St Margaret's CofE Primary School

Inspection of St Margaret’s C of E Primary School The Mardens, Ifield, Crawley, West Sussex RH11 0AQ

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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 Requires improvement 4 and 5 May 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are friendly, polite and are proud of their school. They enjoy coming to school and describe the school as exciting, safe and happy. Pupils behave well and enjoy working together. Bullying is rare. If an incident did occur, they know that they can talk to an adult or leave a message in their class ‘worry box’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils understand the importance of treating everyone equally. They learn about role models from a range of backgrounds, including important female scientists. Pupils enjoy attending after-school clubs, such as karate, football and basketball. They enjoy the educational visits staff plan, including residential trips and visits to the museum. These opportunities all help to deepen their learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is a calm and welcoming environment. The school’s Christian motto of ‘loving God, serving others and fulfilling our potential’ can be seen in the way that pupils and staff work together.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is an inclusive and supportive community. From the day they start at the school, children and families talk about becoming part of the ‘St Margaret’s family’. Staff have high expectations for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). One parent said, ‘The teachers are great and genuinely care about my child.’

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better?

Leaders and governors have improved the quality of education the school provides since the last inspection. The curriculum is ambitious for all pupils, including pupils with SEND and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Pupils get off to a flying start in Reception. Leaders have considered how the curriculum starts in the foundation stage and builds pupils’ knowledge over time. There have been notable improvements to the English and mathematics curriculum recently. Leaders have also adapted the curriculum to ensure that those who attend the specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND (special support centre) are fully included in all aspects of school life.

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better?

Leaders have developed many areas of the curriculum. Where these improvements are already in place, teachers know what to teach in a skilled and engaging way. Because of this, pupils build on their prior knowledge well. For example, in history, teachers have introduced a well-sequenced curriculum that begins in the early years and helps to teach historical concepts such as chronology. Staff have ensured that the history curriculum links to the local area. This helps pupils to make strong connections with what they have previously learned. However, not all curriculum leaders have identified precisely what pupils need to learn and know in their subjects. 4 and 5 May 2022

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Leaders have put reading at the heart of the curriculum. The development of early reading is a key priority for leaders and well-trained staff foster a love of reading throughout the school. Leaders have introduced a new phonics programme since the last inspection. Phonics lessons have a clear structure which helps pupils learn new sounds quickly. Staff foster a love of reading throughout the school. They match pupils’ books to the sounds they know. Staff provide extra support for pupils who start to fall behind. Pupils love to record their reading at home for the teacher to listen to in school and enjoy visiting the school library.

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Staff are equally ambitious for pupils with SEND. Leaders work closely with staff in early years to identify children’s needs from the outset. Staff adapt their teaching so that all pupils can access the same curriculum. This ongoing assessment helps staff support children to achieve their best.

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Leaders plan a range of opportunities that promote pupils’ wider development. The personal, social and health education curriculum helps pupils learn about relationships and equalities. Pupils see everyone as equal and appreciate the diversity of their community. Pupils enjoy learning about different cultures and beliefs. One pupil said, ‘Everyone gets treated the same here, and we are all well respected.’

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Pupils enjoy taking on positions of responsibility, such as school councillors and science ambassadors. The school council plays an active role in school life, raising funds for local and national charities. Pupils enjoy representing the school at sporting events.

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Pupils behave well in and around the school. They listen to their teachers and cooperate well in lessons. Staff model clear expectations for pupils’ behaviour. Classrooms are calm and peaceful environments.

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Staff are very proud to work at St Margaret’s. They all agree that they are well supported and feel valued. There is a great team spirit, and they appreciate the support they receive to help manage their workload and well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is a positive safeguarding culture across the school. Staff and governors receive regular updates and training about safeguarding issues. Staff know what to do if they have any concerns or worries about pupils’ welfare. Leaders follow up any concerns with external agencies quickly. Records are detailed and accurate.

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Safeguarding

Pupils feel safe in school. They learn about being safe online and healthy friendships in lessons and assemblies. Staff and parents are confident that pupils are safe in school. 4 and 5 May 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects the work given to pupils does not match the aims of the curriculum. Curriculum plans do not identify the specific knowledge pupils are to learn in enough detail. This means that, at times, pupils do not always make links with prior learning and their progress through the curriculum is not as strong as it could be. Leaders need to provide additional training to help staff develop their subject leadership skills further. This will mean that all schemes of work are detailed enough and that the planned curriculum is being implemented consistently 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. 4 and 5 May 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10227345 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.st-margaretsifield.w-sussex.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 18 May 2021, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There have been leadership changes since the last inspection with the appointment of a deputy headteacher, a new special educational leads coordinator (SENCo) and a new chair of governors.  The school has a specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND. Currently, there are eight pupils on roll in the specially resourced provision.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.  This school is a voluntary-aided Church of England school in the Diocese of Oxford. Its last section 48 inspection took place in October 2017.

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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 received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation. 4 and 5 May 2022

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 During the inspection, meetings were held with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher and six members of the governing body. The lead inspector held a telephone call with officers from the local authority and the diocese.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, science, history and physical education. For each deep dive, the inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also looked at curriculum plans and spoke to leaders about other subjects in the curriculum.  The views of parents, staff and pupils were considered through Ofsted’s online surveys.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors looked at the school’s training records, spoke with pupils and checked staff’s safeguarding knowledge to ensure that pupils are safe. Meetings were held with the designated

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safeguarding leads and the school’s SENCo.

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Inspection team

David Harris, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Carla Laney Ofsted Inspector 4 and 5 May 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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