Grange Community Primary School

Grange Community Primary School Grange Road, Felixstowe, Suffolk IP11 2LA

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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

 Numerous changes in leadership since the previous inspection have limited the school’s capacity to improve.  The quality of teaching, learning and assessment varies significantly. Most pupils make slow progress across the curriculum. In particular, pupils have achieved consistently weak outcomes in writing over recent years.  Children do not effectively develop the skills of letter formation in the early years and are therefore not well prepared for the demands of the key stage 1 curriculum.  Leaders’ evaluation of the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is overgenerous and does not acknowledge that low outcomes are indicative of low standards of education.  Not all teachers have high enough expectations of pupils. They do not question pupils effectively to develop pupils’ deeper understanding.  Leaders and staff have not effectively addressed the poor behaviour of some pupils. The number of incidents reported has not

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

diminished over time.  The progress of the most able pupils is not monitored. They are not given work that is sufficiently challenging to ensure that they make swift progress.  Senior leaders’ and subject leaders’ analysis of assessment information is not sharp enough to inform rigorous plans for improvement.  Governors have not ensured that important information for parents and carers has been updated on the school website at the right time.  Pupils who are disadvantaged are not supported well enough to make sufficient progress. Additional funding for this group of pupils is not being used effectively.  The rate of persistent absence for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities is too high.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Pupils feel safe at school. They are well looked after. There is an effective range of opportunities for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Pupils are very eager to learn and are keen to succeed. Leaders are currently supporting teachers to improve their effectiveness. However, it is too early to judge the impact.

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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, learning and assessment by: – ensuring that staff use assessment information carefully to plan work that matches both the needs and interests of all pupils so that they are able to make strong progress in all areas of the curriculum – improving the quality of questioning to promote pupils’ greater understanding – providing pupils with clear guidance on how to improve their writing for different audiences and purposes – providing pupils with clear guidance on how to develop their understanding of the texts they read – ensuring that pupils develop effective reasoning skills in mathematics – developing the skills of staff in the early years to teach the stages of letter formation, and support children’s understanding and skills more effectively.  Raise achievement by: – reducing persistent absence so that pupils are not hampered by low attendance – tracking closely the progress and attainment of all pupils, including the most able

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

pupils, and providing effective and pertinent support – analysing behaviour records in detail to eradicate incidents of unacceptable behaviour – improving standards for writing, handwriting, reading and mathematics, which are unacceptably low – developing further ways of engaging with parents, especially regarding their children’s reading and writing.  Improve leadership and management by: – accurately evaluating school performance and using information about progress and attainment to identify strengths and areas for improvement, including for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils – embedding effective monitoring systems for teaching, learning and assessment so that leaders and governors have a consistently accurate understanding of the quality of provision and its impact on pupils’ progress – ensuring that new leaders receive effective support to embed the school’s strategic

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

improvement priorities to improve rapidly the quality of teaching, learning and assessment – ensuring that additional funding for disadvantaged pupils is spent effectively to improve the achievements of these pupils – ensuring that the school website is kept up to date so that parents can access important information about the school. 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 how pupil premium funding is used should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved. Newly qualified teachers may be appointed.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 Numerous changes in those leading the school since the previous inspection have meant that the continuity of leadership has been frequently interrupted. As a result, leaders have been unable to identify improvement priorities and act upon them. Current leaders’ self-evaluation describes how the school has ‘stood still’ in terms of development during much of this time.  Leaders, including governors, have not ensured that the standard of teaching, learning and assessment is effective. As a result, pupils have not made strong progress across the curriculum.  Monitoring and evaluation of provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are not effective. Leaders do not have a clear understanding of what works well and how effectively additional funding is used to promote pupils’ progress.  Leaders’ analysis of assessment information is ineffective. Leaders do not have an accurate understanding of the provision in the school and do not therefore establish

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

clear priorities for improvement. Pupils’ next steps are not accurately identified and appropriate support is not provided.  Leaders’ self-evaluation is overgenerous. Leaders and governors have not recognised the extent of underachievement and, therefore, the priorities for improvement. Leaders do not have effective plans for raising achievement. For example, school improvement plans do not have clear targets for improving outcomes.  Leaders do not manage the performance of staff rigorously enough. Staff have not been supported effectively to improve their teaching and the ways in which they use assessment information. Leaders have recently introduced a programme to improve the effectiveness of teaching but it is too early to judge its impact.  Middle leaders are not performing consistently well to make a significant impact on achievement across all groups of pupils. Subject leaders do not lead the delivery of

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

their respective subjects with vision and challenge. As a consequence, the curriculum does not engage and excite pupils.  Leaders acknowledge that they need to do more work to engage all parents and ensure that they are supported to play a positive role in their children’s progress.  Leaders have not ensured that there is mutual respect and tolerance towards others throughout the school. There is a significant minority of pupils who display unacceptable behaviour, and leaders have not ensured that this is addressed effectively.  During this inspection, the leadership of the school was undertaken by an interim headteacher appointed by the local authority. She has an incisive and realistic view of the standards in the school.  More effective support and rigorous challenge from the local authority’s standards and excellence officer – a new link to the school – have been in place this term. However, the impact is not yet evident.

