Sundridge and Brasted Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Inspection of Sundridge and Brasted Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Church Road, Sundridge, Sevenoaks, Kent TN14 6EA

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Outstanding Primary School 5 November 2019

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What is it like to attend this school?

This small school has a strong sense of community. Pupils, parents and staff all agree that pupils are safe. Staff know the pupils well and have good relationships with them. The school has a supportive, caring and nurturing ethos. Pupils are made very welcome when they join the school. Pupils are confident there is always someone to talk to if they are worried about something. Bullying is rare and when it happens pupils are confident that staff will sort it out.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most children enjoy school. However, during the last six months, frequent staff changes have unsettled pupils in one class. In this class, some pupils’ behaviour during lessons has deteriorated and this is slowing down pupils’ learning. In other classes, pupils work with enthusiasm. Pupils behave well at playtimes and the atmosphere around the school is harmonious.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils gather daily as a school for collective worship. The school’s values are reinforced during these assemblies. Pupils told inspectors about the current focus on ‘friendship’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

In lessons, teachers’ expectations of pupils vary too widely. Sometimes, teaching is not planned as well as it should be. As a result, pupils do not acquire the knowledge they need in some subjects.

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better?

Not all subjects are taught well. Leaders have not planned what knowledge should be taught and when in subjects other than English and mathematics. Teachers have not had enough training to help pupils learn well in all subjects. Leaders and some teachers are not ambitious enough in what they expect from pupils. Teachers do not consistently check what pupils have understood, especially in science. As a result, pupils do not develop essential knowledge across different subjects to help them achieve well by the end of key stage 2.

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better?

There are some more positive aspects of the quality of education. The teaching of mathematics remains strong. Teachers sequence learning well to build on what pupils already know. Pupils are given work which matches their level and also challenges them to think harder.

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better?

Reading has rightly been a high priority for the school. Pupils’ results in the reading tests at the end of key stage 2 are above national levels. Pupils read often and enjoy listening to stories. Pupils are given suitable books to read and those who fall behind with reading are given effective help. In the past, pupils have learned phonics well enough to help them read confidently. However, currently the teaching of phonics in the early years is not as strong as it needs to be to ensure that all children keep up. Primary School 5 November 2019

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Much successful work goes into meeting the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders identify pupils’ particular needs carefully. Pupils are given additional support by well-trained staff. However, work in class is not always adapted well enough to support their learning.

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The curriculum provides pupils with a range of trips and other exciting activities. Pupils learn what it means to be healthy well. Leaders place a lot of importance on mental health and both staff and pupils appreciate this. There is a lot of support in place for pupils who need help socially and emotionally. Pupils who met the inspectors were confident, polite and showed respect for others. Pupils’ personal development is good.

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In the past, the teaching in the Reception class has prepared children well for future learning. This year, the children in Reception and Year 1 are in the same class. The curriculum has not been planned well enough to ensure that all achieve well and are given learning opportunities which build securely on what they already know.

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Staff are positive about working at the school and feel they are well supported by leaders. Most parents are happy with the school, although some are dissatisfied by leaders’ slow response to the poor behaviour in one class.

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Previously, the school has been a stable learning environment. Currently, the school is experiencing some turbulence due to changes in leadership. Pupils’ behaviour is not as good as it was, and teaching is not as strong as when the school was last inspected. Governors and officers from the local authority were slow to respond to this decline. However, the right actions are now underway to strengthen the leadership of the school and provide better training for staff and governors. Plans for improvement are targeting the right weaknesses.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff know pupils well and this helps them to spot any changes in the well-being of pupils. When staff are concerned, they pass information on quickly. Leaders work well with external agencies to help pupils and their families get the help they need. Recently, leaders have made systems tighter to ensure that recruitment checks are thorough, and the records of the actions taken to support pupils are completely up to date. Pupils are taught how to keep safe, including when using the internet.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school has gone through some changes in leadership over the last year. This has resulted in a decline in standards. Governors should ensure that the leadership quality assurance systems are suitably robust to ensure that the school offers a consistently good quality of education. Leaders need to check more Primary School 5 November 2019

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carefully whether changes they make help pupils learn more effectively.  The content of the wider curriculum is not as well organised as it needs to be. Leaders need to ensure that the curriculum plans for subjects across the curriculum build pupils’ knowledge sequentially so that pupils understand and remember key facts and ideas. Teachers need more training to improve their professional knowledge to teach a range of subjects more effectively.  Staff should have consistently high expectations of pupils’ behaviour, and the skills to ensure that pupils behave well, in all classes.  Children in the early years are not developing their phonics or mathematical skills well enough. This is because learning is not planned sufficiently well to meet the children’s needs, particularly those who struggle. Leaders need to ensure that teachers’ plans are better matched to the needs of the children.

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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. Primary School 5 November 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10111439 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 Rebecca Hamburger

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School details

Date of previous inspection 16–17 June 2015

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Information about this school

 A teacher who was also senior leader went on maternity leave in April 2019. The class has subsequently had a number of supply teachers.  Two consultant headteachers from local schools have recently started to provide support for the school.  This is a voluntary-controlled Church of England school. The previous section 48 inspection of the school’s distinctiveness as a Church of England school took place in 2016.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We deemed the inspection a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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Information about this inspection

 This inspection was paused halfway through Day 1 due to the illness of key staff. Day 2 was completed three weeks later.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher on Day 1, and the two consultant headteachers on Day 2. Inspectors met the special educational needs coordinator, the subject leader for mathematics and the leader of early years on both days. Primary School 5 November 2019

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 The lead inspector met three governors, including the chair of the governing body.  Inspectors reviewed safeguarding records, including the central record of recruitment checks on staff.  To help understand the quality of education, we looked in detail at some subjects. These were reading, mathematics, science and history. We spoke with leaders for these subjects, visited lessons, talked with groups of pupils, looked at pupils’ work and spoke with teachers.  Inspectors considered how well the curriculum meets the needs of all pupils including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.  Inspectors considered the views of staff from meeting with them and from the responses of eight staff to the confidential questionnaire.  Inspectors spoke to parents and carers during the inspection and considered the views of 15 parents who responded to Ofsted’s parental questionnaire, Parent View.

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Inspection team

Theresa Phillips, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Mrs Lesley Fisher-Pink Ofsted Inspector Primary School 5 November 2019

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