Aycliffe Community Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Aycliffe Community Primary School St David’s Avenue, Dover, Kent CT17 9HJ

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Outcome

Aycliffe Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The values of ‘caring, tolerance, passion, reflection and innovation’ shine through this small and inclusive school. Pupils say that they feel happy and safe here. This is because they have strong friendships with each other and develop very positive relationships with staff. Parents value the school’s work. One summed up the views of others, saying, ‘Absolutely happy with the school; [I] can’t speak more highly of it.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

The members of the staff team are determined for pupils to achieve highly. Pupils enjoy a range of different subjects. They are good at recalling the mathematics facts they have previously learned, and knowledge gained in other subjects, including art.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and attitudes. Pupils behave well. They understand the school rules. Bullying is dealt with effectively. Adults follow up on incidents of this nature thoroughly and straight away to stop it reoccurring.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from many opportunities to explore and develop their talents outside of lessons. They play an important role in the ‘pupil panels’. These groups enable pupils to discuss with leaders how the school can be developed. This helps pupils to understand how to evaluate and select actions to improve what they feel could be made better.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The curriculum is ambitious for all pupils, including for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders have taken decisive action to turn around recent low key stage 2 outcomes. They have identified the important knowledge and skills that pupils should learn in each subject and sequenced learning so that pupils build up their knowledge over time. Parents recognise how the school helps their children to learn well. One parent, echoing the thoughts of others, said, ‘This school makes a difference. I am totally confident that my child is learning fast.’ Leaders identify the needs of pupils with SEND, including in the early years, accurately. Pupils with SEND are supported to learn the same curriculum as their peers in order to achieve well. However, the thinking 1 December 2022

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about checks on how well pupils in the school are learning in some foundation subjects is not complete. This means that teachers do not know how well pupils are doing in all subjects.

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Reading is a high priority. It is celebrated throughout the school. Children get off to a good start in learning to read in the early years. This is because phonics is taught well. Children also benefit from the well-resourced classrooms and outdoor areas that encourage the development of initial reading skills. Leaders have made sure that staff throughout the school know how to support pupils to build their knowledge of sounds. Pupils have well-planned opportunities to practise the sounds they have learned in order to become more fluent and confident readers. Pupils with gaps in their knowledge are quickly identified and get the right help they need to catch up. Leaders have made sure that pupils have plenty of high-quality books to read that match pupils’ knowledge. Pupils develop a love of reading through their visits to the school library and by listening to the stories that teachers read to them.

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Leaders make sure that pupils with complex needs are included fully in all aspects of school life. Leaders seek the advice of outside agencies, such as the educational psychologist, when required. Pupils’ individual plans set out aspirational curriculum targets and specify the extra support to be provided. Leaders ensure that parents are fully involved in their child’s education and in any decision-making.

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Staff make sure that the school is a place where pupils can learn without interruption. They deal effectively with any moments when pupils become distracted. Pupils respond well to staff in lessons and on the playground. Pupils are polite and help one another out if one of their peers starts to find learning difficult.

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Leaders place a very strong and effective emphasis on pupils’ personal development. They organise a rich and diverse range of experiences for pupils. The school teaches pupils about being respectful and the importance of being helpful to others. Pupils develop an age-appropriate understanding of how to stay healthy. They also learn about different faiths and religions. Leaders provide opportunities for pupils to participate in a wide range of trips that linked to the curriculum and to aspects of the wider world. For example, pupils learn about aspects of business and industry when visiting the port of Dover.

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Leaders are considerate of staff’s workload. They are mindful of this when changing any processes. Staff appreciate the care leaders show for their well-being. Staff like working at the school because they feel valued by leaders.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that all staff receive safeguarding training. Staff know pupils well and are aware of any signs that may mean a pupil might be at risk of harm. Staff know the school systems for reporting and recording concerns. Leaders act on any reports made by staff in a timely and appropriate way. They seek help and support for vulnerable pupils from other professional partners to ensure that pupils are kept safe. Pupils are taught how to 1 December 2022

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keep themselves safe, including when they are online. Leaders make careful checks on adults who work at the school and record these accurately.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The assessment of pupils’ achievement in some foundation subjects is at an early stage of development. This means that staff do not always know how well pupils are achieving or have the right information to inform their decisions about what pupils need to learn next in some subjects. Leaders should decide what information to capture about pupils’ skills and knowledge in each subject .

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in June 2013.

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How can I feed back my views?

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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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. 1 December 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10240626 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 18 May 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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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 school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, subject leaders and the special educational needs coordinator. The lead inspector met with two governors, had a telephone conversation with the chair of the governing body. He also met with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive 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.  The inspectors also looked at pupils’ work in other subjects.  Inspectors spoke with pupils about their learning, safety and pupils’ behaviour.

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 Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation relating to safeguarding and spoke with pupils and staff.  The inspectors spoke with parents informally at the start of the school day. They considered four responses through the free-text comments and views from staff expressed in writing.

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Inspection team

Richard Blackmore, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Ginny Rhodes Ofsted Inspector 1 December 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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