Copford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 12–13 January 2012 Inspection number 378997 Copford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 115074 Local authority Essex Inspection number 378997 Inspection dates 12–13 January 2012 Lead inspector Cheryl Thompson

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Type of school Primary School category Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 207 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair David De-Ath Headteacher David Bome Date of previous school inspection 27 September 2006 School address School Road Copford CO6 1BX Telephone number 01206 210439 Fax number 01206 210149 Email address admin@copford.essex.sch.uk Inspection report: Copford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 12–13 January 2012 2 of 12

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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 Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

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You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk Inspection report: Copford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 12–13 January 2012 3 of 12

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. Inspectors observed ten lessons taught by seven teachers. The work of learning support assistants supporting small groups of pupils and individuals was also observed. Meetings were held with staff, parents, members of the governing body and groups of pupils. Inspectors heard a small number of pupils read in most classes. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection, observed the school’s work, and looked at school evaluation documents, safeguarding documentation, data on pupils’ progress and development planning. Responses from questionnaires completed by 123 parents and carers were analysed, as well as those from pupils and staff.

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Information about the school

This is a popular and oversubscribed average-sized primary school. It serves the local village and surrounding areas. Almost half of the pupils live outside the school’s catchment area. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is well below average. The proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is also well below average although there is an above-average proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational needs. There is one class for each year group.

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Information about the school

Over the past three years, the school has consistently exceeded government minimum standards for attainment in Year 6 national tests and for the rate of pupils’ progress from Year 2 to the end of Year 6.

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Information about the school

The school has achieved Advanced National Healthy School status, the Activemark for high quality physical education provision and Investors in People award. The school is a leading literacy school for its School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) partnership.

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Information about the school

Since the last inspection, there has been considerable building work completed, providing better facilities. Inspection report: Copford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 12–13 January 2012 4 of 12

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Key findings

 This is a good school. Its strong commitment to Christian values permeates all its work. The headteacher has a clear vision and high aspirations for the school’s future which all staff and the governing body share.  There is a strong capacity for further improvement because the school’s self- evaluation is rigorous and provides an incisive picture of what the school does well and what it needs to improve next.  Pupils’ achievement is good. Their outstanding behaviour contributes significantly to them attaining significantly above average standards by the end of Year 6. From their start in the Reception class, pupils of all abilities make good progress.  Teaching is good with outstanding teaching in Years 2 and 6. There are occasional instances when teaching is satisfactory and lacks pace, but the leadership team are providing good coaching and support to help teachers improve their practice.  Teaching of basic literacy and numeracy skills is a high and successful priority in

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Key findings

the school. From their start in Reception, pupils learn, reinforce and consolidate their skills well. Pupils who find learning difficult have good support.  The school’s good curriculum has particular strengths in its provision for pupils whose circumstances may make them vulnerable. However, in Reception, opportunities are missed for children to further their knowledge and understanding of the world and creative development through learning outside.  Pupils develop an excellent understanding of right and wrong and well- developed social skills. They empathise with characters in stories.  Through links with their Kenyan partner school pupils have a good understanding that children of their own age have similar needs and aspirations regardless of their country or circumstances. Their knowledge of faiths other than their own, though satisfactory, is limited.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure all teaching is consistently good or better by:  checking on pupils’ understanding during lessons so teachers can challenge or refocus them to enhance learning  ensuring an appropriate balance of time for teachers to talk and pupils to Inspection report: Copford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 12–13 January 2012 5 of 12

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase further the Reception children’s progress in developing their knowledge and understanding of the world and creative development by:  providing carefully structured opportunities for children to use the outside areas for purposeful play.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase pupils’ understanding of different faiths and how faith can influence the way people choose to live their lives.

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Achievement of pupils

Parents and carers are correct in their view that their children develop good skills in communication, reading, writing and mathematics and achieve well. In most years, children start in the Reception class with skills and aptitudes that are similar to those expected for their age. By the time they leave the school, pupils’ attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is above average. For example, Year 6 pupils have a very good understanding of spelling conventions and are avid readers, keen to discuss their preference for different authors’ styles.

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Achievement of pupils

In the Reception class, children make a good start in developing early literacy and numeracy skills and this good progress continues through the school. Across the school, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are quickly identified and appropriate support provided to help them make good progress too. These pupils receive support and special teaching to meet their identified needs from their teachers and learning support assistants. Attainment in reading at the end of Year 2 has been broadly average, but this year has improved and is currently above average. At the end of Year 6, attainment in reading is above average with a significant proportion of pupils attaining the higher Level 5.

