Amy Johnson Primary School

Amy Johnson Primary School Mollison Drive, Roundshaw, Wallington, Surrey SM6 9JN

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

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Early years provision Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders and governors do not demonstrate the ambition or capacity to improve the school. Leaders and governors do not identify weak areas of the school’s work sharply enough and are too slow to make the necessary improvements.  Reading is a key area of weakness. Reading has not improved over the last three years. Key stage 2 pupils make particularly weak progress in reading. Phonics scores for Years 1 and 2 pupils are low and have further declined this year.  Disadvantaged pupils make slow progress in reading. The most able disadvantaged pupils make weak progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make slow progress.  Leaders have not improved pupils’ low attendance or tackled name-calling by a few pupils towards others.  Leaders do not secure teaching that is adequate and as a result pupils do not make the progress of which they are capable.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Teaching, learning and assessment are inadequate, particularly at key stages 1 and 2. Leaders and teachers have low expectations. There is too little challenge, particularly for the most able pupils.  Pupils’ outcomes have not improved over recent years. Literacy and numeracy skills across the school remain stubbornly low, particularly for the most able pupils. As a result, pupils are not prepared adequately for their next phase of education.  Leaders and governors do not always keep parents well enough informed, even when it is a statutory requirement to do so.  Governance is ineffective because they have not held leaders to account for the school’s poor performance.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Pupils want to learn. Behaviour in lessons is compliant.  The school communicates British values well. Most pupils respect those of other faiths and heritages.  The school keeps pupils safe. Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe from harm.  The early years provision is a safe, nurturing environment. Children’s achievement is steadily improving.

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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?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that: – more is expected from all pupils – the needs of different groups of pupils are met – pupils are given more challenging tasks, particularly for the most able – pupils are inspired to want to read for pleasure, and basic reading skills are taught more effectively.  Tackle the underperformance of disadvantaged pupils and children with vigour by: – ensuring that these pupils, including the most able among them, make progress in reading in line with other pupils nationally – checking robustly how well the most able disadvantaged pupils are learning and providing challenging tasks for them.  Improve pupils’ behaviour by ensuring that: – pupils attend school regularly and persistent absence is reduced – pupils respect each other and appreciate the negative impact that name-calling can have on pupils’ confidence and self-esteem.  Improve the quality of leadership so that leaders at all levels:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– sharply identify weak areas of the school’s work and tackle these with energy and rigour – tell parents clearly all that they need to know about the school.  Improve governance so that governors: – hold leaders more closely to account – raise their expectations of how well pupils can learn. 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 school’s 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

 Leadership and governance are inadequate because they have not improved pupils’ outcomes at key stages 1 and 2 over time. They have not improved pupils’ attendance or reduced persistent absence. They have not targeted improving the achievement of disadvantaged pupils. This is because leaders’ and governors’ expectations of what pupils can achieve are too low.  Leaders’ and governors’ self-evaluation is overgenerous. They grade all areas of the of the school’s work, including leadership, as good.  Leaders and governors do not always act promptly to tell parents what they need to know, even when it is a requirement for them to do so. At the time of the inspection, they had not published pupils’ key stage 2 results or informed parents about the curriculum. There was no equality policy or disability access plan. At the time of the inspection, parents had not been informed that the school’s results over the last three

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

years met the definition of a coasting school.  Leaders and governors have not prioritised improving inadequate areas of the school’s work. Achievement in reading has been weak since the previous inspection. Information from the school indicates that this pattern is continuing.  Pupils’ attendance has been much lower than average for many years. Raising attendance was identified as an area for improvement in the previous inspection. Leaders have not succeeded in raising attendance and it continues to be below national figures. Published data shows that persistent absence is particularly high for the most vulnerable groups in the school. This includes those eligible for the pupil premium and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. This has an adverse impact on their progress and achievement.  Leaders do not make effective use of the additional funding for pupils supported through the pupil premium. Governors do not hold leaders to account for this. Leaders

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

do not highlight adequately the underperformance of disadvantaged pupils, or submit clear information to governors on their performance as a group. As a result, disadvantaged pupils make less progress than other pupils nationally, particularly in reading.  Leaders do not make effective use of additional funding for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. These pupils’ needs are identified and some support is provided. However, this support is not evaluated carefully to ensure that it is making a difference. As a result, the progress of these pupils is slow.  Leaders have not secured effective teaching over time. There have been staff changes since the previous inspection. Leaders cope with immediate needs but have not secured adequate teaching throughout the school. Leaders have not communicated high enough expectations to staff and pupils. Governors have approved rapid movement along the pay scales, particularly for those on higher and leadership scales,

