Sampford Peverell Church of England Primary School

Sampford Peverell Church of England Primary School Higher Town, Sampford Peverell, Tiverton, Devon EX16 7BR

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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 Requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Following the previous inspection in 2017, leaders’ swift response has brought about rapid improvements. When they leave, pupils are equipped with the skills they need for the next steps in their education.  Effective support from leaders in the Ventrus Multi-Academy Trust has strengthened leadership within the school. Leaders know their school well and have high expectations for the pupils. They have overseen rapid improvements in behaviour across the school.  Most current pupils across the school make good progress, in reading, writing and mathematics. In key stage 1, pupils’ books show that rapid progress has been made by almost all pupils from the start of this year.  Leaders have been successful in improving the teaching of phonics. Consistently good phonics teaching now means that more pupils, including the disadvantaged, are successful in the Year 1 phonics screening check.  Pupils say that they feel safe in school. They

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

are knowledgeable about how to keep themselves safe. The vast majority of parents and carers say that pupils are looked after well.  Children in the early years are nurtured in an educationally rich environment. They make good progress from their starting points.  Pupils access a broad and balanced curriculum. They develop a secure understanding across all subjects, including foundation subjects such as art and science.  Mathematics teaching is effective in developing pupils’ arithmetic skills and reasoning abilities. However, teachers in key stage 2 do not provide the most able pupils with sufficient challenge. Consequently, these pupils are not working at the higher standard.  Writing in pupils’ English books is neat and well-presented. However, teachers in key stage 2 do not insist on the same high standards of presentation in theme books.  Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are making variable

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

progress in writing. Often, these pupils find it difficult to learn because tasks are not closely matched to their needs.  Leaders’ monitoring is not sufficiently focused on evaluating the impact of teaching, learning and assessment on the progress of pupils with SEND.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further improve standards in writing in key stage 2 by ensuring that: – the teaching of writing considers pupils’ starting points, for pupils with SEND – teachers have sufficiently high expectations of the quality and presentation of writing across the curriculum subjects.  Improve outcomes for pupils by ensuring that leaders and managers: – ensure that the teaching of mathematics is suitably challenging for the most able pupils in key stage 2 – improve the precision of assessments to more accurately monitor the progress of pupils with SEND across the school.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 Leaders from the Ventrus Multi-Academy Trust provide regular challenge to the headteacher, senior teacher and governors. The headteacher has established a clear vision for improvement and set high standards for all pupils. Well-focused teamwork has secured good leadership, teaching and achievement for pupils. As a result, pupils’ outcomes continue to rise.  Senior leaders have an accurate view of the school because they make frequent checks on how well pupils are achieving. Their accurate evaluations help them to identify strengths and weaknesses, and this supports them to create appropriately targeted improvement plans. For example, leaders recognise that some of the most able pupils in key stage 2 do not make the progress that they expect of them in mathematics. Leaders recognise that they have not yet been able to resolve these issues fully and, therefore, tackling them remains a priority.  Pupils with SEND are well looked after and cared for. The special educational needs

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

coordinator (SENCo) is knowledgeable about the needs of pupils and ensures that their emotional and social needs are well met within a nurturing environment.  Leaders make effective use of additional funding to provide appropriate support for the disadvantaged pupils. Teachers provide effective and personalised support for individuals who need to catch up. Consequently, disadvantaged pupils make strong progress from their starting points.  Leaders ensure that pupils are immersed in a broad and balanced curriculum. Good use is made of teachers’ subject specialisms to ensure that pupils become confident and competent in foreign languages, religious education and music. For example, pupils’ workbooks in key stage 1 evidence a wealth of learning about ‘The Carnival of Animals’, including composing and responding to music, and exploring dance.  Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. The school’s Christian values

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

underpin leaders’ work to provide pupils with a range of opportunities to develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding. The school’s curriculum helps pupils to develop tolerance and respect for others and to reflect thoughtfully on the importance of equality. Close links with the church underpin a well-planned series of assemblies and services which develop pupils’ active citizenship.  Parents state that they know how well their children make progress and value how hard staff work to make sure the school is a safe, caring community. One parent summarised the views of many with the comment: ‘The school feels like the hub of the community and it is totally embedded within the village, along with the church and village societies.’  Nevertheless, a minority of parents do not feel that leaders, including governors and Ventrus Multi-Academy Trust leaders, deal with their concerns adequately or respond

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

quickly enough. There is still more to do to gain the trust and confidence of parents.  Leaders’ checks on writing are not precise enough to ensure that pupils with SEND make good progress. Monitoring of pupils’ writing does not check that activities are matched to the individual starting points of pupils with SEND. Consequently, in key stage 2 activities are often too challenging, which slows pupils’ progress.  The school’s assessment systems to monitor the progress of pupils with SEND are underdeveloped. Current systems do not enable leaders to capture the small steps in pupils’ progress. Consequently, it is not clear how well pupils with SEND are progressing.

