Shepton Beauchamp Church of England Primary School

Shepton Beauchamp Church of England Primary School Church Street, Shepton Beauchamp, Ilminster, Somerset TA19 0LQ

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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

 Leadership is inadequate. Over time, leaders and governors have not acted swiftly enough to raise the standards of education. Leaders’ monitoring and their plans for improvement are ineffective.  Pupils’ outcomes have, for more than two years, been below those seen nationally. Current pupils make insufficient progress from their starting points.  Teachers’ expectations of pupils are too low. Teachers have an inaccurate picture of pupils’ abilities. On too many occasions, the work set does not meet pupils’ needs.  As a result of weak teaching of spelling, punctuation and grammar, pupils’ writing progress is significantly hampered.  While safeguarding is effective, not all staff have received adequate training in the ‘Prevent’ duty.  Phonics teaching is too inconsistent across early years and key stage 1 and does not help pupils to develop their reading skills.  Pupils’ problem-solving and reasoning skills in

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

mathematics are weak.  Relationships between school leaders and the wider community are fractured. Leaders have not developed effective communication systems to respond to the concerns of parents.  Middle leaders have not been sufficiently supported to become effective in their roles.  Teaching in the early years is ineffective. Staff do not provide suitable activities to help children develop their knowledge and skills. Therefore, children make very little progress.  Behaviour is inadequate. Low-level disruption in class is common. Pupils’ weak learning habits hinder their progress.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The curriculum in key stages 1 and 2 is broad and balanced.  A strong Christian distinctiveness permeates the school. Pupils treat each other with respect and work well with the local community. March 2019

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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 quality of leadership and management by ensuring that: – leaders develop effective plans for improvement and systems that enable governors to check regularly upon all areas of school performance – leaders and governors set high expectations for the achievement of pupils and that governors closely monitor and challenge any underperformance – expectations of what pupils can achieve are raised across the school – the leadership skills of middle leaders are developed so that they have the capacity to drive improvement – the monitoring of teaching is precise and sets clear priorities for improvement – all staff have training in the ‘Prevent’ duty and can identify the early signs that may indicate that pupils are at risk of radicalisation – relationships with parents are strengthened so that collectively they can work with the school to support rapid improvement.  Urgently improve pupils’ achievement so that all pupils, including the most able, make

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

the progress needed to reach their full potential.  Rapidly improve the quality of teaching so that it is consistently good or better by making sure that: – teachers have the highest expectations of what pupils can achieve in every key stage, including early years – teachers use assessment information and knowledge of what pupils can already do to maximise progress from pupils’ starting points – teaching rapidly improves pupils’ understanding and correct use of spelling, punctuation and grammar so that their writing improves – teachers provide opportunities for pupils to deepen their understanding of mathematics through reasoning and problem-solving activities.  Swiftly improve personal development, behaviour and welfare by: – eradicating any incidents of low-level disruption during learning – ensuring good conduct when pupils are moving around the school – developing a culture of resilience and high expectations

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– ensuring that pupils have a positive attitude to learning. March 2019  Rapidly increase the effectiveness of the early years provision, by: – improving the learning environment to ensure that high-quality, continuous provision is in place that enables children to develop their skills fully – making accurate assessments of what children can do and then planning purposeful learning activities that build progressively on previous learning. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved. March 2019

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 The Ofsted short inspection visit in January 2018 concluded that leaders were at risk of not addressing the previous inspection improvement points. Since that short inspection, leaders and governors have not acted quickly enough to address the areas identified for improvement. As a result, standards in education have declined rapidly. Expectations have been too low for too long. This legacy of underperformance continues to hamper the capacity of the school to improve.  Leaders have not developed a culture of high expectations. Too often, teachers readily accept the minimum from pupils and do not challenge them to fulfil their potential. The vast majority of children enter the school with skills and abilities that would be expected for their age, but they are not encouraged to make the progress of which they are capable.  Over time, governors have not been provided with the information they need to be

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

effective in their roles. They have not adequately challenged the low standards or sufficiently held leaders to account. Consequently, the necessary action has not been taken to ensure that pupils make good progress.  External support has not been able to stem the decline in standards. Areas identified by the local authority that require urgent improvement have not been addressed by leaders. This is because of leaders’ lack of urgency.  Leaders are clear about some of the areas for improvement and can identify strengths in the school. However, self-evaluation is overgenerous. This is because the monitoring of teaching has not been sufficient to inform an accurate evaluation of the school’s performance.  Leaders’ plans for improvement are ineffective. This is because the plans are not sharp enough in ensuring that pupils are making sustained progress over time.  Middle leaders are not effective. Leaders have not used professional development to

