Nailsworth Church of England Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Nailsworth Church of England Primary School Nympsfield Road, Nailsworth, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL6 0ET

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Inspection dates: 18 and 19 October 2023

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Outcome

There has been no change to this school’s overall judgement of good as a result of this ungraded (section 8) inspection. However, the evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might not be as high if a graded (section 5) inspection were carried out now. The school’s next inspection will be a graded inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s interim leadership team have made rapid improvements to safeguard pupils. There is a clear plan of action to increase pupils’ knowledge of the school’s curriculum. Regular checks on the provision for pupils with special educational needs and/ or disabilities (SEND) are now in place. This ensures the school knows if the additional support pupils with SEND have is effective. Nevertheless, improvements to the quality of education, including in the early years, are in their infancy.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy, polite and safe. They enjoy playtimes together. Older pupils are ‘buddies’ with the youngest children and help them settle into school. More recently, pupils welcome their parents and carers to ‘Marvellous Mondays’ to share their books and classroom displays.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The personal development of pupils is a strength of the school. Pupils are taught to be active citizens through their work with the local community. For example, pupils complete litter picks and grow produce in the shared community garden. Pupils’ talents, interests and characters are nurtured through the wide range of clubs, trips and visitors to the school. Many parents attribute their children’s increased confidence to the care of staff and the school’s enrichment opportunities.

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

There is a whole-school curriculum in place. However, the school has not identified the essential knowledge it wants pupils to know and remember in all subjects. This includes in the early years. The curriculum is not broken down into small, sequential steps to help teachers plan learning effectively. The school does not check pupils know and remember the school curriculum’s essential knowledge. As a result, gaps in knowledge and misconceptions increase over time. Pupils learn superficial knowledge. They recall learning 18 and 19 October 2023

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activities rather than the subject’s essential knowledge. For example, pupils remember some historical facts and lessons but cannot place the people and events studied in chronological order on a timeline.

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The school has plans to help subject leaders refine the curriculum. It intends to support teachers to use the curriculum to plan suitable learning activities based on accurate assessment information. However, this is not yet in place. For example, children’s starting points are not considered in the early years when planning learning. Checks on the impact of extra help provided for pupils with SEND have recently started. However, this work is new and has not started in all subjects.

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Leaders rightly prioritise pupils learning to read well. Phonics is taught and books are available to match pupils’ phonic knowledge. Most pupils learn to segment and blend phonemes successfully. Until recently, pupils who found reading difficult, and pupils with SEND, did not receive the additional support they needed to secure their phonic knowledge. Consequently, some older pupils cannot apply their phonic knowledge to reading and writing well.

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Carefully selected, high-quality texts enrich the new reading curriculum. Teachers read and discuss the books with their classes to expand pupils’ vocabulary and improve their reading comprehension. The books also help to build pupils’ knowledge of cultures and religions from Britain and around the world.

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Visitors to the school are welcome as pupils are keen to find out about the lives of people beyond the school gates. Broadening pupils’ horizons through trips and visits is valued by the school. The school’s curriculum and enrichment opportunities ensure pupils know how to keep themselves safe online and in the community. Pupils know the importance of being physically and mentally healthy.

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The school has high expectations for pupils to attend school regularly. Leaders work with families and external agencies to identify and remove barriers that prevent parents from sending their children to school. This work is successful.

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Pupils behave well. Most pupils move around the school in a calm and orderly way. The school’s new behaviour policy, alongside tracking of behaviour incidents, helps the school recognise which pupils need extra support. Staff are completing training to know how to successfully support pupils to understand and manage their own feelings.

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Governors do not understand their roles and responsibilities fully. They are currently receiving support from the diocese to improve their knowledge and understanding of the school governor’s role.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 18 and 19 October 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school’s early years curriculum is not implemented as intended. This means provision and learning activities do not always meet children’s needs effectively. The school needs to ensure that early years provision and learning activities are precisely matched to children’s needs.  The school has not identified the essential knowledge it wants pupils to know and remember in some subject curriculums. In addition, learning activities do not always provide children with opportunities to secure and deepen their knowledge sufficiently well. This means pupils do not remember essential knowledge and important concepts. They are unable to build on prior learning. The school needs to identify the essential knowledge in all subject curriculums. It needs to ensure teaching enables pupils to know more, do more and remember more of the school’s curriculum.  The role of the subject leader is not sufficiently well developed. This means leadership

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

at this level does not have the expertise required to raise the standards of education across all subjects. The school needs to ensure subject leadership is developed, so that teachers are supported well to improve their subject knowledge and select appropriate learning activities across all subject areas.

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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 October 2017.

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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. 18 and 19 October 2023

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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). 18 and 19 October 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 17 October 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Nailsworth Church of England primary school is a Gloucestershire local authority maintained school.  The school is part of the Diocese of Gloucester.  The school does not use alternative provision.  The interim executive headteacher started working at the school in September 2023.  Governance at the school is supported by an interim chair of governors commissioned by the diocese.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  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. 18 and 19 October 2023

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 The inspector met with the interim executive headteacher, the inclusion manager, staff, pupils and governors, including the chair of the governing body, a representative from Gloucestershire local authority and a representative from the Diocese of Gloucester.  The lead inspector listened to pupils from Years 1, 2 and 3 read to a known adult.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons in phonics, mathematics and history, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector also looked at geography and art and design books, discussed the school’s curriculum, the early years curriculum and provision with leaders.  The inspector observed pupils during breaktimes and spoke with pupils and leaders

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about personal, social and health education and opportunities for pupils’ personal development.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: 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.  The lead inspector considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View. She also took into consideration the responses to the surveys for staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Marie Thomas, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 18 and 19 October 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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