St Edmund's CofE (C) Primary & Nursery School

St Edmund's CofE (C) Primary & Nursery School

Address: Church Hill Avenue, NG19 9JU Unique reference number (URN): 122741

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Achievement Expected standard

Pupils talk enthusiastically about their learning in subjects across the curriculum. They are developing appropriate knowledge and can make sound connections between current and earlier learning. Their written work clearly shows this knowledge.

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Achievement Expected standard

In subjects like reading, writing and mathematics, pupils achieve close to national averages, including disadvantaged pupils. More pupils are starting to achieve higher standards. The school’s new approach to teaching phonics has had a positive impact on pupils developing firm foundations in reading. Pupils develop fluency, great confidence and a real passion for reading. They develop equal confidence with number facts, which helps greatly when they are solving mathematical problems. The school provides extra support to close gaps in core knowledge quickly.

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Achievement Expected standard

Typically, pupils make suitable progress from their starting points. This includes those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Overall, the school prepares pupils well for their next stages of education.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Leaders make regular attendance a priority. Attendance has improved over the past two years to be close to national averages overall, including for disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This improvement is due to leaders keeping close track of pupils’ attendance and alerting families when there is a concern. Leaders provide support to help overcome any barriers to attending school. However, they are not analysing their attendance information precisely to help regain higher, pre-pandemic levels of attendance.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Leaders and staff have created a calm and focused learning environment. Clear expectations and well-organised routines support pupils well. Pupils have positive attitudes, and they try their best with their work. Typically, they listen well and are keen to share their ideas with staff and each other. Staff follow the school’s approaches consistently to maintain this level of behaviour. They adapt these approaches appropriately to support pupils to manage their emotions when needed.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Pupils are very friendly and they treat staff, visitors and each other with respect. The school’s values guide their actions well. Significant incidents of poor or unkind behaviour, such as bullying, are rare. Staff support pupils well to resolve such incidents if they occur.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Recently, leaders raised the ambition of the curriculum and further clarified the key knowledge pupils should learn. Leaders organise this knowledge coherently to enable pupils to build on it well over time. A breadth of engaging experiences, such as visits from authors and practical work, bring the curriculum alive. At the same time, there is an appropriate emphasis on the essential knowledge that pupils should gain. Leaders have strengthened their approaches for teaching phonics, reading and number facts, making a positive impact on pupils' learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Teachers are knowledgeable and deliver the curriculum well. They explain and model new learning clearly, deploying resources effectively. Generally, staff adapt teaching appropriately for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Retrieving and practising what pupils have learned is a regular feature of lessons. Pupils like how teachers help them to remember knowledge in a variety of fun ways. On the whole, teachers check pupils’ understanding sufficiently to address any misconceptions. Staff provide additional support to make sure pupils secure essential knowledge in English and mathematics when needed. However, teachers do not use information about pupils’ learning consistently well to inform what comes next. Leaders recognise this and are in the process of introducing new approaches.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders are passionate and have an ambitious vision for the school. They have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and what needs to develop. This has led to a considerable amount of change recently. Leaders are prioritising the right actions, in the best interests of pupils. Positive impact of their actions is evident in the quality of the curriculum and teaching and improvements in pupils’ achievement, for example. Leaders are working hard to ensure that children get off to the best start in the early years and their approach to inclusion supports more vulnerable pupils consistently well.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Governors are equally enthusiastic and take their responsibilities and statutory duties seriously. They support the strategic direction of the school and, generally, challenge leaders appropriately to achieve their goals and make swift improvements. However, leaders and governors do not scrutinise the school's information closely enough. This hinders how well they evaluate and act on the impact of the school’s work.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Although there has been a lot of change, leaders work strategically, considering the workload and wellbeing of staff. Staff find leaders approachable and caring. They are highly positive because leaders value their contribution in shaping the vision for the school. Leaders provide appropriate professional learning opportunities to support staff in making improvements, developing their expertise and achieving their aspirations. Staff appreciate the increasing opportunities they have to collaborate with external professionals and other schools.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

The school provides a thoughtful personal development programme. Through assemblies, stories, debates and drama activities, pupils learn well about themselves and about diverse life in the modern world. Pupils learn about healthy relationships in an age-appropriate way. They learn and can talk about ways to keep themselves safe, including when they are using online technology. Older pupils recognise harmful substances and the dangers of knives.

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Needs attention

The school encourages pupils to reflect on the beliefs of others as well as their own. Pupils know about a range of faiths and cultures. They recognise equality and know that everyone should be treated fairly. Pupils value the opinions of others and can explain concepts such as ‘compromise’ when thinking about how to be a good friend. Pupils engage well with ethical issues and have a firm understanding of right and wrong. Along with the teaching of fundamental British values, the school’s values underpin this. Older pupils say that respect, truth and kindness are most important to them.

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Needs attention

The school fosters responsibility and citizenship. For example, each class takes turns looking after the school's chickens. Some pupils help serve lunch and others organise games on the playground. The school parliament represents all pupils when making important decisions. Pupils value the importance of these roles and contributing to their community.

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Needs attention

Pupils benefit from a wide range of character-building experiences, such as trips and ‘wow’ days. Older pupils spend an evening role playing a wartime evacuee leaving their parents. This prepares them well for a residential visit to London or Scarborough. Visits such as those to a local museum or Sherwood Forest enable pupils to learn about their cultural heritage. Leaders ensure that disadvantaged pupils also benefit from these experiences.

