St Mary and All Saints CofE Primary School

Final Report Inspection of St Mary and All Saints CofE Primary School Maxwell Road, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire HP9 1RG

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

This school was last inspected 14 years ago and judged ‘Outstanding’ under a previous inspection framework. This reflected the school’s overall effectiveness under the inspection framework in use at the time.

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

From then until November 2020, the school was exempted by law from routine inspection, so there has been a longer gap than usual between inspections. Judgements in this report are based on the current inspection framework and also reflect changes that may have happened at any point since the last inspection. 21 and 22 June 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils describe their school as a welcoming and inclusive community. The school’s motto, ‘Head, Hand and Heart’, is central to daily life. Leaders have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Children in early years work enthusiastically with their friends. They use resources to develop their ideas independently and take joy in looking after the environment. Relationships between staff and pupils are amicable and respectful.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe and happy. Incidents of bullying, harassment or any unkind behaviour are rare. Pupils rightly trust that staff will deal with any worries or problems quickly. Pupils like the wide range of opportunities they have to develop their creative, sporting and leadership skills. They particularly enjoy going to concerts, residential trips and supporting younger children as peer mentors. Pupils collect donations for charities they support and enjoy developing their interests and talents. For example, pupils relish the multi-skills sports, dinner party and dance clubs.

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What is it like to attend this school?

While leaders are ambitious for every pupil to thrive and succeed at school and beyond, some aspects of the quality of education need to improve swiftly. For instance, pupils who struggle to learn to read are not given the right help they need to catch up quickly.

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better?

Leaders are ambitious for all pupils to learn a well-structured and vibrant curriculum. The curriculum in Reception is well considered which means that children are ready for Year 1. In subjects such as mathematics and science, leaders have carefully identified the knowledge that they want pupils to learn and remember over time. In most areas of the curriculum teachers have strong subject knowledge and use it to check and adapt lessons to help all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff are skilled at identifying and providing for the pastoral and wider needs of pupils with SEND. However, in some subjects, leaders have not identified the most important things they want pupils to learn and the order in which these should be taught. Consequently, sometimes pupils do not achieve as well as they should.

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better?

The school’s approach to teaching phonics is inconsistent and leaders’ monitoring of its impact is not effective. Staff who deliver phonics are not well trained. This means pupils do not routinely learn to read as securely as they should and those who struggle are not catching up quickly enough. Leaders are rightly keen, however, to promote and nurture pupils’ love of reading. They provide plentiful opportunities for pupils to read for pleasure. For example, pupils rise to the challenge of reading the twelve carefully chosen books on their year group’s ‘reading spine’. They look forward to their weekly visit to the school library and listen with great concentration to adults read to them. 21 and 22 June 2022

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Teachers make learning fun. The school holds a range of themed weeks each year which contribute towards pupils’ wider personal development. A recent international week involved pupils finding out about different cultures, communities and religious festivals. They learned about inspirational people who have made a difference such as Greta Thunberg, Dr Graeme Clark (who invented the cochlear implant) and Barak Obama. One parent commented ‘The Jubilee party and summer music concerts are events my children will always remember.’

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Leaders ensure that pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. Pupils make a difference both in school and the wider community. For instance, they take part in the annual ‘Festival of Light’ in the village and sing to residents at the local care home. Pupils learn about healthy relationships. They value the way staff help them to understand the changes that happen to their body as they grow and develop.

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Governors are skilled and knowledgeable in many aspects of their role. They care about pupils’ personal development and the well-being of the staff team. However, governors recognise that they do not challenge leaders well enough about the quality of education. For example, they have not checked how effectively leaders are improving the curriculum and helping all pupils become confident, fluent readers.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is a robust culture of safeguarding. Staff are vigilant in looking out for signs that pupils may be at risk of harm. Leaders ensure that staff know how to report concerns they may have about pupils. Safeguarding records are well kept. Leaders take appropriate and prompt action if safeguarding concerns need referring to external agencies. Checks on staff working at the school are thorough and recruitment processes managed well.

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Safeguarding

Pupils know how to stay safe online and when out in the community.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The approach to teaching phonics is not consistently effective. Staff are not fully trained and lack expertise in ensuring all pupils make secure progress and in knowing how to support the weakest readers in older year groups. The use of alternative reading programmes and strategies do not help pupils learn to read fluently. Leaders need to make sure that all staff are expertly trained to deliver phonics effectively.  The quality of curriculum design in some subjects is not well developed or fully understood by curriculum leaders. This means that pupils’ learning in some 21 and 22 June 2022

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subjects does not build upon what they already know in a clearly structured way. Consequently, they are not as well prepared for the next stage of their education as they should be. Leaders need to ensure that there is a coherently sequenced curriculum from early years through to Year 6 for all subjects.  Leaders’ actions to improve the school are not always focused sharply enough on the right priorities. This means that the school curriculum and the teaching of phonics are not as effective as they should be. Leaders, including governors should sharpen up their monitoring of the quality of education so they can effectively evaluate the full impact of their work and where necessary hold school leaders to account.

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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. 21 and 22 June 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10228621 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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Information about this school

 St Mary and All Saints primary school is a voluntary aided Church of England school. The most recent section 48 inspection took place in May 2018.  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 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.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and assistant headteacher. The lead inspector met with six governors, including the chair of governors. He also held two separate meetings with an officer from Buckinghamshire local authority and a representative from the diocese of Oxford.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in reading, mathematics, science, computing and music. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject 21 and 22 June 2022

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leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers and teaching assistants, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at a sample of pupils’ work. The lead inspector also heard pupils read.  To inspect safeguarding, inspectors reviewed a wide range of safeguarding documentation, including the school’s record of recruitment checks. The lead inspector met with the designated safeguarding lead. Inspectors also spoke with pupils and staff.  Inspectors took account of parents’ responses to Ofsted’s survey, Parent View and parents’ written comments. An inspector also spoke to groups of parents on the morning of the first day of inspection.  Inspectors gathered pupils’ views throughout the day, including during lesson visits, as well as 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

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took account of staff’s responses to Ofsted’s confidential staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Alan Derry, lead inspector Her Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Jo Petch Her Majesty's Inspector 21 and 22 June 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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