Felsted Primary School

Inspection of Felsted Primary School Watch House Green, Felsted, Dunmow, Essex CM6 3EB

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Inspection dates: 31 October and 1 November 2023

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Good

This school was last inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 12 years ago and judged ‘Outstanding’ under a previous inspection framework. This reflected the school’s overall effectiveness under the inspection framework in use at the time.

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Overall effectiveness Good

From then until November 2020, the school was exempt by law from routine inspection, so there has been a longer gap than usual between graded inspections under section 5 of the Act. Judgements in this report are based on the current inspection framework and also reflect changes that may have happened at any point since the last graded inspection. 31 October and 1 November 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are polite, friendly and helpful. They have positive relationships with staff. Staff support pupils with their learning and friendships. Pupils are very accepting that everyone is different.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in class and focus on their learning. They enjoy talking about what they are learning and have positive attitudes towards the activities that they are doing. However, outside of lesson times, some pupils’ behaviour does not always meet the same high expectations that the school has.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy learning a broad, interesting curriculum. Overall, they achieve well. They leave ready for learning at secondary school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

A wide variety of clubs are available for all pupils. These enable pupils to extend their experiences and try new things, including cross-stitch club, choir and various sports. All pupils have the opportunity to learn to swim as well as be part of a sporting competition.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have a number of leadership opportunities available to them, including school parliament, play leaders and reading ambassadors. These opportunities develop pupils’ independence and confidence, as they ensure they have their say about the way the school grows.

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better?

The school has a broad, ambitious curriculum for all pupils. Pupils build on their previous learning in each subject and recap key concepts. This ensures that they remember more knowledge. The detailed curriculum sets out exactly what the pupils should learn. This includes subject knowledge and vocabulary. Subjects are taught well. However, pupils are yet to fully benefit from the teaching of newer curriculum plans in a few subjects.

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better?

Staff regularly check on what pupils know and give support where it is needed. This enables staff to ensure that pupils build on what they already know so that they deepen their understanding. This helps pupils to progress well in most subjects.

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better?

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported effectively to make progress. Some pupils receive a more personalised curriculum, which is more appropriate. Staff have been well trained in how to adapt the curriculum successfully for a range of needs. As a result, teachers know how to help pupils with SEND to make strong progress.

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better?

The school prioritises reading. Phonics teaching starts from Reception. Teachers receive high-quality training, so they teach phonics and reading well. They carefully choose books that match the sounds that pupils are learning so that pupils can practise these. The school shares the teaching of phonics with parents. This enables 31 October and 1 November 2023

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parents to support their children at home. Pupils can access a variety of texts in the class libraries and their new school library. These cover a range of topics and themes that pupils enjoy. Pupils, therefore, make good progress with their reading as well as extending their knowledge.

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The school has high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Pupils focus on learning in their lessons and enjoy lessons. The school provides different activities for pupils at lunchtime. This ensures that pupils have a focus to engage them. Pupils of all ages play together, and the pupils who are play leaders support this. This has had a positive impact on reducing inappropriate behaviours. However, outside of lessons, such as when moving around the school at lunchtime or breaktime, some pupils are not matching the high expectations for their behaviour. This results in some pupils being noisy and running around the corridors. This is because adults’ expectations are inconsistent.

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There is a vast range of opportunities available to the pupils. Trips and visitors to the school are carefully linked to the curriculum. These include links to sporting organisations where pupils can learn about different sports. The school is an integral part of the local community. Pupils use the local church, fields and woods, as well as singing for the residents of a local care home. This helps pupils to develop as active and respectful citizens.

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The school is considerate of staff’s workload and well-being. The open-door culture in the school ensures that everyone feels that they can have a say. Staff receive high-quality training and actively seek additional training to help make teaching even better. Governors know the school well and work with leaders to improve the school. ,

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, the curriculum is new, and the school has not checked to ensure that the key knowledge is being taught to the same high quality as the other subjects. Therefore, the school is not yet sure that pupils are remembering the taught knowledge in the same way as they do in other subjects. The school should ensure the curriculum in the newer subjects is being taught as intended and that pupils are remembering the key knowledge.  Behaviour during unstructured times does not always meet the same high standard as inside the classroom. Staff members’ expectations of behaviour at these times are inconsistent. As a result, a small number of pupils sometimes display inappropriate behaviours at unstructured times of the day. The school should ensure consistent expectations of behaviour throughout the school day. 31 October and 1 November 2023

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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). 31 October and 1 November 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body James Ivey and Yvonne Crome (co- chairs) Headteacher Bryony Collins

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 26 and 27 September 2011, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not currently use any alternative providers.  The headteacher became the full-time headteacher in September 2021.

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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 educational provision.  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 of the school.  The lead inspector spoke with a group of governors, including the co-chairs of the governing body.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: early reading, mathematics, physical education and computing. For each deep dive, the 31 October and 1 November 2023

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inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of work.  Inspectors also considered pupils learning in other areas of the curriculum, including religious education and personal, social and health education.  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.  The inspectors gathered the views of pupils by speaking to them during lessons and at breaktime. They also considered the 50 responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey. The inspectors also considered correspondence sent directly to the team.  The inspectors spoke to groups of staff to gather their views of the school. They

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also considered 23 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.  The inspectors considered 72 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View.

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Inspection team

Katie Devenport, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

John Crane Ofsted Inspector 31 October and 1 November 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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