Marshwood CofE Primary Academy

Inspection of Marshwood CofE Primary Academy Marshwood, Bridport, Dorset DT6 5QA

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The acting headteacher of this school is Peter Beare. This school is part of the Acorn 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 (CEO), Andrea Rice, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Brian Impey. 8 and 9 May 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are confident and happy. They are polite and considerate to one another. Pupils treat their friends and adults with respect. They listen carefully to each other when learning. Pupils know staff will help them in school. Older pupils are proud to show younger pupils how to share and take turns when they play together.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has developed a new curriculum to help raise standards and widen pupils’ horizons. Carefully planned experiences, such as the live link up to an international space station, help pupils learn about science and future career opportunities. However, the school’s work to check and fill gaps in pupils’ curriculum knowledge is in its infancy.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils appreciate the wide range of clubs on offer. Pupils learn important life skills such as how to cook healthy food. They particularly enjoy helping to care for the animals at farm club. Pupils value trips, sporting events and learning from visitors to the school. For example, pupils are enthused by the opportunity to perform with other schools at local events. Pupils’ personal development, talents and interests are nurtured. Parents describe the school as a place where staff care, are kind and know their children well.

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better?

Since the previous inspection, trust and school leaders have worked together to understand the school’s strengths and areas for development. The trust supports school leadership to improve the school’s provision and raise standards. This work is underway. For example, a sequenced mathematics curriculum is now in place. However, changes to the school’s curriculum have not yet improved pupils’ outcomes in some subjects.

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better?

The curriculum is not implemented as the school intends in some subjects. This is because the essential curriculum knowledge is not structured in clear, achievable steps. Where important curriculum content is not clearly identified, pupils do not learn essential knowledge. As a result, some learning activities are not suitable. At times, teaching does not check pupils’ knowledge effectively. When this occurs, learning moves on to the next activity before ensuring every pupil has retained the subject’s required knowledge. This leads to pupils having insufficient subject knowledge to help them to securely build future knowledge, skills and vocabulary. Pupils are unable to make links between important concepts. They do not know more and remember more over time.

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better?

In contrast, the school has improved its phonics and reading curriculum since the last inspection. Staff nurture children’s love of reading from the early years onwards. Children are introduced to a wide range of high-quality books in the early years. Staff select story, poetry and non-fiction books that interest children in the carefully planned learning activities. For example, children enjoy acting out traditional tales in the role-play area. 8 and 9 May 2024

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The teaching of phonics is effective. Teachers and teaching assistants have a secure knowledge of phonics. As pupils increase their phonics knowledge, the books they read match the letters and sounds they know. This helps pupils to develop their reading speed and accuracy well. Pupils’ reading comprehension grows through the regular opportunities to explore different books with staff support.

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Most pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have individual targets that reflect their needs. However, some targets are not precise. As a result, some teaching and resources are not adapted effectively to meet the needs of those pupils. When this occurs, some pupils with SEND are not supported sufficiently well. Work to rectify this has already started.

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Staff care for pupils’ well-being. They teach pupils how to be physically and mentally healthy. Whole school worship and discussion support pupils to understand and appreciate that everyone is different and unique. This learning starts in the early years where children are encouraged to make positive choices. Some pupils need additional help to manage their emotions and feelings. Support plans are in place for pupils who require this extra help. The school’s routines and expectations for pupils’ behaviour ensure a calm and orderly environment.

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Pupils understand the importance of fundamental British values. Their knowledge of democracy, tolerance, rule of law and justice is developed through debates and carefully planned experiences. Most pupils talk about cultures, religions and people’s lives that are different from their own with maturity.

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Pupils look forward to attending school. The school works well with parents and external agencies to help pupils to attend school regularly. Together they identify and remove the barriers that prevent a pupil from attending school regularly. This work is successful.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school does not implement its new curriculum as intended. The important knowledge in some subject curriculums is not sufficiently detailed and carefully sequenced. This means pupils do not learn essential concepts. The school needs to ensure important content is well sequenced and sufficiently detailed to make sure the curriculum is implemented effectively.  Learning activities do not always provide pupils with the opportunities to secure and deepen their subject curriculum knowledge. Pupils cannot build on prior learning and make connections between concepts taught. The school needs to 8 and 9 May 2024

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ensure pupils have appropriate opportunities to review and apply their knowledge and skills to know more, do more and remember more over time.

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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). 8 and 9 May 2024

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School details

Headteacher Peter Beare (Acting Headteacher)

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School details

Date of previous inspection 9 February 2023, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Acorn Multi-Academy Trust.  The school is a voluntary-aided Church of England school in the Diocese of Salisbury.  This is a smaller-than-average primary school. Pupils are organised into three mixed-age classes  The school does not use alternative provision.

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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

 Inspectors discussed and continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s 8 and 9 May 2024

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education provision.  The inspectors met with the acting headteacher, staff, pupils, governors, including the chair of the governing body, trust leaders, including the CEO and school improvement lead, directors of the trust and a representative from the Diocese of Salisbury.  The lead inspector listened to pupils from Years 1, 2 and 3 read to a known adult.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspectors 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 inspectors also looked at art and design, science, geography and some English books and discussed the early years curriculum and provision with leaders. There is no grade for the early years as there are fewer than five

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children.  The inspectors observed pupils during breaktimes and spoke with pupils and leaders about personal, social and health education and opportunities for pupils’ personal development.  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 lead inspector considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View. She also took into consideration the responses to the survey for staff. There were no responses to the pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Marie Thomas, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Kate Masters Ofsted Inspector 8 and 9 May 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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