Lift Ashingdon

Inspection of Ashingdon Primary Academy Fambridge Road, Ashingdon, Rochford, Essex SS4 3LN

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Requires improvement Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement 15–16 October 2019

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What is it like to attend this school?

The pupils at Ashingdon are very polite, welcoming and well behaved. During the inspection, they invited the inspectors to sit with them for lunch and held them in rapt conversation about their school. Most pupils are articulate and confident. During lessons, pupils are attentive. They follow teachers’ instructions sensibly and contribute to discussions in a way that allows everyone to have a voice. Pupils told inspectors that they feel happy and safe at school. Their attendance is very good.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their school and its achievements. This is a school that sings together and has its own ‘Ashingdon Rap’. Pupils take part in lots of clubs, from karate to local music festivals and sporting competitions. Pupils take on responsibilities, such as serving as school councillors or looking after the school pig, ‘Princess’. Staff and pupils attribute the opportunities and positive energy to the leadership of the executive headteacher. One pupil, representing the views of many, said ‘Mr Barton is a man that does!’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Although many pupils succeed at Ashingdon, those who struggle to learn to read in Reception and key stage 1 are not taught well. Leaders have not paid enough attention to the teaching of early reading. This limits some pupils’ potential in academic subjects and dents their self-confidence.

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better?

Governors and leaders are committed to improving the school. Since the last inspection, the overall standards reached by pupils at the end of Year 6 are higher. Parents, governors, staff and pupils say that the school is a happier place.

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better?

The senior leadership team are looking closely at the curriculum. Teachers are planning new subject content together well. They have changed the year groups where some topics are taught. For example, learning about the Vikings now follows study of the Saxons so that pupils will be able to bring their prior knowledge to the topic.

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better?

The executive headteacher recognises that the new curriculum is in its infancy. Pupils’ history and geography work in their new theme books, unlike in the previous year, includes little written work. Planning does not ensure that pupils are regularly attempting activities that require them to use detailed subject knowledge of the topic.

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better?

Where subjects are taught through a topic approach, such as art and history, teachers’ plans do not always consider what art skills pupils need to master. For example, at the top of key stage 2, some of the pupils are not proficient in using scissors. Leaders recognise that whole-school subject plans should identify where such skills are taught explicitly and how much practice pupils need to master them.

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better?

Leaders do not prioritise the teaching of early reading. Staff are not well trained in 15–16 October 2019

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teaching phonics. Teaching does not ensure that all pupils have enough practice to remember the sounds that letters represent (phonics). This means that some pupils struggle to decode simple words. Some staff tell pupils to guess at words. For example, one pupil guessed ‘wood’ instead of ‘log’ after being told to ‘look at the picture’ to sound out the word.

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Some aspects of the national curriculum for word reading are not followed. For example, staff do not match reading books to pupils’ phonic knowledge. The school runs two different assessment systems simultaneously for monitoring pupils’ reading. Adding to this confusion, pupils choose their own reading books from boxes offering too much choice for beginner readers.

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Leaders are keen to improve pupils’ reading ability. Staff read aloud regularly to their classes, which pupils enjoy. Some pupils like the ‘resilient reader’ reward system and are enthusiastic about reading at home regularly.

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Singing is a strength of the school. The ‘reading song’ and a ‘pirate’s life for me’ were sung well in tune and with great gusto by Years 1 to 6 during the inspection. Leaders say that through singing, pupils gain a good musical repertoire as well as building a sense of community and well-being among pupils and staff.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The culture for keeping pupils safe is central to the school. Staff know all the pupils well. They give their welfare high priority. Staff are trained to spot any signs of concern. Leaders hold a regular well-being staff meeting to check on any concerns and to ensure that any potentially vulnerable pupils get the right support. Leaders and staff work closely together to ensure that they share knowledge of pupils. However, not all actions by staff are recorded systematically.

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Safeguarding

Pupils feel well supported at school and say that they are taught to know how to keep themselves safe, whether while out and about or online. They trust the adults who work in the school and say that they feel confident to share any concerns with them.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The teaching of early reading needs to be prioritised urgently. Leaders should ensure that all staff follow the national curriculum for word reading. To achieve this, all staff need training in teaching phonics and how this links to reading accurately and fluently. Leaders should implement a cohesive policy for teaching and assessing reading. Reading books must be reorganised urgently to give struggling readers enough practice at a level that matches their phonic knowledge. Teachers should work more closely with the pupils who are at risk of 15–16 October 2019

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not achieving the expected standard in the phonics screening check in year 1, giving these pupils enough targeted systematic practice to succeed. This will prevent some pupils being identified with special educational needs because of weak reading when they are older.  Leaders should continue with their overall review of curriculum planning. Staff should ensure that pupils have enough time built into lessons to practise and remember what they need to learn so they are well prepared for what comes next. This is both in terms of learning how to do something, such as using scissors, and learning foundational knowledge, as in phonics. In addition, teachers should identify the detail to be learned in each curriculum subject within a topic. Activities should be planned which require pupils to use a detailed knowledge of the topics already learned, to ensure that they gain an understanding which matches the ambition of the national curriculum.

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 Leaders should ensure that all staff follow the agreed protocols for recording safeguarding information.

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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. 15–16 October 2019

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School details

Date of previous inspection 29–30 June 2017

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Information about this school

 The school has a new executive headteacher who took over just after the previous inspection.  The executive headteacher shares his time between Ashingdon Primary Academy and Plumberow Primary Academy, a local school within the Academies Enterprise Trust (AET).

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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 held meetings with the executive headteacher, the chair of governors, two lay governors, a representative of the AET curriculum support team, senior leaders including the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo), staff and pupils.  Reading, art, geography and history were considered closely in order to evaluate the quality of education. In each of these subjects, inspection activities included: lesson visits; discussions with staff and pupils; meetings with subject leaders and work scrutiny. The lead inspector also listened to pupils read. 15–16 October 2019

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 A range of documentation was considered. This included the school’s self- evaluation, plans for improvement and information relating to the attendance and behaviour of pupils.  The 47 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, were taken into consideration alongside the pupil and staff questionnaires.  Many of the inspection activities gave inspectors the opportunity to evaluate the culture of safeguarding in the school. Additionally, inspectors looked at safeguarding records and the record of pre-employment checks, as well as asking staff about the impact of any safeguarding training they have received.

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Inspection team

Gill Jones, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Heather Fearn Ofsted Inspector 15–16 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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