St Leonard's Church of England Primary School

Inspection of St Leonard’s Church of England Primary School Overthorpe Road, Banbury, Oxfordshire OX16 4SB

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Inspection dates: 9 and 10 February 2022

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 9 and 10 February 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, parents and carers and staff are proud of their kind and inclusive school. The school’s Christian ethos and values are at the heart of this. Staff prioritise getting to know pupils and their families, including those who are not yet confident in speaking English. Pupils are pleased to talk about how diverse and respectful their school is.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations of all pupils’ behaviour, and model exactly what they expect. As a result, pupils are courteous and try hard to do what is right. They behave well in lessons and focus on their learning. Happy pupils feel safe and secure in this caring school. If bullying happens, leaders deal with it effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents value the way that the school meets each pupil’s individual needs. Summing up the views of many, one parent said, ‘The teachers always go the extra mile both in and outside of school.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are helped to broaden their horizons. Many pupils take part in the wide range of clubs, activities and experiences. As they get older, they develop aspirations for the future, supported by an understanding of how to achieve their goals. Pupils embrace positions of responsibility as a way to contribute to the school and serve others.

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better?

Leaders have planned an ambitious curriculum. Pupils have a secure understanding of what they have been taught, and while they achieve well in some subjects, it is inconsistent. For example, in computing and personal, social and health education (PSHE), the curriculum is not as well planned as it is in mathematics. Leaders have not been clear enough about precisely what they want pupils to know in these areas and in which order. As a result, teachers do not always know what to check for before moving on and pupils do not build their knowledge securely enough.

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better?

Leaders prioritise reading. Pupils are learning to read well. In early years, staff are relentless in focusing on developing children’s early communication and language. Teachers and support staff have received effective training following the recent introduction of a new phonics programme. Staff confidence and expertise are making a positive difference to pupils. Staff accurately assess pupils’ phonics and reading skills in a timely manner. This helps staff ensure that all pupils read books that match their phonics understanding and develop their fluency. Staff are developing pupils’ vocabulary, confidence and understanding of what words mean. This helps pupils to learn in other areas of the curriculum more successfully.

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better?

Children in early years settle quickly into routines so that they can play and learn cooperatively. Pupils’ behaviour across the school is very good. They socialise happily at playtimes, move around the school sensibly and are polite. Pupils respect the school’s rules, values and each other, so any disruption is rare. PSHE and personal development are at the heart of the curriculum at St Leonard’s. Attendance 9 and 10 February 2022

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of pupils, including for those who are disadvantaged, has remained high because of the thoughtful oversight and support provided by the school.

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Pupils have many opportunities to develop their interests beyond their studies. They enjoy and value a range of sports clubs and other opportunities, including in Spanish and mindfulness. Residential trips have restarted for pupils to learn new things, such as caring for animals, in real settings. The ambition of leaders to reconnect with their community and church and to provide rich experiences to supplement the curriculum is impressive. Pupils embrace opportunities to serve on the school council or as anti-bullying ambassadors. Pupils understand the importance of personal responsibility and take pride in their contributions. Leaders have prioritised engaging parents more directly in their children’s learning. For example, they have welcomed parents into Reception Year to share stories and have invited families to read together in the revamped library after school. As a result, parents feel included, and

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pupils are thriving. At St Leonard’s, relationships are cherished.

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Staff have clear aspirations for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The school identifies their needs accurately and they are supported well in class. This includes through resources, the allocation of staff and appropriate adjustments to learning the curriculum. Leaders work with staff and other agencies to ensure that provision is effective. They are also focusing rightly on working more closely with families to identify any barriers. Leaders are reviewing their own capacity, following recent staffing changes, to support more pupils.

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Knowledgeable governors work well with leaders. They have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and priorities. Staff are proud to be part of the team. They appreciate and value that leaders are so considerate of their workload. Principled leaders carefully balance staff well-being with a relentless focus on improving pupils’ learning and lives.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff are trained to recognise the potential signs of harm. They report concerns promptly and leaders diligently follow these up. Leaders work effectively with external agencies to ensure that pupils quickly get the help they need. Leaders act appropriately to raise awareness of risks with pupils and where to get help.

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Safeguarding

Leaders are persistent in identifying and protecting the most vulnerable children and families. Local contextual risks are well considered and acted on. Checks on adults appointed to work in the school are carried out thoroughly and monitored by governors. Leaders have clear systems and practices in place. 9 and 10 February 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In subjects such as computing and PSHE, leaders have not identified the smallest steps in learning or sequenced them coherently. This means that pupils do not learn new knowledge as well as they could. Leaders need to ensure that these component pieces of knowledge are thoughtfully sequenced to enable the acquisition of cumulatively sufficient knowledge, in line with other subjects.  Teachers’ subject and pedagogical content knowledge is too variable across the school. This means that the delivery of the curriculum is sometimes inconsistent. As a result, pupils do not always receive consistently high-quality teaching to enable them to learn the intended curriculum as well as they could. Leaders need to ensure that staff are well trained, monitored regularly and provided with clearer expectations about what should be taught in all subjects.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted 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.

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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. 9 and 10 February 2022

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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Date of previous inspection

6 and 7 December 2016, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school was reorganised in September 2021 to create a more sustainable staffing and leadership structure.  This school is a voluntary-controlled Church of England school and received its most recent section 48 inspection in February 2020.  There is an after-school and breakfast club run on site and managed by the school.  There is Nursery provision at the school, which has children aged three and four.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

This was the first routine inspection the school had received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders, and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 9 and 10 February 2022

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 Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, assistant headteacher and the interim special educational needs coordinator. The lead inspector met with four governors, including the chair of governors.  The lead inspector spoke separately by telephone with a representative from the local authority and with a representative from the Diocese of Oxford.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in: reading, mathematics, science, computing and physical education. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with leaders of learning and/or subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector also heard pupils read.  To inspect safeguarding, inspectors reviewed a wide range of safeguarding documents, including the school’s record of recruitment checks. The lead inspector met with the designated safeguarding lead. Inspectors also spoke with

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pupils and staff.  Inspectors took account of parents’ responses to Ofsted’s survey, Parent View, and parents’ written comments. An inspector also talked with parents on the morning of the first day of inspection.  Inspectors gathered pupils’ views throughout the day, including during classroom visits, as well as at playtimes and lunchtime. Inspectors also considered the responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey.  Inspectors met with a range of staff to gather their views about the school and took account of staff’s responses to Ofsted’s confidential staff survey.

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Inspection team

Gareth Flemington, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Mineza Maher Ofsted Inspector 9 and 10 February 2022

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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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