Dry Drayton CofE (C) Primary School, and Pre-School

Dry Drayton CofE (C) Primary School Park Street, Dry Drayton, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB23 8DA

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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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Early years provision Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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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

 Turbulence in leadership in recent years, together with numerous changes in staffing, have limited the impact of leaders’ and governors’ efforts to improve standards.  Teaching, while improving, is not consistently good. Scrutiny of pupils’ work shows that expectations have not always been high enough and work has not always met pupils’ needs, particularly in subjects other than English and mathematics (foundation subjects).  In the past, pupils, including the most able, have not made the progress they should in writing and mathematics by the end of key stage 2. While progress is improving in mathematics, in writing it is more variable.  Leaders’ work on developing the wider curriculum in foundation subjects is not firmly established. Pupils are not consistently building on their skills with logical progression. Consequently, teachers cannot judge the progress pupils make in subjects such as history and geography.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 In some year groups, pupils have too few opportunities to practise and extend their writing skills in different subjects.  Children in the early years have not, until recently, had opportunities to excel in their learning through well-planned activities.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders and governors have an accurate view of the school. They understand what needs to be done and have developed sharply focused plans to secure improvements.  Pupils’ behaviour and attendance are good.  Most pupils make good progress in reading from their different starting points.  Pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare are good. Pupils get on well with others, are considerate and reflect the school’s caring ethos. The school provides a nurturing environment where pupils feel safe.  The majority of parents and carers have confidence in the school and are supportive and understanding of the challenges the school has faced.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve outcomes for pupils by making sure that: – the design of the curriculum supports pupils' continuous progression in skills, knowledge and understanding across all foundation subjects – all pupils have sufficient opportunities to develop their reasoning skills in mathematics – teachers use assessment information to plan work that is sufficiently challenging in all subjects and meets the needs of pupils in mixed-age classes – opportunities for pupils to apply writing skills across the wider curriculum are further developed and embedded.  Improve the effectiveness of leadership by: – ensuring that the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is consistently good or better – developing the curriculum so that pupils have sufficient learning time to develop their skills, knowledge and understanding more effectively in all subjects – continuing to monitor, closely evaluate and promptly respond to the impact of the

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

actions taken to improve teaching and learning – ensuring that the new governing body continues to establish clear systems of checking standards across the whole curriculum and hold leaders to account for the quality of education provided.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 The school has been through a turbulent few years. The executive headteacher left during the autumn term 2018 and the federation, formed after the previous inspection, was dissolved in May 2019. There have been numerous staffing challenges during the past two years. This has had a negative impact on leaders’ school improvement work. The recently appointed interim part-time headteacher and the senior teacher are currently providing stable leadership.  While leaders have improved some aspects of the school’s work, they have not been able to secure a consistently good standard of teaching across the school. As a result, pupils’ progress and attainment are not consistently strong.  Coverage of some foundation subjects is weak in some classes. Pupils do not have sufficient opportunities to extend and deepen their knowledge, skills and understanding across a wide range of subjects.  The local authority, together with the executive headteacher from a nearby federation,

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

has provided a number of worthwhile professional development opportunities for staff, such as observing and sharing good practice with staff in other schools. However, the instability in staffing has meant that the full benefit from these opportunities has not been fully realised.  Leaders welcome visits from local authority representatives who support and challenge them. Visit reports written on behalf of the local authority acknowledge the improvements that leaders have brought about and provide challenge as well as clear action points for further improvement.  The new leadership team has established and implemented an assessment information system. This effective procedure, supported by regular pupil progress meetings, enables swift identification of any pupils who are not making enough progress. As a result, teachers can plan extra help for pupils at risk of falling behind. However, due to the high turnover of staff throughout this school year, the effectiveness of the new