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

build staff expertise securely. Relevant action plans are linked to their areas of responsibility. However, as middle leaders are not involved in regular monitoring of teaching, they have had little impact on improving pupils’ outcomes or driving school improvement.  The leadership of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is not effective. This is because senior leaders do not respond adequately to issues and concerns raised by the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo). This has resulted in leaders and teachers not meeting pupils’ needs. As a result, pupils’ progress across the school is inconsistent.  Over time, leaders have not monitored the performance of teachers and teaching assistants rigorously enough. Teachers feel that performance management arrangements are not effective. This has led to expectations being too low, and the most urgent priority, which is to improve teaching and learning, has not been addressed.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 Staff who completed the online survey do not feel positive about the school. Morale is low, and staff do not have confidence in senior leaders’ ability to improve the standard March 2019 of education. Approximately two thirds of parents who responded to Ofsted’s questionnaire, Parent View, believe that the school is not well led or managed.  The sports premium funding is used effectively. An appropriate strategy is in place, which is increasing pupils’ participation in a range of sports. The school has had recent successes in becoming county champions for boccia and achieving the gold standard from the Youth Sports Trust. Opportunities for staff to develop their skills in teaching physical education (PE) and sports are provided.  A broad and balanced curriculum is in place, which is taught over a four-year period. Pupils enjoy the creative, practical elements of the curriculum. Pupils who met with the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

inspector were keen to share how their experiences of ‘Gore Farm’ enhanced their understanding of life in prehistoric times.  Leaders ensure that there is a strong focus on pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils contribute to and participate in charitable events such as ‘Children in Need’. As a result of the significant amount of funding raised, pupils received a visit from the BBC’s mascot ‘Pudsey Bear’. Through an assembly programme, pupils have acquired a tolerance of others and a sound awareness of other faiths. Their social and cultural development is enhanced by a range of trips and visitors.  The school may not appoint newly qualified teachers.

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Governance of the school

 Over time, governors’ actions are ineffective. They have not provided adequate support or challenge to school leaders. The vast majority of governors have been recently appointed to their roles, including the chair and vice-chair. They recognise the need for urgent action. They have set about their task diligently. They understand the school’s strengths and weaknesses and welcome a review of governance. However, they have not been successful in stemming the decline in the school’s performance. This is because the information that they have been provided with is insufficient and is not readily available from school leaders.  Recently appointed governors have sought ways to improve their effectiveness. However, currently, there is not a comprehensive improvement plan in place to check on leaders’ work. This is because governors have not been routinely welcome to monitor the performance of the school. Consequently, relationships between leaders

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Governance of the school

and governors are not as effective as they could be.  Governors take their responsibility for keeping children safe seriously. Regular audits by the safeguarding governor ensure that the school systems and procedures are followed appropriately. However, recently appointed governors have not received up-to-date training in child protection. There are planned actions to bring all governors swiftly up to speed.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders ensure that pupils’ safety is given a high priority. Governors have taken significant action to make the school site more secure for pupils in their care. Additionally, leaders have commissioned external March 2019 audits of safeguarding practice to make sure that policies and practice are effective.  Staff know the pupils and families well. All staff are aware of the school’s responsibilities for keeping children safe and know how to report any concerns. Pupils confidently report that staff respond swiftly to any concerns or worries they have.  The curriculum provides pupils with a range of opportunities to learn how to keep themselves safe. Pupils speak favourably about the visits from the local fire service and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) to widen their understanding. Pupils are aware how to stay safe online and what action to take if they

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Safeguarding

feel threatened.  Staff were able to clearly articulate the signs and symptoms of a pupil who may be at risk of harm from sexual exploitation and female genital mutilation. However, leaders and governors have not ensured that all staff are able to identify a pupil who may be at risk of harm from radicalisation. Leaders recognise the need to address this as an urgent priority.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

 Over time, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment has not been good enough. Teachers do not expect enough of their pupils. They do not make good use of assessment information, nor of what they already know about pupils’ potential achievement. Too often, activities do not challenge or deepen pupils’ knowledge, particularly in English and mathematics. As a result, pupils have not made the progress they should.  The teaching of reading is weak. In key stage 1, phonics activities do not challenge or interest pupils. As a result, pupils often lose interest in activities and display poor attitudes to learning. Most-able pupils are not challenged to develop their reading skills. Too often, pupils are left to read books without any planned activity or expectation placed upon them. Consequently, they do not reach the standards of which they are capable.  Changes in the way mathematics is taught are not having an impact on pupils’

