Deanshanger Primary School

Deanshanger Primary School The Green, Deanshanger, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire MK19 6HJ

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection 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

 Senior leaders have not acted with enough urgency to ensure consistently high-quality teaching so that pupils in all year groups make good progress and attain the standards they are capable of.  Senior leaders have not analysed the outcomes of their actions with sufficient precision to provide the necessary training and guidance to staff so that they can improve their practice.  In some subjects, teachers’ subject knowledge does not enable them to plan effective sequences of learning. Consequently, while the curriculum is rich and encourages pupils to learn, teachers do not systematically build and deepen pupils’ knowledge well over time.  Not all teachers are routinely showing pupils how to tackle appropriately challenging tasks, particularly in mathematics and reading in key stage 2.  Teachers do not show pupils well enough how to improve their work.  A significant minority of parents, carers and staff do not have confidence that senior

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school has an ethos of care and community that is well promoted by staff.  Governors have responded effectively to external advice. They use their wide range of skills appropriately to challenge leaders.  Teachers have consistently provided effective opportunities for pupils to develop writing across the curriculum.  The early years leader and staff team work together with great skill to enable children to make an excellent start to their education.  The curriculum offers many opportunities to support pupils to be confident and responsible citizens of the future.  Pupils respect each other’s views and collaborate well. They trust adults in the school to support them.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that: – senior leaders act with urgency to improve the planning, review and analysis of their actions, precisely identifying next steps to improve the school – senior and middle leaders improve the planning of the curriculum so there is a clear framework for teachers to provide learning that systematically builds pupils’ knowledge and understanding across year groups and a range of subjects – senior leaders record day-to-day information accurately to inform consistent communication and follow-up, so that parents and staff have confidence that issues are dealt with effectively.  Improve teaching, and thereby pupils’ outcomes, by ensuring that teachers: – receive training to raise their subject knowledge so that, across year groups and subjects, they plan a curriculum that builds pupils’ knowledge systematically across sequences of lessons

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– consistently challenge pupils appropriately so that they make the progress they are capable of, particularly in mathematics and reading in key stage 2 – show pupils sufficiently well how they can improve their work.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 The headteacher and senior leaders have not moved with enough urgency to provide support, guidance and training to improve teaching and learning. Consequently, they have not ensured that pupils are making consistently good and better progress across year groups, particularly in key stage 2 in mathematics and reading.  Senior leaders’ analysis of school information is not resulting in sufficiently targeted action to secure the rapid improvement. They have only recently looked sufficiently carefully at what their assessment information is telling them about the effectiveness of the school. They have not analysed the performance information available to them with sufficient rigour or accuracy. In addition, they have not communicated clearly enough the precise next steps to ensure that the hard work of staff brings about more rapid progress. Consequently, leaders’ actions for school improvement have not had the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

impact needed to move the school forward with sufficient urgency.  Senior leaders have not ensured that systems of sharing day-to-day incidents and concerns involving pupils are sufficiently coherent and communicated well. This has led to inconsistencies in how different issues have been addressed. These have affected the confidence of a number of parents and staff.  There have been a number of recent changes to roles for subject leaders. Current leaders show personal commitment, expertise and capacity. They have been involved in a range of training and have particularly appreciated the close working that has been brokered with another school through the local authority. They are using this to clarify their thinking and are now well placed to use this to refine future actions further.  Leaders have targeted the extra funding for disadvantaged pupils (pupil premium) effectively to ensure that individual needs are met. The learning mentor provides good

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

support to ensure that pastoral needs promote resilience for learning.  Leaders are ensuring that additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is used well. This funding provides specific interventions to support the pastoral and academic needs of these pupils.  The leader responsible for pupils with SEND understands the needs of these pupils. Adults working with them provide effective and sensitive support. Leaders secure a range of additional support from external agencies when required. However, the school systems for recording small steps of progress are not sufficiently clear to ensure swift adaption to plans and consistent effective communication with parents.  Leaders use the additional funds provided through the primary physical education (PE) and sport premium particularly well to ensure that all pupils take part in a range of

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

sports and make healthy choices. Raising day-to-day physical activity is given a high priority for pupils and families through ‘skip2bfit’ and ‘run a mile’. There are events for elite sports and less confident pupils. There are also opportunities in alternative sports, such as martial arts and yoga. Staff training and working alongside specialists has raised their confidence and subject knowledge in aspects such as teaching gymnastics .  The curriculum is broad and balanced and based on interesting topics that pupils enjoy. It is supported by a wide range of well-thought-out visits and experiences, including residentials and author visits. Forest school is a particular favourite with pupils and provides science study opportunities and positive personal development. A strong feature of the school’s curriculum is involvement with the local community and forging links with local business to provide additional resources. Pupils told the inspectors that

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

the wide range of extra-curricular clubs ‘can fit in with your personality’.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is well promoted across the curriculum. Leaders encourage pupils to be mindful and think about their actions as responsible citizens. Pupils enjoy the opportunities to take on a range of leadership roles, such as school councillors, the ‘Be Nice to Each Other’ team, ‘Eco Warriors’ and sports leaders.