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

without securing improvements in pupils’ progress.  The curriculum is sound. Pupils are given interesting topics that enable them to learn basic skills in English and mathematics. For many other subjects, the school uses topic- based commercial programmes. Better use is made of teaching materials for some subjects, such as history, than for others, such as geography and science. The programme of trips and visits to places such as museums, ecology centres and places of worship provides additional opportunities for pupils to broaden their understanding of the world around them. The programme of in-school clubs adequately develops pupils’ sporting and creative skills.  The school gives pupils a sound preparation for growing up in modern Britain. Pupils represent their class in voting on school improvements. During the inspection, pupils were busy selling milkshake ice-lollies that they had made using their £5 starter fund.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

This activity gave pupils the opportunity to decide how the profits should be used to benefit and support others.  The curriculum makes a useful contribution to promoting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. As a result, pupils respect those of all faiths and heritages. Assemblies celebrate pupils’ achievements. Pupils who spoke to inspectors said that they enjoy helping younger pupils, as this gives them a sense of responsibility. Pupils grow and nurture plants, fruit and vegetables, and this contributes well to their awareness of the natural world around them.  The school makes effective use of the additional government funding for primary sports and physical education. The funding is used successfully to attract new participants to sport and to stimulate more participation in district sports. All pupils are involved in a club encouraging them to run or skip for a mile. The school works closely

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

with the local authority to ensure that benefits of the funding are sustainable through training class teachers to deliver high-quality sports teaching.

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Governance of the school

 Governance does not successfully hold the leadership of the school to account. Governance has endemic weaknesses, including: – governors’ expectations are too low; governors are too ready to make allowances for weak areas of the school’s performance – governors do not adequately ensure that the pupil premium is used to raise the achievement of these pupils – governors do not ask searching enough questions of leaders or ensure that they are given all the information they need – governors do not ensure that pupils make strong progress before approving teachers’ movement along the pay scales; consequently they do not secure adequate value for money – governors visit the school often to see its work for themselves but are too easily satisfied with what they see – governors do not ensure that all statutory requirements are met, particularly with regard to planning for disability access or ensuring that there is a robust equality

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Governance of the school

plan available to parents – governors do not ensure that policies published on the school’s website are up to date and meet statutory requirements  Governors make sure that pupils are safe at the school. They are adequately trained in safeguarding, including ensuring that pupils are not subject to extremist views and identifying signs of possible female genital mutilation.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  The school is a safe environment. All adults who come into contact with children have careful checks made on them, which meet requirements.  Before pupils are taken out on trips or visits, potential risks are carefully evaluated to ensure that staff are ready to deal with any eventuality.  The designated safeguarding leader ensures that staff, including support staff and the family support worker, work effectively with safeguarding staff at the local authority. This ensures that pupils are safe and protected from harm.

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Safeguarding

 Staff, including those new to the school, receive effective training in such aspects of safeguarding as substance abuse, emotional well-being and protection from extremist views. Information on e-safety and cyber abuse is available to parents as well as to staff and pupils. Staff are quick to report any concerns to the designated leader, who keeps the need for vigilance uppermost in their mind.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

 Teaching, learning and assessment are inadequate because teachers and support staff expect too little from the pupils. They therefore do not encourage them to strive for improvement.  Pupils who spoke to inspectors were well aware that too little is expected of them. Typical comments from pupils were: ‘Give us harder work’, ‘I think we need a bit more challenging work’ and ‘I have a tutor, because outside of school you can do more challenging work.’ These views were backed up by observations of pupils’ learning, both during the inspection and over time, as seen in pupils’ workbooks.  The most able pupils throughout the school do not learn as well as they could. This is because adults do not plan tasks with sufficient challenge for them to secure the most rapid learning. The workbooks of the most able pupils showed limited progress over time, with little evidence of additional challenge to enable them to forge ahead and

