Cookley Sebright Primary School

Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 15–16 March 2012 Inspection number 381787 Cookley Sebright Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 135048 Local authority Worcestershire Inspection number 381787 Inspection dates 15–16 March 2012 Lead inspector Stephen Dennett

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare provision, managed by the governing body, was inspected under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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Type of school Primary School category Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 230 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Dean Cox Headteacher Martin De Vine Date of previous school inspection 3 June 2009 School address Lea Lane Cookley Kidderminster DY10 3TA Telephone number 01562 850397 Fax number 01562 850397 Email address office@cookleyprimary.worcs.sch.uk

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Registered childcare provision Cookley Pre-school Playgroup Number of children on roll in the registered childcare provision Date of last inspection of registered childcare provision 3 June 2009 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

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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

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. Inspectors visited 13 lessons and parts of other lessons, and observed 10 teachers. They held meetings with members of the governing body, staff and groups of pupils. 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 policies, pupils’ books, safeguarding records and evidence of the monitoring of teaching and learning. The team examined 109 questionnaires from parents and carers, 78 from pupils in Key Stage 2 and 21 from staff.

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Information about the school

Cookley Sebright is an average-sized primary school. Nearly all pupils are of White British heritage. The proportion of pupils of minority ethnic heritage is well below average, and these are mostly of mixed White and Black origin. The percentage of pupils who speak English as an additional langauge is below average. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is also below average. The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is well below average, although the proportion with a statement of special educational needs is broadly average. The governing body runs a pre-school playgroup and childcare facility, which was inspected as part of the main inspection. The school has achieved the Eco-Schools Award, ActiveMark and has National Healthy Schools status. The school meets the current floor standard, which sets the minimum government expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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Information about the school

Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

 This is a good school. Standards have improved since the last inspection and continue to rise; nearly all pupils are making good progress in relation to their starting points; teaching is effective; and pupils’ behaviour is almost always good. Overall effectiveness is not outstanding because the proportion of outstanding teaching is not yet high enough and, as a result, not all more-able pupils in Key Stage 1 are making the progress of which they are capable.

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Key findings

 Pupils’ achievement is good. Groups of pupils make good progress because their individual needs are met effectively. The school has successfully narrowed most of the gaps in achievement between different groups. At the end of Year 6, pupils’ attainment in all subjects is above average, significantly so in mathematics.

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Key findings

 Teaching is good. Teachers plan challenging activities suitably tailored to most pupils’ ability levels. Assessment is used effectively to track pupils’ progress and to identify targets for improvement.

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Key findings

 Behaviour and safety are good. Pupils have positive attitudes to learning and all say they enjoy school very much. Attendance is above average and the incidence of persistent non-attendance is very low.

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Key findings

 Senior leaders provide robust and clear leadership for the school, which is resolutely focused on raising standards. As a result, the school has moved forward substantially since the last inspection. Rigorous monitoring of teaching and effective performance management by senior managers have led to improvements in the quality of teaching. This, in turn, is resulting in pupils’ accelerating progress and rising standards. The pre-school playgroup is well managed, but the lack of an easily accessible outdoor area means that the range of activities on offer is somewhat limited. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that more-able pupils in Key Stage 1 make the progress of which they are capable by providing them with a greater level of challenge in lessons and with tasks that are better adapted to their abilities.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Provide children in the Early Years Foundation Stage, including the pre-school playgroup, with better access to a suitable outdoor area so that there is a greater range of activities from which they can choose.

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Achievement of pupils

Children’s skills on entry to the nursery are typically below expectations for their age, especially in communication, language and literacy. Attainment in reading, writing and mathematics, for both boys and girls, is broadly average at the end of Year 2, but improving rapidly. At the end of Year 6, attainment is above average in English, including reading and writing, and well above average in mathematics. From their starting points, the great majority of pupils, including disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, make good progress throughout the school. They make outstanding progress in mathematics at Key Stage 2. Pupils known to be eligible for free school meals do as well as their peers. Although the performance of girls was previously below that of boys, this gap has now been narrowed considerably and girls are making better progress overall. Although more-able pupils do well in Key Stage 2, they do not always make the progress of which they are

