Farnham Church of England Primary School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 5–6 December 2011 Inspection number 379032 Farnham Church of England Primary School Inspection report

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Unique Reference Number 115189 Local Authority Essex Inspection number 379032 Inspection dates 5–6 December 2011 Reporting inspector Sue Rogers

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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 aided Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 30 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Ann Moore Headteacher Helen O'Brian (Executive) Date of previous school inspection 22 June 2009 School address Farnham

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Bishop's Stortford CM23 1HR Telephone number 01279 771339 Fax number 01279 771339 Email address admin@farnham.essex.sch.uk 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.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by one additional inspector who inspected five part- lessons, so observing the whole of the teaching staff of five. She also made shorter visits to classes to look at displays, observing individual pupils and groups at work and check on health and safety. The inspector scrutinised planning, talked to pupils and looked at their work. Meetings were held with groups of pupils, governors and school leaders. The inspector also looked at school documentation, including safeguarding records, monitoring files and the school development plan. She analysed survey responses from pupils and staff, as well as 23 questionnaires from parents and carers.

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Introduction

The inspector reviewed many aspects of the school’s work. She looked in detail at a number of key areas.

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Introduction

 The progress made by all groups of pupils, especially in writing.  The impact of the work of senior leaders on improving the quality of teaching and the use of assessment.  The effectiveness of the curriculum in meeting the needs of all learners, including those with behavioural problems and other special needs.  The impact of leaders at the Farnham and Rickling schools, on improvement at Farnham.

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Information about the school

Farnham is a small village school that admits pupils from the surrounding rural area, as well as from Farnham itself. Five part-time teachers take three classes in the morning and two in the afternoon between them. Girls make up approximately one third of the pupil population, and there is a gender imbalance in some year groups. The percentage of pupils, who are eligible for free school meals, is low. There are no pupils from ethnic minorities attending the school at the moment. Over one fifth of the pupils have been identified by the school as having special educational needs and/or disabilities. This is roughly double the national average. Some children have behavioural problems and other difficulties are mainly in the realm of communication.

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Information about the school

The school is currently in a soft federation with another small Church of England school, Rickling. The headteacher of Farnham School manages both schools and other posts of management responsibility are distributed across the two schools. The schools share a special needs coordinator, six subject coordinators and an ICT technician. There is a senior teacher based in each school. Most of the staff are recent appointees. There has also been turnover in the governing body. There is currently a temporary chair and several governors have new areas of responsibility. It has been agreed that the schools will shortly become a hard federation.

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Information about the school

Farnham is a silver award Eco School that has also achieved the Healthy Schools Award .The school's Investor in People award was revalidated in June 2009.

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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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Main findings

Farnham school continues to provide a satisfactory education for its pupils. The overwhelming strength of the school is in the quality of its relationships. Pupils feel extremely safe and well cared for and they all know each other. As one pupil said, ‘Everyone is massive good friends’. Parents are equally positive about the school making comments such as, ‘This is a unique and very happy school’.

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Main findings

Pupils make satisfactory progress in reading, writing and mathematics, due to satisfactory teaching. There are green shoots of improvement showing this term with some pupils now making good progress in mathematics and writing. Part of the improvement is a result of revisions to the curriculum. The school has worked hard to develop themes of work that are appealing to pupils, make good use of the local environment and share the expertise of staff at both schools. These themes build in opportunities tor practise basic skills in other subjects. Pupils with special educational needs also make satisfactory progress, although again there are signs of improvement recently. This is partly because the school has been reorganised, with a very high staffing ratio to provide an additional class in the mornings. The new special needs leader has been assiduous in ensuring that special educational needs are now clearly identified and relevant interventions put in place.

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Main findings

Pupils’ personal development is good because of well planned schemes of work and the strong influence of the school’s community ethos. Pupils behave well and are very polite and proud of their school. They have good social skills, collaborate effectively and play together very harmoniously. Pupils in their turn are successful in contributing to village life and some even help to run lessons during their weekly enrichment afternoons at Farnham school.

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Main findings

Leaders are extremely clear about what they have to do to improve teaching. However, considerable staff changes, the fact that the senior leaders are all relatively new in post and the amount of time consumed, by procedures surrounding the formation of the hard federation of the two schools, have all meant that the pace of improvement has been relatively slow until recently. Teachers work hard and conscientiously and are well regarded by pupils and parents. They have effected improvements in their use of assessment. However, they do not give pupils enough information to make sure that they are consistently clear what they have to do to improve their work. Sometimes more-able pupils are not challenged sufficiently. This is because new teachers are not always clear enough about what is required or are not held to account rigorously enough to ensure that pupils make better progress.

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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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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

The appointment of new leaders who work in both schools has been a very successful. The impact of change already initiated by capable new leaders in both schools demonstrates that the school now has satisfactory capacity to improve further.