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Governance of the school

 Governors and trustees are ambitious for the school and are keen to carry out their roles. Consequently, they have engaged in a range of appropriate training. The governing body challenges leaders to ensure that pupil premium funding and the primary physical education and sport funding are spent effectively and make a positive difference to pupils.  Governors have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and provide a good balance of challenge and support. They work closely with senior leaders to ensure that pupils’ needs are met.  Governors and trustees execute their safeguarding and statutory responsibilities well. This has brought about stability during times of staffing turbulence and leadership changes.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  Leaders have ensured that there is a vigilance about keeping pupils safe. They have robust systems to record referrals and actions and have reviewed all the necessary policies. They make statutory checks to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children and that they have received the appropriate training.  Links with a range of agencies ensure that support and advice are timely for vulnerable pupils and their families. The school’s designated and deputy safeguarding officers know their families well. On occasion, where support is not forthcoming, leaders are swift to challenge other agencies.  Pupils are taught how to be safe. They speak with confidence about how to use computers safely, including the importance of not sharing personal information. They are confident that there is someone in school to talk to should they have any safeguarding concerns.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good. Over time, there has been significant turbulence in teaching staff. However, leaders have now established good teaching across the school. Teachers plan skilfully for the challenges of mixed-age classes. This enables most pupils to make strong progress across the curriculum, appropriate to their age-related expectations.  The teaching of phonics has improved and is effective. Pupils use the sounds they have learned to read and write unfamiliar words.  In all classrooms, there is a well-established, positive attitude to learning. Classrooms have a purposeful learning ethos and pupils are expected to achieve their very best. This is because teachers and support staff have created positive relationships with pupils that are based upon mutual respect. As a result, pupils want to work hard and please their teachers.  Teachers consider carefully the range of themes pupils learn about and adapt them to

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

meet pupils’ specific interests. Pupils are enthusiastic about their learning and show a keen interest in the topics taught. Current pupils were eager to share their learning on ‘very important people’. As a result of the carefully planned curriculum, pupils’ knowledge and skills progressively build from one year to the next.  The teaching of reading is strong, especially in the early years and key stage 1. Leaders have invested heavily in ensuring that reading books and resources motivate pupils to read and inspire a love of reading. They use high-quality and more- demanding texts to teach reading. Teachers place a high priority on teaching reading skills and comprehension. This is leading to pupils’ improving rates of progress in all year groups.  Writing is taught well in English lessons and teachers provide good opportunities for writing to be developed further across the curriculum. Nevertheless, teachers are

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

inconsistent in their approach to handwriting and presentation. The best examples are found in the early years and key stage 1. However, in key stage 2 theme books the quality of handwriting and presentation is often too weak. This prevents pupils achieving the higher standards.  In mathematics, across the school, low-attaining and disadvantaged pupils are making strong progress, particularly in calculation and number. However, the most able pupils in key stage 2 are not routinely stretched and challenged to enable them to deepen their knowledge and understanding. On occasions, when the work is not challenging, pupils lose interest and this slows their progress.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. The school’s ethos is inclusive. Leaders are determined that pupils have a strong understanding of equality and are determined that all pupils feel valued.  The very large proportion of parents say that their children feel safe and enjoy coming to school.  Leaders have established a well-being group to support pupils in promoting strategies to improve their physical and mental health through the ‘ten a day’ challenge. As a result, all pupils have a strong understanding of how to live a healthy lifestyle.  Pupils’ spiritual awareness is developed well. They learn about the many different faiths that are present in their own country and show that they value traditions that are different from their own. For example, key stage 2 pupils talked about learning how to meditate from visiting Buddhists.  Assemblies give special attention to cultural, moral and spiritual aspects of learning.

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Personal development and welfare

Pupils take on a range of responsibilities. For example, some Year 5 pupils are trained as mental health and well-being champions and say they provide their friends with support.  Too often, some pupils in key stage 2 do not take pride in their written work.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Typically, pupils conduct themselves well throughout the day. Pupils listen carefully to their teachers and respond swiftly to instructions with thought and care.  Pupils are polite and considerate with each other and adults. During the inspection, there was a calm, orderly environment around the school, including during social times.  Leaders promote the importance of regular attendance to parents and pupils. As a result, rates of absence are lower than the national average. Most pupils attend school regularly. Where pupils have higher rates of absence, the school works closely with families to offer support.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 The school’s own assessment information and work in current pupils’ workbooks show that, in almost all year groups, pupils are making at least the progress the school expects of them in reading, writing and mathematics.  The proportion of pupils who meet the expected standards in the Year 1 phonics screening check has risen in recent years. It is now above the national average.  Leaders have taken effective action to ensure that teaching in key stage 1 has been strengthened. Current books show that pupils’ progress is now good.  Leaders have planned the curriculum to build and develop pupils’ skills and knowledge over time. Current pupils’ work in science, history, geography and the arts shows that their progress is positive.  Pupils write for a range of different purposes and across different areas of the curriculum, including history and geography. Pupils use their grammar, punctuation and spelling accurately in their writing. However, the quality of pupils’ writing in theme

