St Wilfrid's CofE Primary School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 10–11 May 2012 Inspection number 380528 St Wilfrid's CofE Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 122752 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 380528 Inspection dates 10–11 May 2012 Lead inspector Lois Furness

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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 212 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Vicki Thompson Headteacher Ian Bullock Date of previous school inspection 21 November 2006 School address Main Street Calverton Nottingham NG14 6FG Telephone number 0115 9652775 Fax number 0115 9653995 Email address head@st-wilfrids.notts.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 one days' notice. The inspectors observed 16 parts of lessons and eight teachers. These observations included short visits to a range of phonics (teaching of letters and sounds) sessions taught by teachers and trained assistants. They also sampled pupils’ work and heard a number of pupils read. Meetings were held with groups of pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body and school staff, including senior and middle managers. Inspectors observed the school’s work, and looked at the school improvement plan, minutes of the governing body meetings, pupil progress information, safeguarding documentation and teachers’ planning and marking of pupils’ work. Inspectors took account of the questionnaires completed by 86 parents and carers and those completed by pupils and staff.

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Information about the school

In this smaller than the average-sized primary school most pupils are from White British backgrounds. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is well below average as is the number of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds. The proportion of pupils supported by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is well below average. In 2011 the school met the current floor standards, which are the minimum standard for pupils’ attainment and progress expected by the government. The school holds a number of awards including the Eco Schools Green Flag award and Healthy Schools status.

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Key findings

 St Wilfrid’s C of E Primary is a good school. It is not outstanding because whilst there is much good teaching there is little that is outstanding, resulting in good rather than outstanding progress. There are some short comings in provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Key findings

 From starting points broadly typical for their age, pupils make good progress to attain standards that are above average by the end of Year 6. Standards in reading and mathematics are higher than that of writing.

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Key findings

 The quality of teaching is good. Teachers have good subject knowledge and have good relationships with pupils. They have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and of their contribution in lessons, but pupils’ written work does not always reflect these expectations. Marking does not consistently improve learning, and simple errors in handwriting, spelling and punctuation are at times left uncorrected.

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Key findings

 Behaviour is typically good in class and around school. Pupils say they feel safe and enjoy their lessons. Attendance is above the national average.

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Key findings

 Leadership of teaching is good. There is a strong team ethos. Staff and governors have a sharp focus on improvement and a keen resolve to continue to take the school forward. There is a clear understanding of strengths and areas for improvement and effective action has been taken since the last inspection to secure good improvement. Effective procedures for the management of performance ensure professional development is targeted well.

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Key findings

 Although an interesting and well-matched curriculum is taught, it does not systematically enable pupils to apply their literacy and numeracy skills across other subjects. The outdoor curriculum for the Early Years Foundation Stage is under-developed.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Accelerate pupils’ progress, especially in writing, by:  raising teachers’ expectations of pupils’ presentation, handwriting punctuation and spelling  ensuring pupils are given systematic opportunities to apply their literacy and numeracy skills across the curriculum  improving the quality of marking so pupils are given useful information about strengths and development points in their work and time is given for pupils to respond to the comments made.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage by:  ensuring children’s interests are fully considered when planning future learning activities  develop an exciting outdoor area extending outdoor resources  involving parents and carers more in their children’s learning, for example by introducing folders that records each child’s learning ‘journey’ which can then be shared regularly with them.

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Achievement of pupils

By the end of Year 6 attainment is above average which shows good progress from children’s age related starting points on entry to the Early Years Foundation Stage. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make good progress overall and their progress is particularly strong in their personal and social development. This is because the class has a safe and encouraging atmosphere where children are helped to feel secure and confident. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are well supported in lessons because activities are tailored closely to their needs and they receive effective guidance from teachers and support staff. There were no marked differences seen in the progress of boys and girls during the inspection. Achievement is good for all groups.

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Achievement of pupils

In mathematics, pupils quickly develop a good knowledge of number facts as was seen in the Early Years Foundation Stage where the vast majority of children were able to solve simple addition problems to 10. This good knowledge of number continues throughout the school. Reading attainment is strong and at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 reading standards are above average. Pupils’ reading abilities are consistently above average because the school effectively uses a systematic programme for the teaching of letters and sounds (phonics) and pupils are encouraged to read daily at school and at home. Older pupils speak enthusiastically about their favourite authors, and how much they enjoy reading.

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Achievement of pupils

Writing attainment is not as high and has been broadly average over the last two years. Despite actions taken to improve pupils’ writing skills, such as ensuring pupils access a wide variety of text types, weaknesses remain. Too few pupils have a neat, fluent handwriting style, and simple punctuation and spelling errors are often overlooked in teachers’ marking. Therefore pupils are unaware they have made mistakes. However at times, there is good progress, as was seen in Year 4 when pupils used words such as ‘cackled’ and ‘boomed’ instead of ‘said’ when reporting direct speech. In another good Year 5 lesson, pupils made good progress in their understanding of the features of short stories. In their responses to the inspection questionnaire almost all pupils say that they enjoy their lessons and learn a lot. The vast majority of parents and carers justifiably feel that their children make good progress and achieve well at school.

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Quality of teaching

Almost all of the lessons seen during the inspection were of good quality. This confirms the positive views of teaching held by most parents and carers. Teachers and teaching assistants are consistently successful in motivating pupils. The teaching of reading is good because it is structured and systematic. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are taught well and one-to-one support is given when necessary.

