St Paul's Community Primary and Nursery School, Spalding

St Paul’s Community Primary and Nursery School, Spalding Queen’s Road, Spalding, Lincolnshire PE11 2JQ

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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 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

 Pupils do not receive an acceptable standard of education. Leaders do not have the capacity to improve the school quickly enough.  Leaders do not take timely or effective action to improve the significant weaknesses in the quality of teaching and learning. They have not successfully addressed the areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection.  Leaders do not ensure that pupils are well prepared for the next stage of education. Pupils’ outcomes in reading, writing, mathematics and phonics are too low.  The curriculum is not broad and balanced and teachers’ subject knowledge is sometimes poor. Pupils’ knowledge of history, geography and religious education (RE) is inadequate.  The proportion of children achieving a good level of development in the early years is too low and not improving.  The governance of the school is inadequate. Governors do not hold leaders to account. They do not monitor effectively the impact of

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

additional funding.  The pupil premium funding for disadvantaged pupils is not used effectively. These pupils make inadequate progress across the curriculum.  Teachers do not have high enough expectations of what pupils can achieve in most subjects.  Pupils do not read widely and often. Some lower-attaining pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) cannot read or write well enough.  Too many disadvantaged pupils and pupils who speak English as an additional language are persistently absent from school.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders ensure that the provision for pupils’ personal development, welfare and safety is good.  Pupils behave well. They are kind, caring and polite. June 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?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that: – senior leaders and governors take rapid and effective action to address weaknesses in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in key stages 1 and 2 – leaders accurately identify areas for improvement, monitoring, evaluating and checking that the actions they take have a positive impact on pupils’ outcomes – senior leaders source training, and provide the necessary time and support for middle leaders to discharge their responsibilities to a high standard – senior and subject leaders regularly check and improve the school’s curriculum so that it is broad and balanced and meets the requirements of the national curriculum, particularly in history, geography and RE – senior and subject leaders plan the mathematics curriculum to include opportunities for pupils to problem-solve and reason, and check that these plans are implemented

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– senior leaders plan and monitor the impact of training to improve teachers’ subject knowledge, particularly in mathematics, the humanities and RE – senior leaders and governors carefully monitor and evaluate the use of additional funds so they know how effective spending is in securing better outcomes for pupils, including for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND – senior and middle leaders monitor the impact of teaching assistants, ensuring that they are well trained to support successfully pupils in the classroom and in small- group work.  Improve the effectiveness of the governing body by ensuring that governors undertake training to improve their knowledge and understanding of the information they receive about the school’s performance so they can ask challenging questions and fully hold leaders to account.  Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment across the curriculum by

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

ensuring that: – teachers use assessment information more effectively to plan activities that are well matched to pupils’ abilities, including for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND – teachers and teaching assistants have high expectations of what pupils can achieve – teachers and teaching assistants ask questions that extend and deepen pupils’ June 2019 learning, providing feedback that enables pupils to learn more and remember more – teachers provide pupils with regular opportunities to apply the knowledge and skills they gain in phonics lessons, particularly in reading and writing.  Improve outcomes by ensuring that: – pupils in key stage 2, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, make progress that is at least good from their different starting points in reading, writing and mathematics – the proportions of pupils in key stages 1 and 2, including disadvantaged pupils, achieving the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics improve

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

significantly to be at least in line with the national averages – the proportion of pupils, particularly lower-attaining pupils, reaching the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check improves to be at least in line with the national average – pupils make good progress in history, geography and RE so their knowledge and understanding are at least in line with national curriculum expectations.  Improve the early years by ensuring that: – leaders have a better understanding of the achievement of children throughout the key stage, particularly in numeracy – skills acquired in the Nursery class are built upon in the Reception class so more children attain a good level of development.  Improve attendance by ensuring that pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils and those who speak English as an additional language, attend school regularly. June 2019

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 Leaders have acted too slowly to address the weaknesses in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. They have overseen a decline in the school’s performance since the previous inspection. Pupils at this school do not receive an acceptable standard of education.  Leaders do not have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Plans for improvement have been put in place too slowly. Leaders do not check that the actions they take have a positive impact on pupils’ outcomes.  Leaders have presided over declining pupil outcomes for the last three years. The actions they have taken to improve pupils’ progress and attainment across the curriculum have been ineffective. Too many pupils are not well prepared for the next stages of education.  Most middle leaders do not receive enough training or support to successfully fulfil their roles. They do not have an accurate picture of the quality of education that pupils

