Pamphill Voluntary Controlled Church of England First School

Pamphill Voluntary Controlled Church of England First School Pamphill Green, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 4EE

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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 and management of this school is inadequate. Leaders, including governors, have failed to ensure that pupils receive a high- quality education. Their self-evaluation is inaccurate.  Leaders have failed to ensure the safety and well-being of pupils. Significant breaches in safeguarding practice put pupils at risk.  Governors have failed in their statutory duties. They have failed to take rapid action to overcome known safety issues.  Middle leadership is weak. Leaders do not receive the training and time they require to carry out their roles effectively.  Provision in the early years is inadequate. This is a result of school leaders failing to keep children safe.  Teachers’ subject knowledge is not secure.  Poor teaching, learning and assessment over time have resulted in all groups of pupils failing to achieve as well as they can. As a result, outcomes are not good enough, especially in writing and mathematics.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders do not deploy teaching assistants well to support pupils in their learning.  The curriculum, while covering all subjects, is weak. Consequently, pupils do not make good progress across a wide range of subjects.  When activities do not meet pupils’ needs, they become restless and do not behave as well as they should.  Teachers’ expectations are not high enough. Too many pupils do not take pride in their written work.  Some parents have concerns about the progress their children make.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The local leader in education has quickly identified what needs to rapidly improve. She has the respect and support of staff.  Staff show a willingness to provide a high- quality of education for their pupils.  Relationships between staff and pupils are strong. Pupils are happy to come to school. Pupils’ attendance has improved and is now in line with the national average.  Pupils are polite and well mannered. May 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?

 Rapidly improve the quality of leadership, including governance, by: – ensuring that the safeguarding of pupils is effective, particularly the practice of safer recruitment, safeguarding training for staff and the management of child protection cases – setting clear priorities for improvement which are carefully and regularly monitored and evaluated for impact by leaders, including governors – strengthening governance to ensure that governors carry out their roles and responsibilities to improve swiftly the quality of education and care pupils receive – leaders implementing a planned cycle of monitoring to check that actions taken are making a difference to pupils’ learning and development – quickly closing the gaps in pupils’ knowledge and understanding, especially for pupils in key stage 1 – ensuring that leaders’ checking of the quality of teaching, learning and assessment includes a clear focus on pupils’ progress, including groups of pupils and especially

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities – ensuring checks to monitor what pupils know, can do and understand are securely in place and evaluated by leaders to ensure that they are accurate – implementing a high-quality and structured programme of training and support to equip subject leaders with the skills needed to be highly effective – ensuring that staff receive high-quality guidance and support to improve their practice – planning a curriculum that develops pupils’ skills so that they make the best possible progress across all subjects.  Quickly improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and raise pupils’ achievement by ensuring that teachers: – assess accurately what pupils can and cannot do so that planned learning precisely meets the needs of all pupils – develop secure subject knowledge across all subjects, especially in the teaching of mathematics – raise their expectations of what pupils are able to achieve to enable pupils to make

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

the best possible progress May 2019 – question pupils effectively to assess, probe and deepen their learning – provide pupils with information about how they can improve their learning – effectively deploy support staff to ensure that they better meet the needs of pupils. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved. An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved. May 2019

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 Over time, leadership has been ineffective at every level at the school. Leaders and governors have failed to provide pupils with a safe and effective education. Together, they have not ensured that fundamental systems are securely in place and that staff have the necessary guidance and support to fulfil their roles and responsibilities successfully. This lack of leadership is because leaders’ own knowledge of current statutory requirements is weak. The capacity of leaders to make the necessary improvements is insufficient.  Leaders have not established a culture or ethos that prioritises pupils’ welfare and safety. Some staff have felt unable to raise concerns, or have not felt listened to by leaders and governors. This has placed pupils at risk and significantly impaired the quality of education they receive.  Leaders’ self-evaluation of the school’s effectiveness is inaccurate. The school’s development plan is weak. The plan does not identify precisely enough the actions

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

leaders need to prioritise in order to improve pupils’ progress rapidly. Timescales for monitoring and evaluating the impact of actions are not in place. Therefore, there is no clear direction for how leaders are going to improve rapidly the quality of education and care pupils receive.  Leaders are not managing the performance of staff effectively. They do not provide teachers with the guidance and support they require to improve the quality of their teaching. Leaders do not hold teachers to account. This lack of leadership is obstructing the future direction of the school.  School leaders, including governors, have not checked the learning and progress of pupils. They have not halted a decline in the quality of education since the previous inspection. Consequently, the progress pupils make is weak.  The local leader in education (LLE) has made significant improvements to the school since starting to support the school in March 2019. She has rapidly gained the respect

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

and support of the staff. Significant changes have been made during her short tenure, which have quickly improved the safety and well-being of pupils and are beginning to raise standards. However, she recognises there is no ‘quick fix’ to resolve the significant improvements required. Nonetheless, there are signs of improvement in the quality of teaching and the progress seen in pupils’ work.  Middle leaders, while demonstrating a commitment to make the necessary changes and raise standards, do not have sufficient training or time to carry out their roles effectively. Consequently, they are having minimal impact on raising standards in the subjects they lead.  Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are not making good enough progress. Systems in place to check the progress of these pupils are not well established. Consequently, these pupils do not make the progress of which they are

