Pitton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

Pitton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Whiteway, Pitton, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP5 1DT

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Despite recent improvements, teaching is not good enough. It remains too variable. Pupils do not make the progress of which they are capable.  Until recently, leaders and teachers have not had a clear enough picture of pupils’ progress. As a result, some pupils who have fallen behind are not catching up quickly enough.  Leaders’ plans to support pupils who fall behind are not sharp enough to be fully effective.  Teachers do not check that all pupils understand what they are asked to learn. Some pupils then struggle to complete their tasks.  Pupils do not yet make consistently good progress in mathematics, particularly in problem solving and reasoning.  Teachers are not developing pupils’ writing well enough. Their guidance to pupils on how to improve their work is not effective.  Leaders’ checks on the school’s work have not been rigorous enough to highlight where improvements to teaching are needed.  Until recently, governors have not had a clear

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

picture of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. This has weakened their ability to hold leaders to account for pupils’ progress.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher has responded promptly to the previous inspection. Leaders and governors now have clear plans for improvement.  Effective teaching in the Reception class enables the children in early years and the Year 1 pupils in the class to make good progress.  The curriculum is broad and relevant. Pupils achieve well in science.  Pupils gain good phonic skills and learn to read confidently.  Parents and carers value the school’s inclusive ethos and sense of community. They hold the headteacher and staff in high regard.  Pupils behave well and staff are vigilant for pupils’ safety. Pastoral guidance for the children of military families is thoughtful and effective.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by: – strengthening the monitoring of teaching and overcoming inconsistencies across the school – using information on pupils’ progress to evaluate the impact of improvements to teaching – developing effective additional support for pupils who need to catch up – strengthening governors’ oversight of the school.  Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment so that pupils’ progress improves by: – ensuring that teaching for pupils who need to catch up is effective – checking that all pupils understand what they are learning – guiding pupils in how to be successful in their writing – developing pupils’ accuracy in and presentation of their writing – planning work in mathematics that deepens pupils’ understanding of solving problems and how to apply their mathematical knowledge.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Changes in leaders’ roles, governance and staffing since the previous inspection have limited leaders’ efforts to bring about the required improvement. The newly sharpened school improvement plan shows that leaders now know how to move the school forward.  Over time, leaders’ checks on the quality of teaching have not identified clearly enough which features of teaching need to be improved. Leaders have looked at pupils’ work and held discussions with teachers about their practice and pupils’ progress. However, leaders’ subsequent actions have not brought about consistently effective practice.  In the past, leaders have not monitored pupils’ progress effectively. They did not identify when pupils were falling behind. Leaders are now beginning to track progress more effectively. However, this is not used to identify where specific additional teaching could help pupils to catch up.  Leaders use the additional funding for pupils from service families well. Parents are

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

complimentary about the help their children have in school. Specific funding for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is used well to ensure that their needs are effectively met in class. The funding for disadvantaged pupils is used effectively.  Staff are positive about changes to the curriculum for mathematics and the wide range of resources now available. They discuss pupils’ progress regularly with leaders and are focused now on the progress of individuals and groups of pupils.  The curriculum is well planned. Topics are chosen to be relevant to the pupils’ interest but are also wide enough to extend their understanding. For example, pupils in key stage 1 learn about their local area in geography. The planned topic also extends pupils’ knowledge across many parts of the world. The curriculum for mathematics has recently been strengthened.  The high quality of the broader curriculum, particularly of clubs, visits and visitors,

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

contributes strongly to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The school’s values are at the heart of its work. Values, for example of respect for all, are shown through the school’s inclusive nature and pupils’ good behaviour. Pupils acquire respect for democracy through understanding the role of school house captains.  Parents are very positive about the school. They particularly value the accessibility of the headteacher and staff. One parent’s comment was typical of many when they stated, ‘It’s a village school…, with teachers going above and beyond the call of duty.’  The school makes particularly effective use of the additional sports premium funding. The funding is used well to ensure that pupils have access to a wide range of sports and a chance to compete locally. The school’s gymnasts have recently been successful in a local competition. The use of sports funding is inclusive and the pupils’ success in a

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

wide range of events is celebrated by the whole school.

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Governance of the school

 Over time, governance has not been rigorous enough to challenge leaders to identify and overcome weaknesses in teaching and pupils’ progress.  There is a relatively high number of new governors on the governing body. The governing body benefits from the expertise governors bring from their own professional roles. Some governors, including those who are new, bring experience from working in the education sector.  There is an increased sense of urgency evident from the minutes of the most recent governing body meeting. Governors question, for example, whether the new information on pupils’ progress is being used to plan effective intervention to help pupils catch up. They are gaining a stronger picture from leaders about the quality of teaching overall.  Governors take their statutory responsibilities seriously. The governor for safeguarding makes regular checks on the school’s processes and the impact of staff training.