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Governance of the school

 Governance has strengthened considerably since the last inspection. Governors bring a range of skills and experience to the school that adds to leadership capacity. Following an external review, the governing body has restructured its committees and responsibilities to sharply focus on holding leaders to account to raise standards of teaching and outcomes for pupils. More recently, senior leaders have responded with increased rigour.  Governors are frequent visitors to the school, available to parents and show a high level of commitment to get the best for the pupils and the community.  Governors know their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding and the use of the pupil premium and PE and sport premium. They assure themselves that effective actions are taken and that additional funding is well spent.  Governors have a secure understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. Their wide range of monitoring activities are clearly focused on these

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  Leaders ensure that staff receive relevant training and updates, including on radicalisation and extremism. All staff understand their responsibilities and are clear on how to report any concerns.  Governors are diligent in checking school procedures.  The culture of safeguarding in the school is evident. Pupils spoken to by inspectors said that they feel very safe, because they trust all adults to help them sort out any issues. Teaching children about how to keep themselves safe is given a high priority by leaders. Pupils are knowledgeable about how to keep themselves safe online.  Case studies and records seen by inspectors show that vulnerable children and their families are effectively supported. Leaders work tenaciously to secure support from external agencies where required.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 Not all teachers have a clear understanding of how to build pupils’ knowledge up systematically across year groups and subjects. Some teachers do not have sufficiently good subject knowledge to adapt their planning skilfully to plan learning that meets the needs of all pupils. This results in some pupils struggling with work while others find it too easy.  Teachers are not planning enough opportunities for pupils to deepen their understanding or learn to work things out for themselves. Across subjects, although teachers are diligent in following the school’s feedback policy, they are not consistently requiring pupils to learn from mistakes and showing them how to improve their work.  A number of the staff do not feel that senior leaders provide sufficiently good guidance and support to improve their teaching practice. Senior leaders are now using a wide range of effective advice to be more precise in the training provided to teachers.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

Because this is a recent development, it has not yet secured consistently good progress for all pupils.  Teachers know their pupils well as individuals. They regularly praise and celebrate pupils’ achievements. These strong relationships are valued by pupils and pupils are keen to learn. Teachers consistently maintain a calm climate for learning. Classrooms are well resourced.  Teachers provide a range interesting learning through topics that pupils enjoy, in line with the school’s curriculum policy. For example, Year 6 pupils were enthused to discuss the challenges and benefits of tourism in Madagascar.  Teachers’ assessments of what pupils can do are now accurate. This is because leaders have provided effective training in this aspect of their work, and they have ensured that these assessments are checked, using both internal and external moderation. More recently, leaders have ensured that this is used more effectively to identify gaps

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

in learning.  The good teaching of phonics and reading is securing pupils’ ability to read accurately. Pupils’ books are well chosen and at the right level. Effective strategies are in place to encourage pupils to read widely. Leaders have recently introduced an approach to secure consistent build-up of pupils’ comprehension skills, such as inference.  Teachers provide good opportunities for pupils to develop their writing across the curriculum. Similarly, they consistently develop pupils’ calculation skills in mathematics.  There are pockets of strong practice in the school that are used to support others, for example through shared planning and regular staff meetings. However, coaching and working alongside colleagues, as seen to be effective in the early years foundation stage, is not yet established higher up the school.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school's work to promote pupils' personal development and welfare is good. The school’s values are a constant feature. Staff are strong role models, as is evident in pupils’ universal high regard and trust of staff.  A commitment to personal well-being, including emotional resilience, is woven in across the school. In Year 4, a pupil earnestly told the inspector, ‘people in this school don’t give up’ and explained how his ‘learning buddy’ was helping him.  Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe and they feel very safe in school. They know who to speak to in school if they have any worries. They value opportunities such as the ‘listening ear’. They have a clear understanding of bullying and of different forms of bullying, including cyber bullying, and how to keep themselves safe in a range of situations. Pupils said that bullying is rare. They are clear on what to do if it does occur. Pupil leaders are particularly alert to supporting younger pupils.

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Personal development and welfare

 The majority of parents who spoke to inspectors and responded to Parent View were very positive about the support their children receive. They are confident that their children are happy and safe. They value the caring, community atmosphere in the school.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils show courtesy and care towards each other and adults, including visitors in the school.  Pupils enjoy coming to school. They behave well in class and around the school, and interruptions to learning are rare.  Pupils like receiving rewards in celebration assemblies and praise for effort and achievement is consistently visible during teaching and in displays around the school.  Pupils take responsibility for their actions and choices, due to a strong ethos of respect. They understand the need for sanctions and consider that adults use sanctions fairly.  Pupils work well together, listening respectfully to teachers and to each other. This behaviour only wavers slightly where teaching is not sufficiently challenging. Peer discussion and sharing of ideas are consistent features in line with school policy.  Pupils are keen to learn and, where teachers design tasks that show them how to think

