Temple Ewell Church of England Primary School

Inspection of Temple Ewell Church of England Primary School 3-4 Brookside, Temple Ewell, Dover, Kent CT16 3DT

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Inadequate Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Outstanding 19 and 20 July 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Everyone receives a warm welcome as they step through the gates of the school. The school’s Christian ethos is evident in the huge vibrant murals that decorate the playground, where pupils play happily together.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn what it means to respect and care for one another. They say that bullying does not happen in this school. They trust that staff will quickly help them resolve any worries if they report them. However, inspectors found that leaders do not always maintain clear and precise written records of the actions that they take to address concerns about pupils’ safety. These lapses in record-keeping could mean that pupils are at risk of harm.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know that staff have high expectations of them. They strive to meet them in their learning and their exemplary behaviour towards each other. They learn to show compassion from watching the adults in the school. Pupils’ deep understanding of equality is felt in every aspect of school life. The school council strives to make sure every pupil has the same opportunity in life. They organise a termly ‘Have you ever’ experience so that all pupils can try something for the first time. This has included tasting exotic fruits or walking a dog.

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better?

Leaders are relentless in their ambition to provide pupils with an exceptional education. The curriculum is constantly being adjusted by leaders who are experts in their subject areas. They listen and respond to pupils’ interests, planning learning which excites and enthuses pupils to want to know more. Leaders have thought precisely about the important knowledge pupils must learn and when. Pupils develop a deep and secure understanding where they can link learning in one subject with another. For example, in art, Year 2 pupils are taught to appreciate the artistic features of J.M.W. Turner’s work alongside developing an understanding of the historical context of some of his most famous paintings. Through leaders’ continuous focus on providing pupils with a deep understanding of the world, pupils are exceptionally well prepared to learn more.

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better?

Leaders prioritise ensuring that pupils experience a diverse range of cultures or histories. They carefully select books and topics that provide pupils with a wider understanding of the world beyond Temple Ewell. Pupils in Year 6 learn about immigration through books about the Windrush generation and a child’s perspective of war through reading non-fiction texts such as ‘Anne Frank’s Diary’.

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better?

Children learn to read as soon as they start in Reception. Leaders make sure that all staff have the training they need to be experts in teaching phonics. In every class, teachers use daily assessments to provide in-the-moment support for pupils who find reading more difficult to keep up with the reading programme. There is a strong culture of reading in this school which means that all pupils in all years learn to read well. 19 and 20 July 2022

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Leaders want all pupils to become fluent mathematicians. They have designed the curriculum so that pupils develop their knowledge methodically. Teachers model effectively how to visualise mathematical ideas like the bar or cherry model. Pupils are confident to share their rationale of why one method is more appropriate than another when trying to solve a mathematics problem.

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Leaders are quick to identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). When children join the school in Reception, teachers check children’s speech and language needs straight away. They provide immediate support to them when this is needed. Teachers regularly review the progress of pupils with SEND with the inclusion leader. This ensures that pupils with SEND receive tailored support to help them achieve their very best.

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Pupils behave exceptionally well because staff consistently maintain clear and positive expectations. However, while many pupils attend school regularly, a small number do not. Leaders have not always taken appropriate steps quickly enough to address this concern. This means some pupils and their families do not get the support and help that they need to ensure all pupils have high attendance.

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The Christian ethos permeates the way in which leaders develop plans for pupils’ personal development. An extensive personal, social and health education supports pupils to develop strong morals and become respectful citizens of modern Britain. The school council regularly writes to the parish council with ideas to improve the local community. Pupils attend the local church each week but also have built their own eco-church in school. Here, pupils can take a moment of quiet reflection to find a feeling of calm. Pupils talk passionately about the benefits of the wide range of clubs and sports teams that they can join or lead. Every pupil has participated in a sporting fixture. Purposeful trips enhance the curriculum, to bring real-life context to learning.

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Leaders and governors have not been rigorous with their own systems of checking that the school fulfils its statutory safeguarding duties.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have ensured that all staff are aware of the risks that pupils might face and how they can report concerns. Pupils learn how to report their worries and how to stay safe.

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Safeguarding

Leaders do not maintain clear and comprehensive written safeguarding records. Records have large omissions of important information like actions, outcomes, meetings, times and dates. Therefore, there is a lack of clarity about the support that pupils receive when safeguarding concerns are reported.

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Safeguarding

Leaders do not take swift and decisive action to address concerns they have about 19 and 20 July 2022

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pupils who do not attend school well enough. Records do not show that leaders check that pupils are safe when they are not at school. Leaders do not always ensure appropriate oversight of risk assessments when recruiting volunteers.

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Trust leaders and those responsible for governance are not sufficiently aware of the quality of safeguarding practices in the school. Governors acknowledge that they have been too accepting of what leaders have told them about their approaches when managing safeguarding concerns.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Safeguarding records do not clearly set out the actions and decisions that leaders take when they have concerns about pupils’ welfare. Records do not indicate that leaders appropriately review the support for pupils or make swift referrals for external help when needed. The lack of documented oversight potentially puts pupils at risk of harm. Leaders must ensure that they maintain all safeguarding records comprehensively, documenting the actions they have taken to keep pupils safe.  Trust leaders delegate the responsibility to monitor and review safeguarding systems and processes to the governing body. The governing body does not have a clear and accurate view of how effectively leaders comply with their legal duties to keep pupils safe from harm. As a result, the serious weaknesses in safeguarding processes have gone unnoticed. The trust must take immediate action to ensure that governors have the appropriate expertise to review how

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

effectively leaders implement safeguarding processes and procedures to keep pupils safe.  Leaders and governors have identified that a small number of pupils do not attend school regularly but have not acted swiftly enough on these concerns. Consequently, these pupils miss out on a significant proportion of their education. Leaders must ensure that they consistently take timely and appropriate action to ensure pupils have high attendance.

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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 . 19 and 20 July 2022

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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. 19 and 20 July 2022

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School details

Website www.temple-ewell.kent.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 7 and 8 February 2017, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Temple Ewell Church of England Primary School is smaller than the average-size primary school. Pupils are taught in five classes, all of which cater for different age groups.  The school joined Aquila, The Diocese of Canterbury Academies Trust, in September 2016.  The school does not use alternative provision.  The school offers before- and after-school provision. This is managed by school leaders.  This school is a part of the Diocese of Canterbury. Its last section 48 inspection took place in September 2016.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspectors deemed the inspection a section 5 inspection under the same Act. 19 and 20 July 2022

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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 reasonably be expected to perform.

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 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.  Inspectors met with senior leaders, staff and pupils. They also spoke with representatives of the governing body, the Diocese of Canterbury and executive school leaders from the multi-academy trust.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and science. They discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, teachers and pupils, visited lessons and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors considered the 68 responses to the Ofsted Parent View questionnaire, including 34 free-text comments. They also took account of the responses to the confidential staff questionnaire and gathered the views of both staff and pupils throughout the inspection.

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 To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors reviewed the school’s website and policies and met with safeguarding leaders. They also spoke to pupils, staff and governors and scrutinised school records of the safeguarding checks on adults working in the school.  Inspectors reviewed and scrutinised a range of the school’s documentation, including leaders’ plans for improving the school, minutes of governing body meetings and records of behaviour incidents.

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Inspection team

Michelle Lower, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Scott Reece Her Majesty’s Inspector 19 and 20 July 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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