The Fourfields Church of England School, Sutterton

Inspection of The Fourfields Church of England School, Sutterton Park Avenue, Sutterton, Boston, Lincolnshire PE20 2JN

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Overall effectiveness Requires Improvement

The quality of education Requires Improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires Improvement Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires Improvement Early years provision Requires Improvement Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 12 and 13 July 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school. They appreciate the variety of clubs and sports they can get involved with. They say that activities such as Taekwondo and gardening are ‘lots of fun’. Parents and carers are positive about the breadth of opportunities on offer to support their child’s personal development.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are kind to each other and feel safe. They know that adults will listen if they have worries or concerns and will help them to sort out any problems. Pupils understand what bullying is. They are confident that if they tell an adult that bullying is happening, then adults will do something about it.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are usually polite and well mannered. During break and lunchtimes, they cooperate and play well with each other. Pupils’ behaviour in class is more varied. This can affect how well pupils learn. Pupils in the early years and in key stage 1 can lose concentration and focus when their learning needs are not being met. This affects the quality of learning and these pupils do not do as well as they should.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy learning about different cultures and faiths. They show respect to those who are different to themselves. Pupils’ attitudes reflect the federation’s vision of ‘small village, big horizons’.

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better?

Leaders have reviewed the curriculum. They have identified the important knowledge that pupils need to know and remember in every subject. Most subject plans are now in place. For example, leaders are migrating to a new mathematics curriculum from September 2022. In some subjects, pupils learn new information in a logical order. They successfully recall what they have learned over time. However, the planned curriculum is not always delivered consistently well. In some subjects, teachers miss out important content that pupils need to know. This leaves pupils with gaps in their knowledge.

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better?

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are fully integrated into the life of the school. Leaders work closely with parents of these pupils to review the provision for their children. However, there are variations in how effectively teachers plan learning to meet these pupils’ needs.

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better?

Leaders introduced a new approach for teaching phonics in September 2021. However, they have not made sure that all staff follow this scheme precisely. Some staff do not use resources effectively to help pupils learn how to read unfamiliar words. Pupils’ reading books do not always match the sounds they need to practise. Some pupils do not get the help they need to be able to read with confidence. 12 and 13 July 2022

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Leaders have thought about what they want children in the early years to learn each term. However, they have not identified exactly what children need to know before they move to the next stage. Learning activities are not always designed to meet children’s needs closely. Some children get distracted before they complete a task. When children choose activities that interest them, they work well and stay focused.

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Leaders have developed a clear system to manage pupils’ behaviour. Most pupils know how to conduct themselves around the school. They value the rewards they receive for good behaviour. Leaders’ expectations of how pupils in the early years and key stage 1 should behave are not high enough. Some of these pupils struggle to give learning their full attention.

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Leaders do not check pupils’ attendance rigorously enough. Some pupils are frequently absent from school. Leaders’ work to improve the attendance of these pupils is not always successful. These pupils do not routinely catch up on work they miss.

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Leaders promote pupils’ personal development well. They plan visits that give pupils the chance to experience new places. For example, children in the early years enjoy trips to a local farm. Pupils use virtual reality technology to learn about places around the world that are different to their local area.

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Staff are proud to work at the school. They appreciate that leaders consider staff workload when making decisions. Most staff are positive about the changes that have been made, particularly by the executive headteacher, to bring about improvements.

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Nevertheless, senior leaders do not make sure that other school leaders do their jobs as well as they can. Some leaders do not check all of their areas of responsibility rigorously enough. They do not provide the necessary support and challenge to staff who need it. Governors are committed to supporting the school and the community it serves. However, they do not make sure that leaders’ work to improve the quality of education, including in the early years, and pupils’ behaviour and attendance, is as effective as it could be.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders provide staff with regular and appropriate safeguarding training. Staff understand their responsibilities to keep pupils safe. They know how to identify pupils who may be at risk of potential harm.

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Safeguarding

Staff pass on any concerns about safeguarding to leaders. Leaders record and follow up these concerns in a timely fashion. They make effective use of external organisations to get pupils and their families the help they need. 12 and 13 July 2022

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Pupils learn to keep themselves safe, including online, when using their bikes and when near roads.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders do not make sure that all staff take a consistent approach to the teaching of phonics. Some staff do not follow the recently introduced phonics programme closely enough. The books that some pupils read do not match the sounds they securely know. Not all pupils gain the knowledge they need to become fluent readers. Leaders should make sure that staff implement the phonics programme consistently well. They should check that pupils who need help with their reading get the right support so that these pupils catch up with their peers.  The curriculum is well sequenced and delivered in some subjects. In other subjects, the implementation of the curriculum is inconsistent. Leaders do not make sure that pupils are taught the key knowledge they should know by the time they leave the school. Some pupils, including pupils with SEND, find it difficult to recall previous learning. Leaders should check carefully that teachers

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

have taught the intended curriculum and that pupils can remember essential knowledge they have learned.  The early years curriculum sets out what children need to know by the end of each term, across each of the areas of learning. However, the implementation of this curriculum is not always coherent. Planned activities sometimes do not match what children need to learn closely enough. Leaders should check what children learn carefully. They should use this information to design activities that help children acquire the intended knowledge by the time they enter Year 1.  Leaders do not check pupils’ attendance as rigorously as they could, particularly for those pupils who are persistently absent. These pupils fall behind in their learning because of gaps in their knowledge and skills. Leaders should work closely with parents to overcome barriers to pupils’ poor attendance.  Leaders do not ensure that pupils’ behaviour is consistently good across the

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

school. Pupils in key stage 2 demonstrate positive attitudes to learning. However, some pupils in the early years and in key stage 1 display off-task behaviour. This disrupts the learning of others. Leaders should ensure that all staff have consistently high expectations of how pupils should behave, so that pupils’ learning is not hindered.  Senior leaders do not check some aspects of the school’s work as closely as they should. These include: the quality of the curriculum, including provision for pupils with special education needs and/or disabilities, and provision in the early years. Governors and senior leaders should make sure that other senior, phase and subject leaders have the knowledge and skills they need to carry out their roles effectively. 12 and 13 July 2022

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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. 12 and 13 July 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10227382 Type of school Primary

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School details

Headteacher Claire Collett (executive headteacher)

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School details

Date of previous inspection 25 September 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The head of school was appointed to the position in September 2019.  The school is part of the Emmaus Federation, in partnership with another local school. The executive headteacher oversees both schools in the federation.  A section 48 inspection of the school’s religious character took place on 5 March 2020.  This school does not 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.  Inspectors met with the executive headteacher and the head of school to discuss behaviour, attendance and pupils’ personal development. Inspectors spoke to the 12 and 13 July 2022

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leader responsible for the provision for pupils with SEND, the early years provision and reading.  The lead inspector met with the chair of governors and representatives of the governing body. The lead inspector also spoke with representatives of the local authority and the diocese.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in reading, mathematics, science and physical education. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, looked at samples of pupils’ work, and spoke with teachers and pupils. The lead inspector listened to pupils reading.  The lead inspector met with safeguarding leaders to discuss the school’s arrangements for safeguarding. Safeguarding records were checked, including the single central record. Inspectors spoke with staff and pupils about safeguarding.  Inspectors observed pupils at various times of the school day, including in

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lessons, around the school and during social times. Inspectors gathered the views of pupils and staff about behaviour, bullying and well-being.  Inspectors considered parent and staff responses to the Ofsted surveys. Inspectors also spoke to parents at the start of the school day and during the school’s sports day.

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Inspection team

Rebecca Jackson, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Heather Hawkes Ofsted Inspector 12 and 13 July 2022

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