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Quality of teaching

Pupils said they thoroughly enjoy learning. Teachers’ high expectations of behaviour foster secure relationships and also effectively promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Their social development is particularly well catered for in most lessons because staff make good use of ‘talking partners’ and provide many opportunities for them to work in groups. This was evident in a Year 3 mathematics lesson as pupils worked together to find fractional parts of numbers. They willingly shared ideas and resources, helping anyone who was having difficulties with their work. The curriculum also contributes to good teaching and learning in the way it allows teachers to plan creatively, make links across subjects and make learning meaningful for pupils. However, sampling of pupils’ work shows there are missed opportunities for pupils to systematically apply their literacy and numeracy skills

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Quality of teaching

across the curriculum. At times untidy work is accepted by teachers.

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Quality of teaching

Pupils’ work is marked regularly but clear advice is not consistently given about why work is good and how it can be improved. Marking is more helpful in writing than in other subjects, but teachers do not always give time for pupils to respond to the comments made. In the Early Years Foundation Stage frequent assessments are made but these are not collated in a user-friendly way to show the child’s learning over time, for example through a ‘learning journey’. This makes it difficult for parents and carers to contribute fully to their child’s learning. Staff in this key stage carefully plan activities that meet the children’ needs, which results in good progress, but less attention is given to their interests. The outdoor environment, although satisfactory, does not provide exciting learning opportunities reflecting all six areas of learning. Resources for the outside environment are unexciting and limited to mainly indoor

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils arrive punctually at school and attendance is above the national average. Parents and carers appreciate the care and safety provided through the school’s breakfast club and the after-school club in which there is effective support for their children’s social development. Pupils’ behaviour is typically good and this makes a positive contribution to their learning in lessons. Children’s good personal development starts in the Early Years Foundation Stage where children learn right from wrong, the importance of listening to each other and sharing resources. Pupils usually give full attention in lessons, keen and eager to answer questions. It is only when teaching is less engaging that attention occasionally wanders. Around school and during playtimes, they are orderly, sensible and very polite to visitors.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils say they feel safe in school. They are aware of most different types of bullying, including name calling, physical and cyber-bullying. They say there is very little bullying in school and are confident that if any should occur then adults will deal with it effectively. Records show that the incidences of bullying, racism and inappropriate behaviour are very rare. Pupils know how to keep safe and are well aware of fire, road and internet safety. All of the parents and carers who returned the Ofsted questionnaire believe their children are kept safe and are well looked after. Almost all of them think behaviour is good and inspection evidence supports these opinions.

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Leadership and management

The headteacher and senior managers have a very clear vision for further school improvement which is focused firmly on raising attainment and accelerating pupils’ progress. This vision is shared by the governing body and all staff. Discrimination is tackled and the promotion of equality of opportunity is good. Any emerging gaps in performance are quickly identified and acted upon. Monitoring and evaluation are mainly accurate although the view of provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage is over generous. Even so, the above average attainment noted in the previous inspection has been maintained, the key issues of the previous inspection regarding school improvement planning and more rigorous systems of monitoring and evaluation have been rectified well and staff morale is high. These factors, alongside effective performance management, indicate that capacity to improve is good. The governing body is supportive, and its effectiveness in challenging leaders and holding

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Leadership and management

them to account for the quality of provision and outcomes is good. Statutory obligations in respect of safeguarding and all vetting and recruitment requirements are met. Parents and carers appreciate this aspect of the school’s work.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum is broad, balanced and meets the needs of pupils. It promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. Art, drama and music are strengths. Pupils have a good understanding of right and wrong and have the social skills necessary to work together cooperatively. The curriculum is in the process of being reviewed following a two year cycle of topics. Leaders know that the use of literacy and numeracy skills across the curriculum is not as strong as it could be and a priority for development. A wide range of educational trips, visits and visitors to the school effectively enrich the curriculum and pupils speak enthusiastically about residential experiences and of theatre group visits. The before and after school clubs complement the school’s work effectively. Parents and carers speak very positively about the school, and there were overwhelmingly positive responses to the

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Leadership and management

questionnaires returned by parents and carers.

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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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Inspection of St Wilfrid's CofE Primary School, Nottingham, NG14 6FG

Thank you for all the help you gave us when we visited your school. We enjoyed watching you work and having discussions with different groups of children. We think, like you and your parents and carers, that you go to a good school. We agree with you when you say teaching is good, and we can see that you make good progress in your learning. This means by the time you leave school in Year 6 you attain standards in English and mathematics that are above those found in most schools. Your behaviour is good and you told us you feel safe in school.

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Inspection of St Wilfrid's CofE Primary School, Nottingham, NG14 6FG

We have asked your headteacher now to try to make your good progress even better especially in writing. You can help your teachers by remembering to write neatly, and by making sure you always take full notice of the written comments made by teachers when they mark your work. You may need to ask them to give you time to respond to the comments they have made. Also we have asked your teachers to help some of you with your spelling and punctuation. We want you to be given more opportunities to use your writing and mathematics skills well in subjects such as science and topic. So really try hard to practice your skills in these other subjects.

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Inspection of St Wilfrid's CofE Primary School, Nottingham, NG14 6FG

Although those of you in the Early Years Foundation Stage make good progress we think that some things could be better. We have asked the adults to find out more about the things that interest you when they are planning activities. We think the outdoor area needs improving with more exciting outdoor activities available for you. Also we would like adults to make a record of the things you learn and share this with your parents and carers. They could also add their comments about the things you do.

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Inspection of St Wilfrid's CofE Primary School, Nottingham, NG14 6FG

Thank you again and we hope you keep on working hard so you can play a big part in making your school even better. Also, keep up your good attendance record.

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Inspection of St Wilfrid's CofE Primary School, Nottingham, NG14 6FG

Lois Furness 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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