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

outcomes. Some staff lack confidence in the school’s approach to teaching mathematics. There is insufficient focus on the application of reasoning skills and problem solving in mathematics. This prevents pupils from deepening their mathematical understanding.  In mathematics, too many pupils have gaps in their knowledge and understanding and this hinders their potential for reaching expected standards for their age. Pupils who have a stronger understanding of mathematics are not being challenged sufficiently. Most-able pupils have insufficient opportunities to deepen their knowledge and understanding. Over the last three years, no pupil has achieved greater depth by the end of key stage 1.  End-of-year assessments do not provide an accurate picture of what pupils know, understand and can do. For example, pupils who had achieved the expected standard by the end of Year 2 struggled to use simple sentence structure in Year 3. This is

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

because pupils have not secured age-appropriate spelling, punctuation and grammar March 2019 skills.  Relationships between pupils and teachers are mostly positive. Teaching has left some pupils not motivated to learn and overly reliant on adult support. This hinders their opportunity to grapple with learning and develop their knowledge, skills and understanding.  Additional adults provide encouragement and help pupils complete their work. They ask probing questions to extend pupils’ understanding. As a result, pupils who are being supported make stronger progress.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.  A large proportion of pupils do not have positive attitudes to their learning. Too often, pupils rely on adults to tell them what to do next and do not challenge themselves as well as they might. Pupils show a distinct lack of resilience when they are faced with work that requires them to think for themselves.  Pupils know how to stay safe online. They also demonstrated an awareness of how to stay safe outside school, including ‘stranger danger’.  Pupils are typically happy in school and they value the support of their teachers and teaching assistants. They value the opportunities to take on a range of responsibilities in the school, such as being a school councillor. They take these seriously and feel that their opinions are listened to by adults.  Leaders and staff place the school’s Christian distinctiveness at the heart of the school.

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Personal development and welfare

Pupils work closely with the local community and understand why they support various charities.  Effective use of the physical education and sport premium funding means that pupils have increased access to a range of sporting activities and events. Pupils report they are proud to represent their school with success across a range of sports.  Pupils are welcoming to visitors. They are encouraged to treat each other with respect. Most pupils are courteous towards each other and staff.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is inadequate.  Low-level disruption is commonplace, particularly in key stage 1. A significant number of pupils do not have a positive attitude to learning. Too often, this is because pupils are switching off and their needs are not being met. Too much learning time is lost while staff attend to pupils’ poor behaviour.  Pupils do not move around the school in a calm and orderly manner. During social times and movement between lessons, some pupils take it upon themselves to run March 2019 around the school. This behaviour often goes unchallenged.  Pupils are adamant that bullying does not happen. They have a good understanding of what constitutes bullying, including racist, homophobic and prejudicial types. However, parents who responded to the Ofsted questionnaire, using free-text, raised several concerns about bullying. Pupils do say that they often fall out with each other and this

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Behaviour

can be mistaken for bullying, but teachers are quick to resolve their differences.  Pupils’ attendance has improved. Current pupils’ attendance is in line with the national average for primary schools. Fixed-term exclusion rates have been below the national average for the last four years.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 Standards in English and mathematics at key stage 1 and 2 are too low. Over the last two years, overall attainment at the end of key stage 1 has been below the national average. Nearly all pupils leave the school at the end of Year 4 to join the local middle school.  Pupils who have fallen behind are not helped to catch up quickly enough. As a result, standards for this group of pupils remain below what would be expected for their age.  The phonics screening check outcomes are of particular concern. They have declined for the last three years. In 2018, the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in phonics at the end of Year 1 was significantly below the national average. Pupils’ ability to spell correctly, using a knowledge of phonics, is therefore limited, as is the progress they can make towards becoming confident and skilful readers. This weakens overall outcomes in reading and writing as pupils move through the school.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 Current pupils’ progress in writing is inadequate. Too few pupils are reaching the standards expected. This is because pupils do not know the basic spelling and punctuation conventions required to write effectively for a range of purposes and audiences. The school’s assessment information and pupils’ books show that standards in writing remain low.  Pupils’ progress in mathematics is weak. Too often, pupils are not provided with opportunities to use taught mathematical strategies in reasoning and in solving problems. This limits pupils’ ability to apply mathematics in a range of contexts.  Outcomes for most-able pupils are particularly poor. Over the last three years, no pupil has achieved greater depth in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of key stage 1. This is because, too often, work that is set does not challenge pupils’ thinking.  The school’s assessment information shows that the progress of current pupils is

