St Edmund's Primary School

St Edmund’s Primary School Heckfield Green, Hoxne, Eye, Suffolk IP21 5AD

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher (academy head), ably supported by her senior leader, has high expectations and is committed to the school’s continued improvement. Together, they provide strong and clear leadership for staff and pupils.  Pupils’ behaviour is a distinct strength of the school. Pupils are proud of their school and have excellent relationships with their teachers. They demonstrate consistently high levels of care and consideration for each other.  Locality committee members (governors) and trustees have a clear and accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. They provide leaders with effective support and challenge.  Staff are proud to work at the school and are grateful for the many training and development opportunities that are open to them. Staff morale is high.  Teaching is good and improving. Teachers plan and deliver learning that motivates and interests pupils. Teachers are well supported

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

by the team of teaching assistants.  Leaders, locality committee members and trustees ensure that pupils enjoy a broad, balanced and effective range of curricular and extra-curricular activities.  Attainment at key stage 1 has been in line with or above national averages in recent years. In the same period, progress in reading and writing at key stage 2 has been average, although it was weaker in 2018.  Improvements in leadership and the quality of teaching have ensured that current pupils in almost all year groups make good overall progress as they move through the school.  Leaders ensure that pupils are well looked after and that they are kept safe. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school.  Leadership of the early years is good. This ensures that children get off to a positive start in their education. Children develop strong attitudes to learning.  Pupils’ progress in mathematics at key stage 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

has typically been weaker than in reading and writing. Although it is improving, it is still not as strong.  Learning activities and teachers’ questioning do not always fully challenge all pupils.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further improve teaching, learning and assessment by ensuring that teachers: – plan learning activities that consistently provide pupils with high levels of challenge – question larger groups of pupils more effectively to ascertain, and respond to, what they know and understand.  Improve the rates of progress of the small number of pupils who are currently not meeting leaders’ high expectations.  Develop and embed leaders’ plans so that pupils’ progress in mathematics at key stage 2 continues to improve.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 The academy head has established a culture of high expectation for staff and pupils. The addition of a senior leader to the school’s leadership structure has increased the capacity of the academy head to work strategically across both schools in the federation. It has also added strength to the school’s day-to-day leadership and resolved the staffing instability that contributed significantly to the disappointing 2018 key stage 2 results. Leaders have the capacity to continue to improve the school.  Locality committee members, teachers and other adults share leaders’ vision for the school and they are fully committed to implement it in a consistent manner. As a result, pupils receive a good and improving quality of education.  Parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, are very supportive of the school. One parent, reflecting the views of others, wrote, ‘We are very lucky to have all the teachers and teaching assistants, as they all show love and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

care with everything they do.’ Another parent stated, ‘We are privileged to be part of this school, and I’m thrilled that my children go here.’ The overwhelming majority of parents who responded to Parent View, and all those who spoke to the inspector, would recommend the school to others.  The school’s curriculum is a strength. Leaders are committed to ensuring that the study of English and mathematics is supplemented by a wide range of subjects that allow pupils to develop new knowledge, skills and understanding. Pupils value the specialist, high-quality teaching that they receive in subjects such as physical education (PE), French, Latin and music. The curriculum is enriched by residential visits, trips and a range of focused days, such as the recent St Edmund’s Day.  Leaders have a clear and accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Their priorities for improvement are appropriate, and their plans are well

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

focused. Leaders are also accurate in their evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of teaching, learning and assessment. Staff value the training that they receive, particularly the professional development available through the trust. As a consequence, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment continues to improve.  The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is effective. Equality and diversity are promoted well in lessons, in assemblies and through the behaviour of adults around the school. Pupils also gain a strong understanding of the importance of fundamental British values, such as democracy, respect and tolerance. This is evident in displays around the school and through the many positions of responsibility that they hold. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.  The primary PE and sport premium is spent effectively. Leaders’ plans focus

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

successfully on developing pupils’ skills, broadening the range of sports offered to them, and increasing their participation in competitions. Pupils enjoy the wide range of sports that they participate in. These include archery, lacrosse, athletics and hockey. Rates of participation and success in sporting competitions continue to improve.  Leaders have a clear understanding of the barriers to learning that are faced by disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Teachers are held to account effectively for the progress of these pupils. They understand pupils’ needs, check their progress closely and provide additional support when needed. Leaders use the additional funding they receive to provide pupils with access to a wide range of support and to enable them to participate in additional educational activities. As a result of leaders’ actions, disadvantaged pupils and those

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

with SEND make strong progress from their different starting points.  Leaders know pupils very well. Teachers work closely with colleagues from the trust to ensure that their assessment of pupils’ work is accurate. They check pupils’ progress carefully to identify their strengths and weaknesses. Pupils who fall behind are identified in routine pupils’ progress meetings and leaders provide them with additional help to catch up. As a result, most current pupils make good and improving progress across the school from their different starting points.  Leaders have responded robustly to pupils’ underperformance in mathematics at key stage 2. Leaders, supported by the trust, are implementing appropriate plans to change the school’s approaches to the teaching of the mathematics curriculum, to improve teachers’ subject knowledge and to provide additional support for parents. While these actions have led to improvements in current pupils’ progress, their full

