Stourport Primary Academy

Inspection of a good school: Stourport Primary Academy Park Avenue, Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire DY13 8SH

p.1

Outcome

Stourport Primary Academy continues to be a good school.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Stourport Primary Academy love school. They are happy, safe and enjoy learning. Teachers have high expectations. Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. Bullying is very rare. Pupils know that adults would help them sort it out if bullying ever happened. Leaders make sure that everyone is welcome here.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils of all ages are confident. They develop independence by helping each other and finding solutions. Younger children settle quickly in Nursery and Reception. Staff make sure that they learn and talk together all day. Older pupils act as ‘safeguarders’. They make sure that everyone has someone to play with. In lessons, pupils work well in groups. Lessons are engaging and fun.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

The school rules help pupils to know how to behave. They enjoy collecting raffle ticket rewards for good behaviour and work. They can spend these in the pupil-run ‘spotty shop’. Pupils understand about democracy from school council elections. They show respect for others.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders make sure that pupils learn beyond the classroom. Visits and enrichment sessions make learning exciting. Pupils try new experiences, such as learning Japanese or playing a musical instrument. Many pupils continue these new interests in clubs after school or at lunchtime.

p.1

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The headteacher has ensured that the school provides a high-quality education for all. She is ambitious that all pupils achieve success, regardless of their starting points. Staff and governors share this commitment. Teachers have high expectations of pupils. As a result, pupils achieve well here, particularly in writing and mathematics. Pupils’ progress in reading at the end of key stage 2 in 2019 was not as strong as other subjects.

p.1

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have already adapted their approach to the teaching of reading. Reading has a 24–25 September 2019

p.1

2

high profile in the school. Pupils love reading in lessons, at lunchtime and at breakfast club. All classes, from Nursery to Year 6, enjoy story time. All staff are well trained in teaching phonics. In lessons, teachers focus on the writer’s choice of words and the impact on the reader. This detailed study helps pupils to become more fluent readers. Teachers choose books that pupils will enjoy and that will stretch pupils’ reading skills. Pupils who fall behind in phonics receive extra support. However, some pupils need more support to become fluent readers.

p.2

2

The well-planned curriculum helps pupils to become secure in their knowledge and skills. Subject leaders drive the development of the curriculum in their subjects. They are good at making sure that teachers can teach the content and skills for each subject well. Teachers ask pupils to ‘do it, secure it and deepen it’. Pupils revisit topics to practise their skills so that they become really confident. Pupils ‘prove it’ by explaining their working out in writing. This helps teachers to spot mistakes. This is particularly the case in mathematics.

p.2

2

Engaging activities make lessons interesting and fun. In science, teachers make sure that pupils build on their scientific enquiry skills year by year. The school has achieved the Science Quality Mark award.

p.2

2

In Nursery and Reception, well-planned activities support children’s development, particularly their vocabulary. Learning captures children’s interests. For example, during the inspection, children in Reception enjoyed building electrical circuits with batteries, wires and light bulbs. They concentrated hard because they were so engaged. Children make strong progress from their starting points, particularly in mathematics.

p.2

2

Learning extends beyond academic subjects. Enrichment sessions support pupils’ social and cultural development. Pupils try lots of activities they may not experience elsewhere. For example, pupils learn cookery, woodwork or play a new sport. Pupils’ progress across all subjects and activities is checked closely. Leaders make sure that pupils’ personal, social and cultural development is just as important as their academic success. As a result, pupils are happy and well behaved.

p.2

2

In subjects other than English, teachers do not always insist that pupils produce their best writing. Pupils do not always have enough opportunities to practise their spelling, punctuation and grammar skills.

p.2

2

Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) make good progress. The curriculum is adapted well to address their needs. Support for pupils moving to secondary school is a strength of the school.

p.2

2

Teachers appreciate leaders’ investment in their professional development. They say that leaders are mindful of their well-being. As a result, staff feel valued and are proud to work at the school.

p.2

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 24–25 September 2019

p.2

3

Staff are well trained. They report any concerns about pupils’ safety to the designated senior leader (DSL) for safeguarding. She makes sure that families get the help they need. Support for pupils who are absent too often has had an impact. Many of these pupils are now in school more regularly. Parents say that staff are always happy to help them. The school has positive relationships with the community. Leaders work hard to maintain these because they know that this helps pupils to be happy and succeed.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve?

 Leaders ensure that reading is a high priority in the school. The school’s success in phonics teaching means that the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in the phonics screening check is broadly in line with the national average. The majority of pupils become fluent readers by the end of key stage 2. However, a small number of pupils in each year group do not pass the phonics screening check in Year 1 or Year 2. Leaders have recognised that the support for them to catch up has not brought about fast enough improvements. Leaders have changed their approach and are already seeing an impact for these pupils in key stage 2. Teachers now need to provide clear guidance for pupils on how they develop from being a competent decoder to a fluent reader.  When pupils write in subjects other than English, teachers accept work which does not reflect pupils’ best writing. This means that pupils do not practise and apply their

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve?

spelling, punctuation and grammar skills every time they write. They need to do this at every opportunity so that they apply their skills more fluently.

p.3

Background

When we have judged a school to be good we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

p.3

How can I feed back my views?

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.

p.3

How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school. 24–25 September 2019

p.3

Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

p.4

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. 24–25 September 2019

p.4

School details

Inspection number 10111726 Type of school Primary

p.5

School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

p.5

Information about this school

 Stourport Primary Academy opened on 1 October 2016 as a founding school of the Severn Academies Educational Trust (SAET).  The predecessor school, Stourport Primary School, was inspected on 25–26 September 2013 and judged to be good.  The school has a Nursery class which offers places for children from the age of two.

p.5

Information about this inspection

 Before the inspection, the inspector spoke to the headteacher on the phone about the curriculum and the context of the school.  During the inspection, the inspector met with the headteacher, the chief executive officer (CEO), the deputy CEO and the school improvement officer of the Stourport Academies Education Trust (SAET).  An inspector met with the DSL and the chair of the local governing board, who is also a director of the trust and the safeguarding governor, to discuss safeguarding.  The records of pre-employment checks and other safeguarding documents were checked. The inspector spoke to staff about safeguarding and to pupils about how they 24–25 September 2019

p.5

6

learn to keep themselves safe.  The inspector reviewed the school’s self-evaluation document, school improvement plan and minutes of governing body meetings.  The inspector met with the early years leader and visited Nursery and Reception classes.  A meeting was held with the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo).  The inspector spoke to parents at the start of the school day. Forty-one responses to Parent View were considered, along with a large number of free text responses.  Ten responses to the staff survey were considered. The inspector also asked staff about their well-being and professional development during meetings.  Six responses to the pupil survey were reviewed. The inspector spoke to pupils in lessons and at break and lunchtimes about what it is like to be a pupil at this school.  Meetings were held with the leaders of English, mathematics and science as part of deep dives into these curriculum areas. Other activities included lesson visits, work

p.6

6

scrutiny, listening to pupils read and meetings with pupils and teachers.

p.6

Inspection team

Jane Spilsbury, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 24–25 September 2019

p.6

7

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.

p.7

7

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 .

p.7

7

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

7

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

7

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7