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Early years Needs attention

Staff do not deliver the new early years curriculum consistently. While many interactions with children help move their learning forward, there is too much variation. Often, staff do not have enough information to ensure they support children to engage with learning activities as leaders intend. This also inhibits staff from making suitable adjustments for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders have introduced a new approach to check children’s learning. Currently, staff do not use this information sufficiently well to adapt the provision to address gaps in children’s development.

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Early years Needs attention

The new curriculum is ambitious and there is purposeful focus upon children’s language development. This begins in Nursery. Reading is central to the curriculum. Leaders are focused upon making sure that the Reception Year starts well in securing their knowledge of phonics. The new phonics programme is implemented effectively and consistently. Children are becoming confident with recognising sounds. In addition, leaders are developing their partnership work with parents and carers to further promote children’s development.

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Early years Needs attention

While the significant changes in the early years are having a positive impact, leaders are still in the early stages of embedding the curriculum and its delivery. There are early signs that children’s achievement and their readiness for the next stage of their learning is improving.

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Inclusion Needs attention

The school has not identified pupils’ needs and barriers to learning quickly and accurately enough. Leaders have not checked thoroughly the impact of the additional support they provide. They recognise this and recently began to overhaul how they identify needs and review the impact of support. They are making appropriate improvements. However, the revised systems and processes are in the early stages of implementation.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders have high expectations for all pupils to achieve well. They seek advice and work with a range of external agencies, particularly to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They are starting to work with parents and carers more closely to shape the support they provide. Generally, staff receive suitable training to enable them to meet these pupils' needs. However, weak systems mean too often pupils do not get the right support at the right time.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders have not communicated their strategy for using the pupil premium funding well enough. They allocate some funding to additional, helpful academic support and some to enable disadvantaged pupils’ participation in extra-curricular activities. However, leaders do not monitor the implementation of the strategy or its impact properly. Therefore, they do not know sufficiently what difference their actions make.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

In this school every pupil feels welcomed, cared for, safe and that they belong. This is largely due to the warm, compassionate relationships that staff develop with pupils as a priority.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils are eager to arrive each morning. They appreciate a ‘high 5’ from leaders at the gate. The school has high expectations for pupils’ behaviour and staff support pupils well with consistent routines. Pupils are very polite and friendly. They do their best to follow the school’s ‘Sixcess’ values which they know by heart. Playtimes are happy as pupils respect each other and get on well. Unkindness or hurtful behaviour, such as bullying, is generally rare. If it does happen, staff deal with it quickly and effectively.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils enjoy learning and feel teachers make their lessons fun. Teachers typically teach the school’s ambitious and engaging curriculum well. As a result, pupils reach the standards expected for their age overall.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Leaders and staff want every pupil to feel included and that they can achieve well. They are improving the systems to identify pupils with barriers to learning more quickly. However, these improvements are in their infancy, which means these pupils sometimes do not get precisely the right support at the right time.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Leaders want children to get off to the best start with their schooling. Staff settle children well into the early years and provide a nurturing environment. However, children’s development is not as well catered for as it should be. Leaders are still in the early stages of implementing improvements in this provision.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

The school supports pupils’ broader development well. For example, pupils learn to be responsible members of their school community. They enjoy a range of activities that help develop their talents and interests, such as arts, craft and sports clubs, or taking part in performances or a sports team.

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Next steps

• Leaders should complete and embed the new systems and processes that support inclusion, and communicate their pupil premium strategy effectively, to ensure that pupils get the right support quickly to overcome their barriers to learning. • Leaders should embed the recent improvements in the early years provision and ensure staff deliver the curriculum consistently well so that children are well prepared for their next stage of education. • Leaders should ensure staff make more effective use of assessment information to adapt the curriculum and teaching, ensuring they quickly address any gaps in knowledge, and they deepen pupils’ learning. • Leaders should analyse and evaluate the effectiveness and impact of the school’s work, particularly on vulnerable groups of pupils, more astutely to ensure sustained and rapid school improvement.

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About this inspection

The chair of the board of governors in this school is Victoria Barker.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with the headteacher and other members of the senior leadership team. They also spoke with leaders about their oversight of the school’s work in a particular aspect, such as inclusion.

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About this inspection

The lead inspector met with representatives of the governing body.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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About this inspection

The current headteacher has been in post since September 2024.

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About this inspection

This school is registered as having a Church of England religious character. The school’s most recent section 48 inspection was in July 2022.

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About this inspection

The school currently uses no alternative provision.

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Lead inspector:

Claire Stylianides, His Majesty's Inspector

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Team inspectors:

Sarah Sadler, Ofsted Inspector Clive Worrall, Ofsted Inspector

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational support needs at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English Indices of Deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced Provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standards in a combined reading, writing and mathematics measure.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance gap

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after. The school disadvantage gap is the difference between the performance of the school's disadvantaged pupils compared to the performance of all non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, including the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics and the disadvantaged gap.

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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national average

2024/25 (2 terms) 4.6% 5.2% Close to average

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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national average

2024/25 (2 terms) 11.6% 13.3% Close to average

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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