Moulton Chapel Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Moulton Chapel Primary School Eaugate Road, Moulton Chapel, Spalding, Lincolnshire PE12 0XJ

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Outcome

Moulton Chapel Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils the inspectors met told them that theirs is a school where ‘everyone cares for each other.’ They say adults are kind to them and want the best for them all. They like coming to Moulton Chapel each day.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe at the school. They say there is hardly any bullying. If anyone is ever unkind, staff deal with it quickly and fairly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are well behaved. They listen to adults, follow instructions and work hard. They are keen to show what they know already and want to learn what is coming next.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The education pupils receive is good. Lessons are interesting. In science, older pupils were fascinated to see how the oobleck substance they had made became solid when it was grabbed but liquid when they let go of it. The headteacher is helping teachers to make sure every year group is always challenged.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Teachers teach pupils well to develop their phonic skills so they can read fluently. However, they use a mixture of schemes to do this. This risks confusing pupils. Staff will soon begin using one system so that they teach everyone in the same way.

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

The headteacher makes it clear to staff that there must be high expectations for all pupils, regardless of their background, need or ability. Every child is welcomed to attend the school. The headteacher is also determined that the school must continually improve.

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

Staff are very proud to work at Moulton Chapel. They welcome the training and support they get to improve their skills. All teach more than one year group, and some teach 13 July 2021

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across two key stages. The headteacher has worked with them to map out how they can make sure they are challenging all pupils in every subject. She is about to use these maps to check that they are being followed.

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Staff have written a bespoke curriculum to meet the needs of the pupils. It is both broad and balanced. Inspectors saw younger pupils outdoors, excited to learn together about the life of worms. In Years 3 and 4, in design and technology, pupils learn about different types of bridges, such as cantilever and suspension. They design and construct models with straws, spaghetti and marshmallows. They find out how triangles are the most stable shape to construct with. Teachers put lessons in sequences that build up pupils’ knowledge over time. This helps pupils achieve well. In these year groups, for instance, pupils learn to add fractions with the same denominator. Those in Years 5 and 6 are then ready to convert fractions into decimals and percentages. Pupils told inspectors how repeating and practising things helps them remember them.

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Teachers have good subject knowledge and give clear explanations. They help pupils to understand and use new vocabulary, such as ‘irreversible changes’. They are also helping pupils to catch up with things they missed during the pandemic, for example science investigations.

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Staff give pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) good support to learn. Staff know every pupil well and ask challenging questions to make these pupils think. They want them to do as much as possible for themselves.

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Making sure every pupil learns to read is a priority for all staff. Adults who teach phonics know what sounds each pupil does not know. They help children in the early years to recognise the ‘ur’ digraph in ‘turkey’, and to write words such as ‘come’ and ‘little’. They make sure that they give all pupils learning to read books that are not too difficult for them. This gives these pupils confidence. However, two different schemes they use to teach phonics sometimes use contrasting approaches. Because staff never want to slow a pupil down, they are moving to a single scheme. Leaders have attended well to the area for improvement from the last inspection. Pupils told inspectors how much they enjoy reading, including when their teacher reads books to them.

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Pupils behave well at the school. They meet and play happily at breaktimes. They move around the school sensibly and are polite to visitors. They do not disrupt lessons but pay attention and do their best. Those inspectors met told them that any bullying is very rare, but it is dealt with.

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Pupils told inspectors how staff teach them how to respect everyone. They learn about the different lives of communities across the world. They learn about staying safe from risks, including when online. They enjoy taking part in the clubs staff provide for them, such as Taekwondo. 13 July 2021

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that all staff receive regular training on safeguarding. As a result, staff are aware of the warning signs that a pupil might be being harmed, or in danger of being exploited, including by a gang. Staff also know how to report any concern they have. Records kept by the headteacher show that the school responds in an appropriate and timely way. Leaders work with a range of external agencies to help pupils get the help they need. All parents that inspectors met, and who responded to Ofsted Parent View, believe their child is safe at Moulton Chapel.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 While leaders and staff have written maps that give precise details of what pupils within mixed-age and mixed key-stage classes will learn to build their knowledge, these have not yet begun to be implemented in all subjects. This is about to begin. Leaders should ensure that they check that lessons in all classes and subjects align with them, and both support and challenge staff to adjust their planning and delivery as needed. This is so leaders and the governing body can be confident that all classes receive the most challenging curriculum possible in all subjects.  On occasion, teachers do not support those who are learning to read as well as they could do. This is because as well as using the school’s main scheme for teaching phonics, pupils sometimes receive assistance using a contrasting system. Leaders need to ensure that the single new scheme they are about to choose is fit for purpose, and

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

that staff are trained fully in its delivery. Leaders should monitor delivery of the new scheme so there is a continuity of approach.

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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 or outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that a good 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 school to be good in January 2016. 13 July 2021

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Parent View 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 are the school 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 here .

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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. 13 July 2021

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 27 and 28 January 2016, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There have been no significant changes since the last inspection.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school, and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  In order to judge the quality of education, inspectors focused the inspection on specific subjects of the curriculum. They did deep dives in reading, mathematics and science, and spoke with pupils about their design and technology curriculum, as well as scrutinising pupils’ work in this subject. They met with leaders to discuss the progression of skills in design and technology and to look at associated planning. They visited lessons where pupils were learning reading, mathematics and science, and met the staff teaching them to find out about the curriculum they were delivering. They also met pupils from the lessons and looked at their work in these and in other

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Information about this inspection

subjects. They heard children in different year groups read books. 13 July 2021

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 In addition, inspectors met with representatives of the governing body and the special educational needs and disabilities coordinator, who is also the headteacher. They spoke with a representative of the local authority. They read a wide variety of school documents, including the school development plan.  Inspectors took note of the responses to Ofsted Parent View, met with parents at the end of the school day, and considered the results of Ofsted’s staff and pupil questionnaires.  In order to judge the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors read the school’s relevant policies, scrutinised the single central record, checked the school’s procedures for the safe recruitment of staff and interviewed the designated lead for safeguarding. They also spoke with staff to check details of their safeguarding knowledge and training, that they understood the importance of their responsibility to report any

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safeguarding concerns without delay and that they knew the procedure to do this. They checked samples of safeguarding records and read parents’ responses about their child’s safety from Ofsted Parent View.

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Inspection team

Roary Pownall, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Joanne Sanchez-Thompson Ofsted Inspector 13 July 2021

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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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