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

Up to 40% of schools of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory may receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

Improve the quality of teaching so that it is good by:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensuring that staff are very clear about what is expected from their teaching and are held to account through rigorous monitoring.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Making sure teachers give pupils regular specific feedback on how to improve, carefully matched to their ability.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 3

Children enter the school with a range of abilities, in cohorts that are often as small as three children. Classes are correspondingly small and very well staffed, so pupils get plenty of attention and enjoy a curriculum that is tailored to their individual needs. A new tracking system is helping teachers know exactly where pupils are in their learning. Teachers are still developing their skills in deciding where to pitch tasks so that every pupil is challenged at the optimum level. Pupils’ progress is currently satisfactory in all subjects and those who are capable usually achieve the expected Level 4 in their tests at the end of Year 6. Progress in writing is improving because learners are given more opportunities to write and there is more emphasis on quality though ‘talk for writing’. For example, junior pupils were heard trialling different descriptive phrases in pairs as they learned about personification. Teachers

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 3

have introduced target setting systems that focus pupils on some identified areas of improvement in writing. Teachers know that these need developing further to ensure that pupils get more specific information on how to improve on a day to day basis. Progress in mathematics has also improved through the introduction of more practical, relevant work.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 3

Pupils thoroughly enjoy school and recognise how fortunate they are to have such a high level of individual attention. Pupils with special needs and/or disabilities make satisfactory progress overall, though some are now making good progress. Those with behavioural problems are well supported, through good liaison with parents and other agencies and one to one support. Pupils with language difficulties also have the

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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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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

benefit of small group support from teaching assistants who are becoming increasingly effective. Although girls are in the minority their progress equals that of boys and teachers are aware of the need to monitor their social and academic progress. In one class for example, the teacher was seen withdrawing the girls for extra tuition in mathematics, to make sure that they understood.

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

Pupils have good knowledge about staying healthy and are keen to participate in physical education. They also have a good understanding about how to stay safe. Their knowledge about other cultures is more limited and is satisfactory. Many pupils hold posts of responsibility, representing their year groups on the eco-council, healthy food committee and the school council. They have a very strong sense of self and of right and wrong. Their good social skills and average attainment in English and mathematics demonstrate that they are adequately equipped for the next stages in their education.

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

These are the grades for pupils’ outcomes

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Pupils’ achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning

Taking into account: Pupils’ attainment 1 The quality of pupils’ learning and their progress The quality of learning for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and their progress

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contribute to their future economic well-being

Taking into account: Pupils’ attendance 1

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How effective is the provision?

Much thought has gone into designing a curriculum that is flexible enough to cater for a range of needs in every class. It provides opportunities for pupils to practise their basic skills and contributes hugely to pupils’ enjoyment of school. Pupils especially like the enrichment afternoon held at Rickling school. At this time pupils are offered a good range of activities that cover all creative aspects of the national curriculum and give them the option to choose for themselves and develop independence. Many of these sessions are taught by parents or other members of

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How effective is the provision?

1 The grades for attainment and attendance are: 1 is high; 2 is above average; 3 is broadly average; and 4 is low

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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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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

the community, thus developing community cohesion. The curriculum is underpinning improvements in pupils’ progress.

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

Teaching is satisfactory and also showing signs of improvement. Planning is detailed and teachers give much thought to providing for the different pupils in their care. They work hard to provide interesting resources and to motivate pupils through their enthusiasm and using interactive whiteboards. There is good communication between teachers and support staff so that all know their role in lessons. At times, teachers do not explain clearly enough what is expected of pupils so that everyone understands what to do. Teachers are now more effective in their use of assessment and marking and so are able to pay more attention to setting different work for different abilities. They do not always modify tasks sufficiently to ensure there is enough challenge right from the start of the lesson. In addition, lessons sometimes progress too slowly and so learning is limited.

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

Teachers are patient and positive with their pupils and have been influential in building relationships that are key to this school. Pupils say that there is always someone they can talk to if they are worried and they are well supported if they have problems or needs.

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

These are the grades for the quality of provision

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The quality of teaching

Taking into account: The use of assessment to support learning

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How effective are leadership and management?

Parents work well with teachers to develop their children’s learning. They have made it clear that they value the headteachers’ open door approach and are very happy with the school. The high turnover of staff and governors has made it difficult for the head to sustain consistency and improvement because new teachers have to be trained. Nevertheless, leaders and governors have been able to work together with their counterparts at Rickling school to shape an effective solution.

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How effective are leadership and management?

Leaders’ vision is good and they understand very clearly what needs to be done to improve the school. The new leadership arrangements are already becoming effective in moving the school forward. Governors and leaders have also worked together to reorganise classes so that pupils get more individual attention as necessary; they are also involved in the monitoring of teaching. Leaders understand that their vision is not being expedited as effectively as it could be because communication and monitoring are not robust enough. There is insufficient detail given to staff for them to know what is expected and not enough consistency in

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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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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

Governors and leaders are satisfactory in their ability to carry out their their statutory duties. Safeguarding of pupils is correspondingly satisfactory, as is the promotion of equal opportunity. The school is a very cohesive community but there is not yet enough attention paid to developing national and international links.

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

These are the grades for leadership and management

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driving improvement

Taking into account: The leadership and management of teaching and learning

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Early Years Foundation Stage

Children settle in quickly as the school is so small and there is good communication with parents. The six children in the current Reception year group all have siblings at the school, so both pupils and parents felt that they were familiar with the community already.