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Behaviour

hard and improve their work, pupils respond well to the challenge.  They enjoy their playtimes in well-resourced spaces that support a wide range of active play. Some inconsistency in staff reporting formats and protocols affect the efficient compiling of information that occasionally leads to inconsistent follow-up and stemming of silly behaviour.  The school’s provision for before- and after-school childcare promotes the consistent whole-school values and ethos. It provides a safe, well-resourced environment that pupils enjoy together.  Leaders consistently promote regular attendance and have rigorous procedures in place. This has ensured that rates of absence and persistent absence have improved overall to be in line with national averages. There has also been a particular improvement in the attendance of vulnerable pupils. Leaders are maintaining a continued focus to see that this improvement continues.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 In 2018, by the end of key stage 2, the attainment and progress for pupils were both below the national averages for reading and mathematics.  Over time, progress in mathematics by the end of key stage 2 has remained persistently below the national average.  Pupils in some year groups are not building on what they have previously learned to make the progress of which they are capable.  Published information shows that the progress that pupils make across key stage 2 in writing has remained consistently in line with the national average over time.  Progress for current pupils across key stage 2 has started to improve, compared to the last academic year. Leaders have invested in additional teaching and learning support for current Year 6 pupils which has had a positive impact. Leaders have ensured that teachers this year are using information more rigorously to identify and address gaps in pupils’ learning.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 In 2018, by the end of Year 2, the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard for their age in reading, writing and mathematics was above that seen nationally. Over time, attainment at the end of key stage 1 has been consistently in line with that seen nationally for achieving both the expected standard and a greater depth of understanding.  Pupils’ skills in phonics are good. The proportion of pupils in Year 1 who attain the expected standard has been above average over time.  Pupils who are disadvantaged and who have SEND are making progress at least in line with their peers.

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Early years provision Outstanding

 Children in the early years enter with skills and abilities broadly typical for their age. Consistently over a sustained period, the proportion of children achieving a good level of development is above the national average by the end of the early years. This ensures that they are very well prepared for Year 1.  The early years leader has an accurate and incisive overview for continual development and fine-tuning any areas of provision that do not meet her very high expectations.  She models excellent teaching. She ensures that staff receive effective training and are suitably skilled to provide high-quality teaching across the setting.  Teachers undertook sharply focused baseline testing at the start of the school year to assess children’s skills and knowledge on entry. This is swiftly used to tailor planning, so no time is lost in moving learning forward for all children, including for disadvantaged children and those with SEND.

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Early years provision Outstanding

 Staff use ongoing assessment highly effectively to plan targeted and structured opportunities to develop skills, particularly in phonics, pre-writing skills and number. Observations and assessments are used skilfully by all adults to ensure that opportunities to involve children in thinking through problems are consistently spotted and supported by effective questioning. For example, an inspector saw staff check and extend learning when a child was doing a survey about favourite fairy tales, showing that he could count to 105 in steps of five.  The inspirational environment draws children in so they are engrossed in a wide range of stimulating activities. The range of tactile and imaginative resources empower pupils through effective learning cues and resources that they know how to use independently. Children were motivated to use carefully chosen word prompts, props and books to write their story of the Gingerbread Man.

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Early years provision Outstanding

 Physical development is particularly well promoted, with exciting climbing frames and sports equipment encouraging appropriate risk-taking. The confidence and self-control of children is clear to see.  Adults ensure safe play and use of resources. Children are kept safe at all times and are well looked after by caring staff. The school ethos ensures that children play happily and fairly together.  Strong links are established with nursery settings and opportunities for joint training are well promoted. The leader relishes opportunities to share and exchange effective practice.  Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the exceptional start their children make in the Reception classes. Parents value the close involvement. Staff use online assessment highly effectively to include parents in their children’s learning progress.

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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 bursar@deanshanger.northants-ecl.gov.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 24–25 November 2016

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Information about this school

 Deanshanger Primary School is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The majority of staff were at the school at the time of the last inspection.  The majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is below the national average.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is below the national average.  The school has a lower rate of pupil mobility than is typical nationally.  The school provides before- and after-school childcare.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed learning across all year groups and phases and visited all classes more than once. In total, 30 lessons, or parts of lessons, were observed. A large proportion of these observations were carried out jointly with the headteacher. Inspectors listened to pupils read from Years 2 to 6. The inspectors talked with pupils about their school and looked at pupils’ books while visiting lessons. The team scrutinised a large sample of pupils’ work, jointly with the headteacher and other leaders, to gain a view of the impact of teaching over time.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher and other leaders, including leaders responsible for the provision for pupils with SEND, inclusion, English, mathematics, and the early years. A meeting was held with representatives of the governing body, including the chair. A meeting was also held with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors spoke with parents informally at the start of the school day. We also

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Information about this inspection

considered the 102 responses to Ofsted’s online parent questionnaire, Parent View, including 88 free-text responses from parents.  Inspectors considered responses from 22 staff to the Ofsted online questionnaire, as well as talking to staff across the inspection. There were no responses to the online pupil questionnaire.  The inspectors observed pupils across the school day, including at breaktimes and lunchtimes.  The inspectors looked at a range of documentation, including the school’s self- evaluation, the school improvement plans, the school’s most recent information on pupils’ achievement, information related to safeguarding, behaviour and attendance, and the information published on the school’s website.

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Inspection team

Mandy Wilding, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Martin Fitzwilliam 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

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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