Hesketh-With-Becconsall All Saints CofE School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at this school do not achieve well. Leaders' expectations of what pupils can and should achieve are low.

This has led to poorly designed curriculums that are not delivered effectively.

Most pupils are happy and settled at school. They enjoy respectful relationships with the adults who care for them well.

Some pupils said that a small number of bullying incidents continue after teachers have intervened. However, leaders typically deal with such incidents effectively. Pupils told inspectors that they feel safe in school.

Leaders have raised their expectations of pupils' behaviour around the school. Pupils have responded well to this. However, th...e attitudes to learning of some pupils do not match up to their mostly good conduct around the school.

Pupils carry out charitable work at the local supermarket and they take part in a wide range of events in partnership with the local churches. They benefit from the links that leaders have established with a school in Kenya. Year 6 pupils enjoy a residential visit to Wales to take part in outdoor and adventurous activities.

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

Governors and leaders have not tackled the widespread weaknesses at the school. This has led to a significant decline in pupils' achievement since the previous inspection. They are heavily reliant on external support because there is a limited number of school staff available to take on key roles and responsibilities.

Leaders' capacity to bring about much-needed change is poor.

Most subject curriculums lack ambition and coherence. Leaders have not thought about the key knowledge that pupils should learn from the early years through to Year 6.

Teachers make use of a wide variety of schemes, resources and programmes when making decisions about what they should teach. No one checks that any of these choices are appropriate or makes sure that they help pupils to learn all that is identified in the national curriculum. As a result, pupils' daily experience of learning is no more than a series of disconnected tasks.

This means that they do not build their knowledge securely over time. They remember little of what they have learned and they cannot use any previous knowledge to help them with new learning. Pupils' achievement is poor.

They are ill-prepared for the next stage of their education.

The issues with the curriculum are amplified in the early years. Leaders have not given due regard to the early years statutory framework.

Consequently, children in the early years are poorly prepared for the demands of Year 1.

In a small number of subjects, leaders have begun to set out the key knowledge, including the vocabulary, that pupils should learn. However, this is still very new.

Teachers have not been trained sufficiently well to adopt these changes as routine.Typically, teachers do not make use of this new curriculum guidance to design activities that build up pupils' knowledge. Leaders have not made the necessary checks on how well the curriculum in these subjects is delivered.

This means that, despite trying to improve pupils' achievement, leaders' actions are unsuccessful.

Some subject leaders have the desire to improve the subject curriculums. However, they have not received the training and support that they need to carry out this work effectively.

Some subjects have been neglected as there is no one leading on these areas.

There is no coherent approach to how teachers should check on pupils' learning. Teachers pick and choose from a variety of approaches, many of which are ineffective.

This means that teachers do not spot the gaps in pupils' knowledge. Misconceptions remain unaddressed. This stifles pupils' learning further.

A legacy of different phonics programmes has led to pupils being confused about the strategies that they should use to tackle unfamiliar words. They have not learned the letters and the sounds that they represent in a careful order. This means that they have significant gaps in their phonic knowledge.

Staff do not have the subject knowledge or expertise to ensure that pupils build their knowledge of phonics. The books that pupils read are not well matched to the sounds that they learn. This means that many pupils do not become confident, fluent readers who can enjoy reading or use their reading knowledge to access the wider curriculum.

Leaders and teachers do not identify the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in an accurate or in a timely manner. Staff have not received the training that they need to know how to support these pupils. As a result, pupils are often faced with activities that do very little to help them learn.

These pupils achieve poorly over time.

Many pupils attend school regularly. They typically behave well.

This makes a positive contribution to the generally calm and respectful environment in the school. Recently, leaders and staff have made improvements to the school routines and the systems for managing behaviour. This has led to an improvement in the conduct of most pupils.

Most teachers deal with any off-task behaviour effectively. However, the learning of some pupils is adversely affected by low-level disruption. This prevents these pupils from learning as well as they should.

Leaders have established a programme of activities that support pupils' personal development. Older pupils develop an age-appropriate understanding of how their body changes as they grow. However, some pupils have a shallow understanding of the differences that exist between people and how to stay physically and mentally healthy.

Pupils develop an understanding of democracy when they elect members to the school council.

Staff welcome the consideration that leaders have recently given to their workload and well-being. Governors, leaders and staff recognise that there has been an unsettled period at the school.

Most of the parents and carers who shared their views said that their child is happy at the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Despite the recent staff changes, leaders have prioritised the safety of pupils.

Leaders ensure that staff receive the training that they need to keep pupils safe. Staff know how to recognise the signs that a pupil may be at risk of harm. The system for reporting concerns is clear and understood by staff.

Leaders work effectively with other agencies to secure the help that pupils need. They review this support regularly and they make the required adjustments to ensure that it is well matched to pupils' needs.

Pupils know how to keep themselves safe, including online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders and governors do not demonstrate the capacity required to improve the quality of education for pupils. They have presided over considerable weaknesses for a length of time. Issues with staffing and weaknesses in subject leadership mean that there are too few people with the time or expertise to bring about change.

As a matter of urgency, governors must stabilise the school's leadership team and ensure that everyone has the knowledge that they need to bring about swift improvement. ? Subject leaders have not had enough training or support to ensure that their contribution to the design and delivery of the curriculum is effective. They are unable to provide the guidance that staff need to build pupils' knowledge.

Leaders and governors must ensure that they provide suitable training to subject leaders so that they can lead their curriculum areas effectively. ? The curriculum lacks ambition for pupils. It is not well designed.

Teachers do not know what should be taught and when this should happen. They lean on a plethora of different schemes and approaches that leads to disconnected learning. This severely hampers pupils' ability to learn all that they should.

Leaders must ensure that there is a suitably aspirational and well-ordered curriculum that enables pupils to build up a secure body of knowledge over time. ? The early years curriculum is weak. It does not enable children to build their knowledge across all areas of learning.

This means that they are ill-equipped to make a successful start when they enter key stage 1. Leaders must ensure that the learning offer to children in the early years meets the early years statutory framework so that children leave the Reception Year with secure foundations for their future learning. ? Pupils have large gaps in their phonic knowledge.

Staff do not deliver the phonics programme effectively. In addition, the books that pupils read do not match the sounds that they are learning. Leaders must ensure that staff have the expertise that they need to deliver the phonics programme so that pupils become confident and fluent readers.

• The needs of pupils with SEND are not identified early or accurately enough. Furthermore, teachers lack the expertise to meet the needs of pupils with SEND. These pupils do not achieve as well as they should over time.

Leaders must ensure that teachers are suitably trained to support the learning of pupils' with SEND so that these pupils achieve well. ? Leaders have not established consistently high expectations of pupils' behaviour. In lessons, some pupils engage in low-level disruption that, at times, goes unnoticed and unchallenged by staff.

This hinders the learning of others. Leaders should clarify the expectations that they have about pupils' behaviour and ensure that staff receive the support that they need to address any incidents of off-task behaviour so that all pupils can learn well.

Leaders and those responsible for governance may not appoint early career teachers before the next monitoring inspection.

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