Caunton Dean Hole CofE Primary School

Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 9–10 May 2012 Inspection number 380529 Caunton Dean Hole CofE Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 122753 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 380529 Inspection dates 9–10 May 2012 Lead inspector Jeremy Spencer HMI

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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 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 47 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Adrian Baugh Headteacher John Dodd Date of previous school inspection 11 March 2008 School address Manor Road Caunton Newark NG23 6AD Telephone number 01636 636219 Fax number 01636 636230 Email address head12@cauntondeanhole.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 inspector observed teaching and learning in eight lessons taught by three teachers and a teaching assistant, and two acts of collective worship. This accounted for five hours of inspection time. The inspector observed the school’s work, including pupils’ exercise books; and looked at a variety of documents, including the school’s improvement plan, pupil assessment data, school policies, attendance data and minutes of the governing body’s meetings. Meetings were held with staff, the Chair and other representatives of the Governing Body and two groups of pupils. Responses were also considered on 45 questionnaires returned from parents and carers, 11 from staff and 30 from pupils.

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Information about the school

This school is set in a rural village and is much smaller than most primary schools. ‘The Village Rooms’ form part of the school and are owned by the Parish Council. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below the national average and all pupils are from White British backgrounds. The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is below average. Children join the school’s Early Years Foundation Stage provision at the age of three. However, the proportion of pupils who join the school at times other than the standard starting and leaving ages is higher than average. Before- and after-school clubs operate on the school site but are not managed by the governing body and are therefore subject to separate inspection.

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Information about the school

The school meets the current government floor standard, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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Information about the school

The school has achieved the Healthy Schools Gold award and Eco-schools Silver status.

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Information about the school

Almost all parents and carers responded to the inspection questionnaire. 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 which operates in a calm, supportive and friendly environment. Staff have many responsibilities, but work hard to provide a broad range of opportunities for pupils. The school is not outstanding because the quality of teaching, although good, is not strong enough to enable pupils to make outstanding progress as they move through the school. This is partly because pupils do not fully understand what they are expected to achieve in some lessons. Consequently, they do not always fully understand how much progress they are making or recognise how their learning is developing.  All groups of pupils make good progress from their starting points and leave the school at the end of Year 6 with standards above those normally expected for their age in English and mathematics. However, pupils’ mathematical skills, particularly calculation and problem solving, are weaker than in other areas of

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Key findings

learning. This is because they do not have enough opportunities to practise and reinforce these skills in other areas of the curriculum.  The quality of teaching is good. As a result pupils make good progress. Teachers usually ensure that learning activities are well matched to the abilities of different groups of pupils. Teaching assistants make a strong contribution to the quality of teaching.  Pupils recognise the very good care they receive and relationships at all levels are very strong. This underpins pupils’ outstanding behaviour and attitudes to learning. Their enjoyment of school life also supports their above average attendance.  The headteacher leads the school well and staff morale is very high. However, leadership plans do not always clearly outline how and when the impact of the school’s actions will be evaluated. Subject leaders do not have the opportunity to observe and support the improvement of colleagues’ teaching frequently

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

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?

 Improve pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching by:  securing pupils’ greater engagement in the learning process and their understanding of the progress they are making in each lesson by using success criteria more effectively  ensuring that more frequent opportunities are provided for pupils to practise mathematical skills, particularly calculation and problem solving, in other areas curriculum.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen the quality of leadership in and management of the school by:  ensuring that teachers in their capacity as subject leader observe colleagues’ teaching more often, to enable them to monitor quality and support improvement better  improving the quality and effectiveness of leaders’ action plans by ensuring that they clearly identify who will be monitoring the impact of each action, when this will be, and through which activity.

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Achievement of pupils

Children usually begin the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills slightly above those expected for their age but there is significant variability between cohorts. The overwhelming majority of parents and carers at the school believe that their child makes good progress. Pupils were observed enjoying learning during the inspection and almost all say that they are happy to come to school. Inspection evidence confirms that different groups of pupils, including those who are disabled or have special educational needs, those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those who join the school at a later stage, are well supported by staff. For example, a number of intervention groups operate for these pupils to help them to reinforce some aspects of learning. Consequently, they make good progress from their starting points.