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Achievement of pupils

Progress in almost all lessons observed was at least good. Pupils enjoy learning and teachers plan work that they find motivating. Pupils’ have growing levels of confidence and independence and they take pride in assessing and evaluating their own work. Levels of concentration are usually good, leading to accelerated learning. This was particularly true in an outstanding literacy lesson in Year 6, where pupils demonstrated a secure grasp of what constituted a persuasive argument. They persevered well and discussed with some sophistication the pros and cons of building a factory on the village playing fields. In another lesson, pupils in Year 1 made good progress in reading because of engaging activities, such as jumping around like frogs while sounding out the letters that made up the words. Pupils show a growing confidence and most read simple texts fluently.

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Achievement of pupils

Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage settle quickly into school life and make good progress in all areas of learning, generally reaching expectations by the time they enter Year 1. Children’s speaking skills are often limited, although improving as a result of effective teaching. In a good opening session in the nursery, children enjoyed working with play dough and discussed its properties. ‘It's really squidgy!’ Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Achievement of pupils

said one. ‘Mine’s lovely and smooth,’ said another. Pupils’ standard of reading at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 is above average and improving rapidly. The older pupils say that they enjoy reading and selecting their own books to read.

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Achievement of pupils

Almost all parents and carers responding to the questionnaire feel that the school meets their children’s needs, enabling them to make good progress, and that it helps them to support their children’s learning well. Inspection findings support these positive views.

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Quality of teaching

The work planned by nearly all teachers makes good use of their knowledge of pupils’ attainment to ensure it is appropriately challenging for most pupils. Clear links are made between different areas of the curriculum as part of topics. In most lessons, pupils are clear about what they are meant to learn and the small steps by which they could measure their own progress. This is assisted by teachers’ good marking, with helpful comments on how pupils could improve their work. Teachers plan interesting activities that successfully motivate pupils, and they are encouraged to take pride in all of their work. However, in the nursery, the lack of access to a suitable outdoor area means that the activities on offer to children are somewhat restricted. To compensate, good use is made of the Forest School area to stimulate children’s investigation and exploration. Teachers and teaching assistants work together effectively to support all pupils, but especially disabled pupils and those with

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Quality of teaching

special educational needs. Teachers use a good range of teaching methods and make effective use of interactive white boards to engage pupils in learning. Occasionally, opportunities are missed to challenge more-able pupils at Key Stage 1 and to provide them with extension tasks well matched to their capabilities.

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Quality of teaching

The school has planned a creative curriculum that provides good opportunities for the pupils to apply their basic literacy and mathematical skills in other subject areas. Every effort is made to use the limited school buildings and site as effectively as possible, although some aspects are inevitably restricted, such as physical education in the small hall. Teachers promote pupils’ personal development well through the effective use of discussion to get them to reflect on their own and others’ opinions. Through teachers’ high expectations, most pupils have a good appreciation of right and wrong, and how to behave appropriately with other children and adults. Pupils have a good grasp of environmental issues as part of the Eco-Schools Award scheme. Their cultural awareness is good as a result of the school’s involvement with a school in the Gambia and studies of different religions, such as Islam.

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Quality of teaching

An overwhelming proportion of parents and carers feel that their children are taught well and are prepared for the next stage of their education. Inspection findings fully support this view. One parent wrote, ‘I love the ethos of the school – they instill good values and celebrate everyone’s successes’.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Good behaviour has continued to be a strong feature of the school. Pupils’ enjoyment of school is demonstrated by their above-average attendance and positive attitudes to learning. Pupils throughout the school are very welcoming and interested in visitors. The way they behave in lessons and around school is usually at least good. Most show consideration for others and work and play together harmoniously. School records indicate that there have been virtually no incidents of any kind of bullying or racism in the last two years. Nearly all pupils agree that bullying only happens very rarely, is seldom serious, and is dealt with promptly and effectively by the adults in school. Pupils are confident that they feel very safe at school and have a good awareness of possible dangerous situations. The school has ensured that pupils are well aware of safe and appropriate use of the internet and how to avoid cyber-bullying.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Most pupils, parents and carers agree that behaviour is good overall and bullying is handled effectively. All the parents and carers are happy that their children feel safe at school. Inspection findings confirm these views.