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

capable.  Leaders do make effective use of the additional funding that the school receives. The May 2019 school does not use pupil premium or sports funding to enhance and improve pupils’ achievement. As a result, disadvantaged pupils do not make strong progress, especially in their writing and mathematics.  The curriculum is inadequate. While it covers all the subjects in the national curriculum, it does not provide pupils with adequate opportunities to learn across a range of subjects in sufficient depth. Too often, pupils do not know why they are learning the concepts being taught and are unable to make connections between subjects. For example, pupils have limited understanding of what it is like to live in modern Britain or about other cultures. Teachers do not use topics well enough to support other areas of pupils’ learning, such as their mathematical and scientific skills. This hampers the progress that pupils make across different subjects.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 Pupils have access to a range of activities within the school and their local community. For example, pupils were eager to talk about the school garden. They are excited about the ‘Wimborne in Bloom’ schools garden competition, which the school is entering for the first time this year. In addition, they enjoy the opportunities afforded to them to take part in a range of sports including football, tennis and cricket. They have learnt the importance of working together, which has resulted in pupils at Pamphill achieving the ‘Best team spirit’ trophy despite not being successful in winning their matches.  Parents have mixed views about the school. Some parents spoken with, or who responded to the online ‘Parent View’ questionnaire, raised concerns about the quality of education and care their children are receiving.  The school should not seek to appoint newly qualified teachers.

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Governance of the school

 Governors have not ensured that leaders provide pupils with an effective standard of education. They have not held leaders to account for the quality of education that pupils receive. The restructuring of the governing body, including the recent appointment of a new chair of governors, is showing signs that they are working with the LLE to move the school forward. However, there is a recognition that progress is not good enough, and rapid changes need to be made to reverse the school’s decline.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.  Systemic weaknesses in safeguarding, while being rectified, have not been fully resolved. Leaders, including governors do not have a clear understanding of the 2018 statutory government guidance, ‘Keeping children safe in education’. Therefore, they do not have secure systems in place to carefully check and evaluate safeguarding.  Leaders have not put in place a strategic overview to ensure that the risk to pupils is minimised. For example, recruitment checks for staff prior to starting employment have not been completed as well as they should.  Staff have only recently received adequate safeguarding training. Consequently, not all May 2019 staff are confident in the action to take should they have any concerns about the safety of a pupil. This puts pupils at risk.  Leaders, including governors, do not ensure that health and safety recommendations

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Safeguarding

are adhered to. For example, during the inspection cleaning chemicals were found located in a toilet and, while locked, there was no signage in place to alert anyone entering.  Some parents who spoke to the inspector made comments about the recent improvements in safeguarding, for example tighter signing-in procedures for visitors. Nonetheless, the LLE and chair of governors are fully aware that more work is required to ensure that the safeguarding of pupils is effective.

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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 to ensure that pupils make good progress. Some pupils have significant gaps in their learning from previous weak teaching. Although the quality of teaching is improving, pupils’ learning is not strong enough to enable them to reach the standards expected for their age and ability. Therefore, pupils are underachieving across the curriculum.  Teachers do not demonstrate a deep understanding of how pupils learn. Learning does not build on what pupils already know, understand and can do. This hampers the progress that they make. This lack of progress is most notable in writing and mathematics. For example, while pupils knew how to calculate the perimeter and area of regular shapes, their inaccurate recall of multiplication facts resulted in errors in their calculations.  Teachers’ subject knowledge is insecure because teachers do not have the guidance,

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

training or support required to improve their practice.  Teachers do not expect enough of their pupils. Planned learning does not precisely meet pupils’ needs to enable them to achieve well. Consequently, pupils are not making the progress they are capable of. This includes disadvantaged pupils, those with identified needs and the most able.  Teachers’ questioning does not sufficiently check pupils’ understanding or probe their thinking to deepen their knowledge. Weak questioning is hindering pupils’ achievement and the progress that they make.  There is no consistent approach for providing information to pupils about what they need to do to improve their work. As a result, pupils do not know what they need to do to get better, or to understand fully their next steps in learning. The quality of pupils’ work is typically weak. In addition, the standard of their handwriting and presentation is not good enough. This lack of pride in pupils’ work contributes to the insufficient

