Hatch Beauchamp Church of England Primary School

Hatch Beauchamp Church of England Primary School Station Road, Hatch Beauchamp, Taunton, Somerset TA3 6SQ

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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 Inadequate

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders have not ensured that all of the school’s safeguarding policies, procedures and practices are carried out in line with statutory guidance. Staff do not demonstrate a robust and determined approach to ensuring that all children are kept safe.  Pupils’ outcomes are inadequate. Weaknesses in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment have led to pupils underachieving considerably over time.  Until recently, leaders have not had a secure understanding of performance in the school. They have not identified, challenged or remedied pupils’ underachievement and weaknesses in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment with any sense of urgency.  The school’s website is not compliant with statutory guidance.  Leaders have not updated the school’s curriculum so that it meets the requirements of the national curriculum. Teaching in a range of subjects does not meet the needs of pupils or prepare them for the next stage in

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

their education.  Teachers have weaknesses in their subject knowledge and do not have high enough expectations of what pupils are capable of achieving. Teachers’ assessment information about pupils’ outcomes is inaccurate.  Absence rates for all pupils have been consistently high and remain above the national average. Leaders have not dealt with persistent absence with sufficient rigour.  In lessons where work is not sufficiently matched to pupils’ needs, some pupils become disengaged and lose concentration.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Current leaders and governors have a secure understanding of the school’s vulnerabilities as well as the improvements needed.  Parents are positive about the new leadership of the school. In particular, they recognise improvements that the school has made in managing pupils’ behaviour.  Pupils are positive about their school. They feel happy and safe.  As a result of leaders’ efforts to improve the school’s environment, classrooms are now engaging and stimulating. They encourage learning and celebrate pupils’ achievements.

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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?

 Urgently improve the culture of safeguarding by: - ensuring that all members of staff have a secure understanding of the role they play in keeping children safe - improving record-keeping so that there is clarity about the training that staff have received - ensuring that all policies and procedures are in line with statutory guidance - making sure that all staff understand school procedures for keeping children safe and implement them meticulously.  Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and, consequently, pupils’ outcomes by: - ensuring that teachers’ planning takes account of individual pupils’ needs and builds on what they can already do - providing precisely targeted support for less-able pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities - ensuring that the most able pupils have the challenge they need to deepen and extend their thinking - raising teachers’ expectations of what pupils are capable of achieving

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

- increasing teachers’ knowledge of the national curriculum so that they are able to assess accurately what pupils can do and align this with the expectations of pupils of their age.  Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that leaders: - establish clear systems for monitoring, evaluating and reviewing the quality of teaching, learning and assessment - establish robust performance management procedures and hold staff stringently to account for pupils’ outcomes - provide training and guidance to staff which is accurately matched to both school and individual need - update the school’s curriculum so that it meets the requirements of the national curriculum in all subjects - develop systems to check the accuracy and robustness of the school’s assessment information - review the spending of additional funding and the impact it is having on pupils’ outcomes - are held rigorously to account by the governing body in order to improve the

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

quality of teaching, learning and assessment - maintain a website which is compliant with statutory requirements.  Improve pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare by: - raising the attendance of all groups of pupils so that it is at least in line with the national averages for primary schools - ensuring that pupils develop a broad understanding and appreciation of the faiths, cultures and communities that make up modern Britain - ensuring that leaders keep accurate records of poor behaviour, parental concerns and the impact of actions that they take in response - developing pupils’ ability to take responsibility for their own behaviour.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

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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What does the school need to do to improve further?

The school may not appoint newly qualified teachers.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 Since the previous inspection, leaders and governors have not provided an acceptable standard of education. They have failed to lead the school effectively and have not established an ethos of high expectation. This has resulted in inadequacies in teaching, learning and pupils’ outcomes. There is also a weak culture of safeguarding in the school.  After a period of significant turbulence, recent changes to the leadership of the school have brought much-needed stability. Since the beginning of this academic year, external support, in the form of a new headteacher, is being provided by the Redstart Learning Partnership. A new governing body has been in place since April 2017. These new leaders and governors have quickly acquired an accurate understanding of the school and put plans in place to make the necessary improvements. However, any changes are too recent to have had a demonstrable impact on the quality of teaching

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

or, consequently, pupils’ outcomes.  Leaders have not ensured that teaching staff are held to account for the quality of their work. Systems for managing the performance of staff have not been effective, and leaders have not carried out checks with regularity or urgency. When checks have taken place, leaders have not accurately identified weaknesses in provision. As a result, leaders have not been able to halt the decline in the quality of teaching or provide professional development which meets the needs of staff.  Leaders have failed to implement changes in line with the national curriculum for primary schools. As a result, the school’s curriculum does not enable pupils to acquire knowledge or skills in line with expectations for their age. Pupils receive an appropriate balance of subjects, but expectations within these are too low. Leaders have not ensured that teachers provide pupils of different ages and abilities with work that

