St Andrew's CofE Primary and Nursery School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Amanda Williams Headteacher St Andrew’s CofE Primary and Nursery School Mansfield Road Skegby Sutton-in-Ashfield Nottinghamshire NG17 3DW

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Short inspection of St Andrew’s CofE Primary and Nursery School

Following my visit to the school on 9 November 2017, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in April 2013.

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Short inspection of St Andrew’s CofE Primary and Nursery School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since your appointment, in September 2015, you have tackled fluctuations in pupils’ progress that have arisen. Your thorough self- evaluation and comparisons of pupils’ achievements against national averages provide you with an accurate understanding of the school’s effectiveness. Improving the quality of teaching and accelerating pupils’ progress are at the heart of the school’s work. The clear and well-structured school improvement plan sets out key priorities for action. You and the governing body check the effectiveness of the actions you take. You measure your success against the ambitious targets you set. The governing body is effective in its role and governors provide an appropriate level of support and challenge to you and other staff.

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Short inspection of St Andrew’s CofE Primary and Nursery School

Pupils across the school make good progress. Some pupils, however, are capable of making even faster progress to reach higher standards. Their attainment is broadly average. However, in 2016 pupils’ progress in key stage 2 reading fell below the coasting school standard. You have taken quick action to rectify this. Pupils’ progress in reading is accelerating again. In 2017, pupils’ progress at the end of key stage 2 in reading, writing and mathematics was above the coasting school standards again.

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Short inspection of St Andrew’s CofE Primary and Nursery School

Pupils behave well. They are polite, caring and happy. Pupils show a great deal of respect for adults and for each other. You have created a learning environment which is calm and purposeful. Pupils work and play together in harmony. You provide pupils with a broad range of subjects that they enjoy. Extra-curricular activities provide opportunities for pupils to engage in other interests they may have. These include singing groups and music lessons. There are also faith-based clubs and many sports-based activities.

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Short inspection of St Andrew’s CofE Primary and Nursery School

You have continued to improve the quality of teaching across the school. This is especially true where changes in staff have occurred. Teachers make learning interesting for the pupils. They use high-quality questioning to check pupils’ understanding and to make them think hard.

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Short inspection of St Andrew’s CofE Primary and Nursery School

Leaders are making better use of a new assessment system to check and record pupils’ progress. Staff know individual pupils well and identify when they do not make the progress they should. Focused discussions between leaders and teachers are central in identifying targeted support to fill gaps in pupils’ learning.

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Short inspection of St Andrew’s CofE Primary and Nursery School

Since your appointment, you have focused on addressing the areas for improvement identified at the last inspection. Teachers provide opportunities for pupils to develop the skills they need to successfully organise their learning. Clearly explained success criteria enable pupils to aim for, and reach, higher standards in their work.

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Short inspection of St Andrew’s CofE Primary and Nursery School

Although the number of pupils who reach a greater depth in their learning is increasing, you know that it is not as high as it could be across all year groups or in some subjects. This is especially true for the most able pupils in mathematics in key stage 2. You also recognise that pupils in key stage 1 do not sustain the rapid progress they make in reading in the early years. Furthermore, you acknowledge that sometimes teaching assistants and other adults do not provide sufficient support to pupils who need their help to catch up.

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Short inspection of St Andrew’s CofE Primary and Nursery School

You have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. The administration of safeguarding and safety-related matters is efficient. As the designated teacher for child protection and safeguarding, you follow up concerns and make referrals in a timely manner. You have created strong relationships between the school, external agencies and the local authority.

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Short inspection of St Andrew’s CofE Primary and Nursery School

Staff have a thorough understanding of safeguarding matters. Up-to-date policies and regular training provide staff with the knowledge and skills they need to follow up any concerns they may have. Staff are vigilant in their daily routines.

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Short inspection of St Andrew’s CofE Primary and Nursery School

Pupils said that they feel safe at school. They said that there is always someone they can talk with. The school’s curriculum helps pupils to develop a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe. For example, pupils spoke confidently about how they should keep themselves safe when using technology. Almost all parents, through Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, agree that their children are safe and well looked after.

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Inspection findings

 Attainment at the end of key stage 1 has been high in the past. In 2017, attainment fell in reading and writing. Leaders have taken quick action to reverse this recent decline. New programmes ensure that pupils’ reading comprehension skills are better developed. Teachers place a high priority on improving pupils’ spelling and correcting their errors. They also pay particular attention to developing pupils’ grammar and their handwriting skills.  The information that the teachers record in the school’s assessment system, as well as work in pupils’ books, indicates that standards are rising again in key stage 1 in reading, writing and mathematics. However, teachers do not consistently challenge pupils to read text that is more demanding. Occasionally, teachers do not move pupils on quickly enough in their phonic skill development.  Leaders identified that more pupils should reach a higher standard in their

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Inspection findings

learning. They have taken effective action that has brought improvements. Teachers now provide pupils with greater challenge and create opportunities for them to show their understanding. Teachers ask pupils to explain their answers and ideas in great depth. For example, in a key stage 2 English lesson, the teacher provided pupils with a task that presented them with a high level of challenge. The teacher questioned pupils to make them think hard and consider what they had understood. Pupils responded well to the demands of the task.  Teaching assistants play an effective role in helping pupils to reach higher standards in their learning. In key stage 2 mathematics, pupils benefited from effective partnership work between the teacher and teaching assistant. Pupils’ progress accelerated during the intensive support that this approach provided. At times, however, teaching assistants do not provide pupils with enough support to

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Inspection findings

help them to catch up.  The proportion of pupils who achieve a greater depth in their learning during key stage 1 and key stage 2 is increasing. In 2017, it was above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics combined, by the end of key stage 2. The most able pupils make good progress towards achieving higher standards in reading and writing. In mathematics, however, their progress is not as rapid. The number of disadvantaged pupils is small. Some of these pupils are not making as much progress towards reaching higher standards as they could.  Leaders are aware that boys have not attained as well as the girls in previous years. They have changed the school’s curriculum to ensure that boys have more opportunities to succeed. This has been particularly successful in the early years. Last year, at the end of the Reception Year, boys achieved higher than the girls. In both key stage 1 and key stage 2, boys’ and girls’ progress is now similar.

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Inspection findings

Leaders know, however, that their actions have yet to make a difference in the Year 1 phonic screening checks.  Pupils’ absence has reduced. Disadvantaged pupils and boys, in the past, have not attended school every day as they should. Leaders have worked hard to address this. They have put systems in place to improve pupils’ attendance. Last year, the attendance of disadvantaged pupils improved. The gap between boys’ and girls’ attendance also reduced. New sanctions are being introduced to reduce pupils’ absence further.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 pupils in key stage 1 build on the rapid progress they make in reading in the early years  they continue to increase the proportion of key stage 2 pupils who achieve a greater depth in their learning, especially the most able pupils in mathematics  teaching assistants consistently provide pupils with any support they need to accelerate their progress.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of Southwell, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Nottinghamshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I held meetings with you and the deputy headteacher. I also met with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors. You and I made a series of visits to lessons across all key stages. I spoke with a group of pupils and examined samples of pupils’ work. I listened to pupils from Year 1 and Year 2 reading. I also considered a range of documents. These included the school’s self-evaluation, the school’s improvement plan and information on pupils’ attainment and progress. I looked at how effectively leaders and governors use the pupil premium funding. I examined the school’s website to check that it meets the requirements on the publication of specified information. Safeguarding practices were also reviewed. I considered the views of 68 parents posted on Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View. This included 31 free-text responses. There were no responses to Ofsted’s pupil or staff online surveys.

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Information about the inspection

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.

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