Foxes Piece School

Inspection of Foxes Piece School Newfield Road, Marlow, Buckinghamshire SL7 1JW

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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 Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Good 8 and 9 November 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils treasure belonging to this inclusive and caring school. At the heart of its work is a firm focus on pupils’ personal development. They talk about the ‘Foxy values’ of resilience, independence, kindness, respect and equality with pride. A clear personal, social and health education programme supports pupils to understand important concepts. These include staying safe, building healthy relationships and celebrating difference. Pupils make a purposeful contribution to school life through their roles as diversity leaders, reading ambassadors and eco-warriors. They are proud of the welcome the school has given to Ukrainian pupils joining the school in recent months.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Pupils generally rise to these expectations. They understand the difference between unkindness and bullying. Pupils are right to be confident that any incidents of bullying will be dealt with swiftly. ‘Positive playtimes’ provide opportunities for pupils to develop their social skills. They relish the opportunities to be active.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy learning. They recall theme days and visits fondly. Every pupil from Year 1 learns to play a musical instrument. There are opportunities for pupils to perform in school and within the community. However, they sometimes struggle to recall what they have learned because of weaknesses in the curriculum.

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better?

Pupils flourish personally and socially. Leaders and governors are rightly proud of the welcome the school gives to pupils who may be experiencing challenges in their lives. They are not as clear in how they will achieve their ambitions for pupils’ academic success.

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better?

Some pupils are not learning as well as they could. Curriculum leaders have not all planned the curriculum precisely enough yet. Where they have thought carefully about what should be learned and when, for example in music and science, pupils build their knowledge as they move through the school. In other subjects, curriculum leaders have not set out the key content pupils need to know and remember, so they have gaps in their learning. In early years, leaders have identified what children should know by the end of the year. They have not, however, consistently given sufficient thought to the small steps children need to take to get there. Nor have they considered how the early years curriculum links to all subjects in key stage 1.

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better?

The missing links in the curriculum are sometimes compounded by weaknesses in some staff’s subject knowledge. Without clear enough guidance, they do not always know what the next steps in pupils’ learning should be. In mathematics, for example, teachers do not always give pupils enough practice to consolidate their understanding. They move them on to new learning too quickly. Checks on pupils’ 8 and 9 November 2022

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learning are not used well enough across some subjects to pick up any gaps or misconceptions and put them right quickly.

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Some pupils do not learn to read quickly enough. While the school has a phonics programme in place to teach early reading, this is not used well enough during additional support sessions. Not all support staff have had the necessary training to teach it well. The support given to pupils who fall behind is not always accurate enough to help them to catch up. Some staff do not use the right strategies to help pupils work out what they are reading. Furthermore, the books these pupils are given to read do not always match the sounds they know. This hampers them practising and strengthening their reading skills. That said, pupils are developing a love of books. They enjoy listening to the stories that teachers read to them. Leaders make sure that these books reflect pupils’ diverse community.

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Leaders’ ambitions for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are not fully realised. There are clear processes in place to identify any additional needs. Leaders make sure that they seek advice from external agencies to provide appropriate support for pupils with SEND where needed. However, the weaknesses in the curriculum mean that teaching is not always adapted well enough to enable them to learn alongside their classmates.

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Pupils’ positive attitudes to school are evident throughout the age groups. Development of these begins in early years, where there are clear routines and expectations. Throughout the school, staff model respectful behaviour. There is a consistent approach to managing behaviour across the school. In lessons, low-level disruption is not tolerated. Pupils are provided with reminders to adapt their behaviour. They listen to adults. Leaders work with families to promote good attendance, but there are still a small number of pupils who do not come to school regularly enough.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff take safeguarding seriously. Leaders remain up to date with local risks. They use this information to support families. Staff are trained for their safeguarding leadership roles and support one another. This results in effective leadership of safeguarding.

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Safeguarding

The school follows clear procedures to ensure that all necessary checks are taken when recruiting new staff. It makes timely referrals to support pupils who are at risk. Where necessary, leaders challenge external agencies so help is put in place for families.

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Safeguarding

Pupils are taught how to be safe. They understand the risks they may face online and in the real world. 8 and 9 November 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 There is variability in the teaching of early reading. The weakest readers do not learn to read quickly and fluently. Leaders need to ensure that all staff are well trained to teach early reading and that reading books are well matched to the sounds pupils are learning.  In some subjects, leaders have not yet identified and sequenced all of the key content that teachers need to teach. This means that pupils are not always able to make links between concepts securely enough so that they build knowledge systematically. Leaders need to continue to review and refine the curriculum.  Teachers do not always design tasks that enable pupils to achieve well in all subjects. Leaders should continue to make sure that professional development is prioritised in those curriculum areas where teachers’ subject knowledge is less strong.  Checks on pupils’ learning are not always swift enough. This means that misconceptions and gaps in knowledge are not identified quickly enough. Leaders

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

should continue to embed the use of formative assessment practice.

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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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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. 8 and 9 November 2022

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Appropriate authority The governing body

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roll

Dates of previous inspection 13 and 14 September 2017, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not currently use any alternative provision.  The chair of governors has been in post since the start of the academic year. She was previously a member of the governing body.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded 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.  Inspectors met with the headteacher and the deputy headteacher. They also met with other school leaders, staff and pupils. 8 and 9 November 2022

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 The lead inspector met with four governors, including the chair of the governing body. Inspectors also spoke with a representative from Buckinghamshire local authority.  The inspection team carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, music and French. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also reviewed curriculum plans and spoke to leaders about other subject areas.  To inspect safeguarding, inspectors checked the single central record of recruitment checks and talked to leaders responsible for safeguarding. Inspectors also talked to a range of staff and pupils informally.  The inspection team considered the responses to the confidential staff survey and spoke to a range of staff about their views of the school.

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 Inspectors took account of the 27 responses to the Ofsted Parent View questionnaire and the additional 21 free-text responses. An inspector talked with some parents on the first morning of the inspection.  The inspection team met with a range of pupils to discuss their views about the school and talked to pupils informally during social times and in lessons.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation, including the school professional development plan and pupil premium funding plan.

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Inspection team

Sara Staggs, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Rachel Roberts Ofsted Inspector 8 and 9 November 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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