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

system has yet to be demonstrated.  Leaders have an accurate understanding of the school and what it needs to improve. Improvement plans are detailed with clear actions and show exactly how and when the impact of work will be measured. They demonstrate the capacity to make further improvements.  Leaders promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. Leaders and staff ensure that pupils learn about the wider world through, for example, their links with a school in Rwanda and treating people with respect. The school’s strong ethos promotes British values well.  The curriculum is further enhanced by a range of interesting visits, including residential trips and themed weeks. For example, parents led a school science week and set different challenges based on the story of ‘The Three Little Pigs’.  Leaders use the primary physical education (PE) and sport premium well to develop the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

opportunities for pupils to participate in competitions and sports events. Pupils spoke enthusiastically about the ‘Mini Olympics’ some had attended. They were confident about the benefits of regular exercise and leading a healthy lifestyle. Pupils also participate in running the ‘golden mile’ every week.  Leaders make effective links with parents and the community. Many parents shared with the inspector their appreciation of the changes that leaders have made recently. The majority of parents believe the school is well led and managed and have confidence in the school. One parent stated, ‘This school has served my son beautifully.’

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Governance of the school

 Following the ending the federation of which the school was a member, in May 2019 the governing body was reconstituted. The majority of governors serving on the new governing body have been associated with the school for a number of years and were members of the previous federated governing board.  Governors have high aspirations. They have formulated a clear strategic plan for the school. Governors are honest and accurate in their assessment of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. For example, they spoke knowledgeably about improvements to the systems for assessment and measuring pupils’ progress in the school.  Governors know their roles and responsibilities and take them seriously. There is a strong approach to governor training and the impact of this is evident, for example in the robust interrogation of the English and mathematics data provided to them. They bring a range of appropriate skills and experience to the school.

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Governance of the school

 At present, governors do not have a clear enough view of the use and impact of the PE and sport premium or pupil premium funding for disadvantaged pupils.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are good. Leaders have been effective in establishing a strong culture of safeguarding throughout the school.  Leaders make sure that the single central record of pre-employment checks is kept up to date. It is well maintained and easy to navigate. The governor with responsibility for safeguarding is diligent in checking the record.  All staff have up-to-date training in safeguarding and child protection. They know how to report any concerns they may have over pupils’ welfare.  Pupils have many opportunities to learn about how to stay safe. They were unanimous that they could approach adults with any concerns which may arise and also confident that these adults would help them.  Pupils said they feel safe in school and that they have a high level of confidence in staff to keep them safe. Arrangements for supervision are effective to ensure pupils’ safety. A large majority of parents and carers who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire,

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Safeguarding

Parent View, agreed that their children feel safe at school.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 The quality of teaching is not consistently good enough to ensure that all pupils make good progress. Improvements have been hampered by the amount of staffing changes over the course of the year.  In some classes, the sequences of learning are not planned consistently well enough for pupils to learn and consolidate new skills, leaving them with gaps in their understanding. Too often, pupils are not sufficiently challenged in their work, especially the most able pupils in the foundation subjects.  In some year groups, particularly across key stage 1, the teaching of subjects other than English and mathematics is too infrequent. Consequently, pupils are not given sufficient opportunities to develop their understanding and skills in subjects such as history and geography. These year groups, in particular, have been taught by a number of different teachers this year.  Some additional adults provide effective support which helps pupils manage their

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

behaviour so this does not become a barrier to learning. However, in some instances, additional adults are less effective and lack the skills needed to help pupils become more independent in their learning.  In year groups where the staffing has been stable, the teaching is good and progress strong, but there are too many variations for consistently good progress across the school.  Following the previous inspection, some teachers have planned more opportunities for extended writing in a range of curriculum subjects. This has led to an increase in pupils’ stamina when writing at length in some subjects. For example, pupils in Years 5 and 6 have planned a number of investigations in science and pupils were keen to show the inspector their writing based on the historical research they had carried out about life as an evacuee.  Positive relationships exist in classes between adults and pupils. Teachers manage