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

make rapid progress.  Reading is not promoted well. The two libraries are not inviting places. Pupils who read aloud to inspectors were required to follow reading schemes that were too easy for them. Fluent readers from Year 2, who spoke enthusiastically about reading Roald Dahl’s ‘Matilda’ and books by Jacqueline Wilson at home, were given books to read at school that were far too easy for them.  Pupils who attend Silver class are given tasks that are suitable for their needs. However, adults do not always ensure that questioning stimulates pupils’ curiosity or enables them to answer as fully as they are able. Resources are sometimes not adapted effectively to meet pupils’ needs and therefore do not engage pupils fully in their learning.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.  Although most pupils are kind to one another, a small minority are not. These pupils occasionally bully other pupils, or use unkind or even racist names. Parents confirm that there are occasional instances of bullying. There is currently not enough whole- school focus on why everyone should be kind and not make hurtful remarks.  Most pupils get on well with those of all faiths and heritages. The school is an inclusive environment.  Pupils are caring towards others. They told inspectors that they enjoy the chance to work with younger pupils and look after them.  Pupils play cooperatively in the playground, enjoying one another’s company. They are well supervised.  Lunch hall arrangements are civilised. From the early years provision onwards, children use cutlery correctly, and chat quietly among themselves.

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Personal development and welfare

 The after-school care provision has safe and inviting play areas, indoors and outdoors. There are many worthwhile activities. Pupils of different ages enjoy mixing together.  Pupils feel safe at school and know how to keep themselves safe, for example when crossing roads, using computers or when strangers talk to them. Parents who spoke to inspectors confirm that their children are safe.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Most pupils behave well and want to learn. However, a small minority of pupils distract others as they work. In a meeting with pupils, one said, ‘To be honest, the thing that puts me off is the chattiness in lessons; I think we need to stop that.’ Others in the group agreed.  Inspectors found in their observations of pupils’ learning in class that most concentrated well but that some were restless and temporarily distracted others. This was most likely to happen when pupils did not receive sufficiently challenging work to absorb them.  Pupils’ attendance has been lower than average for a number of years. This is because leaders are not successful in promoting attendance.  Pupils are generally polite to visitors and to one another.  Pupils cooperate well in lessons when asked to work together or discuss topics with one another. When one learning session ends and another begins, pupils quickly come

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Behaviour

 Pupils are considerate when moving through corridors and around the school’s grounds. They keep the school environment tidy and their workbooks neat.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 Pupils’ outcomes, apart from those in the early years provision, have shown little or no improvement since the previous inspection. Leaders have not put in place a sharply- focused set of actions to improve pupils’ outcomes. This is because leaders and governors have too low expectations of what pupils can achieve.  Reading is a significant area of weakness. In both 2015 and 2016, key stage 2 progress in reading was significantly below average. School information indicates that this is still the case in the current academic year. Inspection evidence confirms weak progress in reading.  Reading attainment is low throughout the school. Children’s reading skills in the early years provision are generally well below those typical for their age. Reading skills do not improve in Years 1 and 2. While Year 1 phonics skills nationally have increased year after year, pupils at the school still lag behind. School information shows that this

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

year’s phonics scores in both Year 1 and Year 2 are likely to be lower than last year’s. Reading attainment, both at the end of Year 2 and at the end of Year 6, was low in 2015 and 2016, and remains low.  Pupils’ outcomes by the end of key stage 2 do not prepare them adequately for secondary school. In both 2015 and 2016, attainment in combined reading, writing and mathematics fell below floor standards. Current pupils’ skills in reading, writing and mathematics, as seen in their books and from observing how they learn, remain low.  The school’s information shows that current Year 6 pupils who attended the school from Year 1 make less progress in reading, writing and mathematics than those who joined the school more recently.  At key stage 2, disadvantaged pupils make much less progress in reading than other pupils nationally. In 2015 and 2016, their progress in reading was weak. Information from the school shows that the pattern of weak progress is continuing. Inspectors

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

scrutinised the work of current disadvantaged pupils and judged their progress in reading, writing and mathematics to fall below that of other pupils nationally. The most able disadvantaged pupils, in particular, make slow progress. School information shows that current Year 6 disadvantaged pupils, who did well in Year 2, are not making enough progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  The school acknowledges that progress is too slow for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. The school provides group and individual support for these pupils. However, leaders’ evaluation of the additional support is not robust or regular enough. This is why the impact of the interventions is not effective.  The previous inspection identified challenge for the most able as one of the school’s areas for improvement. This is still the case.