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Governance of the school

 Governors are not fully aware of the school’s performance and the significant underachievement of pupils over the last two years. This is because they do not evaluate effectively the outcomes achieved by pupils.  The local authority issued governors with a warning notice this year which states that the governing body has been unable to secure rapid and sustained improvement. Governance has changed significantly since September 2017. This partly reflects the efforts to recruit high-quality governors equipped to offer the support and challenge that the school needs. However, the impact of this new membership is not apparent.  A recent analysis of how additional funding for disadvantaged pupils is spent, and the impact it makes, is not yet on the school’s website. However, although it has been completed, it is not evaluative enough and does not explain the impact of the funding well.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  Child protection arrangements and the procedures to check the suitability of all those who work at the school meet statutory requirements.  Staff training for safeguarding meets requirements and is recorded systematically.  Pupils feel safe and have a thorough knowledge of how to keep safe, including when online. Emergency procedures are practised regularly and used to highlight where improvements need to be made. There is a culture of safeguarding throughout the school.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

 Teachers do not consistently have high expectations of pupils. Teachers do not routinely plan effective lessons that stretch and extend pupils’ understanding based on their differing starting points. They do not ensure that learning links clearly and effectively from one lesson to another to promote pupils’ progression. As a result, pupils’ skills, understanding and knowledge do not develop swiftly over time.  Although there is a system in place to offer extension tasks for the most able pupils, too few of them are routinely challenged to work at a higher standard. Teachers do not use effective questioning during the teaching of reading. It does not promote pupils’ ability to understand how language affects meaning in texts. Pupils do not develop the skills to work out how writers use language to construct characters and ideas. As a result, pupils do not make effective progress in reading.  Teachers do not support pupils to explore subjects and ideas in great depth.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

For example, pupils are not given enough opportunities to explain how they solve problems in mathematics. Consequently, pupils do not make strong progress in many areas of the curriculum.  Pupils feel that lessons are better this term. They told inspectors that they would like more work and extra challenge because this is what motivates them.  Staff do not use assessment information for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities with precision to plan more effective learning in the classroom. As a consequence, these pupils do not make enough progress in many areas of the curriculum.  Many teachers are currently engaged in working collaboratively with others to improve the effectiveness of their teaching. Staff engage with both internal and external support to improve their practice. However, it is too early to judge the impact of this.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Leaders have recognised that a significant minority of pupils experience additional social and emotional difficulties or have speech, language and communication needs. They ensure that these pupils receive good support from specialist staff who work with the local authority specialist sensory team.  The curriculum provides pupils with a range of events and activities designed to develop their understanding of their role as twenty-first-century British citizens.  Pupils engage in democracy through elections to the school council. The school council is also involved in the local community. For example, members of the council attend the Youth Forum in Felixstowe and contribute to local debates. Pupils have the opportunity to play an active part in local decision-making.  Pupils attend assemblies that explore issues pertinent to life in Britain. For example, an

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Personal development and welfare

assembly about the life and legacy of Emmeline Pankhurst, the renowned suffragette, took place during the inspection, and pupils were able to comment on how she had empowered women to have a greater role in society.  The Gold School Games Award has been achieved recently. This recognises a high level of participation in sport and physical activity. Pupils were particularly excited about the swimming gala for pupils in Years 5 and 6 during the inspection.  Promoting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school. The pupil-voice discussions show that there is a strong sense of community in the school. A range of clubs, activities and trips promote pupils’ wider tolerance of difference and understanding of people from other backgrounds.  Pupils are given responsibilities such as ‘Grange pupil ambassadors’ to promote diversity and tolerance effectively.  The school’s house system promotes a wide range of competitions and rewards which

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Personal development and welfare

pupils really value and enjoy.  Pupils know who to ask for help or advice should they experience difficulties of any sort. Pupils told the inspection team that, if bullying occurs, it is addressed quickly and effectively by staff.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.  Leaders’ records show that physical incidents, including fighting, occur regularly. This is over a period of time and incidents are not decreasing quickly enough.  Leaders and staff do not evaluate behaviour records sharply or frequently enough to bring about significant improvement. Records do not show how issues of bullying are resolved or what actions are taken to make sure that incidents do not reoccur.  Persistent absence is high for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils. Although monitored, leaders do not routinely analyse the reasons for absence to support its reduction.  The majority of pupils are courteous and calm. They move around the school in an orderly way. In lessons, most pupils are well behaved and cooperative.  Pupils work together well and low-level disruption is rare. The overwhelming majority of pupils have an enthusiastic attitude to learning.

