Stoke-on-Tern Primary School

Inspection of Stoke-on-Tern Primary School Rosehill Road, Stoke Heath, Market Drayton, Shropshire TF9 2LF

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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

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 8 and 9 February 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel happy and safe at school because they know that they can talk to any adult, who will try and help them. They enjoy coming to school. School council members know that their role means they can help change things in school, such as the dinner menu.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders prioritise relationships at Stoke-on-Tern Primary School. Parents appreciate the work of all staff and many work in partnership with leaders to support their children. The ‘Stoke-on-Tern way’ supports pupils to embed positive attitudes towards learning. If any incidents of bullying occur, staff deal with these quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have not set out precisely the skills and knowledge they want pupils to learn in all subjects. Pupils therefore do not know and remember more of the curriculum. Some teachers do not have high expectations for pupils’ achievement.

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better?

There have been significant changes to the curriculum since the co-headteachers’ appointment. Leaders have set out a curriculum which, for most subjects, clearly identifies what they want pupils to know and by when. However, in other subjects, leaders have not precisely set out the key skills that they want pupils to learn. This means that some pupils do not successfully build on what they already know and can do.

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better?

In some subjects, teachers provide opportunities for pupils to practise what they know. For example, younger pupils understand how using adjectives improves the sentences they write. However, this is not the case in all subjects. Some teachers provide learning activities which focus more on the task to be completed and not what pupils will learn as a result. Some pupils therefore struggle to remember what they have learned. For example, pupils remembered completing non-fiction writing but could not remember the key features needed to successfully produce a final piece of writing.

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better?

Leaders prioritise the teaching of phonics. Up-to-date training allows staff to teach phonics clearly and consistently. Leaders use phonic assessment strategies well to identify pupils who need extra support. These pupils receive well-planned support to help them to develop the knowledge and skills they need to become confident readers.

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better?

Staff identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) quickly. Staff understand the individual needs of pupils with SEND and provide support to help them make progress in their learning. For most pupils, this is successful in helping them to overcome any barriers to learning. 8 and 9 February 2023

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Some teachers do not use assessment strategies well to check what pupils have learned, including in the early years. This means that teachers do not address pupils’ misconceptions in some subjects. This does not support pupils to achieve as well as they could.

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Pupils know how important it is to behave well, especially when they are in lessons. They talk positively about pupils’ behaviour in school and know that adults will help them if they need it. Leaders respond quickly to any incidents of poor behaviour and involve parents in the support provided to pupils. Leaders check the attendance of individual pupils and work with parents when required, to make sure that pupils attend regularly.

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Leaders prioritise staff and pupils’ mental health and well-being. They offer a wide range of clubs and activities, such as engineering club and choir. Pupils enjoy the roles and responsibilities they hold in school, such as being a member of the school council. They recognise the need to be kind to each other and acknowledge that everyone should be treated the same.

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Leaders do not have a sufficiently clear understanding of what is working well and what needs to improve. As a result, leaders find it hard to accurately identify areas to prioritise to improve the school’s effectiveness. Some leadership roles and responsibilities are also unclear. Governors do not receive all the information they need to hold leaders fully to account, for example for the quality of education. Staff feel well supported by leaders and appreciate leaders’ actions to prioritise their well- being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The majority of staff have received appropriate safeguarding training. Some staff are unclear about the new reporting processes when they are concerned about a pupil. Nevertheless, they do understand that any concerns must be reported quickly. Leaders record concerns about pupils. However, due to a recent change in recording systems, some of the information is not logged in sufficient detail. Despite this, the safeguarding processes and procedures in place to identify and help pupils who may be suffering harm are effective.

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Safeguarding

Pupils know how to keep themselves safe, including online. They know the dangers of being close to roads and water.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have not ensured that all staff have a detailed understanding of recently introduced safeguarding reporting systems and that any concerns reported are recorded in sufficient detail. This makes it challenging for leaders to spot any mounting concerns about a pupil. Leaders must ensure that all staff have a detailed understanding of, and use, the agreed safeguarding procedures to keep pupils safe.  In some subjects, leaders have not identified the key knowledge and skills that pupils should learn precisely enough. This means that pupils do not achieve as well as they could. Leaders should ensure that key knowledge and skills are set out clearly to enable teachers to plan lessons that build on what pupils already know.  Some teachers, including in the early years, do not use assessment strategies well to check what pupils know and can do. This means that these teachers do not identify gaps in pupils’ learning or address any misconceptions pupils may

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

have. Leaders should support teachers to assess more precisely what pupils remember and can do.  Leaders do not have a sufficiently clear understanding about what is working well and what needs to improve in the school. They do not have clearly defined roles and responsibilities. This means that the areas for development are not accurate or well led. Leaders should ensure that roles and responsibilities are clearly defined to allow them to identify ways to improve the school’s effectiveness.  Governors do not provide appropriate challenge to leaders. The information that they receive from leaders limits their understanding about what is working well and what needs to improve, particularly in respect of the quality of education. Leaders should ensure that governors receive helpful information to enable them to support and challenge leaders to improve the school’s effectiveness.

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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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5

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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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 February 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10256923 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Co-Headteachers Theresa Evans and Jenny Brotherhood

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10 January 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school offers nursery provision for children from two years old.  The co-headteachers have been in post since 2019.  Leaders do not make use of alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspector(s) carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

In accordance with section 44(2) of the Education Act 2005, His Majesty's Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances reasonably be expected to perform.

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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. 8 and 9 February 2023

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 Inspectors spoke with the co-headteachers, the school business manager and other members of the staff team. The lead inspector spoke with the chair of the governing body and the school improvement adviser from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in English, early reading, science and music. 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 from classes across the school.  Inspectors spoke with leaders and staff about the effectiveness of safeguarding. This included meeting with the designated safeguarding leaders to discuss record keeping and training for staff, how pupils at potential risk of harm are identified and how concerns are recorded. Inspectors spoke with staff about their understanding of safeguarding. The lead inspector sampled staff recruitment files

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and discussed with the designated safeguarding leads safer recruitment processes. Inspectors spoke with pupils about how they are taught to stay safe.  The lead inspector took account of the parent and carer comments and responses to Ofsted Parent View. Comments in staff surveys were also considered. Inspectors spoke to pupils both formally and informally during the inspection.

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Inspection team

Michelle Bishton, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Abigail Rourke Ofsted Inspector 8 and 9 February 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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