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

meets their needs or builds on their prior learning.  Leaders have ensured that the needs of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are accurately identified. However, as a result of weaknesses in the school’s assessment procedures, interventions lack precision and are not adequately focused on individual or group need. The main focus of provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is on high-quality classroom teaching. This is not proving effective due to school-wide weaknesses in the quality of teaching. Consequently, outcomes for these pupils are weak, in line with other pupils in the school.  Leaders have not evaluated the effectiveness of the school’s pupil premium spending. They have used this additional funding to give pupils equal access to enrichment activities, such as school trips and residential visits. It has also been used to provide

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

additional resources to support their learning. However, leaders have not monitored whether funding is having a positive impact on the achievement of disadvantaged pupils.  Leaders have used the sports premium funding to provide a wide range of after-school clubs and high-quality physical education (PE) provision from an external coach. This has proved effective in increasing pupils’ participation, and 80% of pupils across key stages 1 and 2 attend at least one sports club. The coach provides professional development for teachers, but leaders have not monitored its impact on the development of pupils’ PE skills.  Pupils’ social, moral and spiritual development is promoted well, although their cultural development requires improvement. Pupils are cooperative, respectful and sociable. Leaders promote equality and foster positive relationships between pupils in the school. Pupils have a good understanding of why it is important to show respect and tolerance

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

for others. However, their awareness of other cultures and faiths in modern Britain is less developed.  Leaders have made significant improvements to the school’s environment. This is recognised by pupils, parents and staff. The school site is orderly, tidy and secure. Classrooms and other learning areas are bright, vibrant and engaging. Teachers have ensured that displays both celebrate pupils’ achievement and encourage further learning.  The school’s website does not meet guidelines for what schools must publish online. At the time of the inspection, the website did not contain a safeguarding policy that complied with statutory requirements, a copy of the school’s behaviour policy or up-to- date information about the school’s governing body. Some information about the performance of pupils was also missing.  The local authority has provided support for the school in the form of strengthened leadership. They have recruited new experienced governors for the school and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

brokered external support from the Redstart Learning Partnership. The impact of this support is beginning to be evident but has come too late to remedy inadequacies in the school’s provision for its pupils.

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Governance of the school

 Over time, arrangements for the governance of the school have proved inadequate. Governors have not ensured that safeguarding arrangements are effective. They have not robustly held leaders to account for the quality of teaching or pupils’ outcomes.  The new governing body has been in place since April 2017 and, in this time, has provided greater stability for the school. Governors now demonstrate a clear commitment to ensuring that the school is well led and managed and that the quality of teaching and learning improves rapidly. Members of the new governing body are experienced and knowledgeable. Their evaluation of the school’s position is accurate, and plans for improvements are focused appropriately.  Governors have prioritised their work and put in place a number of improvements to school systems and procedures. Many of these changes are still in their infancy, and governors recognise that more time is needed in order to demonstrate impact.

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Governance of the school

However, the governing body’s work to maintain positive relationships with parents during a difficult time for the school has, in the main, proved successful.  Governors understand the need for them to evaluate the quality of external support and to hold leaders to account. However, at the time of the inspection, this level of rigour was not evident in the minutes of governing body meetings.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective because the culture of safeguarding is weak.  Leaders and governors recognise that safeguarding practices in the school have, over a period of time, been ineffectual. They have put systems in place to strengthen the school’s procedures for keeping children safe. However, there is not sufficient shared ownership of these procedures among staff because some staff do not understand that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. During the inspection, lapses in the school’s procedures were found. These could, potentially, have put children at risk.  At the beginning of the inspection, the school’s safeguarding policy was not compliant with statutory guidance. This was rectified during the inspection, but staff were still unable to communicate clearly the procedures outlined in the policy. For example, staff were not sure about the school’s policy and procedures for managing allegations

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Safeguarding

against staff.  Although staff and governors have received the appropriate child protection training, there is no evidence that this training is reviewed regularly or updated in line with best practice. Training that has taken place is not recorded effectively. As a result, leaders are not able to be absolutely certain what training staff have received and when.  The school continues to work with external agencies, including the Local Safeguarding Children Board, to develop its practices. Leaders are able to demonstrate that they have established effective partnerships with the local authority and put in place support for the school’s most vulnerable learners and their parents.  Pupils feel safe and well cared for at the school. This is a view shared by the majority of parents who completed the online survey or spoke with the inspector.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