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Early years provision Requires improvement

 The early years provision is the area of the school’s work that has shown most improvement over the current year. The provision is not yet good because adults do not ensure that disadvantaged children learn as well as other children at the school and nationally.  The senior leader in charge of the provision has a solid understanding of the early years sector. She currently does not teach the children, as she has other leadership responsibilities. However, she checks how well the children are learning and keeps a watchful eye on the provision.  Children enter the Nursery class with skills that vary but that are broadly below those typical for their age, although not greatly below. By the time children leave the Reception class their skills are still typically below those usual for their age. There is evidence from the school that children are making faster progress in the current year. The proportion likely to achieve a good level of development this year is likely to be

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Early years provision Requires improvement

higher than in previous years, while remaining below the national average.  Since the previous inspection children eligible for support from the early years premium have achieved less well than other children at the school and nationally. This trend is continuing in the current year.  The quality of teaching is sound. Adults use the indoor and outdoor learning areas to provide children with a wide range of activities. Many of the activities promote children’s language and number skills and stimulate them to learn with interest. In one activity, children were absorbed in learning why ladybirds have spots. Several discussed this, and one child said, ‘So that another animal won’t eat them.’ This shows that children make good use of the books available to them to stimulate their curiosity about the world around them.  A scrutiny of children’s workbooks showed that there was an adequate range and variety of tasks for the children to complete. Children’s progress, including that of the

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Early years provision Requires improvement

most able children, was sound rather than rapid.  Children are safe and well cared for in the early years provision. Parents who spoke to inspectors reported that their children enjoy school. When their children first arrived, they settled quickly into their new routines.  Children behave cooperatively in the nurturing environment. They are ready to share the equipment. They work together to build constructions without disagreeing with one another. Adults listen to the children and protect them.  The school makes sure that children leaving Reception visit their new class and meet their teacher, so that they move confidently into Year 1.

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Email address office@amyjohnson.sutton.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 4–5 March 2014

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Information about this school

 The school meets the Department for Education’s definition of a coasting school based on key stage 2 academic performance results in 2014, 2015 and 2016.  Amy Johnson Primary is larger than the average primary school.  In February 2017, the school changed its status from a community to a foundation school when it joined the newly-formed Sutton Education Trust, a group of nine local primary schools with autonomous governing bodies.  Children attend the nursery for five mornings or five afternoon sessions. Reception children stay all day. There is no provision for two-year-olds.  The proportion of pupils eligible for pupil premium funding is much higher than average.  A higher proportion of pupils than average are from a wide range of minority ethnic heritages.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is broadly average.  The school accommodates a local authority unit, Silver class, with places for up to 10

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Information about this school

pupils in the Reception Year and key stage 1 who have moderate learning difficulties. Six pupils currently attend.  There is a children’s centre on site that is inspected separately and did not form part of this inspection.  The school runs after-school care provision.  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.  The school does not meet requirements on the publication of information about key stage 2 results, the curriculum, sports and PE premium, and disability access on its website.

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Information about this inspection

 This inspection began as a one-day inspection, the purpose of which was to ascertain whether the school remained good and whether safeguarding was effective. It became clear during the day that more evidence was needed before final judgements could be made. The lead inspector was therefore joined on the second day by three more Ofsted inspectors.  Inspectors visited classes throughout the school and observed pupils’ learning in a wide range of subjects. The headteacher and members of the senior leadership team joined inspectors on their many visits to classrooms.  Inspectors listened to pupils read, talked to them and looked at samples of their work. An inspector met a group of key stage 2 pupils to hear how they felt about the school. There were no responses to the Ofsted online survey of pupils’ views.  Meetings were held with leaders, including those with responsibility for specific subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 The lead inspector held a meeting with the chair and the vice-chair of governors.  The lead inspector held an interview with one of the school’s improvement advisers.  Inspectors spoke to a number of parents during the inspection. They considered the school’s own survey of parents’ views. There were 19 responses to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View, including nine written comments. Inspectors took these responses and comments into consideration.  Inspectors took account of 30 responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire for members of staff.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a range of documents. These included minutes of meetings of the governing body and external reviews of the school by the local authority.  Inspectors considered a range of evidence on pupils’ attainment and progress. They also examined safeguarding information, and records relating to attendance, behaviour

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Inspection team

Natalia Power, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Martina Martin 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

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 .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Inspection team

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

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