Denaby Main Primary Academy

Inspection of Denaby Main Primary Academy School Walk, Denaby Main, Doncaster, South Yorkshire DN12 4HZ

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected 25–26 September 2019

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have made many improvements, especially over the last year. Pupils were very proud to tell us all about these changes. They are right to be proud of themselves.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have worked hard to improve pupils’ behaviour. It has been transformed. Everyone understands how they should behave. Pupils feels safe at school. This includes at lunchtime. All adults treat pupils with kindness and respect. This is helping pupils to learn and succeed.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that there is hardly any bullying. If there is, pupils ask for help and they know that teachers will sort it out fairly. One pupil said, ‘Mr Crossley is really good. He helps us.’ Parents and carers are also delighted by the many improvements. They say that leaders are always available, and that communication is much better now. Any problems are sorted out quickly. Now that behaviour is good, leaders are making sure that the quality of education improves too.

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better?

There have been lots of new teachers recently. Some pupils had lots of different teachers during last year. The new teachers all stayed this September, so classes are much more settled now. Pupils know what is expected of them. The teachers are working well together as a team. Leaders are building on this. The quality of teaching is improving quickly.

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better?

When this school was inadequate, pupils did not get the chance to cover everything they were supposed to be learning. Some subjects were not taught at all. Teaching was inadequate. This means that pupils do not know or cannot remember the things they should have learned by now. Leaders and staff understand that lots of pupils need help to catch up.

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better?

The older pupils who spoke to us could not remember having any religious education. They could not remember the different faiths or religious beliefs that people may hold. While pupils show respect to each other, the curriculum is not helping pupils learn to respect people who are different from them, including those from other cultures. This is limiting pupils’ personal development.

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better?

Leaders have ambitious plans for improving the curriculum. Their new plans only started this September. Some of the teachers have only just begun to lead their subject areas. The multi-academy trust is giving these new leaders training to help them. All subjects are being taught now. Leaders are looking carefully at the content in each subject. They are focused on making sure that what pupils have to learn is being taught in the right order.

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better?

Leaders decided that improving the teaching of reading should be their top priority. They started this last January. All staff have had training to help them get better at 25–26 September 2019

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teaching phonics. New phonics resources are helping teachers to make sure that they are teaching the right sounds in the right order. Teachers check to make sure that all pupils are keeping up. If pupils are struggling, teachers give pupils extra help. This is making sure that pupils catch up quickly.

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Many parents hear their children read at home. Too often, teachers send books home that are too hard for Year 1 pupils to read. These books include words with sounds that pupils do not know, so they cannot read them. This means that pupils are not getting enough practice with their reading. It also means that they see reading as too challenging. It puts them off reading.

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Older pupils told us that they enjoy reading. Pupils say that they are much more confident when they are reading aloud. They like reading in pairs, taking it in turns to read to each other. Pupils say that they read every day, and they love it.

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Leaders have given teachers lots of ideas for helping pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This is working. Teachers are skilful at setting different work for pupils with SEND. Pupils find this work challenging but not too hard. When they succeed, they are proud of their achievements. This makes them more confident when tackling new learning.

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Children’s learning is not planned well enough in early years. Teachers do not expect enough of children. They do not build on the things that children already know and can do, so time is wasted. Teachers have got better at teaching phonics. Children need to have lots of chances to practise what they have learned when they are playing. Teachers are not making sure that they are putting the right things out each day to help children to do this. This is the same for numbers and early mathematics. Leaders already know that this needs to improve.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Pupils know how to keep themselves safe. All staff have had safeguarding training, so they know what to look out for if pupils have experienced harm. The safeguarding leader is very experienced. Pupils and parents trust her.

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Safeguarding

Before going to meetings with social workers, leaders ask pupils what they think. They ask pupils what they would like them to say. Leaders always make sure that pupils’ views are shared at these meetings. They check that pupils are happy with this first. Trustees and governors check carefully that everything is being done properly. 25–26 September 2019

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The curriculum, including in early years, is not yet good. Leaders need to implement their plans to improve the sequencing of the curriculum. This will help pupils to know more and remember more.  The most senior school leaders are very skilful and knowledgeable. They are making a real difference. This is not yet the case for curriculum leaders. Many of these teachers have only just started in their leadership roles. They are still training to be curriculum leaders. Senior leaders should continue with their plans to develop these junior leaders. This will mean that all leaders can contribute to improving teachers’ understanding of curriculum sequencing and the quality of their teaching.  Leaders must improve the teaching of early reading by ensuring that all reading books match the letters and sounds that pupils know. Children in early years need more opportunities to practise their language skills when they are playing. Pupils

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

in key stage 1 need more frequent opportunities to re-read familiar books in school and at home. This will build pupils’ fluency and confidence.  Leaders should implement their plans to enrich the curriculum to improve pupils’ personal development. Leaders must ensure that pupils have a greater depth of knowledge of other faiths and cultures. This will help pupils to be better prepared for life in modern Britain.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you’re not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

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. 25–26 September 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10110541 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 This is the first standard inspection of this newly registered school.  This school was registered as a sponsored academy on 1 October 2016.  The school is sponsored by Astrea Academy Trust.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors met with the executive director of education and the executive director of inclusion for the multi-academy trust. The lead inspector held telephone interviews with a trustee and with the chief executive officer for Astrea Academy Trust.  Meetings were held with the executive principal, head of school, the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo), and curriculum leaders for reading, science and history. Inspectors met with several teaching staff and with lunchtime supervisors.  A meeting was held with the leader who has responsibility for safeguarding and with the school business manager, who maintains the records linked to 25–26 September 2019

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recruitment and staff training. Pupils’ safeguarding records were discussed and evaluated, including the bound-book where incidents of physical restraint are recorded.  Inspectors selected four subjects for closer scrutiny. These subjects were reading, mathematics, science and history. Inspectors spoke to pupils about their learning and heard pupils read. We also observed pupils reading to their teacher. We visited lessons and discussed pupils’ work with curriculum leaders.  Inspectors spoke to seven parents before school and reviewed the two comments left by parents through Ofsted’s Parent View survey. There were no responses to the staff or pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Tracey Ralph, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Rebecca Clayton Ofsted Inspector 25–26 September 2019

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regulates and inspects to 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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