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Achievement of pupils

More-able pupils thrive on the high level of challenge in lessons which promotes their excellent and confident attitudes to attempting difficult work. For example, a number of pupils are working at Level 6 in mathematics which is the level expected of pupils in secondary schools. Pupils whose circumstances may make them vulnerable have good teaching and pastoral support. This support enables them to make good progress from their starting points and have good self-esteem. A particularly strong feature for these pupils is their understanding of how well they are doing and what they have to learn next to attain their special targets. There are no gaps in the performance of different groups of pupils within the school; all make good progress from their starting points.

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Quality of teaching

Almost all parents and carers agree that their children are well taught and many commented on the high quality of care and support for their children within classes. Inspectors support parents’ and carers’ view that teaching is good. The key strength Inspection report: Copford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 12–13 January 2012 6 of 12

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Quality of teaching

in the quality of teaching is that, within a framework of excellent relationships, teachers set high expectations for behaviour and application to tasks which pupils try very hard to meet. Pupils are in total agreement that their teachers are ‘brilliant’ even though they make them work hard! Teachers plan their lessons in detail, ensuring that work and support is carefully matched to pupils’ abilities and builds on previous learning. In almost all lessons observed, teachers encouraged their pupils to think or reflect on issues with such questions as ‘How would you feel?’ or ‘What do you think the right thing to do would be?’ This made a good contribution to their spiritual development. In outstanding lessons, the pace is brisk with teachers always checking pupils’ responses to ensure the right level of challenge. In an outstanding Year 6 English lesson, questioning was brisk to help pupils recall previous events in

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Quality of teaching

the story and expectations very high for pupils to answer audibly and in a well- structured manner. Excellent use was made of subject specific language such as ‘What does inference mean?’ Through careful links between subjects, pupils were helped to develop their vocabulary, for example the meaning of ‘hostile’ in terms of feelings compared to ‘hostile’ in terms of the Antarctic climate. Pupils’ love of reading stems from their teachers’ enthusiasm and the support from parents and carers.

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Quality of teaching

Where teaching was satisfactory the pace was slow because pupils spent too long sitting on the carpet and consequently did not have enough time to work, and teachers did not adjust their teaching during lessons to match pupils’ responses. Consequently, teachers did not fully extend pupils’ learning.

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Quality of teaching

Reception children make a good start in school and settle happily into routines. Recently purchased reading books are having a good impact on children’s pride in their ability to use the sounds they have learned to blend sounds together to read a word. Children make satisfactory rather than good progress in developing their knowledge and understanding of the world and their creative development because insufficient structured opportunities are provided for them to work and play in the outside area.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Scrutiny of the school’s records indicates attendance is consistently above average and outstanding behaviour is the norm at Copford. The headteacher has received several letters from places pupils have visited commenting on their exemplary behaviour. The school is a calm and orderly community. In lessons pupils listen attentively, contribute to discussions confidently and work very hard. Around the school, they play well together and are kind to one another. Relationships are excellent. Pupils know they are valued as individuals. In lessons and discussions they display a thoughtful maturity which is frequently beyond their years. They relish the opportunities to take on responsibilities around the school, especially helping the youngest children. Pupils know the high standards of behaviour expected of them and meet these even when unsupervised. For their age, pupils have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe and are very proud of their

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

achievement in securing the construction of a pavement along the busy road near their school. Pupils have confidence in the school’s procedures for keeping them safe and say they feel safe at school. This view is confirmed by parents and carers. Discussions with pupils indicate they understand what constitutes bullying behaviour Inspection report: Copford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 12–13 January 2012 7 of 12

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

and that they are confident there is none in the school although they think there may be ‘an odd playground disagreement’ which they settle themselves or is dealt with swiftly by staff.