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

receive in their areas of responsibility. The actions middle leaders take to improve the quality of teaching and learning do not result in sustained improvements to pupils’ outcomes. The capacity to secure further improvements is poor.  Leaders do not ensure that the curriculum is broad and balanced or meets the requirements of the national curriculum. Pupils in key stages 1 and 2 have limited opportunities to study history, geography and RE in sufficient depth. Consequently, pupils have a very poor knowledge and understanding of the different people, places and cultures from the past and present.  There are insufficient opportunities for pupils to develop problem-solving and reasoning skills in mathematics. This is despite some recent improvements to the quality of the mathematics curriculum in Years 5 and 6, led by specialist leaders of education from Monkshouse Primary School. Work in pupils’ books shows that too many pupils are

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

underachieving in this subject.  Leaders do not ensure that there is a strategic and cohesive approach to staff development. Teachers do not receive enough training to develop their subject knowledge, particularly in mathematics, the humanities and RE. Teaching assistants do not receive enough support to enable them to work with targeted groups of pupils or to support learning effectively in the classroom.  Staff morale is low. Some staff feel undervalued while others do not feel well supported by senior leaders.  Leaders, including governors, do not ensure that the pupil premium funding for disadvantaged pupils is used effectively throughout the school. The use of funding to provide ‘pupil premium mentors’ in key stages 1 and 2 is not having the intended impact on disadvantaged pupils’ achievement in writing and mathematics. This is because mentors are not sufficiently trained and senior leaders do not monitor the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

impact of mentors’ work or provide effective feedback to improve their practice. An external review of pupil premium funding is currently being undertaken. June 2019  Leaders do not check that the support pupils receive from teaching assistants closely matches their needs. The support given does not help to improve pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Nevertheless, the leadership of SEND is improving. The special educational needs coordinator is well trained and works alongside the additional needs coordinator to identify pupils with SEND and to plan small-group and one-to-one support for these pupils.  Leaders and governors do not closely monitor the impact of the physical education (PE) and sport funding and do not know where spending has been the most or least successful. This additional funding is used to provide pupils with access to a range of different sports. A specialist PE coach is employed to deliver PE sessions and to train

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

staff so they become more confident in teaching this subject. Leaders also use funding to develop pupils’ understanding of healthy lifestyles. For example, they grow different vegetables in the school garden and then harvest these to use in the school kitchen.  There are too few opportunities for pupils to develop their spirituality or cultural understanding. Pupils, particularly those in key stage 2, do not have a secure understanding of different cultures, religions and beliefs.  The provision for pupils’ moral and social development is strong. Pupils have some understanding of fundamental British values.

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Governance of the school

 The governance of the school is inadequate. Governors do not receive enough information from senior leaders about the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, or pupils’ outcomes. They do not know the weaknesses that exist and do not challenge leaders about the school’s underperformance.  Governors, although willing, do not have the necessary knowledge, skills and understanding to hold leaders effectively to account. Only recently have they begun to access training as part of a local authority brokered external review of governance. It is too early to see the impact of this training and support.  Governors do not have a thorough understanding of how additional funding is spent. They do not have an accurate understanding of the impact of spending on improving pupils’ outcomes.  The governing body fulfils its statutory safeguarding duties. The governor responsible for safeguarding checks the school’s recruitment and vetting procedures and meets

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Governance of the school

regularly with the designated safeguarding lead to discuss policy and practice.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  There is a shared responsibility from all staff to ensure that pupils are kept safe from harm and are well cared for in school. A typical staff comment was, ‘We do everything we possibly can. We fight our children’s corner.’  Leaders ensure that staff are well trained in safeguarding. Staff receive regular training and updates throughout the year. They are vigilant and respond quickly to the needs of pupils. They recognise potential signs of abuse and follow the school’s reporting June 2019 procedures stringently. Leaders make timely referrals to external agencies and ensure that pupils and families receive appropriate early help and support.  On occasions when leaders have been unable to secure support from external agencies they provide ‘in-house’ support. For example, the additional needs coordinator runs a range of workshops for parents and carers to support vulnerable pupils and families.

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Safeguarding

These include workshops about toileting, behaviour and bedtime routines.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

 The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is weak throughout many year groups and subjects. Teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve across the curriculum are too low. The standard of pupils’ work throughout many year groups is inadequate.  Teachers do not use assessment information effectively to plan activities that meet pupils’ needs. Too many pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, complete work that is either too easy or too hard. Pupils have significant gaps in their knowledge and understanding in too many subjects.  Teachers’ subject knowledge is poor. They do not have a secure understanding of the subjects they teach, particularly in mathematics, the humanities and RE. They do not sequence learning well or explain ideas and concepts clearly.  Too often, teachers’ use of questioning is ineffective. They do not challenge or encourage pupils to deepen or extend their thinking and understanding.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

