Aveley Primary School

Inspection of Aveley Primary School Stifford Road, Aveley, South Ockendon, Essex RM15 4AA

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 14 and 15 June 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to this school. They are able to learn in a friendly and calm environment. Pupils know adults want them to succeed and care about their well- being. Pupils take care when presenting their work and writing about the things they have learned. They are proud of their achievements.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are clear about the high expectations adults have for behaviour and learning. Pupils live up to these expectations well and try hard to achieve their best. They listen politely to their teachers and each other. Pupils play happily with their friends at breaktimes. They enjoy using the wide range of equipment available for them to play with.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are safe in school. They understand the school rules and behave well. They know bullying can happen. They also know that there are a lot of adults who they can talk to if anything worries them. Pupils are confident that adults will help to sort out any problems.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils represent the school as school councillors, ‘planet saviours’ as members of the eco council, or mental health champions. They take these responsibilities seriously. Pupils feel involved in school life and the decisions that leaders take to improve the school further.

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better?

Leaders have worked effectively in order to ensure that there is an ambitious, engaging curriculum in place. Pupils enjoy learning the range of subjects on offer. Most curriculum thinking clearly identifies the important knowledge, including vocabulary, that pupils need to learn. However, a few subjects are in an earlier stage of development. In these subjects, leaders have not yet ensured that teachers know exactly what key knowledge they need to teach and when.

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better?

School and trust leaders prioritise training for staff in a range of subjects. Therefore, teachers are well trained and confident to teach the curriculum. Teachers work well together to share expertise in designing lessons for pupils. Teachers use the same familiar routines, resources and expectations in all lessons. This helps pupils to become confident learners and work hard.

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better?

In more established subjects, teachers make careful checks to ensure that pupils remember their learning. Where this occurs, pupils achieve well. In the small number of subjects recently updated, the curriculum content is still new to pupils and staff. Teachers are still getting to grips with checking how well pupils are retaining this new knowledge. As a result, pupils are not yet as secure in their knowledge in these subjects as leaders want them to be.

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better?

Staff teach early reading very well. They have high expectations of what pupils can achieve. They check regularly that pupils have remembered the sounds they have 14 and 15 June 2023

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learned. They provide additional, timely support for pupils who need more time to practise their reading. Teachers read regularly to pupils from high-quality books. The books that pupils learn to read from match their reading ability. As a result, pupils become fluent and confident readers quickly.

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Leaders are equally ambitious for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils with SEND enjoy the same learning opportunities as other pupils. They work independently alongside their friends in most lessons. Pupils in the school’s autistic resource centre (ARC) receive expert support. This helps pupils successfully work towards their individual targets.

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Pupils behave well in their lessons and around school. They are respectful of others’ learning. Pupils do not interrupt lessons with poor behaviour. They understand school rules and what happens if you break them. Pupils listen well to each other and to their teachers. They concentrate on their work and answer questions carefully and with confidence.

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Children in the Nursery and Reception learn very well. Leaders and teachers have the highest of expectations of children’s learning and behaviour. As a result, children pay careful attention to the adults who teach them and are well prepared for Year 1.

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Leaders, trust staff, directors and local governors work effectively as a team. They ensure the school’s continued improvement. Governors visit the school to check how the school is doing. This helps governors identify further support needed to improve the school. Leaders take the workload of staff into account when making decisions about any changes needed.

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Pupils understand how to have respectful friendships. They enjoy the ‘big question’ assemblies where they are encouraged to think about a range of topics. They learn about the range of religions and cultures in the world through the books that teachers read to them. There are a number of sports clubs that pupils can join. Pupils learn how to be sociable, reflective and responsible members of the community.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that staff are trained and updated regularly on how to identify concerns about pupils or adults. Staff know pupils well and log any concerns without delay. Leaders offer high-quality pastoral support for pupils who need strategies to stay safe. Leaders also work well with a range of agencies to ensure that pupils receive the help, support and protection that they need and as quickly as possible.

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Safeguarding

Pupils learn how to manage risk. Teachers provide lessons about staying safe when working online. Pupils learn about how to take care of their mental health and where to go for advice. 14 and 15 June 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders are updating their curriculum planning in a small number of subjects. These subjects do not yet contain all the important knowledge that pupils need to know and remember, including relevant vocabulary. Pupils have gaps in knowledge in these subjects. Leaders must ensure that in all subjects the essential knowledge and vocabulary that pupils need to know and remember are clearly identified. Teachers then need to check that pupils have secured this knowledge well before moving on to new learning.

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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. 14 and 15 June 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10267766 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school became an academy in 2019, joining Catalyst Academies Trust .  The school runs a breakfast club for its pupils.  The school also runs a specialist provision for pupils, the autism resource centre (ARC).  The school currently does not use any alternative provision for its pupils.

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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

 Aveley Primary School converted to become an academy school in January 2019. When its predecessor school of the same name, Aveley Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged requires improvement.  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. 14 and 15 June 2023

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 The inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, science, religious education and geography. For each of these subjects, inspectors spoke to subject leaders, visited lessons, spoke to pupils, looked at pupils’ books and spoke with teachers.  The lead inspector heard a sample of pupils read to a familiar adult.  Inspectors also reviewed pupils’ work from the art and history curriculum and discussed curriculum thinking with leaders for these subjects.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour around school, including in lessons, at breaktime and in breakfast club. They also considered staff’s, pupils’ and parents’ views of behaviour.  The lead inspector discussed the single central record and records of safeguarding with those leaders responsible for safeguarding. Inspectors also spoke with pupils and staff about safeguarding systems and the culture of safeguarding at the school.  Inspectors spoke to leaders of SEND, observed pupils with SEND in lessons, and

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visited the ARC, which is the school’s specialist resource centre for pupils with autism spectrum disorder.  Inspectors spoke to trust leaders and those responsible for governance. The inspectors also reviewed trust minutes and the school development plan.  Inspectors spoke to teachers about the curriculum and workload.  The 38 responses and 24 free-text comments submitted to Ofsted Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire for parents, were considered by the inspectors.  The 41 responses to the staff survey and the 25 responses to the pupil survey were also considered. A range of pupils were also spoken to across the school during the inspection.

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Inspection team

Debbie Rogan, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Bridget Harrison His Majesty’s Inspector 14 and 15 June 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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