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Outcomes for pupils Good

books in key stage 2 is not to the same high standard as seen in their English books.  The quality of work seen in pupils’ mathematics books is good. Pupils cover a wide range of content in a logical sequence. Pupils complete calculations with increasing confidence and apply their understanding well to a range of content. However, the activities planned for the most able pupils in key stage 2 are not challenging enough to develop their ability to reason and solve complex problems. Consequently, some of the most able pupils, especially in Years 5 and 6, are not reaching the higher standards of which they are capable.  Disadvantaged pupils make strong progress across the school. The school’s assessment information and work in pupils’ books show that disadvantaged pupils make good progress across a range of subjects.  Pupils with identified SEND make good progress in mathematics and reading, as a result of the strong liaison between teachers and external specialists. However, pupils

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Outcomes for pupils Good

do not make the same rates of progress in writing because activities are not finely tuned to their needs.

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Early years provision Good

 Children get off to a flying start in the Nursery. Consequently, most children enter the Reception Year with skills expected for their age. They make good progress in all aspects of the early years curriculum. As a result, children leave the early years well prepared for Year 1, having achieved a good level of development. Since 2017, the proportion of children achieving a good level of development has steadily increased and is above the national average.  Children in the Nursery and Reception class play and learn together. Adults effectively support children who may find learning difficult so that they make progress. Consequently, a large proportion of children enter the Reception Year with knowledge and skills that are broadly typical for their age.  The provision for two-year-olds is highly effective. Staff nurture the children in a climate of kindness and respect, meeting their learning and care needs successfully. All

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Early years provision Good

adults understand the different stages of development between children at two years old and their three- or four-year-old peers and use this information to plan appropriate, inspiring activities.  The early years leader is extremely effective. She has high expectations and is very knowledgeable. She oversees the accurate assessments of children’s progress. This information is then used purposefully to ensure that all children are making good progress and if they are not to intervene quickly.  The teaching of phonics is effective. Children learn to read sentences well with newly taught sounds. They use their knowledge of phonics effectively to spell unfamiliar words. However, despite good progress from their starting points and strong teaching, too few children exceed their early learning goal in reading.  Good use is made of outside agencies and expertise where needed, for example the school nurse and speech therapists. Adults effectively support children who may find

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Early years provision Good

learning difficult. Consequently, children with SEND make good progress.  The successful promotion of children’s personal development and well-being begins in the early years. Adults care for children well and plan activities with clear routines and expectations. Consequently, there are positive relationships between adults and children.  Safeguarding practices are extremely effective. There are no breaches of welfare requirements. Children are well supported and safe.  Parents hold the early years in high regard. They appreciate the opportunities to contribute to the online assessment information which they receive. They speak highly of all staff.

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School details

Unique reference number 137651 Local authority Devon

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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 http://www.sampford-peverell- primary.devon.sch.uk Email address sampford@ventrus.org.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 28–29 March 2017

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school. It has provision for two- year-olds as part of a mixed Nursery and Reception class.  The school is a Church of England school.  The majority of the pupils are of White British background.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below the national average.  The proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals is below the national average.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is above the national average. The proportion of pupils with education, health and care plans is below the national average.  The school is part of the Ventrus Multi-Academy Trust.  The headteacher joined in September 2017, and a large proportion of teaching staff started in September 2018.

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Information about this inspection

 The lead inspector visited lessons jointly with the headteacher.  Pupils’ work was scrutinised.  The lead inspector listened to pupils reading their books.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, director of school improvement, chief executive officer of Ventrus Multi-Academy Trust, the chair of governors and senior leaders.  The lead inspector talked with groups of pupils from key stages 1 and 2, as well as pupils informally across the school.  Information and other documentary evidence were evaluated, including that related to safeguarding, assessment, school evaluation and governance reviews.  Pupils’ behaviour was observed in lessons, around the school, during playtimes and in the breakfast club.  The lead inspector took account of parents’ texts, two parents’ letters, staff surveys and the 40 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View.  A section 48 inspection took place in June 2017.

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Inspection team

Susan Costello, 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

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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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