recorded or considered, along with other information about the quality of their work, in final assessments of teachers’ performance.  Target-setting arrangements for pupils’ progress do not provide sufficient challenge.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

Many pupils are set academic targets which are not high enough to ensure that they make good progress. This is particularly so for pupils who start in the school with lower or average attainment, those who are disadvantaged or those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. However, targets set for the most able are more demanding.  Leaders and teachers meet to check on pupil progress within school and agree on actions which can be taken to help those who might be falling behind. Because actions agreed at these meetings are not recorded, it is difficult for leaders to refer back to plans and so hold teachers to account effectively.  The school’s use of additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils provides them with additional teaching and extra-curricular opportunities. However, this help is not improving their progress. This is because target-setting arrangements for these pupils

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

are not demanding enough and procedures for monitoring their progress are neither detailed nor accurate.  The curriculum supports pupils to experience a wide range of different subjects and activities, including a programme of extra-curricular trips and well-planned assemblies. The curriculum also supports a highly effective programme for every child to become a confident singer. Curriculum planning makes sure pupils’ writing skills are well developed across a range of subjects. However, the development of mathematical skills is less secure, as is the teaching of skills across a range of subjects including geography, history and French. Despite significant weaknesses in safeguarding procedures, teaching, the extra-curricular work and the breadth of the curriculum effectively support pupils’ effective personal development.  The local authority’s school improvement service has commissioned a significant level

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

of external support for the school. Until very recently, this arrangement has not provided the quality of challenge needed. Senior school improvement advisers have now taken a key role in directly challenging the school.  Additional funding to support the improvement of sports education and pupil involvement in competitive sports is used well. The number of pupils in a competitive team or club has risen significantly and the leader responsible has gained the support of Dunstable Football Club to endorse the work of the school and encourage more pupils to play competitive games.  Leaders and teachers have worked effectively with other local schools to share practice and improve the teaching of phonics. As a result, the youngest children in the school are making a more successful start in reading than in previous years.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well. Pupils have

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

an effective understanding of the school’s values and are supported to reflect on them through meaningful assemblies and curricular activities. As a result, they are considerate and respectful towards one another, show an interest in learning and want to succeed. They are very aware of the different cultures within their country and have contact with others outside of Britain because of their charity campaigns, including Water Aid.

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Governance of the school

 Governors have been unable to fulfil part of their statutory duty to ensure that the school is safeguarding its pupils. This is because they have not been aware of the inadequacy of the procedures in place to safeguard children. Governors have actively reviewed arrangements for site safety, staff training and for the vetting of staff suitability to work with children. They have made clear recommendations for improvement in these areas. However, they have not been informed of the serious concerns held by staff or of the failings of arrangements for reporting concerns in school and to the appropriate authorities. Consequently, governors have been unable to act upon this matter. In all other matters related to safeguarding, governors are clearly aware of how to raise concerns within the school and with the local authority. They are also suitably trained to protect children from extremism and radicalisation.

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Governance of the school

 In other areas of their work, governors have recently become far more effective in making sure leaders are suitably challenged over the performance of the school. For example, they have held leaders to account for the quality of performance management arrangements which are used to determine staff pay awards. As a result, teachers’ salary progression is now more closely matched to the progress children make, as well as to the quality of their wider work. Equally, they have become far more effective in holding leaders to account for the way in which they use additional funds to help disadvantaged pupils succeed.  Governors are experienced in the use of statistical information and use their skills to ask searching questions and hold the school to account for its performance. All governors know most areas of the school’s performance very well, owing to their close involvement in its work and their regular visits.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.  At the time of the inspection, not all staff had been given suitable training in safeguarding and the school had not completed full checks on all employees.  Despite training for most staff, reporting and recording arrangements for concerns about safeguarding are not followed properly within the school and, when serious concerns are reported, they are not acted upon quickly enough. Timely referrals to authorities beyond the school are not made about concerns when they arise.  Site risk assessments have not been undertaken and suitable actions to ensure that the premises are secure have not been carried out.  Procedures for checking the suitability of visitors to enter the school are effective.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 Some areas of teaching have been improved since the previous inspection. However, in this small school in the last year, a number of teachers have left or arrived at different points. The staff situation is now more stable, but these changes have led to a variation in the quality of teaching over time.  The use of assessment information to plan lessons and set appropriately challenging work is not effective enough to support good learning. This is because the academic targets set for children are not high enough. Work set in mathematics lessons is often similar for pupils of different ability and, in a number of key stage 1 and key stage 2 classes, the most able pupils do not receive higher-level work. Consequently, pupils of different abilities, including the most able pupils, have not been able to gain the knowledge and skills they need to make good progress.  The teaching of mathematical knowledge and arithmetic is generally effective.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

