St. Augustine's Academy

Inspection of a good school: St. Augustine’s Academy Oakwood Avenue, Dunstable, Bedfordshire LU5 4AS

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Outcome

St. Augustine’s Academy continues to be a good school.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Amanda Howes. St. Augustine’s Academy is a single- academy trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Carole Hegley.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils firmly believe that St. Augustine’s Academy ‘is a place where we all shine’. Pupils happily stick to the three golden rules to be kind, respectful and do their best. They welcome new pupils, who quickly become part of the school family. Pupils are happy at school because teachers make learning fun. Pupils know that their teachers care about their learning and want them to do well. Pupils make good progress.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils conduct themselves safely and are considerate of others. At breaktimes, pupils get on well together. If a pupil is lonely or worried, specially trained older pupils help them. Pupils learn to keep themselves and each other safe. They know what advice to give to each other about issues like safe internet use. Older pupils can become junior safety officers and give advice about, for example, road safety.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There are many varied activities at St. Augustine’s. Many pupils keenly take up the opportunities offered. Pupils know that anyone can be a leader or join a group such as the eco council. They enjoy working with special guests on, for example, character- building activities. There are plenty of opportunities for pupils to represent their school in competitions such as running.

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

The school has created a rich, ambitious curriculum based on a detailed understanding of pupils’ needs. To raise pupils’ aspirations, curriculum plans include many supplementary experiences to link with different subjects. For example, pupils work with an officer from the local wildlife trust in the neighbouring nature reserve. The school has set out the knowledge and vocabulary it wants pupils to learn in clear, small steps. This helps most pupils to build their knowledge quickly and deeply. In a few subjects, curriculum plans 5 and 6 June 2024

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occasionally contain too much for teachers to teach effectively in the available time. When this happens, teachers try to cover too much at once, leading to some pupils not remembering key knowledge.

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Although the school’s national assessment results are not strong, pupils learn the curriculum well. Many pupils join the school midway through an academic year. These pupils often have unsettled starts in education. When new pupils join, teachers accurately assess what pupils know. Teachers provide effective support for these pupils so that they make strong progress from when they join the school. The longer the time that pupils are at the school, the better they achieve. This includes pupils who join the school who speak little or no English. Many pupils who start the school in Reception attain well by the time they leave in Year 6.

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Reading is a school priority. Pupils at an early stage of reading follow an effective programme to ensure they rapidly learn the sounds they need to read fluently. If they fall behind, the school quickly provides extra teaching until they have caught up. Pupils study a rich selection of books in class and love to hear their teacher read to them.

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Teachers’ explanations are easy to follow. They introduce new ideas gradually so that pupils keep up. They question pupils regularly to check that they are on track. They provide frequent opportunities for pupils to practise and apply new knowledge until it becomes automatic. Teachers ensure they provide prompt help if pupils still do not understand what they have been taught.

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The school’s early years provision is very effective. Rich interactions with adults and well- planned activities ensure that children make rapid progress. Children are settled and happy. They are well prepared for Year 1.

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The school has a higher-than-average proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They have access to the full curriculum. Teachers use pupils’ clear, individual plans to help them make adaptations to learning tasks. This helps pupils with SEND, including those with high levels of need, to make good progress from their starting points.

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Pupils concentrate in class and their all-round conduct is respectful. The school provides effective support for those pupils who need help to make the right behaviour choices. However, attendance is low. Too many pupils are absent frequently. This limits their access to the academic and wider curriculum. The school works hard to promote punctual, regular attendance but there is more to do to improve attendance for some pupils.

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The school provides a rich, meticulously planned programme of activities to support pupils’ broader development. These help pupils to develop as well-rounded individuals. Leaders carefully plan outdoor education, including regular outdoor learning opportunities.

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Staff feel a strong commitment to the school. Most value the support they receive from leaders concerning their training and workload. 5 and 6 June 2024

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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, curriculum plans occasionally contain too much content for teachers to teach in depth. This means some pupils do not remember what they have been taught and their learning does not develop as well as it could. The school needs to ensure that curriculum plans and the way the curriculum is taught enable pupils to consistently retain, and effectively build, knowledge over time.  There are too many pupils who are persistently absent. This disrupts access to the curriculum for these pupils and they do not make the academic and broader progress they should. The school should continue to develop its systems and procedures to ensure that attendance improves.

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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 June 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 5 and 6 June 2024

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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). 5 and 6 June 2024

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 12 and 13 June 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 St. Augustine’s Academy converted to become a single-academy school on 1 September 2012. The school has previously been inspected by Ofsted twice as an academy. Members of the board of trustees are referred to as governors by the school.  The school does not currently use any alternative providers of education.  The most recent inspection of the school’s religious character, under section 48 of the Education Act 2005, was carried out in June 2023. The next section 48 inspection is due within eight years.  The school runs its own breakfast club for pupils.

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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 received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The lead inspector held discussions with five trustees, including the chair. 5 and 6 June 2024

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 The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and art. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, staff and pupils, visited a sample of lessons and reviewed samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector reviewed pupils’ work and curriculum plans in a further range of subjects.  The inspector met with pupils to understand their views about the school.  The inspector held discussions with the special educational needs coordinator and local authority SEND adviser, to consider the support for pupils with SEND.  The inspector observed the behaviour of pupils during lesson visits, around the school and in the playground. The inspector looked at leaders’ analysis of behaviour, bullying, attendance and suspension records.  The inspector reviewed school documentation, including school development plans, governing body minutes and pupil and parent surveys.

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 To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: 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 inspector considered 32 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including 31 free-text comments. The inspector also considered 17 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey. There were no online responses to the pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Judith Sumner, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 5 and 6 June 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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