All Saints Church of England Primary School

Inspection of All Saints Church of England Primary School All Saints, Axminster, Devon EX13 7LX

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Inspection dates: 28 February and 1 March 2023

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Good 28 February and 1 March 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils understand and follow their school values of ‘courage, honesty, respect, compassion and resilience’. They behave well and are kind and considerate towards others. For example, good manners are commonplace, and pupils look after their school environment. They value the nurture and care they receive from adults. When bullying occasionally happens, pupils are confident that it will get sorted out. They say that staff prioritise their well-being. Pupils are happy to come to school and attend regularly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils do not yet learn as well as they could in every class or subject. For some, expectations are not high enough. The significant changes to staffing in recent years have hampered the school’s progress. Many parents and carers raised concerns about how well the school communicates with them and deals with any issues that they raise.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Older pupils develop responsibilities. This prepares them for their next stage of education. For example, they support younger pupils’ behaviour in ‘pew groups’ when attending the church for collective worship. Leaders provide a range of extracurricular clubs, which some pupils attend. Pupils say that they would like to engage more frequently with their local community, undertake visits and have visitors to school to support their curriculum learning. Leaders recognise that they need to improve this provision.

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better?

Leaders understand what the school does well and how it needs to improve. In some areas, such as reading and behaviour, leaders and staff have undertaken work with the trust, which has led to positive improvements for pupils. Yet in other areas, leaders have been slow to act. As a result, some curriculum subjects are weaker.

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better?

Leaders have designed a curriculum that is ambitious. However, staff do not yet fully understand how to use this curriculum to sequence learning effectively for mixed- age classes. Where learning is well sequenced, pupils can remember more. For example, in science, older pupils talk confidently about independent and dependent variables in a recent investigation. This is not yet typical. Pupils often struggle to remember what they have learned.

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better?

Staff identify the needs and barriers to learning for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They provide pupils with the help that they need to become independent learners. However, staff do not check precisely enough what pupils know and remember from the curriculum. Therefore, gaps in learning go unaddressed or widen.

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better?

Staff have the expertise to teach pupils who are in the early stages of reading. Staff check what pupils know and use this to provide additional support. As a result, pupils become confident, fluent readers. From Reception Year, they read books that 28 February and 1 March 2023

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are carefully matched to the sounds that they know. Some pupils talk about a range of genres and authors. For example, some pupils were able to make links with the history of the Second World War and their current class reader. At lunchtimes, the library is full of pupils who want to read. One pupil, who reflected the thoughts of many, said, ‘We don’t want to put books down.’

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Children in Reception Year have positive relationships with adults. They are keen to learn. Leaders have begun to construct a more ambitious curriculum, but this is in its infancy. Therefore, activities are not well matched to children’s stage of development. This hinders how well children learn independently. Sometimes, staff do not use the vocabulary needed to support and extend children’s understanding.

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Pupils are proud of their links with the church and their Christian values. Leaders use this to plan a well-considered curriculum to support pupils’ personal development. However, staff do not implement this curriculum consistently. As a result, pupils’ knowledge of some areas is stronger than others. For example, pupils can relate their participation in the school’s ‘democracy day’ to how government works. They learn what they need to know about families and relationships. However, pupils do not learn enough about religious beliefs and how other people live. They struggle to talk about society beyond where they live. As a result, pupils do not have an age- appropriate understanding of life in modern Britain.

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Many staff are happy to work at the school. They value the support they receive from trust networks. However, some staff feel that leaders could do more to support their workload and well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff receive the safeguarding training that they need. They report any concerns swiftly. This leads to pupils and their families getting the help that they need. Leaders engage with a range of external agencies in the three local authorities with which the school has contact. They make the right checks when new staff join the school. Leaders recognise the need to improve the rigour of some of their reporting. However, this does not place pupils at risk of harm.

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Safeguarding

Pupils know how to keep safe. For example, older pupils talk about charities and organisations that can help them if they need support.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, important knowledge is not identified clearly, and nor is the curriculum sequenced carefully to meet the needs of mixed-age classes. This means that pupils do not build successfully on what they already know. They are 28 February and 1 March 2023

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not fully prepared for learning that comes later. Leaders need to ensure that curriculum planning is well sequenced for all learners.  In some subjects, staff do not have the required expertise to deliver the curriculum consistently. This means that some pupils learn better than others. Leaders must ensure that staff have the knowledge and support to implement the curriculum as intended.  In early years, staff do not support and extend children’s learning well enough. Therefore, children are not fully prepared for their next steps. Leaders should ensure that what children learn is closely matched to their stage of development.  The planned curriculum for personal development is not delivered as intended. As a result, pupils are not well informed about religious beliefs and how other people live. Leaders should ensure that pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.  Many parents say that leaders do not communicate effectively with them about

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the changes they are making or how they have dealt with concerns. This means that many parents do not feel well informed about their child’s education. Leaders should ensure that all parents receive regular and timely communication to allow them to support the school effectively.

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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. 28 February and 1 March 2023

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School details

Website www.all-saints-ce-primary.devon.sch.uk

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Date of previous inspection

17 September 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of St Christopher’s Multi Academy Trust.  The school is a voluntary-aided primary school. Its most recent section 48 inspection took place on 24 September 2019.  The school has a breakfast club and after-school club provision.  The school does not use any alternative providers.  Since the previous inspection, there have been significant staffing changes within the school.

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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. 28 February and 1 March 2023

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 Inspectors met with the headteacher, who is also the special educational needs coordinator. They met with multi-academy trust leaders, including the chief executive officer, the director of education and two members of the school improvement team. The lead inspector met with one trustee, the chair of the local governing body and other governors.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, science and geography. 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. The inspectors also considered the curriculum in some other subjects.  The lead inspector spoke with the designated safeguarding lead to discuss the school’s procedures for keeping pupils safe. She considered the school’s recruitment procedures, staff induction and training, records of concern and

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engagement with external agencies. The inspectors spoke with staff and pupils throughout the inspection to gauge their views of the school.  Inspectors considered responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. Parents spoke to inspectors at the start of the day. Inspectors considered responses to the staff survey.

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Inspection team

Donna Briggs, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Laura Bennett Ofsted Inspector 28 February and 1 March 2023

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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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