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Governance of the school

Financial decisions are well planned with the achievement of the pupils placed at the heart of decision-making.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The school maintains full records of the statutory checks they carry out to ensure that adults are safe to work with pupils. Governors and leaders are fully trained in the processes of safer recruitment. All staff have regular training to ensure that they can identify when pupils could be at risk of harm.  Leaders and staff know individual pupils well. The ethos of respect in the school means they listen to pupils and conscientiously record concerns that arise. Leaders take swift action to address these and pass on those concerns best dealt with by other agencies. Leaders maintain good contact with services which give guidance to families to ensure that risks are overcome. There is a good programme of pastoral support to help pupils who may be facing difficulties.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 There is too much variability in the quality of teaching in different subjects and across key stages. The uneven quality of teaching has persisted over time. As a result, some pupils have not made consistently good enough progress.  Pupils sometimes struggle to do their work because they do not know what is expected of them. Teachers do not check sufficiently that all pupils understand the learning before pupils begin their tasks. However, some pupils with SEND have good support. In these cases, the learning is explained well by teaching assistants and pupils work confidently.  Teachers are not yet making full use of the school’s new mathematics resources to develop pupils’ skills. Teachers do not focus well enough on helping pupils to reason, explain their thinking and clearly show their answers. As a result, pupils’ work is sometimes muddled and although they perform calculations accurately, they do not

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

necessarily answer the question.  The teaching of writing is not rigorous enough. Teachers are not focusing sufficiently on pupils’ accuracy in writing. Pupils are expected to correct spellings and some punctuation errors. However, teachers do not challenge pupils when they repeat errors in their writing. This limits the progress of pupils and prevents them achieving higher standards. The guidance pupils receive lacks the precision needed to raise the overall quality of their work.  The teaching of phonics is effective and strengthens both reading and spelling in key stage 1. Pupils acquire basic reading skills early. Teachers ensure that pupils explore texts and gain the expected skills of comprehension. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 know how to read for deeper meaning. Leaders are currently extending opportunities to develop pupils’ personal reading in order to broaden their vocabulary for writing.  Teachers develop pupils’ skills of calculation well and encourage them to use their

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

multiplication tables to work quickly. The recent ‘maths week’ confirmed that, when learning is presented in interesting ways, pupils show enthusiasm for the subject.  Most pupils enjoy writing, particularly when they write about their current topics. In key stage 1, teachers are encouraging pupils to develop their writing and include more ideas. This is raising the quality of their writing significantly.  Across the school, pupils’ learning is supported by the good relationships in class and pupils’ own thirst for knowledge. Most pupils relish new learning and can talk about what helps them learn. They enjoy, for example, being given time to share ideas with their classmates.  All teachers ensure that pupils have their full entitlement to the curriculum for humanities, arts, technology and science. Effective teaching of science is developing pupils’ skills of scientific enquiry and knowledge of scientific principles.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Leaders ensure that effective pastoral care is in place for those who need it. There are also opportunities to broaden pupils’ horizons with interesting activities and after- school clubs. Pupils feel secure and motivated to learn. The school’s values of developing pupils who ‘treasure the people around them’ and ‘develop healthy self- respect’ are evident in the life of the school.  The well-being of pupils from military families is underpinned by being part of the ‘Pitton’s little military troopers’ group. The time to reflect and celebrate their families’ service develops pupils’ resilience particularly when their families are absent.  Teachers regularly extend pupils’ learning and awareness of the world beyond their classrooms. Parents recognise how this contributes to their children’s enjoyment of school.  The school’s older pupils share a sense of responsibility for the younger pupils and

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Personal development and welfare

willingly take on additional roles such as setting up playground equipment. They say most pupils have opportunities to represent the school in the wide range of local sporting tournaments.  Pupils feel safe in school because the staff and other pupils know them as individuals. They value the teaching on how to keep themselves safe, such as when they are using the internet.  Pupils are keen learners and embrace the full range of what the school offers. At times, though, some of their books show that they do not present their work to the best of their ability.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils work and play together harmoniously. Lessons proceed without interruption and pupils relish opportunities to work together. The atmosphere in school is purposeful and pupils move around the building sensibly.  Pupils say that other pupils are kind. They say that anybody may have ‘a grumpy day’ but that there is no bullying. They say if anybody tried to bully, the headteacher would ‘instantly put a stop to it’.  The school’s rules are well understood, and pupils consider them fair. They say it is very rare for pupils to need a ‘yellow card’ for continued misbehaviour and that most would respond to a warning from a member of staff. The house point system motivates pupils to behave well and to work hard and do their best for their house.  Pupils attend school regularly. Current rates of attendance are well above those seen nationally. There are very few pupils whose attendance is of concern to the school.

