Daven Primary School

Inspection of Daven Primary School New Street, Congleton, Cheshire CW12 3AH

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Inspection dates: 26 and 27 September 2023

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The headteacher of this school is Jennifer Gosling. This school is part of The Learning Partnership Academies Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Dan Thomas, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by David Wootton. 26 and 27 September 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, including children in the early years, are happy to attend Daven Primary School. They said that everyone is welcome in this caring school. Pupils trust that adults in school will look after them and keep them safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school expects pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to achieve highly. However, some pupils do not achieve as well as they should in several subjects. This is due to weaknesses in how the curriculum is delivered. As a result, many pupils have gaps in their knowledge. These pupils do not have sufficiently secure foundations on which to build new learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils conduct themselves appropriately around the school site. In the main, pupils show respect and they are polite towards one another. However, the poor behaviour of a small minority of pupils hinders the learning of their peers.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from a well-designed enrichment programme. They enjoy the varied range of opportunities available to them beyond the academic curriculum, such as after-school clubs and residential trips. This helps pupils to develop their talents and interests.

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better?

With the support of the trust, the school has started to address the weaknesses in the quality of education that pupils receive. For example, the school has ensured that teachers are clear about the knowledge that pupils should learn. Nevertheless, current pupils do not progress through the curriculum consistently well. This is because the delivery of the curriculum is not as effective as it should be.

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better?

The school has prioritised training for staff to improve the delivery of the curriculum. However, in some subjects, teachers do not provide pupils with sufficient opportunities to recap and recall prior learning. As a result, pupils struggle to make connections with what they have learned previously. In addition, teachers do not use assessment strategies consistently well to identify pupils’ misconceptions. This means that some pupils develop gaps in their knowledge that remain unaddressed.

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better?

In the early years, however, the curriculum is more effective than in other areas of the school. This is because the school has clearly defined the building blocks of knowledge that children must acquire to be ready for the challenges of Year 1. In the Reception Year, staff are equipped well to deliver learning successfully. Added to this, in the early years, staff place a strong emphasis on developing children’s language and communication skills.

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better?

The school’s approach to the teaching of reading in the early years is well structured. Staff swiftly identify any child who is not keeping up with the phonics programme. The school puts appropriate support in place so that these children develop secure reading knowledge alongside their peers. 26 and 27 September 2023

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While reading is a high priority, the school has not ensured that the less confident readers in key stages 1 and 2 receive the support that they need to catch up quickly with their reading knowledge. In addition, the books that these pupils read are not well matched to the sounds that they know. This means that some of these pupils do not become confident and fluent readers as quickly as they should.

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The school has effective systems in place to identify the additional needs of pupils with SEND quickly and accurately. It works well with other agencies to ensure that pupils with SEND get appropriate help and support. However, weaknesses in how well the curriculum is delivered mean that, in some subjects, some pupils with SEND do not learn as well as they could.

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Staff in the early years develop children’s personal, social and emotional skills effectively. This helps children to behave well. The school has started to take effective steps to support pupils in key stages 1 and 2 who have difficulty in managing their behaviour and emotions. However, it is too early to see the impact of these changes.

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The school promotes pupils’ personal development well. It is focused on ensuring that pupils, including pupils with SEND and those who are disadvantaged, develop independence and resilience. Pupils understand and accept that people have different beliefs and come from diverse family backgrounds.

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Leaders, with support from the trust, have developed a clear and ambitious vision for the school. Changes made by trust leaders enable the local governing body to hold the school to account more effectively. Staff feel well supported by leaders. They appreciate leaders’ consideration of their workload and well-being when making decisions about the school. Staff are proud to work at the school.

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The school seeks to engage parents and carers as soon as children begin in the early years. For example, the school offers supportive workshops for parents and encourages them to join in with children’s outdoor learning.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Those pupils who find reading difficult do not receive the support that they need to catch up with their peers. This means that these pupils do not become fluent readers as quickly as they should. The school should make sure that appropriate support is in place to support these pupils to catch up with their reading knowledge. 26 and 27 September 2023

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 In some subjects, teachers do not provide pupils with enough opportunities to recap and recall important prior learning. As a result, some pupils struggle to connect new concepts with aspects of earlier knowledge. The school should ensure that teachers provide pupils with sufficient opportunities to revisit and embed essential prior knowledge.  The school has not ensured that teachers use assessment strategies effectively enough to check how well pupils are learning the intended curriculum. This prevents teachers from identifying and addressing the gaps in pupils’ knowledge and skills. The school should ensure that staff are suitably equipped to use assessment strategies to remedy the gaps in pupils’ knowledge.  Some pupils do not behave as leaders expect. This means that the learning of other pupils is sometimes disrupted. The school should ensure that all staff have the expertise to implement the behaviour policy consistently well to ensure that

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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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 26 and 27 September 2023

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Daven Primary School converted to become an academy in July 2019. When its predecessor school, Daven Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to require improvement.  The school joined The Learning Partnership Academies Trust in September 2023. A new headteacher took up their post in September 2023.  Leaders do not make use of any alternative provision for pupils.  The school provides a before-school club for 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

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision. 26 and 27 September 2023

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation.  Inspectors held discussions with the headteacher, other leaders and staff.  An inspector met with trustees and members of the trust’s central team. An inspector spoke with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors observed pupils reading to a trusted adult.  Inspectors discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  Inspectors spoke with groups of pupils to gather their views about the school, including on behaviour and learning. They also observed pupils’ behaviour during

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lessons and at playtime.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free- text responses. Inspectors also considered the responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for staff and pupils.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors considered a range of documents provided by school leaders and staff. These included the school development plan, records of governing body meetings and the headteacher’s reports.

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Inspection team

Lisa Littler, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Louise Smith Ofsted Inspector 26 and 27 September 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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