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

classroom behaviour very well, most of the time. As a result, pupils are keen to learn.  The teaching of phonics is effective and pupils are developing their knowledge of sounds to help them with reading and spelling.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school's work to promote pupils' personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils are confident, polite and considerate. They show respect to one another and adults. This creates a real sense of belonging and care in this small and friendly school. Staff, parents and pupils know each other well.  Parents commented on the school’s strong sense of community with its positive and caring ethos. One parent wrote about the ‘immeasurable progress’ their child had made in social and emotional development since joining the school.  Pupils are taught to be thoughtful and caring. They take part in a number of charitable fundraising events. A major focus for this year is to support a charity which raises money for emergency disaster relief. The pupils were keen to describe to the inspector how one was so determined to help that he organised and ran a ‘guess the weight of the cake’ event. Through such opportunities, the pupils learn about how they can offer

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Personal development and welfare

support to others.  Pupils in Years 5 and 6 have had the opportunity to visit a careers convention. They were enthusiastic about what they had learned and have ambitious aspirations for the future. One pupil described how talking to health professionals had really made her want to develop the skills to become a paramedic.  Pupils are confident that adults will help them if they are hurt or upset. Pupils have a clear understanding of what bullying is and why it is unacceptable. They could not recall an instance where any bullying had occurred but were confident that if it did happen, it would be dealt with quickly and effectively.  Older pupils care for younger pupils and pupils of all ages interact well together, including during social times. One parent, reflecting the views of many spoken to, stated: ‘It’s lovely how the older pupils look after the younger ones.’ School council members enjoy their responsibilities and are confident that their voice is heard.

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Personal development and welfare

 Leaders make sure that pupils have an especially wide range of opportunities to pursue and develop their interests through a variety of lunchtime and after-school clubs. For example, pupils can participate in gymnastics, cricket, multi-sports, cookery club and piano lessons and take part in drama productions. Pupils themselves run clubs such as computer games and choir.  Pupils have a good understanding of how to stay safe in a variety of situations, including when using the internet. They are confident that they need to apply their code of ‘Zip it, Block it, Lock it’ when online.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good because of the high expectations by leaders and all staff. The school is calm and orderly and pupils are sensible and courteous. They are respectful of adults and make visitors feel welcome with cheery greetings and their good manners.  A new behaviour system is having a very positive impact and leaders’ monitoring of behaviour demonstrates a decrease in negative incidents, particularly among pupils with behavioural difficulties.  Pupils have a clear understanding of consequences and rewards. They are particularly enthusiastic about earning team points and certificates that are awarded in front of parents at the school’s weekly celebration assembly.  Pupils behave well at lunch and breaktimes and are well supervised. Pupils enjoy socialising or playing sensibly in the well-resourced outside areas. One pupil said, ‘Playtimes are just too short – we have so much fun.’

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Behaviour

 The majority of parents who responded to Parent View agreed that pupils are well behaved. Staff and visitors to the school also agreed that behaviour was good.  The school has successfully reduced the proportion of pupils who regularly miss school. Pupils’ attendance is rising and is now in line with the national average. Classes and individuals compete to get the highest attendance during each term.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 With such small numbers of pupils in each year group, where one or two pupils can have a substantial impact on percentages, the school’s published data must be interpreted with caution.  The most able pupils are not always sufficiently challenged because teachers miss opportunities to swiftly identify when they are ready to move on in their learning. This means that they do not make the progress that they are capable of. In 2018, for example, pupils’ progress in writing, although average overall, was in the lowest 20% nationally for the most able pupils.  In some subjects, such as history and geography, the progress that pupils make is not strong because of inconsistencies in the standard of teaching and the variable quality of the curriculum across the school.  Pupils’ attainment in the end of key stage 2 national tests has been rising and is broadly in line with the national average.  In mathematics, pupils’ attainment and progress at the end of key stage 1 and key

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

stage 2 have been improving. In 2018, the progress key stage 2 pupils made was in the top 20% nationally. Scrutiny of pupils’ work shows that opportunities for reasoning and problem solving are now more frequent, although this is not consistent across all year groups.  Pupils read well with good understanding. Pupils’ attainment and progress in reading at the end of key stage 1 and key stage 2 have typically been at or above national averages for a number of years. Year 6 pupils were observed reading unseen texts to their peers with fluency, confidence and expression. Pupils have achieved above the national average in the Year 1 phonics screening checks.  There are too few disadvantaged pupils to comment on their progress without risk of identifying them.

