Measham Church of England Primary School

Inspection of Measham Church of England Primary School Bosworth Road, Measham, Swadlincote, Derbyshire DE12 7LG

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Inspection dates: 24 and 25 September 2024

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

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The headteacher of this school is Hannah Carter. This school is part of Rise Multi Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the interim chief executive officer (CEO), Dave Ellison-Lee, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Stephen Mark Adshead. 24 and 25 September 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a welcoming school, where staff know every pupil individually well. Pupils feel safe, nurtured and valued. Parents greatly appreciate the community spirit and caring support for pupils and their families.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are polite and courteous. They behave responsibly by following ‘The Measham Way’. They follow instructions straightaway and try their best. Pupils show care for each other, and they play well together on the playground. Pastoral support is a notable strength of the school. Trained staff help pupils when they have anxieties or struggle emotionally. This helps them settle quickly, so they are ready for learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy school and appreciate the wide range of exciting opportunities. They speak enthusiastically about whole class ukulele, glockenspiel and taiko drumming lessons. There is a large uptake of the many sporting, musical, art and poetry clubs. Through the school council, pupils appreciate that they can suggest activities that interest them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

To realise its ambition for pupils, the school has made recent improvements in the curriculum and how it is taught. Pupils are starting to benefit from these. However, they do not learn the curriculum as well as they should yet, particularly pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who have difficulty reading.

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

The school provides an ambitious and interesting curriculum for pupils. For all subjects, the school has identified the important knowledge pupils need to learn. The teaching plans order this logically to build pupils’ knowledge over time. The school has made substantial changes to the curriculum recently, so many plans are new. However, these changes are addressing weaknesses in some subjects, where pupils had not been learning as well as they should. Along with the new subject plans, the school is providing teachers with better support and resources to improve their delivery of the curriculum.

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

Teachers regularly revisit important concepts to help pupils remember them. They make regular checks on pupils’ learning. Often, teachers identify and address pupils’ misconceptions. However, the thoroughness of these checks on learning varies. Sometimes, teachers do not notice pupils’ misconceptions or if some pupils have not fully understood what is being taught. Sometimes learning moves on before addressing this, leaving some pupils with insecurities in their knowledge.

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

Teachers select appropriate and engaging activities for most pupils. Some pupils, particularly those with SEND and those who struggle with reading, do not always get the right support. Activities are sometimes not adapted well enough for them. Tasks can be too complex for the stage of their learning. There are many staff available to support pupils but not all have the expertise to adapt the curriculum successfully. The school has provided some training but not to all staff. 24 and 25 September 2024

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The school has increased its expectations of pupils with SEND. These pupils are fully included in all aspects of school life. The school accurately identifies their needs and puts in place individual support plans. Sometimes, however, the plans do not fully address these pupils’ needs. They are not used effectively to enable all pupils with SEND to achieve well.

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Children get off to a strong start in the pre-school and Reception Year classes. Staff help children develop a secure understanding of new vocabulary. Children who need it get effective support with their speech and language. Staff model how to engage with all the exciting activities. They check all children take part in the range of opportunities.

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The school has made learning to read a priority. Pupils enjoy reading and look forward to the end-of-day story time. Phonics teaching starts straightaway in the early years. Older pupils continue to study phonics to develop their spelling. The school works effectively with parents to encourage pupils to practise reading regularly. Mainly pupils become confident and fluent readers. Pupils who struggle with phonics and reading, get extra help. However, as in other subjects, tasks given to them in phonics lessons are not adapted well enough.

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The provision for pupils’ personal development is an area of the school’s work that they are rightly proud of. The school emphasises the importance of physical and emotional well-being. They teach the importance of sleep, healthy eating and perseverance. The school encourages pupils to be reflective. Alongside the school’s Christian values, pupils learn about values important for life in modern Britain. School events such as the ‘Religion Roadshow’ support pupils’ understanding of inclusion and diversity. Pupils are accepting of all others, regardless of their background.

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Since joining the trust a few months ago, the school is going through a period of rapid change. There is renewed ambition for all pupils, particularly those who are disadvantaged. The school knows what needs to improve now and is taking action, drawing on the expertise of the wider trust team. Staff are positive about the changes and appreciate the focus on their professional development. They feel well supported.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Individual support plans do not always precisely consider the identified needs of pupils with SEND. The plans, including the strategies and interventions set out in them, do not clearly set out the support provided for these pupils in the classroom. This means that pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they could. The school should ensure the support provided to pupils with SEND addresses their needs. 24 and 25 September 2024

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 Some staff do not have the expertise to effectively adapt the curriculum for pupils at different stages of learning. Pupils are sometimes given tasks that they do not have the foundational knowledge to complete, and adult support focuses on the completion of work rather than what pupils need to learn. This hinders pupils from building successfully on what they know. The school should ensure that all staff understand how to successfully adapt the curriculum.  Teachers do not systematically check pupils’ understanding. This means that some pupils develop and embed misconceptions and do not learn important knowledge as securely as they should. The school should ensure that pupils’ learning is consistently and effectively checked so that misconceptions are quickly identified and addressed.

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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 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). 24 and 25 September 2024

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School details

CEO of the trust Dave Ellison-Lee (Interim CEO)

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School details

Date of previous inspection 30 October 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 The school joined the Rise Multi Academy Trust on 1 April 2024.  A new headteacher has been appointed since the last inspection.  The school is part of the Diocese of Leicester. The most recent section 48 inspection of this Church of England and Methodist school, which is an inspection of the school’s religious character, took place in April 2023. The school’s next section 48 inspection will take place within eight school years.  The school opened a pre-school class for three- and four-year-olds in September 2022.  The school does not make use of alternative provisions.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and 24 and 25 September 2024

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management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This is the first routine inspection the school 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 lead inspector met with the CEO and other trust leaders and representatives. She met with trustees, including the chair of the trust, and the chair of the local governing body. She also met with a representative from the diocese.  Inspectors met with senior leaders of the school and considered a range of documentation provided.  Inspectors conducted deep dives into the subjects of early reading, mathematics, geography and music. For each deep dive, the inspectors held discussions about the curriculum; visited a sample of lessons; spoke to teachers; spoke to some pupils about

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their learning; and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The lead inspector listened as pupils read to a familiar adult. Inspectors also considered evidence about other curriculum subjects, such as art and design and design technology.  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 inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site during playtime.  The inspectors spoke with groups of pupils and staff. Inspectors spoke to parents and considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey for parents, as well as the staff survey.

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Inspection team

Claire Stylianides, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Chrissie Barrington Ofsted Inspector 24 and 25 September 2024

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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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