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Governance of the school

 Locality committee members and trustees know the school well. They have an accurate understanding of its strengths, but they also focus closely on its priorities for improvement. Locality committee members and trustees are effective at holding leaders to account. They do this at locality committee meetings, when undertaking routine visits to the school and in meetings with school leaders.  Locality committee members and trustees have been effective in supporting the academy head to work across the two schools in the federation. Rather than this reducing leadership capacity, they have ensured that leadership has been strengthened within the school, and that good practice is shared across both schools.  Locality committee members and trustees ensure that their legal duties, especially in safeguarding pupils’ welfare, are fully met. The link safeguarding governor checks safeguarding arrangements, including the record of pre-employment checks, routinely.

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Governance of the school

Locality committee members and the trust safeguarding lead also undertake routine safeguarding audits. Locality committee members receive valuable training that helps them to understand their responsibilities regarding keeping pupils safe.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  The school has a strong culture of safeguarding. Staff at all levels receive routine safeguarding training and they know how to identify pupils who are potentially at risk. Staff understand, and follow, leaders’ clear procedures for the reporting of any safeguarding concerns.  School leaders ensure that safeguarding concerns are logged appropriately and that child protection referrals are dealt with effectively. The maintenance of child protection files is effective, and leaders work well with representatives from other agencies to ensure that pupils quickly get the support they need.  All required checks are carried out when recruiting new staff to work with pupils.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 As a result of leaders’ actions, the overall quality of teaching across early years, key stage 1 and key stage 2 is good and continues to improve. The overwhelming majority of parents who responded to Parent View agreed that pupils are taught well. Pupils who met with the inspector said that they enjoy their lessons and that they make good progress.  Teachers plan interesting and engaging learning activities that immerse pupils in practical activities and place learning in ‘real life’ situations. Pupils in Year 1 enjoyed working out different combinations of coins to use when buying items in their class ‘shop’. Year 5 pupils’ understanding of dialogue was well supported by their roleplay sessions in the school playground.  Relationships between teachers and pupils are strong. Teachers consistently establish clear routines and have high expectations of pupils. Pupils respect their teachers and have positive attitudes to learning. As a result, pupils are keen to get involved in

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

activities and they are not afraid to take risks and make mistakes.  Teachers provide pupils with effective opportunities to undertake individual, paired and group tasks. Pupils enjoy discussing and sharing their ideas in small groups. When they do this, they receive helpful feedback from their teacher that deepens their understanding.  Teaching assistants provide effective support to pupils. They work closely with teachers and they understand the needs of the pupils that they are supporting. Their explanations of tasks and questioning supports pupils with SEND to make good progress.  Specialist teaching in the subjects other than English and mathematics (foundation subjects) is very effective. Pupils receive expert instruction and demonstration. They enjoy the wide range of subjects that are on offer to them and build firm foundations in their wider knowledge, skills and understanding.  Teachers plan activities that take pupils’ different starting points into account.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

However, pupils sometimes spend too long completing easier activities and they do not move on to more challenging tasks quickly enough. When this happens, pupils’ progress slows.  Teachers’ questioning of larger groups of pupils is less effective than when they work with pupils individually. They do not always use questioning rigorously enough to check the extent of pupils’ knowledge and understanding before moving on to new tasks.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils understand how to stay safe in a variety of situations, including when using the internet. Pupils say that they are safe at school. All staff who completed the Ofsted survey, and all parents who responded to Parent View, agreed. Pupils say that bullying is not a problem and that they know who to talk to if they have any worries. Pupils say that staff deal with their concerns quickly.  Pupils are taught to stay safe, for example through lessons, assemblies and visiting speakers. Topics covered include friendships, bullying, internet safety, and sex and relationships education.  Pupils’ personal development is enhanced by the strong relationships that they develop with other pupils of all ages. Younger pupils quickly develop confidence and copy the positive behaviour and attitudes of their older schoolmates. Older pupils routinely

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Personal development and welfare

ensure that younger pupils are happy and safe. One parent, reflecting the views of many, stated, ‘I particularly like how the older children play and take care of the younger ones.’