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Leadership and management

The headteacher has a clear vision that is shared by other senior managers, the governing body and all staff. The quality of teaching has improved since the last inspection because of focused professional development, which has resulted in teachers raising their expectations of pupils. Leaders identified correctly that standards in writing and mathematics needed improvement and have successfully used commercial schemes to raise attainment. The governing body has a clear view of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement because its members are actively involved and rigorously challenge the school. Most of the areas for improvement from the last inspection have been tackled successfully, especially raising standards in mathematics: they have risen from broadly average to well above average at the end of Key Stage 2. Both the local authority and the Department for Education have acknowledged that the building is not ‘fit for purpose’

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Leadership and management

and there are currently plans for extensive remodelling. The school’s self-evaluation is clearly focused on the correct priorities and stems from an effective programme of monitoring and analysis. Consequently, the school has the capacity for sustained improvement.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum is good because it meets the needs of pupils well and plays a major part in engaging them in learning. It has been effectively reviewed to create opportunities for more links across all subject areas. The curriculum also provides a good platform for promoting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, especially through the focus on developing their thinking and language skills. Their well-being has been significantly advanced by participation in the National Healthy Schools and ActiveMark initiatives.

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Leadership and management

The school is successful in promoting equality of opportunity and tackling discrimination. It has systems for identifying groups and individuals who need additional support and has proved successful in providing appropriate strategies to Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Leadership and management

accelerate their learning. Safeguarding procedures meet statutory requirements.

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Leadership and management

Nearly all parents and carers who responded to the questionnaire say that the school keeps them well informed and responds well to any concerns raised. The childcare facilities offered by the school, including the breakfast club and after-school club, are run well and greatly appreciated by parents and carers.

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childcare provision

The pre-school playgroup is open in the afternoon and provides for parents and carers, toddlers and children up to three years of age. The overall effectiveness of the childcare is good and it meets all the registration requirements. Children enjoy the good range of activities provided and they make good progress in their acquisition of communication and language skills, often from below-average starting points. They play together happily and share toys with others. Children concentrate well when playing in the sand and when role-playing with dolls and buggies. Behaviour is good and makes a positive contribution to children’s progress and well- being.

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childcare provision

Adults have good relationships with children and this ensures that there is a calm and welcoming learning environment. Key workers record accurate observations of children’s progress and use this information to shape tasks and learning opportunities for children.

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childcare provision

The leadership and management of the care provision are good. Record-keeping and planning are detailed and reflect all aspects of the Early Years Foundation Stage guidance. Although provision in the classroom is good, children do not have immediate access to a suitable outdoor area, which limits their learning experiences to those provided indoors.

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childcare provision

These are the grades for the Early Years Foundation Stage of the registered childcare provision, inspected under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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childcare provision

Overall effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage Taking into account: Outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage The quality of provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage The effectiveness of leadership and management of the Early Years Foundation Stage for the registered provision

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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.

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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.

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

Inspection of Cookley Sebright Primary School , Kidderminster , DY10 3TA

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

Thank you for welcoming us on our recent visit. This letter is to tell you what we found out. We came to see how well you are all learning and we enjoyed our two days at your happy and friendly school. Thank you for talking to us about your work, filling in the questionnaires and telling us what it is like to be a pupil at your school.

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

We found that your school is good and has improved over the last few years. You are taught well and you make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Teaching is good and your teachers provide you with interesting lessons, which you all said you enjoy. The adults help you to grow up well, to learn how to keep safe and to care for each other.

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

Your teachers and the school’s governing body all want to make your school even better. We know that most pupils in Key Stage 1 are trying hard, but those of you who are good at learning need to do even better. We have asked your teachers to help you improve by giving you more challenging work and things to do that really make you think hard. You can help by concentrating very well and always doing your best. Another thing we noticed was that children in the nursery and the playgroup do not have an outside area they can get to easily. We have asked your teachers to think about how the building can be improved so that they have one.

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

For all of you, the important things are to carry on working hard, making your contribution to school life, and to continue growing into caring and responsible young people. You have all our best wishes for the future.

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

Stephen Dennett Lead inspector 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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