However, teaching does not support pupils to build up their skills by consistently applying their knowledge to higher-level calculations and problems. As a result, pupils in key stage 1, Year 5 and Year 6 are not making good progress.  Across a range of subjects, including history, geography and languages, teaching focuses on helping pupils gain knowledge, but there is less emphasis on the development of important subject skills.  Reading is effectively encouraged and children receive support to read at home and school. However, older pupils who have struggled to learn phonics in the past have not caught up and, as a result, they struggle to read fluently. In contrast, the most able readers in the school are skilled and enthusiastic readers who read widely and well. Regardless of ability, most pupils can offer their views about the books they read and summarise characters or predict the direction of a plot.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 The teaching of writing skills is effective across the school. As a result, pupils write purposefully across different subjects. They are able to describe, explain and argue effectively in their work. Their knowledge of structure, the use of a wide vocabulary and accuracy in spelling demonstrate how effective the teaching of writing is.  The teaching of phonics has improved in Year 1. Pupils are assessed accurately and teaching builds effectively on their knowledge of the sounds made by letters in different words.  Teaching is good for pupils in Year 3 and Year 4. Teachers’ subject knowledge is used well to set work and activities which are suitably challenging for all pupils. Pupils are able to gain new knowledge and teaching ensures that they can develop skills steadily across the wide range of subjects.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school's work to promote pupils' personal development and welfare is inadequate because the school has not fulfilled its statutory duty to safeguard children.  There are some strengths in the personal development of pupils and these include the respect they show towards one another and their relationships.  Pupils report that bullying of all kinds is rare at the school. They have an effective understanding of what bullying is and are confident teachers will address it quickly if it is reported.  Pupils demonstrate an effective understanding of the school’s values, which include the development of personal responsibility and confidence, independence, thirst for learning and becoming a respectful citizen of Britain. When asked, pupils can explain what these values mean to them in age-appropriate ways and are highly respectful towards people of different beliefs.  Pupils are supported to serve their school and community with pride. There is a fully

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Personal development and welfare

elected school council which has improved lunchtime eating arrangements and helped plan important charity campaigns which include Water Aid, the MacMillan Cancer Fund, Sports Relief and Red Nose Day.  The school prepares pupils well for living in modern Britain and the requirements of citizenship. As a result of the school council’s work, many pupils have a clear understanding of how democracy works and demonstrate an unshakeable support for it. One example of this was when a council member reported that democracy must be defended because ‘people must be able to have an opinion and a choice.’ Their awareness of how laws are made is effective and they can link parliamentary democracy back to the ancient Greeks ‘who started it and we have adopted it’.  The school works effectively to help pupils understand the risks involved when using age-appropriate internet and communication technology. When asked, pupils can

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Personal development and welfare

explain how to use such technology safely and sensibly.  Pupils are helped to live healthily. Far more of them take part in competitive sports and physical activities than in the past, and the school food menu is well balanced and popular.  Parents believe the school’s work is effective in all of these areas. However, a very small number of parents do not believe the school’s work to address bullying is effective. The inspector met with parents and looked at a wide range of evidence about parental views, and did not find evidence to support these concerns.

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Behaviour is good

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Despite changes in staffing, all school staff and governors continue to promote high expectations about behaviour. Pupils are always encouraged to respect each other, as well as the different adults who work at the school. As a result, pupils are polite, welcoming and well behaved.  Pupils enjoy coming to school and working hard. In lessons, they show good attitudes towards learning and contribute well to discussions and group work. They listen patiently and respectfully to their teachers and to each other. They are very cooperative. For example, in a Year 5 and Year 6 religious education lesson about the pressures of modern life, pupils offered very mature views about the different causes of stress and showed genuine concern for people in difficult situations.  Pupils’ conduct is good around the school and at different times of the day. During break and lunchtimes, they use the school’s grounds and play equipment safely. When

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Behaviour is good

dining in the school hall at lunchtime, they are well behaved in the queue and well mannered to support staff and they eat their food sensibly. During assemblies, pupils listen respectfully to presenters and sing with genuine enjoyment and confidence.  Leaders and teachers communicate the need for high attendance. Their work to support regular attendance and punctuality is effective. As a result, pupils’ attendance has improved and is now above the national average. Rates of persistent absence have been reduced. The attendance of disadvantaged pupils, whose past attendance has been lower than others, has also improved.  There have been no exclusions of any sort for several years.  The great majority of parents agree that the behaviour of pupils is good and the work of the school is effective in this area.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 Kensworth Church of England Primary School is much smaller than the average-sized primary school. Following changes to local arrangements for primary education, it has recently become an all-through primary school and its first set of Year 6 results were achieved in 2016.  Even though cohorts are small and a number of pupils join and leave during the school year, pupils’ achievement requires improvement. This is because the progress of pupils of different abilities, disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities varies too much in key stage 1 and key stage 2.  Currently, pupils who enter key stage 1 and key stage 2 with average or lower levels of knowledge and skills make less progress than other pupils. This is because they are set academic targets which do not stretch them sufficiently for their journey through school. Additionally, changes to staffing have affected the quality of teaching they

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

receive.  The progress made by pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is not good. Taking account of their starting points, they are not set targets which are suitably challenging, particularly those with average starting points. Arrangements to check on their progress and reshape teaching to push them on are not effective.  There are only small numbers of disadvantaged pupils within each year group. This makes meaningful comparisons with national results for other pupils difficult. However, taking their individual starting points into account and looking across the school at their performance, the difference between their progress and other pupils nationally is not being reduced. They are not set challenging targets and the arrangements for providing support and checking on its effectiveness are not carried out thoroughly. This makes it difficult for staff to keep track of their progress and to give them the effective