 Teachers do not consistently provide feedback to pupils on their work and next steps, in line with the school’s policy. This particularly hinders pupils’ learning in mathematics. Teachers’ feedback typically asks pupils to check their work and does not develop pupils’ learning well enough.  The teaching of phonics is effective for most pupils in the early years and key stage 1. Teachers carefully model the sounds letters make and encourage pupils to segment and blend these sounds to read and write individual words. However, some pupils, particularly lower-attaining and pupils with SEND, do not apply these skills in their reading and writing across the wider curriculum. Too many of these pupils in key stages 1 and 2 have poor spelling skills and are unable to read independently and for pleasure.  Leaders have introduced new initiatives to improve pupils’ writing, but they are not having a positive impact on the development of pupils’ grammar and language skills,

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

particularly in key stage 2. There are too many occasions when pupils incorrectly use verb tenses or make unambitious vocabulary choices.  The quality of teaching in the humanities and RE is poor. Teachers do not teach these subjects well enough to ensure that pupils have a good understanding of the world in which they live. There are too few opportunities for pupils to revisit learning. Consequently, pupils do not remember what they have been taught. However, by contrast, art is typically well taught throughout all key stages because teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve in this subject.  Teaching assistants provide some sensitive and nurturing support for pupils with SEND. However, teachers do not deploy them effectively in the classroom to support learning. June 2019 There are too many occasions when teaching assistants do not model work well or encourage pupils to complete tasks independently. They do not receive enough

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

guidance or support from teachers or leaders.  Teachers and teaching assistants have positive relationships with pupils. They demonstrate a high level of care for each pupil.  Pupils value the many extra-curricular activities on offer. For example, pupils spoke highly of the textiles club, Lego club and street dance sessions. They enjoy trips to places such as the Houses of Parliament in London.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  A culture of nurture, care and pastoral support permeates the whole school. Most pupils enjoy coming to school. They say that teachers are kind. Pupils say that they feel safe in school.  Pupils have a strong sense of right and wrong. They show respect to each other and to adults. They appreciate and celebrate each other’s differences. Pupils told inspectors that ‘Everyone is welcome in our school.’  Pupils have positive attitudes to school. They are resilient and persevere when seeking to improve their work independently.  Pupils are proud of their school. They relish the many opportunities to be responsible. For example, pupils enjoy being ‘mini police’ at breaktimes, members of the school council and applying for ‘jobs’ at the breakfast club.  Pupils understand how to lead healthy lifestyles. They enjoy being physically active in

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Personal development and welfare

PE lessons. Pupils learn about different fruits and vegetables and other food groups during their work in science. They grow many different vegetables in the gardening club. Pupils are taught about their emotions and mental well-being. Pupils know they can use the ‘rainbow room’ if they feel anxious or worried about something, knowing that staff will be there to help them.  Pupils are taught how to stay safe. They have a good understanding of how to stay safe online. Pupils know about the dangers of drug abuse through their work in drug abuse resistance education (DARE) programmes. Year 6 pupils undertake emergency first-aid training as part of their work in personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.  Some pupils do not attend school regularly enough. The proportion of pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils and pupils who speak English as an additional language, who are persistently absent from school is increasing over time and is above the national average. Leaders have taken action to improve attendance, for example June 2019 the use of ‘school attendance panel’ meetings, but this is not having the necessary and timely impact needed.  Pupils behave well. They are polite, friendly and courteous. During the inspection, pupils greeted inspectors with a welcoming ‘hello’ and considerately pushed chairs under tables so adults could more easily move around classrooms.  There are few occasions when learning is disrupted by poor behaviour. When this does happen, leaders use effective and timely strategies to encourage pupils to reflect on their behaviour to bring about improvements.

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Behaviour

 Pupils say that there are very few incidents of bullying. They say that if it does happen then it is dealt with quickly. Leaders provide support for both those pupils who have experienced bullying and the perpetrators. For example, the learning mentor provides small-group support to develop pupils’ confidence and self-esteem.  Effective systems are in place to reward good behaviour. Pupils enjoy receiving ‘super citizen’ awards for being particularly helpful or caring towards others.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 Pupils in key stage 2, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, make inadequate progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Too many pupils leave school not well prepared for the demands of secondary education.  The proportions of pupils in key stage 2, including disadvantaged pupils, achieving the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics are consistently below the national averages. Pupils’ attainment in writing has declined significantly over time.  Leaders have not sustained improvements seen in 2018, when the proportions of pupils in key stage 1, including disadvantaged pupils, achieving the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics were above the national averages for those subjects. Provisional key stage 1 results for 2019 show that less than half of current Year 2 pupils will attain the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics. These

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

pupils do not possess the knowledge, skills and understanding to be successful in key stage 2.  Work from current pupils’ books in English and mathematics, across all year groups, shows that pupils’ achievement is weak. Too many pupils make inadequate progress from their starting points. Too few pupils are able to demonstrate the skills that are typically expected for their ages.  The teaching of phonics is not yet having a consistent impact on pupils’ outcomes. Provisional outcomes for the Year 1 phonics check in 2019 show that the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard has fallen again and continues to be below the national average.  Pupils do not read widely and often. When they do, the books they read are not well matched to their abilities. Too many pupils, particularly lower-attaining pupils and pupils with SEND, do not have the reading skills required to access books independently. This severely inhibits these pupils’ access to the wider curriculum.

