Ashton Keynes Church of England Primary School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 23–24 April 2012 23–24 April 2012 Inspection number 381209 Ashton Keynes Church of England Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 126297 Local authority Wiltshire Inspection number 381209 Inspection dates 23–24 April 2012 Lead inspector Diane Wilkinson

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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 166 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Aideen McEvoy-Wilding Headteacher Kathryn Nicholas Date of previous school inspection 8 October 2007 School address Gosditch Ashton Keynes Swindon SN6 6NZ Telephone number 01285 861436 Fax number 01285 861436 Email address office@ashtonkeynes.wilts.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

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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 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

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days’ notice. The inspectors visited 17 lessons and observed eight teachers. They held meetings with members of the governing body, staff and pupils, and a few parents bringing their children to school were also spoken with. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line Parent View survey in planning the inspection. They observed the school’s work, heard a sample of pupils read and looked at analyses of pupils’ progress, improvement planning and monitoring, local authority reports, a range of policies and procedures, curriculum planning documents and a sample of pupils’ work. They also scrutinised questionnaires returned by 84 parents.

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Information about the school

Ashton Keynes is a smaller than average-sized primary school, with one class in each year group. The very large majority of pupils are of White British heritage, with very few speaking English as an additional language. A very small minority of pupils have Traveller heritage. The proportion of pupils with disabilities and those with special educational needs at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is broadly average. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is well-below average. The school meets the current floor standards, the minimum standards for progress and attainment expected by the government. There has been a change of headteacher and deputy headteacher since its last inspection.

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Information about the school

Pupils have access to Acorns, an after-school club, which is run by a private provider and was not inspected by this team. 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. It has improved since the last inspection, and rapidly over the past year. It is not yet outstanding because although progress in writing and mathematics has accelerated, careless spelling and presentation of pupils’ written work sometimes limit attainment. Pupils are not always confident to apply mathematical skills in different contexts. Although teaching is good, it does not always challenge all pupils to reach levels above those expected for their age.

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Key findings

 Pupils’ progress is good and their attainment is above average, with that in reading being high. Pupils of differing ability, including those who may be at risk of under-achieving, do equally well.

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Key findings

 Due to very good procedures for professional development and the excellent commitment of staff to improving their skills, teaching is always at least good, with much outstanding practice seen.

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Key findings

 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted exceptionally well. Consequently, relationships, attitudes to learning and behaviour are excellent; pupils work especially well together and show great respect for others. Rigorous attention paid to pupils’ safety ensures bullying is extremely rare and pupils are very happy in school.

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Key findings

 Good leadership and management are underpinned by the inspirational leadership of the headteacher and excellent teamwork and commitment among staff and members of the governing body. School performance is managed well. Comprehensive monitoring and self-evaluation provide an accurate picture of where improvement is still needed, for example in writing and mathematics. The strategies adopted by leaders to remedy these weaknesses are the right ones, but it is too early to see their full impact. 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?

 Raise achievement by:  ensuring that pupils consistently spell accurately and write neatly in all their written work  providing more opportunities for pupils to carry out independent investigations in which they can apply their mathematical skills.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching by December 2012, by ensuring that teachers consistently provide highly challenging activities that support and inspire pupils to attain levels beyond those expected for their age group.

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Achievement of pupils

Attainment on entry is broadly in line with age-related expectations. Progress is good and attainment is above average by the end of Year 6. Inspectors’ judgement that pupils are helped to achieve well is endorsed by the views of parents and carers, who are confident that their children learn successfully.

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Achievement of pupils

Attainment in reading at the end of Years 2 and 6 is high. Progress in writing and mathematics has accelerated over the past year. Pupils use punctuation exceptionally well, but weaknesses in spelling and handwriting, and limited opportunities to tackle and solve mathematical problems, make achievement good overall, rather than outstanding. More-able pupils and those who need extra support achieve well, for example those with a disability or special educational needs, and any from Traveller families.