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

help they need.  The most able pupils within the school, including the most able disadvantaged pupils, are set targets which are suitably demanding. They are achieving well in reading and writing but their progress in mathematics is less secure in key stage 1 and in the current Year 5 and Year 6.  The progress of the lowest-attaining pupils is not secure. Targets are not demanding enough and, as they get older, the help they have received to support them to catch up in areas such as phonics has not been effective.  Across the school, pupils make good progress in performance work, including singing, and there is much evidence of the effective development of their artistic knowledge and skills. Pupils make good progress in science. However, in history, geography and languages, pupils’ skills development has been slower.  Pupils’ progress in phonics is good and the proportion achieving the expected standard

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

has improved quickly since 2015, when results were below the national average. In 2016, the large majority of Year 1 pupils achieved the expected standard and pupils currently in the early years and in Year 1 are making good progress.

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Early years provision Good

 The quality of education in the early years has improved and is effective. Children make good progress and are well prepared for key stage 1.  Most children enter the early years with knowledge and skills which are broadly typical for their age but there are differences in their numeracy and literacy abilities and their fine motor skills. Owing to effective support and teaching in these areas, the large majority of children, including those who are disadvantaged, now achieve a good level of development by the end of the Reception Year. Outcomes in 2016 were the highest they have been in recent years and exceeded the national results of 2015.  Arrangements to assess children on entry to Reception Year are effective and accurate. Leaders meet children and parents before they join the pre-school or Reception and make sure parents can contribute to the assessment of their child’s learning and development. Leaders and staff observe children and also use a range of assessments

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Early years provision Good

to identify their levels of development when they join the school. As a result, leaders make sure children participate in suitable work, play and learning activities which are well matched to their different starting points and needs.  Children are set suitably challenging targets which take into account their development needs. Arrangements for checking on their progress are effective and prevent them falling behind. Their work records are managed well and show clear evidence of them succeeding against their targets.  Questioning is a strength. Teachers and teaching assistants ask children to explain what they are learning about and also prompt them to think of the main idea or skill they are developing. For example, during a session involving number work, some children were asked to place numbered pebbles into a sequence and explain why it was right, while others were asked to think about the best way to spend their money in

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Early years provision Good

the ‘shop’ area outdoors.  Early handwriting development is well supported and teachers and teaching assistants work closely with every child to ensure accuracy of letter formation and improved motor control with their pencils. As a result, potential misconceptions and errors are avoided.  The teaching of phonics knowledge is a strength across the early years and into Year 1. This is because all teachers now use the same consistent approaches with all classes. As a result, children of all abilities now sound their letters and words properly.  Behaviour is good because children are supported to develop cooperative and considerate relationships with one another. They are taught to share and think about others from an early stage and this contributes to their personal development.

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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

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection December 2014

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Information about this school

 Kensworth Church of England Primary School is much smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The vast majority of the pupils are of White British heritage and speak English as a first language.  The number of children eligible for support through the pupil premium is below average. The pupil premium is additional funding for disadvantaged children known to be eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is average and the proportion supported by a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is also average.  Since it was last inspected, the school has grown to become a full, all-through primary school, and now has a Year 6 class. Prior to 2016, there were no Year 6 results.  There have been significant changes to staffing since the previous inspection in early

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Information about this school

years, key stage 1 and key stage 2, at leadership and teaching level.  At the point of the inspection, it was not possible to determine whether the school met the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 6. This is because official test results had not yet been checked by leaders and sent to the Department for Education.  The school’s website does not meet requirements for the publication of information about its use of the pupil premium and the impact of this additional funding. At the time of the inspection, it was not possible to see a number of policies, including the safeguarding policy, owing to a technical fault with the website. However, these were published and adopted by the governing body and were available on request.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector gathered evidence from lessons in all classes within the school, one of which was undertaken jointly with the headteacher.  The inspector looked at a wide range of school documents, including self-evaluation records, improvement plans, curriculum information, checks on the quality of teaching, details of governors’ work and attendance records.  The inspector looked closely at the school’s procedures, policies and records for the safeguarding of children. These were discussed with the headteacher, local authority adviser and governing body.  The inspector looked at work from each year group and listened to children read. The school’s records for pupil assessment and progress were scrutinised.  Meetings were held with various teachers and support staff, the headteacher, subject leaders, the governing body and a local authority adviser.  Other meetings were held to discuss the progress of children, assessment records, the

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Information about this inspection

improvement of the school since its previous inspection, the quality of teaching and the performance management of staff.  Meetings were held with the school council and pupils from key stage 1 and key stage 2 to discuss their experiences at the school.  The inspector also attended an assembly and observed pupils when they dined in the lunch hall.  The inspector met with parents at the start of the first day of the inspection. He also took account of 22 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, and written comments. He also looked at the school’s own parental survey. There were no questionnaires completed by staff.

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Inspection team

David Turner, lead inspector 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

In the report, 'disadvantaged pupils' refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .

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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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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