Friskney All Saints Church of England (Aided) Primary School

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

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Miss Emma Taylor Headteacher Friskney All Saints Church of England (Aided) Primary School Church End Friskney Boston Lincolnshire PE22 8RD

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Short inspection of Friskney All Saints Church of England (Aided) Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 18 September 2018, 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 October 2014.

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Short inspection of Friskney All Saints Church of England (Aided) Primary School

Based on the evidence gathered during this short inspection, I have identified some priorities for improvement which I advise the school to address. In light of these priorities, the school’s next inspection will be a full section 5 inspection. There is no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a result of this inspection.

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Short inspection of Friskney All Saints Church of England (Aided) Primary School

The school is currently experiencing a period of transition. Leadership has undergone an enormous amount of change over the last 12 months. You were appointed as headteacher in September 2017 and during the last academic year you have introduced many new systems and procedures. For example, there is now a system in place to monitor pupils’ progress and you have introduced frequent opportunities for teachers to discuss the progress of pupils with you. This helps to ensure that any pupil who is falling behind is identified swiftly and is given the help they need in order to catch up. You have also ensured that, for example, systems for managing teachers’ performance and for improving the quality of teaching are understood fully by staff and the governing body. These new procedures and systems need time for them to become fully embedded and effective.

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Short inspection of Friskney All Saints Church of England (Aided) Primary School

Other recent leadership changes include the appointment last year of new English and mathematics subject leaders along with a new deputy headteacher, who took up his post in September 2018. There are also a number of governors who have recently joined the governing body. It is crucial for these individuals to receive appropriate support and training to ensure that they are able to carry out their duties effectively. This will therefore be a next step for the school.

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Short inspection of Friskney All Saints Church of England (Aided) Primary School

There has been a decline in standards over recent years. For example, pupils leaving key stage 2 in 2016 made faster progress in reading, writing and mathematics when compared to pupils nationally. However, provisional results for pupils leaving key stage 2 in 2018 show that this cohort made much slower progress in reading and mathematics when compared to pupils nationally. Disadvantaged pupils leaving key stage 2 in 2016 made faster progress when compared to pupils nationally in reading, writing and mathematics. However, their 2018 counterparts made much slower progress when compared to other disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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Short inspection of Friskney All Saints Church of England (Aided) Primary School

In 2017, the proportion of pupils leaving key stage 1 who achieved the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics fell dramatically. For example, in 2017 a third of pupils achieved the expected standard in writing compared to two thirds in 2016. However, there was some improvement in 2018, especially in mathematics.

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Short inspection of Friskney All Saints Church of England (Aided) Primary School

Assessment information you provided indicates that there is a significant number of pupils in each year group who are not currently working at age-related expectations in reading, writing and mathematics. However, you have accurately identified the areas that require improvement and have written appropriate action plans in order to tackle these areas promptly.

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Short inspection of Friskney All Saints Church of England (Aided) Primary School

You and the staff have ensured that there is a positive learning environment throughout the school. Pupils, including children in the foundation stage, are polite, behave well and are enthusiastic and engaged learners. For example, pupils in Year 1 were engrossed in various activities helping them to learn, recognise and count numbers to 20. Similarly, in the Year 5 and Year 6 class, pupils were successfully using a thesaurus to improve their vocabulary when describing a character from a story. One boy had chosen wicked, villainous, immoral and sinful as appropriate synonyms for evil.

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Short inspection of Friskney All Saints Church of England (Aided) Primary School

Pupils unanimously told me that they feel happy and safe in school and that bullying is extremely rare. Pupils have a good understanding of British values and how to keep themselves safe, including when online. They have a sound knowledge of faiths different to their own and are being prepared well for life in modern Britain. The pupils enjoy a wide variety of educational visits and the opportunity to take part in after-school sports clubs.

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Short inspection of Friskney All Saints Church of England (Aided) Primary School

Parents and carers with whom I spoke and those who responded to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, were unanimous in their view that their children are happy at Friskney, safe and are well looked after. One parent commented, ‘My child has made great progress at the school. I would definitely recommend this school as they put my child’s welfare first, both in learning and in social situations.’

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Short inspection of Friskney All Saints Church of England (Aided) Primary School

Leaders have successfully addressed the areas for improvement identified at the time of the previous inspection. The inspector asked that teachers consistently set challenging work for pupils and insist that pupils present their work neatly and tidily. Teachers are now using the new assessment system to accurately plan work that challenges all groups of pupils. For example, in the Year 3 and Year 4 class, pupils were solving problems in mathematics relating to place value. Pupils were completing tasks at either a bronze, silver or gold level of difficulty. There was an appropriate ‘platinum challenge’ for the most able pupils to attempt as an extension activity. The pupils told me they enjoyed being challenged in this way. Your plans to improve pupils’ presentation of work, particularly their handwriting, have been successful. You have introduced a new handwriting policy that insists pupils have to earn a ‘pen licence,’ by writing in a joined and

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Short inspection of Friskney All Saints Church of England (Aided) Primary School

legible style, before being allowed to write in ink. There are also more frequent opportunities for pupils to practise their handwriting during focused times of the week. Evidence seen in pupils’ writing books, particularly in Year 1 from last year, showed a significant improvement in pupils’ handwriting and presentation skills.