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

progress they make across the curriculum.  Teaching assistants are not deployed well enough to support pupils’ learning. Therefore, pupils are not consistently receiving the support they need to make good progress in their learning.  Until very recently, the school’s assessment systems were not fit for purpose. May 2019 Information on what pupils could and could not do were inaccurate. In recent months, improved assessment systems, put in place by the LLE, have increased the accuracy of assessment information.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is inadequate. Leaders and governors have not ensured that safeguarding practices at the school meet the government’s statutory requirements. Consequently, they cannot assure themselves that individuals are suitable to work with pupils. This places pupils at risk.  Pupils feel safe at school. Pupils are taught about how to keep safe when online. However, younger pupils have little awareness of how to keep themselves safe, which can potentially put them at risk.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.  Pupils are typically well behaved during lessons and during breaktimes and lunchtimes. However, when activities do not meet the needs of pupils, because work is either too easy or too difficult, they become disengaged and restless.  Pupils who spoke with the inspector understood the behaviours expected of them and knew which behaviours are not tolerated, such as physical aggression and swearing. However, pupils and parents explained that sometimes bullying is not dealt with as quickly as they would expect. This sometimes impedes pupils’ enjoyment of school.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 Overall, outcomes are not good enough. Pupils do not make the progress of which they are capable across all areas of the curriculum. This is most notable in writing and mathematics. This underachievement is widespread for all groups of pupils.  Not enough pupils are reaching the expected standards, especially in writing and mathematics. Key stage 1 results remain below the national average, particularly in mathematics. As a result, pupils are not well prepared for the next stage of their education.  Pupils’ work in a range of subjects, and across age groups, shows a pattern of underachievement. Pupils are not able to make links to their learning across subjects well enough. This hampers the progress they make.  While there are small indications of improvement in writing and mathematics, currently too many pupils are not reaching the expected standards, particularly at key stage 1. The most able pupils are not making the progress they are capable of. This is resulting

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

in these pupils not achieving the greater depth standard in writing or mathematics. May 2019  The proportion of pupils who achieve the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check remains above the national average. However, pupils are not able to apply their phonics knowledge consistently when reading unfamiliar texts. This gets in the way of their enjoyment of reading.  Across the school, pupils who are disadvantaged or have SEND do not make good progress. This lack of progress is because, until recently, these pupils were not identified and therefore were not supported well enough. While there are signs of improvement, their needs are not yet well met. Planned activities do not always meet their needs; often they do not understand well enough what they need to do.  The focus of the LLE, and the determination of staff, is leading to improvements in pupils’ achievement. Nonetheless, there remain significant gaps in pupils’ knowledge

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

and understanding.  Some parents raised concerns about the progress that their children are making. For example, they are frustrated with the many changes in teachers, and the impact this has on their child.

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Early years provision Inadequate

 Arrangements to keep early years children safe are not effective. Leaders have not carried out all the required recruitment checks prior to staff commencing in post. Therefore, leaders cannot assure themselves that children are safe.  Children get off to a smooth start to school. The early years leader works effectively with the nursery manager. For example, the introduction of the ‘foundation base’ provides children from the Nursery with regular opportunities to play and learn alongside Reception class children. These experiences allow nursery children to become familiar with the expectations and routines of the school. As a result, this reduces children’s anxieties and they quickly settle into school.  Most children start in Reception with skills that are expected for their age. The proportion of children who achieve a good level of development remains above the national average. This shows that children achieve the outcomes expected of them.

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Early years provision Inadequate

 The quality of teaching in the early years is too variable. Staff do not demonstrate a secure understanding of early years education. Therefore, planned activities do not consistently meet children’s needs, especially for those children with SEND. As a result, children do not make the progress they are capable of. For example, children are not able to hold their pencils correctly or demonstrate accurate letter formation. Consequently, these habits continue as children move up into key stage 1.  The environment in the early years provides children with a range of activities to engage in. For example, children were enjoying making their cakes in the mud kitchen and working in the garden. Such activities widen their experiences. However, as for pupils in key stages 1 and 2, the curriculum is underdeveloped. Children do not have sufficient opportunity to develop their creativity and increase their independent skills.

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Early years provision Inadequate

 Staff form positive relationships with the children. They provide a nurturing environment where the children are happy and are well looked after. May 2019  Staff are effective role models for the children in how they act and talk to one another. As a result, children learn how to behave well, learn good manners and form positive relationships with one another. May 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

Email address office@pamphill.dorset.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 17 July 2018

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Information about this school

 The headteacher was absent at the time of the inspection.  Since March 2019, an LLE from Wimborne Teaching School has been supporting the school for two and a half days a week.  The governing body was restructured in January 2019 and additional governors were recruited in April 2019.  Pamphill is a smaller than average-sized primary school and is situated near to Wimborne Minster. Pupils are taught in three mixed-age classes.  The majority of pupils are White British.  The school has few disadvantaged pupils.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is below the national average. May 2019

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector visited classes to speak with pupils, hear them read and observe their learning. All observations took place with the LLE. Together with the LLE, the inspector scrutinised the quality of pupils’ work.  Meetings were held with the LLE, middle leaders, staff and the chair of governors. The inspector considered the eight responses to the staff survey.  The inspector spoke with two education advisers from the local authority and Salisbury diocese on the telephone.  The inspector spoke with parents at the school and considered the 46 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, and 17 text messages.  A range of documents were looked at, including information about pupils’ achievement, the school’s evaluation of its own performance, school development plans and minutes of governors’ meetings. The inspector also checked the effectiveness of the school’s safeguarding arrangements and attendance information.

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Inspection team

Jen Southall, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector May 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

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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