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

inconsistent. The work in pupils’ books show that pupils’ progress across the school continues to be weak in reading, writing and mathematics.  Groups of pupils making inconsistent progress include the small proportion of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND. Low expectations result in a lack of challenge and progress slows for pupils. However, where leaders are mindful of pupils’ needs, pupils are well supported, and individual barriers are addressed. March 2019

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Early years provision Inadequate

 The early years provision is ineffective. The learning environment, inside and out, does not provide enough opportunities for pupils to investigate and develop independence. The lack of high-quality continuous provision limits children’s curiosity and critical thinking. Insufficient thought is given to how children can develop across all areas of learning. Where activities are set up for children to use independently, they often lack challenge and fail to stimulate and engage children.  The vast majority of children who enter the early years are well prepared for their Reception Year. They have skills, knowledge and abilities that are typical for their age. Teachers and teaching assistants do not capitalise on this strong start. Staff’s understanding of how to effectively teach all aspects of the early years curriculum is weak. Teaching does not routinely take account of what children already know,

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Early years provision Inadequate

understand and can do. As a result of many deficiencies in teaching, children make weak progress in the early years and are not prepared well enough for Year 1.  Teachers and teaching assistants do not plan challenging activities that are purposeful and enable children to make good or better progress from their differing stages of development. As a result of poorly planned activities, some children become disengaged from their learning. On occasion, this leads to inappropriate behaviour and impedes the learning of other children.  Leadership of the early years is weak. The leader is keen to make changes and develop the provision. The headteacher is aware of the inadequacies of the early years provision. However, action plans to address the key weaknesses are not improving children’s outcomes.  Over time, published outcomes in the early years vary significantly due to the typically small cohorts. Current children’s progress across the early learning goals is weak. The

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Early years provision Inadequate

school’s assessment information and work completed by children demonstrate minimal or no progress.  Children do not acquire the early skills of phonics sufficiently. This is because staff do not insist that all children participate or use appropriate tasks to advance children’s learning. Too often, children become disengaged and pursue low-level disruption. This interrupts the progress of other children.  The parents met by the inspector during the inspection were positive about how well they feel their child has settled in to the Reception class.  Relationships between children and adults in the early years are positive. Staff ensure that children are well cared for in a nurturing environment. All safeguarding requirements are met. March 2019

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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

Website www.sheptonbeauchamp.somerset.sch.uk

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School details

Email address office@sheptonbeauchamp.somerset.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 9 January 2018

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school. Pupils are taught in two key-stage classes. The vast majority of pupils move to a middle school at the end of Year 4.  The school is in the Diocese of Bath and Wells. The school last received a section 48 diocesan inspection in October 2014, with overall effectiveness judged to be ‘Good’.  Shepton Beauchamp Primary School is part of a federated arrangement with St Mary and St Peter’s Primary School. Both schools share an executive headteacher and governing body.  The majority of pupils are of White British background.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below the national average.  The proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals is below March 2019 the national average.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is below the national average.  The chair and vice-chair of the governing body were appointed to their roles in

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed learning in classes across the school. Most observations were undertaken jointly with the head teacher. The inspector also observed pupils’ behaviour around the school and at break and lunchtime.  Meetings were held with the head teacher, middle leaders, the leader with responsibility for pupils with SEND and a sample of support and teaching staff.  The inspector also had a telephone conference with a representative from the local authority.  The inspector held a meeting with three governors, including the chair of the governing body.  The inspector spoke with pupils informally during their break and lunchtimes and in class. He also held a more formal discussion and listened to groups of pupils read.  The inspector examined a range of documentation provided by the school, including minutes of meetings of the governing body, the school’s self-evaluation document, the school’s improvement plan, external monitoring reports and documentation relating to

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Information about this inspection

the safeguarding of pupils.  The inspector examined a large sample of pupils’ books from across the school and, on most occasions, this was completed jointly with the head teacher.  The inspector spoke with parents as they brought their children to school in the morning. He also considered 31 responses to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View, and the 11 responses to the staff survey. There were no responses to the pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Matt Middlemore, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector March 2019 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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