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Early years provision Requires improvement

 Until recently, assessments this year have not been used effectively to plan challenging activities for children.  For the past three years, the proportion of Reception children reaching a good level of development has been at or above the national average. However, attainment of the current cohort has been checked by the local authority and is not at the national average. In addition, leaders cannot demonstrate good progress from starting points as they did not assess children’s skills and development on entry.  Staff in the early years have been provided with training activities through their work with the local authority and from working with early years practitioners from other schools. However, due to staffing changes, not all current staff have benefited from this training, so the impact is limited.  A new early years leader was appointed in May 2019 to strengthen leadership. Senior leaders are supporting her clear vision for the future development of the early years.

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Early years provision Requires improvement

Learning spaces inside and outdoors have already been reorganised to improve the quality of activities to promote good learning through purposeful play.  Children are taught in a mixed-age class but leaders have made substantial improvements to ensure that they receive teaching and a curriculum that reflects appropriate early years practice. For example, children have a separate phonics session to meet their needs and the classroom is organised to promote the different areas for learning.  Gaps in children’s learning have been identified and engaging activities to address these are emerging. Developing children’s independence is a priority and, for example, children are expected to wash their own aprons after using the mud kitchen. The environment for learning is language-rich, with enticing activities to encourage independent writing. For example, children use tools such as feathers to make marks

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Early years provision Requires improvement

and form letters, dig for letters in the sandpit and write detailed shopping lists for a picnic.  Children are confident in their learning environment and show curiosity in the world around them. This was seen during the inspection when children were fascinated by the different birds they could spot in the neighbouring field using binoculars.  Transition arrangements are well organised. The majority of the children join the school from the on-site, privately run pre-school. Staff visit all children in their settings and meet with staff to collect information about the children entering school.  Safeguarding is effective. The early years area is a safe site and children are supervised at all times. Even when not directly supervised, children play happily together, treating each other with respect and consideration.

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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

Co-chairs Mrs Lindsey Russell and Mr Stephen Gardner

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School details

Headteacher/Teacher in charge Ms Nikki Wilson/Mrs Sonia Hegan

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School details

Website www.drydraytonprimaryschool.co.uk

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School details

Email address office@drydrayton.cambs.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 6–7 December 2016

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Information about this school

 The school is a much smaller than the average-sized primary school. Due to staffing issues since the start of the term, currently, pupils are taught in two classes: one class comprising Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, and another with Years 3 to 6.  There has been a significant change in staffing since the last inspection. The school is currently led by an interim headteacher, who works for two days a week, and the senior teacher. A new class teacher, who is also the early years leader, was appointed in May 2019.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is lower than that found nationally.  The proportion of pupils with SEND, including those supported by an education, health and care plan, is in line with the national average.  This is a Church of England voluntary controlled school. The most recent section 48 inspection of the religious aspects of this school was conducted in February 2017.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector visited lessons in both classes jointly with the headteacher and other members of the senior leadership team.  The inspector scrutinised pupils’ work alongside leaders and listened to pupils read. She observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school, including playtimes and lunchtimes. The inspector spoke to pupils, both formally and informally, to gather their opinions about the school.  Meetings were held with the co-chairs of the governing body, senior and middle leaders and the school improvement officer from the local authority.  The inspector scrutinised a range of documentation, including the school’s self- evaluation and improvement plans, minutes of governing body meetings, and records of monitoring. Safeguarding documents (including the single central record) and records of the quality of teaching and learning were also evaluated, along with information relating to pupils’ outcomes, behaviour and attendance.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector took account of the 27 parents who submitted free-text responses through Parent View, and spoke with a number of parents. Seven responses to the pupil survey and six responses to the staff survey were also considered.

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Inspection team

Jo Nutbeam, 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

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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