Monkton Church of England Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Monkton Church of England Primary School Monkton Street, Monkton, Ramsgate, Kent CT12 4JQ

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Outcome

Monkton Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s values of compassion, courage and justice are central to what it provides for pupils. They learn to live out these values through the taught curriculum and many other opportunities. Pupils behave well and enjoy being at school. Those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) benefit from well-considered personalised support. This reflects the school’s high aspirations for every child. The school runs curriculum ‘museum days’ for parents and carers, as a way of showcasing pupils’ achievements.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are enthusiastic about the varied activities in which they can take part. These range from crochet to extra music tuition. They enjoy regular outdoor learning as a way of learning about the natural world. Staff help to ensure that these opportunities foster teamwork and communication.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Exciting workshops and visits to destinations such as the Royal Observatory spark pupils’ curiosity. Pupils are encouraged to be young leaders in school. They are proud to take on roles as house captains or librarians. Those pupils who want to go further are supported in charitable actions. As a result, pupils have raised money through ‘enterprise days’ and have set up a village food bank.

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

The school maps out learning to meet the demands of its mixed-age classes. This is delivered very well in reading and is largely successful in other subjects. For example, in geography, pupils develop their mapping skills with specific aims for each year group. This enables them to develop their understanding from simple sketches through to complex grid reference tasks. The school takes careful account of the needs of pupils with SEND and provides tailored support if necessary.

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

The school is successful in helping pupils to remember learning over the long term. Teachers use frequent recall activities to check and reinforce pupils’ understanding. They 30 January 2024

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provide clear explanations and examples. These prompt pupils to think in depth about important ideas, such wealth inequality. If pupils misunderstand something, teachers typically pick up on this quickly and correct it. Pupils complete tasks that deepen their understanding of the topics they are studying. However, sometimes these tasks, and the resources that pupils use, do not fully match the intended learning for all pupils. As a result, there are times when pupils do not learn as much as they could.

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The school puts reading at the centre of the curriculum. Staff are skilled in the teaching of phonics and children in early years make a strong start as readers. Teachers pay close attention to which letters pupils can read confidently. As a result, staff know which pupils would benefit from the additional reading practice they provide. This also helps the school to identify the needs of pupils with SEND swiftly. In reading and elsewhere in the curriculum, pupils achieve well, including pupils who are disadvantaged. Consequently, they are well prepared for the next steps in their education.

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Despite the school’s efforts, attendance remains lower than it should be. Leaders have put in place effective strategies to tackle persistent absence. Individual case records show clear improvements in attendance. However, this is not the case across the school yet. This means that some pupils are missing more time in school than they should.

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Pupils behave well and they are attentive in class. At social times, pupils enjoy sharing the playground, and there are quiet spaces for any pupils who may need them. Staff respond well to instances of poor behaviour using clear systems and supportive strategies. As a consequence, pupils have confidence that the school will help them with any concerns that they may have.

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The school makes sure that all pupils benefit from the wider opportunities on offer. As well as learning about the school’s Christian values, pupils explore moral questions and ideas from other faiths too. They learn about current affairs and are encouraged to consider how they can be active citizens. Staff consider the school’s context when teaching pupils how to stay safe. For example, pupils learn about seaside safety with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

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By engaging positively with parents, the school helps them to support their children’s learning. Leaders gather feedback from a parent group on issues such as uniforms and clubs. This has helped the school to broaden the range of what it provides for pupils. Staff, including early career teachers, feel that leaders are considerate of their workload. This is a theme that governors prioritise too. As a result, staff feel part of the ‘Monkton family’ just as much as pupils do.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 30 January 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 At times, the tasks and resources that teachers provide are not helping pupils to achieve the intended learning. Consequently, there are some pupils who do not develop knowledge and skills as thoroughly as they could. Leaders should ensure that the work that is set and the materials that are used enable pupils to achieve the aims of the curriculum in full.  Leaders’ work to improve pupils’ attendance and reduce absence is not yet fully effective. As a result, not all pupils benefit as well as they could from the education provided at school. Leaders must continue to take all possible steps to improve pupils’ attendance further.

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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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in September 2018.

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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.

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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, 30 January 2024

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looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 30 January 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Headteacher Chris Marston (Head of School) and Paul McCarthy (Executive Headteacher) Website www.monkton.kent.sch.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 11 and 12 September 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Monkton Church of England Primary School is a Church of England voluntary controlled school. Its most recent Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) under section 48 of the Education Act 2005 took place in October 2016. The next section 48 SIAMS inspection is due to take place before November 2024.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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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 had 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.  Inspectors met with school leaders, including the head of school, the executive headteacher and other leaders. The inspectors also met representatives from the 30 January 2024

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governing board and the diocese and spoke with a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and geography. 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. The inspectors also discussed the curriculum and provision for pupils with SEND.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, governors, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts the pupils’ interests first.

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Inspection team

Daniel Botting, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Stephen Jackson Ofsted Inspector 30 January 2024

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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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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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