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Behaviour

 Pupils demonstrate pride in their work. For example, they are proud when they produce a good quantity of writing or get the opportunity to attempt more challenging tasks. Their books show that, recently, they have started to actively engage in the school’s new procedures for commenting about the quality of work in their books.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 Current assessment information shows that there is significant underachievement in writing, reading, mathematics and English grammar, spelling and punctuation in most year groups. This continuing trend of underachievement is reflected in overall results achieved at the end of key stage 2 over the past few years. As a consequence, pupils are not well prepared for the next stage of their education.  The most able pupils underachieve. Assessment of their learning and progress lacks rigour. They do not receive the appropriate level of challenge in lessons that would result in rapid progress.  Writing is a particularly significant weakness of the school. Current assessment information shows that a trend of underachievement continues. Inspectors found that pupils’ writing in their books was generally of a low standard.  The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities who do not make expected

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

progress is too high. Procedures for evaluating pupils’ progress do not provide a clear picture of what the next steps should be for developing provision.  Disadvantaged pupils underachieve, mainly because the quality of teaching is not good enough and additional funding is not spent effectively to support these pupils. In particular, disadvantaged pupils significantly underachieve in reading.

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Early years provision Requires improvement

 Children join Reception typically with low starting points. A high proportion of children of the current cohort entered the school with skills below those typical for their age.  The proportion of children achieving a good level of development is below average.  The achievement gap between disadvantaged and other children is diminishing but is still too wide.  Leaders and staff have not established effective teaching, learning and assessment of the skills children require as writers. Staff do not teach children how to form letters effectively. As a result, children are not well prepared for the demands of the writing curriculum in Year 1.  Leaders and staff have not evaluated the impact of new strategies, such as technical equipment, on children’s learning. Consequently, they are unsure of the impact of the equipment on the development of children’s skills.  Leaders and staff do not maintain up-to-date assessment systems. As a result, leaders

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Early years provision Requires improvement

and staff do not track and evaluate children’s progress to support their continued development.  Some parents do not use the school’s assessment procedures for sharing information about their children’s progress. Parents do not gain regular updates about their children’s progress or aspects of their learning to support learning at home.  Phonics teaching is well established and children are being taught at the right level for their ages and abilities. As a consequence, children develop effective early phonics skills.  Children in Reception know the daily routines well and organise themselves quickly from one activity to the next. Children take on responsibilities during the day. Children cooperate well with each other during play and more formal learning.  Leaders have embedded effective assessment procedures which support the identification of children’s strengths and areas for development. As a result, additional

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Early years provision Requires improvement

support is provided and children’s progress is tracked effectively in many areas of the curriculum.  Children’s early language skills develop effectively through collaborative talk and sharing ideas with their peers.  Safeguarding is effective. All statutory welfare obligations are met. There is an effective culture of safeguarding throughout Reception. Leaders and staff share a clear vision and ethos for the development of children’s skills, knowledge and understanding. Staff develop good relations with children and care for them well.

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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

Email address office@grange.suffolk.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 28–29 November 2013

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Information about this school

 The school does not meet requirements on the publication of information about pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, the pupil premium and the physical education and sport premium.  This school is smaller than average.  The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is significantly higher than the national average.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium funding is above average.  The majority of the pupils are of White British heritage.  The school currently uses one alternative provider, Include, which is a pupil referral unit.  In 2016, the school met the current government floor standards.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed lessons across all key stages. Some lessons were observed jointly with the interim headteacher, the deputy headteacher and the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo).  The lead inspector also observed an external adviser working in lessons as part of the school’s programme of coaching for staff to develop the quality of teaching.  Inspectors conducted learning walks which focused on writing, reading, pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and fundamental British values.  Meetings were held with senior leaders, the SENCo, two governors, a representative of the local authority, a group of pupils and teachers.  The inspection team looked at pupils’ books and discussed their progress with them. Inspectors listened to them read and also observed them at break and lunchtime.  Inspectors talked to parents at the start of the school day and also considered five

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Information about this inspection

free-text responses and 10 survey responses from parents.  A range of documentation was examined, including the school self-evaluation, the school action plan in response to a warning notice from the local authority, current assessment information and incident logs.

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Inspection team

Liz Cornish, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Paul Andrew 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

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

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