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils’ behaviour in and out of lessons is very positive. Pupils are friendly, polite and well mannered. They follow the instructions of their teachers closely and they have excellent attitudes to learning.  Pupils behave very well at lunchtimes and breaktimes, where they are well supervised. Pupils enjoy socialising or playing sensibly in the outside areas.  Leaders and staff have mutually high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. As a result, good behaviour is the norm. Incidents of poor behaviour and the use of fixed-period exclusions are both rare.  The overwhelming majority of parents who responded to Parent View agreed that pupils are well behaved. All staff who responded to the Ofsted staff questionnaire agreed that pupils’ behaviour is at least good.  Pupils enjoy school and very few are persistently absent.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Pupils typically enter Year 1 having reached a good level of development at the end of Reception.  Pupils across the school are making good overall progress. Pupils in key stage 1 and lower key stage 2 are making progress across reading, writing and mathematics that is at least in line with, and often above, leaders’ high expectations.  Pupils’ workbooks demonstrate that they have a clear understanding of what is expected of them, and that they successfully build on the advice of their teachers to improve the standard of their work. For example, pupils in lower key stage 2 demonstrated effective editing skills when they evaluated and improved the structure, depth and accuracy of their written work.  Pupils in Year 6 have made consistently strong progress over the last 12 months and, consequently, their attainment has risen substantially. Scrutiny of their mathematics books showed their increasing skills in applying their mathematical knowledge and

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Outcomes for pupils Good

understanding to new, different and more complex problems.  Pupils in Year 1 acquire phonics knowledge well and make good progress in the development of their reading skills.  Pupils make strong progress across science and other foundation subjects. They acquire and build on a wide range of skills, knowledge and understanding because of high-quality teaching, often from subject specialists.  Pupils with SEND and those who are disadvantaged make good progress from their starting points. Their different needs are quickly identified by staff and they are supported effectively in their learning.  In 2018, pupils’ progress at key stage 2 was below average in reading and writing, although published data needs to be treated with caution in schools with such small cohorts of pupils. In previous years, pupils’ progress in both reading and writing has been in line with the national average.  Pupils’ progress in mathematics at key stage 2 was below average in 2018. Their

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Outcomes for pupils Good

progress in this area has been weaker than in reading and writing in recent years. As a result of leaders’ introduction of new approaches to the teaching of mathematics, progress in this area is improving rapidly.  In 2018, at the end of key stage 1, pupils’ attainment in reading, writing and mathematics at the expected standard was above national averages. Attainment at greater depth was in line with national averages.  Leaders organise a variety of transition activities so that that pupils are well prepared, both academically and personally, for their transition to secondary school.

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Early years provision Good

 Children join the early years with skills, knowledge and understanding that are broadly typical for their age. As a result of effective early assessment, leaders ensure that children’s individual needs are identified quickly and that learning activities support their progress. Consequently, children make good overall progress across early years and are prepared for Year 1 effectively.  The proportion of children achieving a good level of development at the end of the Reception Year was broadly in line with the national average in 2018. Leaders’ assessments, evidence in children’s workbooks and observations of teaching all demonstrate that children this year are currently making good overall progress.  The early years teacher is well supported by the trust’s early years leader and the academy head. Adults’ work to support children as they join the class is effective. They work closely with families and pre-school providers to ensure that children make a

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Early years provision Good

smooth start at St Edmund’s. These partnerships develop well as pupils move through Reception.  The early years curriculum provides children with a wide range of opportunities to develop their academic, social and emotional skills. Children’s learning opportunities are enhanced by an attractive learning environment, where they benefit from effective individual, small-group and whole-class support.  Adults ensure that children behave well and that they are safe. Children collaborate well, they listen closely, and they support each other. The environment is safe, and adults are well trained to care for and protect the children. Safeguarding arrangements are secure.  Teaching in early years is effective. Children benefit from a range of well-planned activities that interest them and allow them to develop their skills across the different areas of learning.  The early years team regularly observe children to assess how quickly they are

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Early years provision Good

developing and to see if they need extra help. Although this ensures that children make good overall progress, there are times when some learning activities lack enough challenge for some children.

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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

Website www.waveneyvalleypartnership.org

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected as an academy

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Information about this school

 This is the school’s first section 5 inspection since it joined the Consortium Multi- Academy Trust (CMAT) in August 2016. When its predecessor school, St Edmund’s Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted it was judged to be good overall.  The school receives support and challenge from the trust’s chief executive officer, its education and learning manager, and from its own locality committee. Responsibility for the school’s performance lies with the CMAT trust board.  The school is a smaller-than-average sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils with SEND support is average.  The proportions of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, who speak English as an additional language, or who have an education, health and care plan are below average.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector held meetings with the academy head, subject leaders, the early years leader, teachers, teaching assistants, locality committee members and trustees.  The inspector gathered a range of evidence to judge the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. The inspector observed teaching and learning in all classes, jointly with the academy head.  A wide range of pupils’ workbooks were looked at by the inspector throughout the inspection.  The inspector spoke to pupils informally in class and around the school at breaktimes and lunchtimes to seek their views about the school.  The inspector met with a group of pupils more formally to discuss many aspects of school life.  The inspector heard pupils read and discuss their reading habits.  The inspector scrutinised the school’s website and a range of school documents, including assessment information and the school’s own evaluation of its effectiveness.

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Information about this inspection

The inspector also scrutinised leaders’ improvement plans and their behaviour, safeguarding and attendance records.  The inspector spoke to parents before school and also considered the 27 responses and 20 free-text comments made by parents in the Parent View questionnaire. The inspector also reviewed the 11 staff responses to the Ofsted staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Daniel Gee, lead inspector Her Majesty’s 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

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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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