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Early years provision Requires improvement

 The leadership of the early years requires improvement. Leaders do not have a secure understanding of the progress children make, particularly in numeracy. The proportion of children who attain a good level of development is below the national average and is not improving. Some children are capable of making better progress in the Reception class from their starting points at the end of Nursery.  Staff in the Reception class do not have high expectations of what children can achieve, particularly in numeracy. Children’s work consists largely of simple counting and number activities which are not well matched to their abilities. In contrast, staff in the Nursery class have very high expectations of what children can achieve. For example, some three and four year olds can already represent the combining of two amounts as an addition calculation.  Some staff in the Reception class do not use questioning well enough to challenge

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Early years provision Requires improvement

children’s thinking. As a result, some children’s learning is not extended or developed fully. However, staff in the Nursery class ask questions which encourage children to think critically. For example, one member of staff asked children, ‘Why do astronauts have glass on their helmets?’ while another in the outdoor area asked, ‘Why do you think the cork floats in water?’  Staff across the early years are skilled in developing children’s communication and language skills. They model vocabulary precisely so that children acquire a wide range of words quickly. For example, the Nursery class teacher used a range of synonyms to describe the view of the moon from the Earth using the words ‘small’, ‘tiny’ and ‘little’ while reading a story to children. Additional funding is used effectively to run specialist speech and language groups for disadvantaged children and children who speak English as an additional language.

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Early years provision Requires improvement

 Staff ensure that the curriculum is broad, balanced and exciting. Staff plan activities that interest children and meet their needs, in most areas of learning. For example, children engage in painting and screwing activities in the woodwork area to develop their fine motor skills, while other children sing nursery rhymes and play instruments on the stage to develop confidence, rhythm and rhyme.  Children make strong progress in writing. There are many opportunities to write, draw and make marks throughout the provision. Children in the Reception class receive effective teaching of phonics. Evidence from children’s books shows that many children in the Reception class can write legible sentences with good application of the phonics they have been taught.  Staff establish routines and model high expectations for behaviour. Children listen and concentrate well. As a result, children are calm, well behaved and ready to learn.

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Early years provision Requires improvement

 Staff work hard to develop children’s personal, social and emotional development. Children play well together. They can take turns, share toys and cooperate well.  Staff are well trained. They receive training in safeguarding and designated staff receive paediatric first-aid training. Staff are knowledgeable about procedures to keep children safe from harm. June 2019  Staff draw upon the expertise of external agencies when needed, such as educational psychologists, speech and language therapists and health visitors to provide timely support for children, including those with SEND.  The partnership between staff and parents is effective. An online tool is used effectively to allow parents to fully contribute to their child’s learning and assessment. Parents are positive about their children’s experiences of the early years. June 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 enquiries@spaldingstpauls.org.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 1–2 March 2017

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Information about this school

 The school is a slightly smaller-than-average-sized primary school.  There has been a significant turnover in teaching staff since the previous inspection.  The school is currently receiving support from Monkshouse Primary School. This support is funded by the local authority.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is slightly above the national average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is above average.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well above the national average. June 2019

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching across all key stages and year groups. Inspectors listened to pupils read in key stages 1 and 2. Inspectors met with groups of pupils to talk about their learning and experiences in school. Inspectors scrutinised pupils’ work with the leaders for English and mathematics. Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour at breaktimes.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, the additional needs coordinator, the special educational needs coordinator, the leader of the early years, the Nursery class teacher, the Reception class teacher, middle leaders and three governors. They also held a telephone conversation with a representative from the local authority.  A wide range of documents were scrutinised, including those relating to safeguarding, recruitment and vetting, behaviour, pupils’ performance and attendance, and records of the school’s monitoring and evaluation of the quality of education. Inspectors also

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Information about this inspection

examined the school’s plans for improvement, plans for the use and impact of the additional funding, minutes from meetings of the governing body and information available on the school’s website.  Inspectors spoke with parents informally at the start of the day. Inspectors also considered the 14 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, and the 24 responses to the staff survey. There were no responses to the pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Steve Varnam, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Rachel Tordoff Her Majesty’s Inspector June 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

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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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