Paxton Academy Sports And Science

Inspection of Paxton Academy Sports And Science 159 Brigstock Road, Thornton Heath, Croydon, Surrey CR7 7JP

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The quality of education Inadequate Behaviour and attitudes Inadequate Personal development Inadequate Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Inadequate Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 26–27 November 2019

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What is it like to attend this school?

The new trust leaders’ ambition is high. Trust leaders and the new interim executive headteacher are making changes, but at present pupils do not receive a good enough quality of education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils study a full range of subjects. However, teachers do not know what pupils need to learn to be successful. Staff expectations of what pupils can achieve are not high enough. Sequences of lessons are not well planned. As a result, pupils have gaps in their learning. They do not gain the knowledge and skills needed to build on what they already know.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff expectations of pupils’ behaviour are too low. Too many pupils find it difficult to follow instructions and do not listen to adults carefully. When this happens, adults do not routinely remind pupils of the agreed behaviour rules. This means that poor behaviour disrupts learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have access to a range of extra-curricular clubs, including football, judo, dance and science. Pupils say that they enjoy school and feel safe. They say that when bullying happens, they can report it to staff, who sort it out.

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better?

Trust leaders provide excellent expertise and support for the new interim executive headteacher. These leaders have a thorough understanding of what needs to improve and have the skills to do this. They are rightly acting with urgency. Trust governors are holding leaders to account for the developments currently taking place.

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better?

Trust leaders know that there are weaknesses in pupils’ learning. Leaders have started to put plans in place to address this. The interim executive headteacher, leaders and staff are responding to the wide-ranging internal support that has been put in place. However, it is too early to fully show the impact. The quality of education received by pupils is inadequate. Poor pupil behaviour and poor management of behaviour by staff also affect the quality of learning.

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better?

Provision for reading is poor. The teaching of phonics is not consistently good enough. Staff do not ensure that all pupils gain the knowledge and skills to read sufficiently. This includes those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils throughout the school do not have access to a wide range of high- quality reading books. Pupils’ reading books are not well matched to the sounds they already know or are being taught. This does not help them to catch up quickly. Pupils in Years 3 to 5 read books that offer limited challenge in developing their vocabulary and reading skills.

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better?

Mathematics is not taught well enough. Expectations for children in the early years are low. Children with strong mathematical knowledge and skills are not challenged 26–27 November 2019

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or extended. The curriculum for older pupils is not well structured because teachers do not consider or adapt what they are teaching. They do not make sure that pupils understand mathematical concepts before moving on to the next part of their learning. Pupils are not provided with the skills needed to tackle or explain how they have solved mathematical problems.

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The wider curriculum in the school is weak. This includes for science, history, religious education (RE) and personal, social and health education (PSHE). The organisation of learning lacks clarity. Planning and teaching do not build on what pupils know and can do. Leaders have not provided teachers with opportunities to develop specialist knowledge across a wide range of subjects. Consequently, teachers do not regularly check pupils’ understanding during lessons, and gaps or misconceptions in learning are not routinely addressed.

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The needs of pupils with SEND have not been identified at an early stage. Trust leaders are now swiftly addressing this. However, learning is not adapted for these pupils well enough. Teachers have not received specific training to support pupils with SEND. These pupils’ needs are not well met. As a result, they do not achieve as well as they could from their starting points.

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Children in Reception do not experience high-quality learning opportunities. Staff have low expectations of what the children can achieve. Adults’ support to develop children’s communication and language skills is not effective. The classroom and outdoor areas are not planned as well as they could be. The early years leader from one of the schools in the trust has brought immediate improvements to the provision on offer.

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The PSHE programme does not support pupils to become confident and determined in their learning. Pupils have a limited understanding of fundamental British values. The RE curriculum does not provide pupils with a rich knowledge of religions, other cultures and their beliefs. This means that pupils are not well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Checks on staff recruitment are fit for purpose. Staff know what to do if they have concerns about pupils. They understand how to make prompt referrals to the safeguarding leads to ensure that pupils are safe from risk of harm. These concerns are followed up swiftly by leaders to ensure that pupils are kept safe. Leaders work together with outside agencies to ensure that the most vulnerable pupils and their families receive the support they need. Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe, including online. 26–27 November 2019

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The quality of the curriculum is weak across the school. It does not build on what pupils already know and can do, including in science, history, RE and PSHE. Leaders should ensure that plans in all subjects provide clear progression in the knowledge pupils are expected to learn as they move through the school.  Teachers have insufficient subject knowledge and expertise across the curriculum. Teachers need subject-specific training. This is to ensure that pupils learn specific knowledge and skills and that they achieve well across a wide range of subjects.  Pupils are not taught to read well enough. Leaders need to improve the teaching of phonics, so that more pupils have stronger reading skills and achieve better. The school must also improve the availability of high-quality reading books across the school. Pupils require more opportunities to experience a wider vocabulary and develop comprehension skills, so that they can read with confidence and

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

understanding.  Pupils are not taught mathematics well enough. In the early years, children with strong mathematical understanding are not challenged because expectations of what they can learn are too low. Older pupils do not have all the basic number skills and knowledge they need to tackle more complex problems. Leaders need to make sure that all pupils learn the necessary basic skills and revisit them regularly. They need to ensure that pupils have the skills to help them show how they solve calculations or problems.  Pupils are not well prepared for life in modern Britain. The school’s curriculum does not provide enough opportunities for pupils to learn about different faiths, customs and cultures. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum provides all pupils with sufficient understanding and appreciation of world religions, cultures and the wider world.  Pupils’ behaviour in lessons and while moving around the school is not good

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

enough. All staff need to routinely apply the school discipline policies in the classroom and at other times. Teachers should ensure that work interests and motivates pupils, so that they sustain concentration and do not disrupt lessons.  Pupils with SEND do not have their needs met. Trust leaders have started to make sure that pupils with SEND are correctly identified. They should now make sure that teachers and teaching assistants receive training in meeting the different needs of all of these pupils.

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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. 26–27 November 2019

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The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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If you are the provider and you are 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. 26–27 November 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10110363 Type of school Primary

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School details

Headteacher Johnette Barrett (Headteacher) Karen Simpson (Interim Executive Headteacher) Website www.paxtonacademy.org.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10–11 May 2017

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Information about this school

 The school has recently undergone significant changes. The Wandle Learning Trust took over the school in July 2019 and a new interim local governing body was put into place.  The interim executive headteacher took up her role in September 2019.  The school is receiving extensive internal support from leaders across the Wandle Learning Trust. There is some additional external support for the early years which was brokered by the local authority.  The school opened in September 2014. There are currently pupils in each year from Reception to Year 5.

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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

In accordance with section 44(2) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances 26–27 November 2019

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 We did deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, science and history. We visited lessons, looked at pupils’ work and held discussions with subject leaders, teachers and pupils. We also looked at other areas of the curriculum, including PSHE and RE.  We met with the trust leaders, interim executive headteacher and other leaders, including those responsible for SEND, English, science, history and mathematics. We met with teachers and considered 15 responses to the staff survey to gather their views.  We held conversations with the chair of the trust and the chair of the interim local governing body. We met with two representatives from the local authority.  We reviewed the school’s safeguarding records and single central record and met with the safeguarding leaders. We spoke with staff about how they keep pupils safe.  We met with groups of pupils to find out what it is like to attend this school and

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took account of 37 responses to the pupil survey.  We listened to pupils read from across the school.  We spoke with parents and carers during the inspection. We considered 10 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View.

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Inspection team

Andrew Hook, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Nick Hitchen Ofsted Inspector 26–27 November 2019

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