Lime Academy Watergall

Inspection of Lime Academy Watergall Watergall, Bretton, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire PE3 8NX

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The headteacher of this school is Andy Buffham. This school is part of The Lime 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, Kirsten Jowett, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Christopher Cole. 9 and 10 July 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious for pupils to achieve well. Children get off to a good start in the early years. They demonstrate positive attitudes to learning and make a strong start. However, the quality of education that pupils receive beyond early years is not yet good enough. Pupils are not yet consistently benefiting from the school’s revised curriculum. Consequently, pupils do not always achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Many pupils behave well. However, in some lessons, pupils lose focus and find it difficult to sustain concentration. Sometimes pupils’ behaviour is disruptive and affects the learning of others. Pupils can play well with each other outside. Occasionally, however, pupils are upset when their peers do hurtful or unkind things.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ social and emotional needs are supported well by the school. The pastoral team offer support and advice to pupils and their families. This supports pupils' readiness to learn. Pupils attend well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are encouraged to develop their interests through a wide range of clubs. Pupil’s aspirations are raised through carefully planned opportunities. An example of this is the work done with the Birmingham Royal Ballet. Residential trips develop pupils’ independence and resilience. Pupils value these different opportunities to broaden their horizons.

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better?

The school aspires for all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to receive a high-quality education. A clearly planned, ambitious curriculum identifies what pupils should know and by when. The school is working towards a consistent approach to teaching and learning. Leaders are supporting staff to teach in a way which supports pupils to learn and remember more. However, significant staff turnover means that there are inconsistencies across the school in how well pupils are taught. Pupils do not yet receive consistently high-quality learning experiences.

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better?

Across the curriculum, some subjects are more established than others. Where subjects are better established, pupils learn and connect their learning over time. Pupils build upon what they have learned previously. Where subject curriculums are more recently introduced, pupils’ learning is less secure. They have gaps in their learning over time. Pupils have not had the time needed to ensure pupils learn, remember and consolidate their learning.

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better?

Expectations across the curriculum vary. Where these are high, pupils usually learn well. On other occasions, expectations of pupils are not high enough. Errors in grammar, punctuation and spelling go unchecked. As a result, pupils do not always communicate their learning in their written work effectively across the curriculum. They do not demonstrate their learning as clearly as they should. 9 and 10 July 2024

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The school prioritises reading. A well-designed phonics programme is in place. From the start, teachers know which sounds pupils need to learn each week. They make careful checks to identify those who need extra help with learning to read. Support is put in place for these pupils. Most pupils become fluent readers. The school is expanding the range of quality texts available for older pupils so that all pupils value the joy of reading.

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The provision in Reception is a strength. Consistent staffing has enabled clear routines to be established. These help children settle into learning quickly. The curriculum builds children’s knowledge well, including in early reading and mathematics. Adults are developing their interactions with children, so children develop their ability to communicate effectively across the curriculum. This approach supports children well and helps them prepare for Year 1 and beyond.

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Pupils with SEND are well supported. The school identifies pupils’ needs precisely. This enables staff to make bespoke adaptations to learning or provide targeted interventions. This helps pupils with SEND to learn alongside their peers and typically achieve well.

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While school leaders have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour, staff do not consistently manage behaviour as leaders intend. While many staff are trained and follow the behaviour curriculum, others are less well trained. They lack confidence in managing pupils’ behaviour. This means pupils are unclear about what they can and cannot do. As a result, behaviour in class can disrupt learning and behaviour at unstructured times can be rough.

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The school’s personal development offer is well considered. Daily lessons and assemblies help pupils learn how to be healthy, safe and responsible. They understand the importance of equality and diversity. Pupils’ education is enriched by curriculum-linked trips. These bring learning to life and give pupils experiences which they may not otherwise have.

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The trust and governors have strengthened their capacity to support the school to improve. While they recognise the progress that has been made, they equally know that pupils need to achieve better.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Although leaders have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour, these are not applied consistently by staff. As a result, the learning of others can be disrupted, and some pupils display unkind behaviours. The school needs to further train and 9 and 10 July 2024

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support staff in implementing their behaviour curriculum so there is a consistency to managing behaviour in class and at unstructured times.  There are some inconsistencies in the effectiveness of teaching across the school. This means pupils do not always learn as effectively as they could. The school needs to continue to further develop and embed its support and training for staff to ensure a consistency of approach and effectiveness of teaching and learning across the school.  Pupils’ writing across the curriculum is not always as good as it should be. Errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar often go unchecked. This means pupils do not always communicate their learning in their writing as well as they should. The school should ensure that staff have consistent expectations of, and approaches to, the teaching of writing across all subjects so that pupils improve the quality of their writing across the curriculum.

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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). 9 and 10 July 2024

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 12 and 13 January 2022, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 Lima Academy Watergall is part of The Lime Academy Trust.  The school currently uses two registered alternative provisions.  The school’s headteacher has changed since the previous inspection. The current headteacher took up post in September 2022.  The school’s special educational needs coordinator was absent from school at the time of inspection.

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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.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and 9 and 10 July 2024

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have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, deputy headteachers, subject leaders, staff, members of the trust central team, the chief executive officer of the trust, members of the academy council and chair of trustees.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, science, geography and design technology. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector also listened to pupils read with a familiar member of staff.  Inspectors also considered curriculum documentation and spoke to pupils about their learning in computing and history.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and

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considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documents, including behaviour logs, attendance records, pupil records, records of academy council meetings, school development plans and school self-evaluation documents.  The inspection team considered the views of parents through responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View. Inspectors also spoke with parents as they arrived at school.  Inspectors gathered the views of pupils and staff through Ofsted’s pupil and staff surveys, as well as discussions conducted throughout the inspection.

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Inspection team

Jonny Wallace, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Clare Gammons Ofsted Inspector 9 and 10 July 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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