 Teaching, learning and assessment are inadequate. Teachers’ expectations of what pupils are capable of are too low. As a result, pupils do not make strong progress, and their outcomes are consistently below those expected for their age.  Teachers do not use assessment information effectively in order to identify what pupils can already do. Consequently, work is too hard or, in the majority of cases, not sufficiently challenging. This was confirmed by pupils who told the inspector that they find work too easy and are often given tasks that they have already completed. Pupils in both classes said that they want to be challenged more.  Teachers do not have a secure understanding of national curriculum expectations and how these relate to pupils of different ages. As a result, teachers’ assessments are inaccurate and often over-generous. For example, a scrutiny of Year 3 pupils’ work demonstrated that key stage 1 teacher assessments in 2017 had overstated the

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

proportion of pupils working at the expected standard.  Due to weaknesses in subject knowledge, teachers do not provide pupils with the precise guidance required to enable them to improve their work. The quality of work accepted by teachers is often below what pupils are capable of. This is limiting the progress that pupils make.  Leaders have not ensured that teachers have a sufficient knowledge of the primary mathematics curriculum. The work in pupils’ books shows that teaching does not build pupils’ knowledge and skills systematically. Less-able pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are not given the support they require to build conceptual understanding. Pupils with a firm grasp of calculation skills repeat tasks they can already do. They are not provided with opportunities to reason or to apply their mathematical knowledge and skills.  Over time, the teaching of writing has been particularly weak. Teachers have not

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

planned learning that enables pupils to develop their writing skills. Too often, learning has been muddled and jumped between different concepts and genres. Teachers have not provided pupils with tasks which are appropriately matched to national curriculum objectives for their year group. Consequently, work in pupils’ books demonstrates that outcomes in writing remain low and that too few pupils are writing at, or above, the standard expected for their age.  Leaders are supporting teachers in using a newly introduced approach to the teaching of writing. This is leading to greater consistency in the quality of teaching across both classes. Pupils’ books are beginning to show better development of writing skills. However, this is yet to have full impact on the quality of pupils’ writing.  The teaching of phonics is not systematic and, consequently, does not build on what pupils already know and can do. Teachers do not accurately identify where pupils have

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

gaps in their phonic awareness and, as a result, do not provide tasks which meet pupils’ needs. Pupils with a secure knowledge of phonics are not given sufficient opportunities to apply their understanding across a range of reading and writing tasks. Reading books given to younger pupils are not matched to their levels of phonic development carefully enough.  Pupils who spoke with the inspector were positive about reading and, generally, read with levels of expression and fluency appropriate for their age. However, guided reading activities are not developing pupils’ higher-order reading skills, such as deduction and inference. This is limiting the proportion of pupils whose previous attainment was high from achieving the higher standards.  The learning needs of pupils identified as having special educational needs and/or disabilities are not met. The support they receive is too general, and they do not catch

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

up in the way that they should.  In subjects other than English and mathematics, teaching does not develop pupils’ skills sufficiently. Teachers do not match work to pupils’ needs, and pupils of different abilities and ages receive the same work. For example, in the key stage 2 class, all pupils completed the same activities on light in science and the Anglo Saxons in history. This is preventing pupils from acquiring subject-specific skills appropriate to their age. Consequently, pupils leaving Year 6 are not well prepared for secondary school and the demands of the key stage 3 curriculum.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.  Pupils are confident, polite and welcoming to visitors. They are keen to talk about their school and their learning. Pupils feel that their school is a safe and friendly place to learn. They said that bullying incidents are now rare and are confident that any issues will be dealt with effectively by staff.  Pupils are clear about keeping safe when using the internet. For example, they can explain confidently and clearly what they would do if they saw something inappropriate online.  Pupils are not fully prepared for life in modern Britain because the school’s teaching of other cultures is not sufficiently strong. For example, when discussing different faiths, backgrounds and beliefs with the lead inspector, it was evident that pupils’ knowledge and understanding are limited.  Pupils understand the importance of being healthy, for example the need to eat a

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Personal development and welfare

balanced diet. Leaders have put in place systems to develop pupils’ emotional and mental health and can provide evidence of the positive impact that this is having for vulnerable pupils.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is inadequate.  Leaders have not dealt with poor attendance rigorously enough. Absence rates and the proportion of pupils who are persistently absent from school have been consistently above national averages. This poor level of attendance has, over time, had a detrimental effect on pupils’ outcomes.  Since the previous inspection, leaders have not ensured that behaviour has been managed appropriately or consistently. Leaders have not kept accurate records of concerns raised by parents, incidents of poor behaviour or the actions they have taken in response. Some parents had previously reported well-founded concerns about the school’s management of behaviour and pupils were unhappy with the apparent unfairness of leaders’ actions. Current parents and pupils acknowledge that behaviour is now markedly improved compared to that in previous years.  Current pupils’ behaviour around the school is generally polite and courteous. For