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Achievement of pupils

Reception children get off to a good start, attaining very secure literacy and numeracy skills; reading is exceptional. Year 2 pupils are skilled at using sounds to build words and almost all read fluently and expressively. Year 6 pupils use the written word extremely well to increase their knowledge and they enjoy fiction in a wide range of genres. Reception children write in simple sentences, and Year 2 pupils use adjectives and connectives well to enliven their work, for example in their lighthouse stories. Year 6 pupils use language very effectively, for example to persuade readers to visit SS Great Britain, in an advertising pamphlet for their Victorians topic. The higher attaining pupils use very sophisticated language, well above that expected for their age. Work on display shows pupils can present their work well but on other occasions, spelling and handwriting are not as good. In storytelling or discussions, pupils’ oral language is very good.

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Achievement of pupils

Reception children exhibit a good understanding of number in addition and subtraction, and Year 2 pupils’ good calculation skills help them to work accurately with money or measures. Year 6 pupils’ calculation skills are very good, for example when working with fractions, coordinates, ratios or proportion. They solve 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

mathematical problems set by the teacher well, but have few opportunities to plan and carry out their own investigations, which limit achievement. Good use of staff expertise helps pupils to achieve well in all subjects. Pupils’ learning and achievement in science, history, art and music (especially singing) support their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development exceptionally well.

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Quality of teaching

The strong commitment of staff to providing the best for pupils has improved teaching successfully, including that supported by teaching assistants. This intense commitment ensures that pupils with a disability or those who have special educational needs are taught well. The individual pupils with Traveller heritage are also well taught. Inspectors agree with parents and carers and the pupils themselves that teaching is good.

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Quality of teaching

Very effective monitoring helps ensure individual pupils’ needs are met. Lesson activities effectively match the level pupils are working at, helping them to learn successfully. In outstanding lessons, highly challenging activities inspire pupils to attain high standards. For example, a Year 1 investigation helped pupils readily recognise the infinite number of ways a circle can fold into half and how to fold an equilateral triangle into quarters. In other lessons, teachers’ expectations of pupils are less aspirational. The effective curriculum is practical and relevant and ensures important skills are consistently well taught, exceptionally so in reading, where the teaching of sounds in words and comprehension skills is outstanding. Social development is promoted especially well through using response partners to test out pupils’ ideas, although their great enthusiasm sometimes results in a high noise-level

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Quality of teaching

which is not always dealt with appropriately. Pupils have many opportunities to use their literacy skills, for example designing and printing tickets for the Year 3/4 production, recording a science experiment and composing a letter from an historical character. However, opportunities for independent mathematical investigations are limited.

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Quality of teaching

The use of assessment to support learning is a strength. Very effective marking is always responded to by pupils. They are very clear on how to improve and what they need to do to achieve lesson objectives or individual targets. Throughout lessons, staff regularly intervene to address misconceptions and re-adjust learning. Where this is at its best, teachers enable pupils themselves to continually seek new ways in which to improve throughout the lesson. For example, in Year 2, after becoming competent in rounding numbers to the nearest ten, pupils successfully challenged themselves to round to the nearest 100 or even 1,000. However, some staff are more skilled than others in helping pupils to do this. Pupils reflect on their learning exceptionally well and develop excellent responsibility towards their work, revealing their impressive spiritual and social development. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

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Quality of teaching

Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils’ excellent behaviour and outstanding commitment to learning are the result of the exceptional promotion of their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. They are extremely mature and thoughtful young people who respect difference and diversity and form excellent relationships with one another and with staff. Their impressive personal development has a major impact on the quality of discussions in lessons and the effectiveness of paired and small-group work. Only when teaching does not release pupils’ excellent attitudes to seeking knowledge and understanding is their learning less than impressive. Pupils develop a very mature sense of responsibility and older pupils fulfil any roles they undertake exceptionally well, being very keen to take on more tasks. Pupils’ excellent commitment to school is seen in above-average attendance levels.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Inspection evaluation that pupils typically behave exceptionally well is fully endorsed by the very large majority of parents and carers, who consider, rightly, that bullying in any form, usually associated with name calling, is rare. Parents and carers acknowledge the effect the school’s ethos has on their children’s enjoyment for learning, one typically commenting on the ‘happy and enthusiastic learning environment’ it creates. These strengths help pupils to learn readily, as in the role play where Year 5 pupils developed an excellent understanding of ratio and proportion. Staff are especially effective in improving the behaviour of pupils who find good behaviour difficult to sustain, with interruptions in lessons being rare. Behaviour in lessons and around the school is outstanding and the incidents that very occasionally occur at playtimes are dealt with swiftly and successfully. Pupils say they feel very safe around school and are well aware of how to keep safe, for

