Rowde CofE Academy

Inspection of Rowde C of E Academy High Street, Devizes, Wiltshire SN10 2ND

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Inspection dates: 20 and 21 February 2024

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good

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Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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The headteacher of this school is Alice Simpson. This school is part of Acorn Education Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Sara Edwards, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by David Middleton. 20 and 21 February 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy school. They show respect for each other and behave well. The school is ambitious and instils in pupils the belief that everyone can succeed. The school fosters an inclusive environment. Pupils know staff want them to do well. As a result, pupils are enthusiastic learners.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value learning about diversity and different communities. They take on leadership roles and learn about democracy and other fundamental British values. Pupils contribute to the school community and attend a range of clubs and societies that widen their experiences. They enjoy the many visits the school uses to bring the curriculum alive.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school teaches pupils how to stay safe, particularly online. Pupils feel safe in school. Pupils of different ages work and play together well. For example, Year 6 and reception children ‘buddy up’ at lunchtime. Younger children build their confidence as they are supported at play alongside their older peers.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents are positive about the school and typically commented on how the school helps their children to learn and grow.

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better?

The headteacher, school and trust leaders have improved the school’s curriculum. They have acted on published outcomes and developed subject curriculums. The impact is now evident in how current pupils learn more effectively at the school. For example, in mathematics, pupils have developed their mental arithmetic and ability to recall key number facts. In reception, children recognise small numbers by sight and confidently recall simple number facts.

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better?

Reading is a very high priority for the school. This starts as soon as the children join the school. Pupils quickly learn from a strong focus on vocabulary, language and communication. Daily phonics lessons start promptly and effectively. As a result, children progress well through the phonics curriculum. There is effective support in place to enable pupils to keep up, including for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The books pupils read match the sounds they know. This helps them to read fluently. All staff are well trained to teach phonics and reading.

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better?

Staff read to children every day. They share a wide range of books that excite and enthuse pupils. As a result, pupils are keen to read and enjoy reading independently. Books are selected well to develop pupils’ knowledge of different cultures and diversity.

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better?

The school has identified the most important knowledge and skills that pupils should learn in most subjects. This is particularly strong in early years, where the curriculum content is carefully delivered in small steps so that children build their knowledge each term. The school continues to develop the curriculum further. While 20 and 21 February 2024

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some subjects in the wider curriculum are well structured and are ambitious, others are still under development. In these areas, the important knowledge pupils need to know and build on is not clearly identified. This means that the curriculum sometimes misses out important content, leading to gaps in pupils’ knowledge.

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Teachers present information clearly. They routinely check how well pupils have understood. This allows them to adapt learning to make sure that all pupils understand. The school ensures that pupils with SEND have appropriate learning resources that help them to consolidate important subject knowledge. Staff make effective use of these to support pupils with SEND to learn effectively. This enables all pupils to learn the same content.

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Pupils’ personal development curriculum helps them to develop a strong knowledge and understanding of discrimination, different religions and equality. They use assemblies to revisit this learning.

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The school makes attendance a high priority. Staff check absence with diligence. They are keen to work with parents to improve attendance. The school is quick to identify patterns in attendance and to follow up with effective action.

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The school is well supported by the trust. The trust works closely with the school and provides support and challenge for leaders. It has an accurate view of the school’s strengths and areas for development. This helps them to support the school in its improvement. Staff feel well supported. They are proud of their school and enjoy working at Rowde.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects in the wider curriculum, the precise knowledge and skills that pupils need to learn are not clearly identified. In these subjects, pupils do not learn the important knowledge needed to take their next steps. They are unsure how content links to previous learning. The trust should ensure that the curriculum in all areas is improved so that important content is clearly identified and builds carefully, so that pupils’ knowledge is secure.

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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. 20 and 21 February 2024

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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 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). 20 and 21 February 2024

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Rowde C of E Academy converted to become an academy in November 2019. When its predecessor school, Rowde Church of England Academy, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be inadequate overall.  The school is smaller than average size. Pupils are taught in 5 classes.  There is provision for childcare before and after school.  The school uses an off-site registered alternative provision.  The school is a Church of England School in the Diocese of Salisbury. The school received its last section 48 inspection in February 2017.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. 20 and 21 February 2024

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Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.

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 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.  The inspectors met with the pupils, staff, the headteacher and other leaders in the school. They met with trust leaders, including the chief executive officer, the chair of trustees, and members of the academy council.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: 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 reviewed curriculum documents and discussed the curriculum with leaders for some other subjects.  The lead inspector listened to pupils in years 1, 2 and 3 read to an adult, as well

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as observing activities that were designed to help children catch up in their learning.  The school’s provision for SEND was evaluated. This included visiting lessons and sampling pupils’ personal learning plans.  Pupils’ behaviour was observed at various times of the day, including visiting lessons, around school and at lunchtime. The inspectors spoke to pupils about their views of the school.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, 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 views of parents were considered through responses to Ofsted’s online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View. The lead inspector also considered the views of staff expressed in their responses to Ofsted’s online survey.

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Inspection team

Tom Morrison, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Adam Matthews Ofsted Inspector 20 and 21 February 2024

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