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Short inspection of Friskney All Saints Church of England (Aided) Primary School

The inspector also asked that the school develop a more accurate identification of pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities. The new assessment system and pupil progress meetings allow staff to identify quickly any pupil who requires extra specialist support. For example, you have recently utilised outside agencies such as the behaviour support and emotional and mental health teams.

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Short inspection of Friskney All Saints Church of England (Aided) Primary School

You have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and that the relevant checks are made on adults before they are allowed to work or volunteer at the school. Staff are following the local authority’s ‘5-year training pathway’ and have received appropriate training in areas such as spotting the signs of child sexual exploitation, female genital mutilation, child abuse and neglect. Staff know the procedures for reporting any concerns they have regarding pupils’ welfare. You understand the importance of promptly reporting relevant concerns to outside agencies such as social care.

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Inspection findings

 You have rightly identified that pupils’ progress in reading, especially by the end of key stage 2, has slowed significantly over recent years. Consequently, you have purchased new reading books for key stage 2 and the English subject leader has introduced ‘story sacks’ into the early years which encourage children to read at home and discuss aspects of the story with a parent or carer. The English leader has also received training from a specialist English consultant and frequently attends cluster meetings with colleagues from other schools. These opportunities have helped to develop her leadership skills and share good practice with staff at Friskney. You recognise that this area is still in need of improvement.  The allocation and monitoring of the pupil premium funding for disadvantaged pupils was ineffective last year. Disadvantaged pupils leaving the school in 2018 made much slower progress than their counterparts in 2016 and 2017 in reading, writing and mathematics.

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Inspection findings

There were sparse records in this area and it was therefore difficult for us to understand which pupils had received extra support and the impact that it had had on their progress. The deputy headteacher is taking over this responsibility during the autumn term. An external review of the pupil premium funding should be undertaken as soon as possible.  Absence and persistent absence rates have been higher than the national averages for the last three years. You have a strong system in place for checking why pupils are absent on a day-to-day basis and offer incentives and rewards for those pupils who attend well. You have also recently appointed an attendance officer to educate and encourage parents and carers to ensure they send their children to school more often. However, you are not currently using all the deterrents available to you. This is especially the case for families who take holidays during term time and those who consistently

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Inspection findings

have high rates of absence. Improving pupils’ attendance rates to be higher than the national average should be a target and therefore a next step for the school.  Members of the governing body have received some relevant training and have a good mix of skills and experience. They are open and honest regarding the school’s strengths and development areas and are realistic that the new leadership team needs time for the new systems and procedures to bear fruit. The governors have historically made visits to the school and have had responsibility for key aspects of the school’s work. However, they acknowledge that recently they have not been as rigorous as they should be and have therefore not held leaders to account for their actions. As some new governors have joined recently, now would be a good time for an external review of governance to take place.  The local authority has recently provided effective support. For example, the adviser has

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Inspection findings

aided you with the writing of the school improvement plan and the school’s self- evaluation. There has also been strong support as you have taken on the role of headteacher.

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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

 more pupils make better than expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics by holding teachers and teaching assistants fully to account for the achievement of all pupils  new leaders receive the support and training required to enable them to be effective in their roles  the pupil premium funding is allocated and monitored effectively, enabling these pupils to make good progress  the school continues to work with the families of those pupils whose attendance is a cause for concern  the governing body effectively monitors the work of leaders, therefore holding them fully to account for their actions  external reviews of both the pupil premium funding and governance should be undertaken in order to establish how these aspects of leadership and management could be improved.

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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 Lincoln, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Lincolnshire. 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 in your roles as headteacher and the leader responsible for the pupil premium funding and safeguarding. I also met with the English subject leader, three members of the governing body, including the chair, and a group of 10 pupils. I held telephone conversations with the headteacher of an outside provider used by the school and the school’s local authority adviser. I scrutinised a range of documents, including those relating to pupils’ progress, the school’s improvement planning, self- evaluation and documents relating to attendance and safeguarding. I visited all key stages with you to see the learning that was taking place and observed groups of key stage 1 pupils learning phonics. I spoke with pupils informally in classes and at lunchtime and looked at work in their books. I listened to a group of pupils read. I spoke with several parents as they brought their children to school in the morning and I took account of the

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Information about the inspection

views of 16 parents through responses to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View. There were no responses to Ofsted’s staff and pupil surveys.

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