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Leadership and management

Staff and members of the governing body are committed to providing the best possible education for pupils. Very comprehensive systems for monitoring provision and pupils’ progress are used effectively to help bring about improvement. The work of the governing body has developed effectively, with members exceptionally well involved in supporting monitoring and improvement work, willingly using their considerable expertise to support and challenge the school. These strengths and sustained improvement in achievement and behaviour since the last inspection show the school is well placed to improve further.

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Leadership and management

The headteacher has been especially successful in empowering and enabling staff to gain the skills and confidence to drive forward improvement. This is evident in the effectiveness of the new senior leadership team and subject leaders, who have raised the rate of progress and devised strategies to address the weaknesses that remain. These strengths are fully recognised by parents and carers, who acknowledge the hard work that has improved their children’s progress. Pupils themselves know their views are valued and acted on so there is a real sense of purpose throughout the whole community. This strength of purpose has also 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

engendered a strong staff commitment, with an excellent culture of reflection on teaching quality. Staff regularly benefit from input from senior leaders and peer support and advice. This positive practice has helped eradicate any teaching that is less than good, made more teaching outstanding and encouraged all staff to aspire to be high quality practitioners.

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Leadership and management

Effective intervention programmes and support for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs help ensure equality of opportunity. The school ensures that all pupils, irrespective of ethnic or cultural heritage, achieve equally well. The curriculum meets pupils’ learning needs well. New programmes of work have brought about rapid improvement in achievement, although the full effect of some elements is not yet apparent. Outstanding promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development helps fulfil the school’s determination that discrimination in any form will not be tolerated and supports its strong commitment to the care and safeguarding of pupils. In the latter, staff are well trained and ensure policies and procedures are rigorously followed, including those associated with bullying, the vetting of staff and child protection. All statutory requirements for safeguarding meet

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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 54 42 2 2 Primary schools 14 49 32 6 Secondary schools 20 39 34 7 Special schools 33 45 20 3 Pupil referral units 9 55 28 8 All schools 16 47 31 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 to 31 December 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

Floor standards the national minimum expectation of attainment and progression measures.

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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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SN6 6NZ

Thank you for welcoming us to your school. We very much enjoyed our time talking to you and seeing all the things you do. I particularly want to thank the pupils who gave up their time to talk to or read to us. We have judged your school to be good and are pleased that you and your parents and carers share this view.

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SN6 6NZ

Here are some of the things we found that were especially good about the school.  We are very impressed by your excellent behaviour and outstanding attitudes to learning. Your very positive approach makes a real difference to your progress.  You achieve well. Reception children achieve well and all year groups make good progress. Attainment in writing and mathematics is above average and high in reading.  You are polite and considerate to adults and each other and you all get on very well together, discussing things especially well with each other in lessons.  You very much enjoy school because staff plan interesting and enjoyable activities and teach you well.  Your headteacher, staff and members of the governing body have helped your school to improve well and are working hard to make it even better.

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SN6 6NZ

Here are some of the things we have asked your school to improve.  You do really well in reading and we have asked staff to help you do as well in writing and mathematics by improving the presentation of your written work and giving you more opportunities to plan and carry out mathematical investigations. You can help by trying really hard to do well at these aspects.  We also want your teachers to set you really challenging activities in all lessons so you can do your very best.

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SN6 6NZ

Diane Wilkinson 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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