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Behaviour

example, they open doors for adults and are respectful towards visitors. However, some pupils, particularly the older ones, do not take responsibility for their own behaviour. This results in incidents of low-level disruption when pupils are not being directly supervised or watched by adults, for example, in assembly and in the lunch hall. Similarly, when learning in lessons does not engage pupils, some lose focus and become easily distracted.  Pupils’ behaviour on the playground is calm and orderly. The outdoor area is well resourced, and pupils take turns in their play. For example, at lunchtimes, pupils share basketball hoops, tyres and skipping ropes. Adults are proactive in engaging pupils in activities and, as a result, pupils play safely together. Older pupils were seen by the lead inspector taking care of the younger pupils and involving them in their games.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 The number of pupils is too small to make meaningful comparisons with national averages about achievement in standardised assessments at the end of early years and key stages 1 and 2. However, recorded learning, including work in pupils’ books, demonstrates that teachers do not support or challenge pupils sufficiently to enable them to make good progress from their starting points. Consequently, pupils in all key stages significantly fail to achieve as well as they should. This includes the small number of pupils who are disadvantaged.  Weaknesses in the school’s assessment procedures, combined with deficiencies in teachers’ subject knowledge, have led to published assessment information being inaccurate. In the majority of cases, pupils’ outcomes are lower than those published. This is particularly the case in writing, where work in pupils’ books does not reflect teachers’ assessment information at the end of Year 2 or Year 6.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 Year 6 pupils are ill prepared for the next stage in their education. Across the curriculum, they leave primary school without the knowledge and skills they require to access learning at key stage 3.  Pupils currently in the school are not making sufficient progress from their different starting points in reading, writing and mathematics. This is the case in all year groups. Many pupils are working below the standards expected for their age. This is because pupils are given activities which do not enable them to demonstrate skills, knowledge and understanding at the levels they are capable of.  In 2017, too few pupils achieved the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check compared to their attainment at the end of early years.  The most able pupils do not achieve well. They do not have sufficient opportunities to extend their learning. Consequently, they do not attain the high standards that their

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

starting points indicate they should be able to achieve.  Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make similar, inadequate progress to that of their peers. Teaching and activities are not adapted sufficiently to meet their needs and help them to close gaps in their learning.

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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 sch.175@educ.somerset.gov.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 22 ─ 23 May 2013

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Information about this school

 Hatch Beauchamp Church of England Primary School is a smaller than average-sized primary school. There are two mixed-age classes – a key stage 2 class and an early years/key stage 1 class.  The previous substantive headteacher left the school in April 2017. At this point, the local authority put in place an acting headteacher for the remainder of the 2016 ─ 17 academic year. Since 1 September 2017, the local authority has arranged for school leadership to be provided by the Redstart Learning Partnership.  Following the resignation of the previous governing body, a new governing body is now in place. The current chair of governors took up post in April 2017 and has since been joined by eight other governors. These all bring experience of governance from other settings.  The vast majority of pupils are White British, and the proportion that speaks English as an additional language is well below the national average.

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Information about this school

 The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported through pupil premium funding is below the national average.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is broadly in line with the national average. There are currently no pupils with a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan.  The school has a higher than average level of mobility. A number of pupils join and leave the school at times other than at the beginning of the academic year. Some of these pupils only stay in the school for short periods of time.  The school does not meet requirements on the publication of information about safeguarding, behaviour, governance or pupils’ outcomes on its website.  The government’s floor standard, which is the minimum expectation for pupils’ attainment and progress at the end of Year 6 is not applicable due to the small number of pupils in the school.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector visited classrooms with the headteacher in order to observe pupils’ learning.  Discussions were held with school leaders, staff, members of the governing body and two officers from the local authority. The inspector also took into account responses to questionnaires completed by staff and pupils.  The inspector looked at the school’s evaluation of its own performance, its improvement plan, a number of key school policies and the minutes of meetings of the governing body. He also considered a range of documentation in relation to child protection, safeguarding, behaviour and attendance.  The inspector spoke with pupils throughout the inspection to seek their views and listened to a selection of them read.  The inspector took account of 13 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, including a number of free-text responses. He also spoke to a number of parents during the inspection.

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Inspection team

Jonathan Dyer, lead inspector Her Majesty’s 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

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, 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.gov.uk/ofsted

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