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Behaviour

Where this is the case, the school works closely with parents until the situation improves.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 Overall, pupils do not make good progress in the full range of mathematical skills. Historically, pupils have made much weaker progress in mathematics across key stage 2 than would have been expected. Currently, pupils’ work shows too few have fully developed the expected skills and understanding for their age. They cannot apply their mathematical knowledge to investigate systematically or solve problems. In some cases, pupils’ untidy presentation limits their accuracy and ability to show their working.  Pupils make good progress in acquiring the skills of arithmetical calculation in line with the curriculum for their age. They demonstrate a good knowledge of multiplication tables.  Pupils’ writing is often hampered by inaccuracies in punctuation and spelling. Their lack of fluency in handwriting also limits what they can produce. Pupils who can write well do not do so consistently. Their work is too variable in quality from piece to piece.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 The teaching and additional help for pupils who need to catch up are not consistently effective.  Pupils with SEND are closely supported in class and make good progress towards their planned targets. Disadvantaged pupils do not make as much progress from their different starting points as their peers in other schools.  Pupils acquire phonic skills early across their time in Reception and Year 1. Almost all pupils attain the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check. Pupils across the school are confident and keen readers.  The school’s broad curriculum and relevant topic work ensure that pupils acquire skills appropriate for their age in a wide range of subjects. The teaching of science is particularly effective. Pupils gain deep knowledge of scientific principles and good skills of scientific enquiry.

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Early years provision Good

 Children make good progress in the early years. They achieve well because of good teaching and a broad curriculum. Leaders carefully assess children’s learning and ensure that children with a range of abilities progress well from their different starting points.  Children’s stage of development on starting school is variable, but most arrive with skills and knowledge typical for their age. Children go on to make good progress in writing. Teachers are skilful at planning activities that draw out and develop children’s vocabulary.  Children are secure in their writing because of the good phonic knowledge they have acquired to support both reading and spelling. Most form their letters correctly and are gaining control of the size of their handwriting.  Teaching extends children’s learning through topics which are relevant to their interests and experience. Teachers are able to extend children’s understanding by building on

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Early years provision Good

prior learning.  Children make good progress in their understanding of number. They can use addition and subtraction at a standard higher than that usually found for their age.  Routines are well established. The environment is well kept and this contributes to the development of children’s independence and self-care. Children behave well in the Reception class. They are safe, and staff consider their welfare needs thoughtfully. Adults have high expectations that children should listen to explanations so that they know what to do first time. This prepares children well for the next stage of their education.  Parents are very positive about the good start their children have in the Reception class. Staff involve parents in their children’s learning effectively. They are readily accessible to parents at the start of the day and provide resources such as phonics booklets to help with learning at home.

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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

Date of previous inspection October 2018

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than average in size. It is organised into four classes. Children begin school in the mixed Reception and Year 1 class. There are one key stage 1 and two key stage 2 mixed-age classes.  The large majority of pupils are of White British heritage. The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged is very low. The school receives additional funding through the pupil premium for a relatively large group of pupils from service families.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is a little lower than the national average. The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan is in line with the national average.  The school uses an external organisation to provide pupils with a breakfast club and after-school care.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed teaching and learning in each class. Almost all observations were carried out jointly with the headteacher. She reviewed the information the school holds about pupils’ progress.  Together with the headteacher, the inspector examined samples of pupils’ work across the curriculum both in their workbooks and in portfolios of work which the school presented.  The inspector considered a range of documentation including the school’s self- evaluation and school development plan. She reviewed safeguarding information and discussed safeguarding with leaders.  Meetings were held with governors and a senior representative of the local authority. The inspector discussed the school in a telephone call with the school’s challenge partner.  The inspector read with a group of Year 1 pupils and discussed reading with some pupils from Years 5 and 6.  The inspector gathered the views of pupils through discussion with a group of pupils,

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Information about this inspection

and through talking to pupils in lessons and at lunchtime. She also reviewed the 14 responses to the Ofsted pupil survey.  The inspector took account of views of parents through meeting them prior to the start of school. In addition, she reviewed the 50 responses and 17 comments recorded on Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View. The views of staff were taken into account through the eight responses to the staff survey.

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Inspection team

Wendy Marriott, lead inspector 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

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

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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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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