All Saints Church of England Primary School and Nursery, Bishop's Stortford

Inspection of a good school: All Saints Church of England Primary School and Nursery, Bishop’s Stortford Parsonage Lane, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire CM23 5BE

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Outcome

All Saints Church of England Primary School and Nursery, Bishop’s Stortford continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at All Saints are proud of their school. Pupils follow the school motto of ‘nurture, resilience and achievement for all’. They try hard, respect others and are kind.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils like and respect their teachers. Relationships are very positive. Pupils know that their teachers listen to what they have to say in lessons. All staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and learning. Pupils enjoy their learning, listen to their teachers and behave well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe. They trust the adults in school. Pupils are well cared for. There are lots of adults who pupils can talk to if they are worried about anything. Pupils know that staff care about their mental health and well-being, as well as their learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils understand that bullying can happen. If it does, they know that adults will help, sort it out and ensure that it does not happen again.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are encouraged to be independent and take on responsibilities. Many pupils have roles on the pupil parliament. They are proud to do this and help to make decisions about how to improve the school further.

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

Leaders have planned the curriculum with high expectations of pupils’ learning and achievement. They have set out what they want pupils to know and when they want pupils to learn important knowledge. In most subjects, leaders have identified which aspects of learning pupils need to remember to move on to the next stage. Teachers use this information effectively to check for any gaps in pupils’ learning so that they can be addressed quickly. However, in a few subjects, leaders have not ensured that teachers 13 and 14 March 2023

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check pupils’ learning well enough to identify what pupils do or do not know. This means some pupils do not build new knowledge on secure foundations of previous learning, so they do not achieve as well as they could in these subjects.

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Many teachers are new to the school. They are confident and trained well to teach the curriculum. They introduce new learning to pupils clearly. They model expectations of learning regularly. Teachers use familiar resources and routines to engage pupils in their learning. As a result, pupils are clear how to tackle their learning and interested in what they learn, and can work independently.

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Children begin to learn about sounds and letters in the Nursery. Staff have expert knowledge to teach early reading. They use the same approaches effectively to help pupils in the early stages of reading become confident readers. Pupils are supported to apply what they learn to their independent reading. Books are matched closely to the sounds that pupils know well. Pupils practise their reading regularly. Teachers provide extra help for pupils who find reading difficult. Most pupils become independent readers quickly because they are taught well.

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Leaders responsible for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) know pupils well. Provision for these pupils is a strength of the school. Leaders identify pupils’ needs accurately and ensure that effective support is in place. Leaders train staff so that they have the expertise to teach pupils with SEND effectively. Pupils with SEND receive additional help to meet their individual targets where this is needed. They learn a broad and balanced curriculum alongside their friends.

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Leaders have devised a range of opportunities for pupils to develop personally as well as academically. Breakfast club provides a calm and welcoming start to pupils’ day. Leaders aim to ensure pupils see and experience life ‘in all its fullness’. Pupils learn about different religions and cultures. Older pupils support younger pupils to play safely at lunchtimes. Pupils are respectful and interested, and contribute well to the school community.

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Governors understand the difficulties leaders have faced in recent times. They provide good support and challenge to leaders to ensure that the school keeps improving. Governors use a range of information that helps them to prioritise the next steps in making the school even better. They take leaders’ and staff’s workload into account when making decisions. Governors are committed and effective leaders of the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders train staff to notice, record and report concerns that pupils may be at risk of harm. They provide support for pupils who need it. Leaders work well with other agencies to ensure pupils receive the precise help they need.

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Safeguarding

All the required checks are made on staff before they are employed by the school. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe when they are working online. They learn about their rights and responsibilities in relationships and how to be good friends. 13 and 14 March 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, teachers do not check well enough whether pupils have remembered the important content taught. Where this happens, pupils develop gaps in their learning and so do not achieve as well as they could. Leaders must ensure that teachers use formative assessment effectively in all subjects to support pupils’ learning.

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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 May 2014.

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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. 13 and 14 March 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10268664 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 12 December 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school runs a breakfast club for the pupils at the school.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.  The headteacher joined the school after the previous inspection.  The most recent inspection of the school’s religious character, under section 48 of the Education Act 2005, took place in April 2022. The next section 48 inspection will take place within five years.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher and other senior leaders, including the leader of SEND provision. 13 and 14 March 2023

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 The inspector carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and art. For each of these subjects the inspector discussed the curriculum with the subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with pupils and teachers and looked at pupils’ books.  Plans and work from other curriculum areas were also examined. Adults in school were observed listening to pupils read.  Leaders of safeguarding discussed the single central record and leaders’ records of safeguarding.  Pupils shared their views about behaviour in the school and the inspector observed pupils’ behaviour around school.  The inspector spoke with teachers about curriculum and workload. The inspector spoke with those responsible for governance and a representative of the local authority.  The 129 responses to Ofsted’s online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View, including 84 free-text responses, were considered. The inspector also took account of 32

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responses to the Ofsted survey for school staff and 113 responses to the Ofsted survey for pupils.

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Inspection team

Debbie Rogan, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 13 and 14 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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