All Saints Church School

Inspection of a good school: All Saints Church School Ladies Walk, Yeovil Road, Montacute, Somerset TA15 6XG

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Outcome

All Saints Church School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

All Saints Church School is a happy, safe place for pupils to learn. Staff know pupils well and want the best for them. One staff member, whose views reflected the views of many, told the inspector that it was a privilege to teach the pupils they have at the school. Pupils think equally highly of staff. They know that staff are there to help them keep safe and achieve well. Christian values underpin the family feel of the school. The school’s close ties with the local church help to achieve this.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations of pupils. They work hard to support pupils well. Relationships are strong, and everyone values each other’s contribution. This is particularly evident during lunchtime, when pupils come together to eat and discuss their day in a calm, engaging environment.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well. They are courteous and polite and demonstrate care for one another. Pupils are confident. They are proud of their achievements and their school. Pupils feel that behaviour across the school is a strength. They acknowledge that, while bullying is rare, they have confidence that staff will deal with it, should it occur. Pupils attend well, with few regularly missing school.

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

Leaders and staff have high expectations of pupils. They have secured improvements as a result of their work. The headteacher has a strong and committed group of staff to support her vision for the school. Together, staff form a caring and cohesive team, with pupils’ best interests at heart. The highly effective local governing body and representatives from the trust share the same ethos. They know the school well, check on school leaders’ actions to bring about improvements, and provide support and challenge appropriately.

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

Pupils learn how to lead a healthy lifestyle and have increasing knowledge of other cultures and faiths. Pupils have a clear sense of right and wrong. They try hard to live up 17–18 December 2019

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to the school motto of ‘Ready, respectful and safe’.

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The school’s approach to teaching phonics and early reading is consistent across all classes. Children in the Reception class get off to a flying start with learning how to read. From their first day, they experience high-quality teaching from suitably trained staff. This momentum continues into key stage 1, where pupils apply their knowledge of the sounds they have learned when reading. The books that pupils read contain the sounds they know. They read these books several times, which helps them to become more fluent. Staff keep a close eye on how well pupils learn sounds. This helps them to identify pupils who may need more help. Staff put in place appropriate support in a timely manner. Leaders’ actions over time have improved how well pupils learn to read. As a result, their efforts were recognised by the Minister of State for Schools in 2019.

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The school’s writing curriculum has been in place for some time. It is well established. Pupils’ pride in their work is evident. They told the inspector that staff let them know how well they are getting on, and that this helps. Teaching helps pupils to write across a range of genres. However, pupils’ knowledge of the key features of different types of writing is not fully secure. In the Reception class, children are applying their phonic knowledge when writing with increasing accuracy. Here too, staff help children to practise their writing, which children enjoy.

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Staff teach the foundation subjects using a themed approach. As with writing, this approach has been in place for some time, but has been evolving of late. In some subjects, such as science, pupils gain the knowledge they need, as made clear in the national curriculum. At times, however, teachers do not sequence lessons well enough to build on what pupils already know. In some subjects, such as history, pupils do not develop their knowledge securely. School leaders and teaching staff are refining their curriculum plans to make clear the need for pupils to develop a deeper knowledge across all foundation subjects. Staff want to make the curriculum fun, engaging and meaningful, so that pupils sustain positive attitudes towards learning.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are helped to learn successfully. Staff consider pupils’ individual needs well and adapt activities accordingly, using external support when appropriate.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders make sure that the school’s recruitment procedures are robust. They only appoint staff who are suitable to work with children. Leaders provide staff with the training they need to help keep pupils safe. Staff can recognise potential concerns about pupils’ welfare and pass this information on to leaders responsible for safeguarding. Leaders use such information thoughtfully when deciding whether they require support from external agencies. Leaders keep detailed records of their work, so they can check on progress and track actions taken to help keep pupils safe.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Current curriculum plans mean that staff do not have enough time to develop pupils’ deeper knowledge across fiction and non-fiction writing. This restricts how well pupils’ writing improves. Leaders need to review the writing curriculum so that teachers can teach writing well, with clear milestones and suitable stepping stones to help pupils reach these.  The school has established plans for the foundation subjects. Leaders have recognised the need to refine these plans if pupils are to develop deeper knowledge across the foundation subjects. Curriculum plans make clear what teachers must teach, but teachers need more support to sequence lessons well and break down component knowledge, so that pupils know more and remember more. Curriculum plans do not make clear how much attention teachers should give subjects and content, which means that some subjects get less attention than others.

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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 first section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school, All Saints Church School, to be good in February 2014.

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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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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 17–18 December 2019

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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. 17–18 December 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10119945 Type of school Primary

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School details

Website https://allsaintsprimary.j2bloggy.com/

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The predecessor school was inspected in February 2014, when inspectors judged the school to be good. In February 2017, the school joined Bath and Wells Academy Trust.  The academy trust has delegated certain responsibilities to the local governing body. The academy trust has members of its central team who are responsible for supporting schools in the trust. The director and regional director of learning and achievement provide support and expertise for school leaders and staff.  The school operates before- and after-school clubs, which are well attended.  A number of pupils are from service families, for whom the school runs a ‘Dandelion’ club.

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Information about this inspection

 I did deep dives in these subjects: reading, writing and science. I met with senior leaders and curriculum leaders, considered pupils’ workbooks, conducted lesson visits, and spoke with teachers and pupils. I also spent some time looking at history.  I met with the special educational needs coordinator, the Reception class teacher, and those responsible for religious education, pupils’ personal, social and health education, 17–18 December 2019

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and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  I spoke with the director and regional director of learning and achievement from Bath and Wells Academy Trust. I also met with most members of the local governing body.  I met with the designated leader for safeguarding. I also considered the school’s single central record.  I analysed the school’s attendance information, behaviour logs and records of exclusion.  I considered responses to the online survey, Parent View. There were no responses to the staff and pupil survey, but I gathered their views during the inspection.

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Inspection team

Nathan Kemp, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 17–18 December 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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