Long Itchington CofE Academy

Inspection of Long Itchington CofE Academy Stockton Road, Long Itchington, Southam, Warwickshire CV47 9QP

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The headteacher of this school is Rebecca Richards. This school is part of The Diocese of Coventry Multi-Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Michael Cowland, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Barry Cockroft. 19 and 20 March 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Long Itchington CofE Academy is an inclusive school. There is ambition for all pupils to achieve the skills and understanding they need to succeed. However, this vision is not yet fully realised.

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What is it like to attend this school?

While pupils learn the school values, they do not always show respect for each other or for visitors in school. Behaviour sometimes disrupts learning, and this makes some pupils feel worried. The school rule of ‘ready, respectful, safe’ is not yet consistently applied and understood. That said, pupils are confident that if bullying were to happen, adults would sort it out.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Through the ‘passport to achieve’, the school has identified a range of opportunities to widen pupils’ experiences. This includes working with a local theatre company and learning a musical instrument. An ‘events committee’ of pupils in Year 3 plans events to raise money for charity. While pupils appreciate the clubs on offer, they do not yet see themselves as active citizens who contribute positively to their local and wider community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils spoken to are happy to attend school. However, they were less clear about whether they would recommend it to others. Parents and staff also have mixed views about the school.

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better?

The school has been through a period of staff instability. This has not yet been resolved and continues to worry some parents. Changes of responsibility in school, and the staff turnover, have hindered the school’s ability to secure consistency in some areas they are seeking to improve.

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better?

Where the curriculum sets out what is to be learned and subject leadership is more developed, pupils learn well. In mathematics, the clear sequence of learning is followed in well-structured lessons. Pupils build on previous learning when they encounter new concepts. Similarly, in history, pupils develop their knowledge over time. Pupils talk about how experiences such as ‘Egyptian day’ deepen their understanding. Staff appreciate the documents that support the curriculum for history. These help them to strengthen their subject knowledge.

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better?

This successful approach is not yet consistent across the curriculum. For example, in design and technology, pupils remember products they have made rather than the skills they learned. Some pupils miss too many lessons in design and technology due to organisation of the timetable. This further hampers their learning. In Spanish, pupils cannot consistently remember recent learning. While they can recall some basic vocabulary, they cannot use this in spoken sentences.

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better?

The school has not ensured that phonics lessons are delivered consistently well. Reading books do not always match the sounds that pupils know, including for older 19 and 20 March 2024

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pupils who have not secured a strong enough grasp of phonics. Regular assessment identifies pupils falling behind. Extra support helps them to catch up. However, the timing of the support means that these pupils miss school assemblies and important reinforcement of the school’s values during this time.

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Recent improvements in the identification of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have been positive. General adaptations now enable pupils with SEND to access busy classroom environments. However, pupils with SEND do not always have the adaptations or resources they need in specific subjects. This means that their learning is not always as effective as it could be.

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In the early years, the curriculum has been developed to ensure that pupils’ interests are fostered. Relationships between staff and pupils are warm and caring. However, children do not get off to a consistently strong start. Positive learning behaviours are not well established for all children. Too often, children flit between activities without the independence or resilience to learn from them. They do not always listen carefully, for example when they are being read a story.

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The school has made some changes to how behaviour is managed. However, some pupils sometimes behave in a way which distracts others and hinders learning. This is because the school has not ensured that all staff are consistent in their expectations or how they manage low-level disruption. Incidents of low-level behaviour are not recorded in way which helps the school to identify any patterns. Suspensions are used appropriately but the number of suspensions is not reducing.

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Visits to the local church and other places of interest help to develop pupils’ understanding of their local area. Pupils understand diversity and different ways of life. They learn how to keep themselves safe and healthy. Pastoral support is provided when pupils need it. However, opportunities for pupils to make meaningful contributions to the school and the local and wider community are inconsistent.

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The trust has been instrumental in supporting the school to make necessary improvements. They know that while some positive changes are now in place, there is more work to do.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 At times, the phonics programme is not delivered as well as the school intends. Not all pupils read books matched to the sounds that they know. This means that some pupils do not learn how to read as effectively as they could. The school 19 and 20 March 2024

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should ensure that the phonics programme is delivered with a high degree of fidelity so that all pupils benefit from high-quality provision when learning to read.  In a small number of subjects, the sequences of learning are not yet precise enough. This means that pupils do not remember or build on previous learning. The school should continue to refine these subjects so that pupils can build their knowledge and skills effectively.  Support for some pupils with SEND is not always as effective as it could be. Adaptations to teaching are sometimes not subject-specific enough to ensure that pupils with SEND can always access the curriculum. This means that some pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they could. The school should ensure that teachers have the expertise needed to adapt teaching so that pupils with SEND can access the curriculum successfully.  Children in the early years do not consistently experience the routines and high

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expectations that they need to prepare them fully for their next stage of education. The school should ensure that clear routines and expectations are developed and consistently applied so that children get the best possible foundations for learning.  The school does not manage and track patterns of poor behaviour consistently well. Learning is sometimes disrupted, and some pupils feel anxious about this. The school should ensure that behaviour expectations are consistent and that there is a commonly understood approach to managing behaviour.  Some parents and staff are concerned about how well the school communicates with them, including about staffing changes. This means that they feel worried about what is happening at the school. The school should strengthen its communication with parents and staff so that all stakeholders can fully support the work of the school.

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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 19 and 20 March 2024

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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). 19 and 20 March 2024

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 25 and 26 January 2023, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school joined The Diocese of Coventry Multi-Academy Trust in October 2018.  The school does not use alternative provision.  The school received its last section 48 inspection of church schools in January 2016. The next inspection is scheduled for the academic year 2024/2025.

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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.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the second routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The lead inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 19 and 20 March 2024

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 During the inspection, the inspectors carried out deep dives into these subjects: reading, mathematics, history and design and technology. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans where they were available, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also spoke to pupils and looked in books for some other subjects. The lead inspector also listened to pupils read to a familiar adult.

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 The inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, special educational needs coordinator and other leaders, including a senior leader employed centrally by the trust.

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 The lead inspector met with the chair and representatives of the academy governance committee and spoke to representatives from the multi academy trust.

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 The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons, around the school and at lunchtime. The inspectors spoke to pupils about pupils’ behaviour.

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 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.

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 The inspectors considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, including parent free- text responses. The inspectors also took account of responses to Ofsted’s staff and pupil surveys.

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 The inspectors talked to parents and families at the school gate. The team inspector met with one parent who requested a meeting.

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 Most pupils in Years 5 and 6 were not in school during the inspection due to being on a residential trip.

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Inspection team

Rachel Henrick, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Vicki Shuter Ofsted Inspector 19 and 20 March 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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