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Early Years Foundation Stage

Reception children work with Year 1 pupils in the morning and with the whole of Key Stage 1 in the afternoons. As in other classes the teachers work hard, with some success, to meet the differing needs of the children. They adapt the tasks to suit attention spans that vary as the day moves on. Consequently, children respond well. For example, they were seen learning to count by matching bears to coloured beakers and by dancing to the beat of different musical instruments on successive days.

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Early Years Foundation Stage

The teacher in charge of the Early Years Foundation Stage has taken and followed advice on assessment and keeps useful records of children’s progress, enabling the future planning of appropriate tasks. She has also led the development of the outdoor area. This has a range of activities designed to develop coordination skills and other areas of the curriculum. There has been a whole school focus on

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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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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

improving literacy; children in the Reception year group are making satisfactory progress, with some making good progress in specific areas, such as recognising letter sounds. Children generally behave well and work happily together. Staff work effectively to keep them engaged in small group situations. However, children are not always clear enough about what they might learn when they are working independently.

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

These are the grades for the Early Years Foundation Stage

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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

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Views of parents and carers

Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the school. There was a relatively high response to the questionnaire (23 pupils represented out of a total of 30) and no parents had any substantial criticisms to voice.

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Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted’s questionnaire

Ofsted invited all the registered parents and carers of pupils registered at Farnham Church of England Primary School to complete a questionnaire about their views of the school. In the questionnaire, parents and carers were asked to record how strongly they agreed with 13 statements about the school. The inspector received 23 completed questionnaires by the end of the on-site inspection. In total, there are 30 pupils registered at the school.

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

My child enjoys school 17 74 5 22 1 4 0 0 The school keeps my child safe 17 74 5 22 0 0 0 0 The school informs me about my child’s progress 16 70 4 17 3 13 0 0 My child is making enough progress at this school 14 61 8 35 0 0 0 0 The teaching is good at this school 16 70 6 26 0 0 0 0 The school helps me to support my child’s learning 17 74 4 17 2 9 0 0 The school helps my child to have a healthy lifestyle 17 74 6 26 0 0 0 0 The school makes sure that my child is well prepared for the future (for example changing year group, changing school, and for children who are finishing school, entering further or higher education, or entering employment) 13 57 9 39 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school meets my child’s particular needs 15 65 6 26 1 4 0 0 The school deals effectively with unacceptable behaviour 13 57 8 35 1 4 0 0 The school takes account of my suggestions and concerns 18 78 5 22 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school is led and managed effectively 17 74 5 22 1 4 0 0 Overall, I am happy with my child’s experience at this school 17 74 6 26 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The table above summarises the responses that parents and carers made to each statement. The percentages indicate the proportion of parents and carers giving that response out of the total number of completed questionnaires. Where one or more parents and carers chose not to answer a particular question, the percentages will not add up to 100%.

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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 43 47 10 0 Primary schools 6 46 42 6 Secondary schools 14 36 41 9

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Sixth forms 15 42 41 3 Special schools 30 48 19 3 Pupil referral units 14 50 31 5

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements were introduced on 1 September 2009. This means that inspectors now make some additional judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 08 April 2011 and 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. Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100. Sixth form figures reflect the judgements made for the overall effectiveness of the sixth form in secondary schools, special schools and pupil referral units.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning, development or training.

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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

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving. Inspectors base this judgement on 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 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. The following judgements, in particular, influence what the overall effectiveness judgement will be.  The school’s capacity for sustained improvement.  Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils.  The quality of teaching.  The extent to which the curriculum meets pupils’ needs, including, where relevant, through partnerships.  The effectiveness of care, guidance and support.

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

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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Stortford, CM23 1HR

I am writing to thank you for making me so welcome when I visited your school to carry out my inspection. Thank you also to those of you who filled in questionnaires and special thanks to those of you who gave up time to speak to me. I really enjoyed talking with you. You were very polite and well behaved. It was lovely to see how much you like your school and to see how hard you try in your lessons.

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Stortford, CM23 1HR

It was great to hear that you feel so safe at school. I too think that your teachers and support staff do a good job in looking after you. I was pleased that you know so much about keeping healthy and look after each other so nicely. I was also impressed by how involved you all are in school life, with your various committees such as the healthy food committee. The enrichment afternoons at Rickling sound really interesting and seem to be one of the many reasons why you like your lessons so much.

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Stortford, CM23 1HR

I decided that your school is satisfactory. That means that some things are good and some things could be improved. You have quite a few new staff in both Farnham and Rickling who are already working hard to make your school even better. I have asked them to improve your lessons still more through:

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Stortford, CM23 1HR

 teachers working together with leaders so that they decide exactly what they want to improve in lessons and keep careful track of well they are doing  teachers telling you exactly what you need to do to improve your work day by day and making sure that the work is not too hard and not too easy for all of you.

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Stortford, CM23 1HR

You can help with these improvements by continuing to work hard and doing your best at all times. I wish you all the very best for the future.

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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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