Englefield C.E. Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Englefield C.E. Primary School The Street, Englefield, Reading, Berkshire RG7 5ER

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Outcome

Englefield C.E. Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Englefield is a welcoming school where pupils feel safe and valued. Pupils, parents and carers relish the friendly, family atmosphere.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have created a culture and a climate where pupils are keen to learn. They have high expectations and aspirations that all pupils will achieve well, and that they will be well prepared for their future lives. The school’s motto, ‘Creating, inspiring, achieving’, and the school’s strong Christian values encourage pupils to have high expectations of themselves. As a result, their work is mostly of high quality.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils appreciate that teachers make learning interesting. Well-chosen books, visits and experiences bring learning to life. Pupils are proud to attend their school. They are keen to take on extra responsibilities, such as caring for the school’s tortoise and helping in the library. Older pupils support and interact well with younger pupils. The school’s large outside spaces, set in idyllic rural surroundings, offer many different opportunities for pupils of all ages and abilities to play together well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils respect each other and adults. They do not worry about bullying and know that an adult would quickly sort out any problems.

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

Teachers ensure that learning activities are interesting and build well on pupils’ previous learning in most subjects. This is particularly the case in English and mathematics. However, the way teachers plan learning for pupils is not as well organised in computing, art, and design and technology.

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

Pupils behave well. They rarely let themselves get distracted from their learning and take good care to produce work to the best of their abilities. As a result, pupils achieve well academically. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. Class teachers are clear which pupils 9 October 2019

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need extra support and plan activities and use resources well to meet those pupils’ needs.

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Pupils show a high level of independence and pride in their work, saying, ‘Our teachers say we should always go the extra mile.’ They work hard and do not give up when they find a task tricky.

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Leaders ensure that reading is given a high priority in the school. Phonics (letters and the sounds they represent) is taught daily from children’s first day in the early years. They practise their early reading skills using books that match the sounds they already know. However, sometimes, these books are too easy for the most able early readers. Almost all pupils read fluently by the end of key stage 1. Where this is not the case, leaders are quick to ensure that further support helps pupils to catch up. Pupils are very keen to read and enjoy using the large, attractive library at the centre of the school. Teachers read high-quality books to pupils. Older pupils read with confidence and fluency and happily discuss their choice of book. Pupils enjoy reading poetry and take part in an annual competition to learn and recite poetry to an audience.

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The teaching of writing and mathematics is logically planned and well delivered. Teachers use different ways to engage pupils in writing. Themes are used to inspire the pupils and to provide them with realistic and interesting writing opportunities. Pupils learn to apply their mathematics knowledge in a range of different subjects and in solving a variety of problems. However, most-able pupils are not always challenged enough.

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Leaders and teachers promote pupils’ personal development well. Pupils study similarities and differences between cultures. This helps them to develop a sense of their place in the world and to show respect to others who have different beliefs.

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Children get off to a great start in the early years. They are safe and happy. They behave and play well together. The curriculum is exciting, and the learning environment is rich and engaging. There is a strong focus on early language and mathematical skills. Children quickly gain the confidence and the knowledge they need to thrive. Children in the early years are well prepared for Year 1.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The culture to keep pupils safe is strong. Staff, governors and volunteers receive regular safeguarding training. They know what to do if they have any concerns.

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Safeguarding

The school’s safeguarding lead works diligently within the school. Her relationship with outside agencies ensures that pupils and their families get the right support when it is needed.

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Safeguarding

Pupils feel safe in school. They remember what they have learned about staying safe, including when online.

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Safeguarding

Parents feel that their children are safe in school. They appreciate the information they 9 October 2019

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receive from the school, such as that from anti-bullying workshops for instance.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders and teachers are working systematically through different subjects to fully develop the curriculum. While some subjects, such as English and mathematics, provide pupils with clear opportunities to build their knowledge over time, others are less well developed. Leaders should ensure that there is a logical progression of knowledge and skills in all subjects and across all phases of the school.  The work given to most-able pupils is not consistently demanding or matched to their abilities. No pupils reached the higher standards in writing at the end of key stage 2 this year and very few reached them in mathematics. Most-able pupils need more opportunities to use more expressive language and to build up their stamina for writing. They also need more opportunities to use their knowledge to solve problems in mathematics and use reasoning to explain their understanding.

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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.

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Background

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good on 10 November 2010.

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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.

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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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You can search for published performance information about the school.

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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. 9 October 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10111340 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Mr Chris Gittins

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School details

Date of previous inspection 15 March 2016

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The current headteacher took up her position in January 2018.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors held a wide range of meetings during this inspection, including with the headteacher, school business manager and governors.  We took account of the 35 responses to Ofsted’s Parent View survey and the 23 free- text comments. We also took account of the six responses to the staff survey and the 35 responses to the pupil survey.  Reading, writing and mathematics were considered in more depth as part of this inspection. We met with leaders of these subjects, visited lessons, looked at teachers’ planning, heard pupils read, talked to teachers and pupils and looked at work in books.  We checked the school’s record of recruitment checks for every adult in the school. We met with the headteacher to discuss safeguarding. We looked at some records of incidents reported by staff and the subsequent actions carried out. 9 October 2019

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Inspection team

Marcia Goodwin, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Kevin Parfoot Ofsted Inspector 9 October 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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