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Leadership and management

There is no complacency in this successful school. Principled leadership and attention to detail are at the heart of the school’s success. The school tackles discrimination robustly and equality of opportunity is promoted very effectively. Priorities are well focused with high expectations of pupils’ academic and personal growth. The subject knowledge and talents of the headteacher and two assistant headteachers are deployed very effectively to ensure a clear overview of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. For example, one assistant headteacher is the special needs coordinator and as such has a good understanding of the nature of pupils’ difficulties, the provision made for them and the progress they make. The decision to adapt the curriculum to include ‘life skills’ for a small group of pupils whose circumstances may make them vulnerable has had an excellent impact on their self-esteem,

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Leadership and management

independence and enjoyment of learning. They have thoroughly enjoyed paying their fare on the bus to the supermarket, finding and paying for specific ingredients and cooking these back at school. The Key Stage 2 curriculum has good links between subjects so that pupils can reinforce their literacy and information and technology skills in subjects such as geography and history. At Key Stage 1, the curriculum is developing more relevant links between subjects and in the summer term, all the classes have a shared theme, such as the seaside.

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Leadership and management

The school has a strong capacity for further improvement. There is good evidence of sustained high standards as well as improvements in the school’s provision and pupils’ attainment at Year 2 over time. The findings from analysing pupils’ progress are used rigorously to set targets for improvement. For example, the school has successfully raised standards in writing and is currently tackling raising standards further in reading in Key Stage 1. The focus on making sure more-able pupils read more and at a challenging level is paying dividends; standards have risen this year. The school sets realistic targets for attainment in English and mathematics and aspires to better these. However, it does not include its aspirational and challenging targets in the school development plan to make it clear to staff and governors what the school is trying to achieve and to enable the governing body more easily to hold

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Leadership and management

Teaching and learning are monitored regularly and rigorously and teachers helped to improve their practice. When observing lessons alongside inspectors, the headteacher and assistant headteacher demonstrated an astute awareness of where improvements were needed and could detail ways of achieving these. There is a very strong commitment to making sure teachers and learning support assistants have good opportunities to extend their skills and knowledge. The involvement of the school in the SCITT partnership has had a significant impact on teachers’ skills of monitoring and judging the quality of teaching. Staff are confident and always seeking to improve their practice.

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Leadership and management

The governing body knows the school well and its members are active within it. They share the headteacher’s high aspirations for the school and provide excellent links to Inspection report: Copford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 12–13 January 2012 8 of 12

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Leadership and management

the local community. These links have a good impact on pupils’ understanding of citizenship. For example, older pupils have attended parish council meetings and been involved in choosing play equipment for the nearby park. The governing body are developing their skills in analysing the data provided about the school. They are very supportive and ensure the school meets statutory requirements. They are very aware of their safeguarding responsibilities. Risk assessments are well-developed and safeguarding systems adopt recommended good practice.

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Leadership and management

Well-established links with a primary school in Kenya have done much to widen pupils’ good understanding of similarities and differences between the Kenyan and their own communities. Inspection report: Copford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 12–13 January 2012 9 of 12

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 46 46 8 0 Primary schools 8 47 40 5 Secondary schools 14 38 40 8 Special schools 28 48 20 4 Pupil referral units 15 50 29 5 All schools 11 46 38 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ). The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools. Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100. Inspection report: Copford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 12–13 January 2012 10 of 12

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attendance the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school’s efforts to encourage good attendance.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils’ punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school’s overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils’ freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning. Inspection report: Copford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 12–13 January 2012 11 of 12

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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School, Copford, CO6 1BX

Thank you all for welcoming us to your school and for sharing your thoughts and ideas about it. This helped to make the judgements about your school, which is providing you with a good education. The best things about the school were:

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School, Copford, CO6 1BX

 you enjoy school, work hard and attain above average levels  your behaviour is outstanding and you work and play very well together  your teachers look after you and usually make sure you have work to make you think hard and make good progress  your headteacher and assistant headteachers lead and manage the school well.

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School, Copford, CO6 1BX

There are some areas where the school can improve. I have asked your headteacher, assistant headteachers and the governing body to:

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School, Copford, CO6 1BX

 make sure that teaching is always at least good, and that your teachers always plan work to make you think hard  make sure that Reception children have more opportunities to work outside  make sure that you have more opportunities to learn about faiths other than your own.

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School, Copford, CO6 1BX

You already make a good contribution to the life of the school. You are very positive about learning and we were very impressed with your good manners and how welcoming you are to visitors. You can help the school improve even further by continuing to work hard.

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School, Copford, CO6 1BX

Cheryl Thompson Lead inspector Inspection report: Copford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, 12–13 January 2012 12 of 12

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School, Copford, CO6 1BX

procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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