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Achievement of pupils

Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage were observed making good progress in a phonics (the sounds that letters make) lesson, because a teaching assistant identified misconceptions very quickly and provided good guidance and support for pupils. Pupils in the mixed Year 1 and 2 class were observed making good progress in developing reading skills during the inspection and were working at a higher level than average. Pupils enjoy reading and talk enthusiastically about their books. They are taught phonics through a structured programme and are able to use a range of strategies in order to understand text. Although there was a slight dip in 2011, pupils normally attain standards in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Key Stage 1 that are above those expected for their age. 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

By the end of Key Stage 2 pupils attain standards in reading, writing and mathematics that are above average. Despite the school’s good track record of above average attainment, pupils currently working in Key Stage 2 show some weaknesses in mathematical calculation and problem solving skills. The school has recognised this and all pupils currently have a personal target to help them focus on learning multiplication facts with rapid recall speed. Pupils were observed making good progress and enjoying a multiplication skills and movement activity at the start of a mathematics lesson. However, opportunities for pupils to practise developing these skills in other subjects and topics are not as well planned by teachers as they could be. The school acknowledges that increased opportunities to develop these skills across the curriculum must now become a priority.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils achieve well in developing broader skills to help prepare them for the next stage of their education and life beyond. For example, frequent drama and singing activities are enjoyed by pupils and promote their self-confidence and ability to cooperate with others. Pupils also show good interest in the history of their school. Their interest is ignited well by a series of framed pictures on walls around the school depicting scenes from the school’s past, which were donated by a local history group.

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Quality of teaching

The overwhelming majority of parents and carers believe that their child is well taught at the school. Pupils’ good progress over time and observations of teaching during the inspection indicate that the quality of teaching is good overall.

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Quality of teaching

In lessons observed during the inspection where the quality of teaching was judged to be good, teachers ensured that the pace of learning for pupils of different abilities was good. They did this by sharing their time between pupils well, ensuring a good balance between teacher input and pupil activity and through planning activities that were pitched well to meet pupils’ needs. For example, in a good mathematics lesson in the Key Stage 2 class, pupils worked together to develop speed and accuracy in mental mathematics skills, before splitting off to work in a range of activities relevant to their level of development. The teacher shared her time between groups skilfully, assessing learning, introducing new concepts and identifying and addressing misconceptions. In the minority of lessons where teaching was judged to be no better than satisfactory, teachers failed to ensure an appropriate level of challenge

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Quality of teaching

for pupils in some activities, which caused them to lose interest. This slowed the pace of pupils’ learning and the progress they made in the lesson.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers share learning objectives with pupils at the beginning of each lesson and give clear instructions. However, they are less successful at explaining success criteria so that children understand what they are expected to achieve. For example, in one lesson, pupils were writing descriptive paragraphs as part of a piece of extended writing. Although pupils knew how to write a paragraph, they did not know what was expected of them to write a detailed and expressive paragraph in the context of their work. As a result, pupils were satisfied with less than should have 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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Quality of teaching

been expected of them and valuable learning opportunities were missed.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers, other school staff and visitors successfully ensure the very good development of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding. Pupils were observed enjoying collective worship. They sung heartily, and beamed with pride when parents and carers came into the school to watch a planned performance, based on the importance of body language and facial expressions when interpreting the feelings of others.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers mark pupils’ work effectively and write encouraging and constructive comments which support their good progress.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding. Pupils, parents and carers and all staff are highly positive about behaviour. The inspector found that behaviour in the large majority of lessons and around the school is exemplary. Pupils listen very carefully to teachers and are very calm, orderly and considerate. This underpins their good learning in lessons. Pupils report that instances of bullying of any kind are very rare and they have been involved in drawing up an anti-bullying charter to actively try to prevent it from occurring. The school’s positive ethos plays a significant role in supporting pupils’ outstanding behaviour.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils have an extremely well-developed understanding of how to keep themselves safe, including very good awareness of the dangers of new technologies and the internet. Pupils also make a very good contribution to the further promotion of safety awareness within the school, for example through the introduction of a junior road safety officer initiative. The school council discusses safety improvements in meetings and can articulate how safety risks continue to be minimised within the school.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils’ attendance is above average and has been consistently so for several years. The latest figures indicate that attendance is improving further.

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Leadership and management

The headteacher, well supported by the governing body, leads the school effectively. Staff take pride in the school and feel valued. One member of staff commented, ‘I feel very much part of the team, aware of all that is going on thanks to the leadership of the headteacher’. Staff are kept up to date with relevant training and this supports the good quality of teaching in the school.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum is good, meets the needs of pupils well and ensures good development of their moral understanding, social skills and spiritual awareness. Pupils’ understanding of cultural diversity has improved since the last inspection, but some gaps still remain, particularly in their understanding of cultural diversity in the United Kingdom. A broad range of school trips and well-attended extra-curricular 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

activities including drama, judo, football and art further broaden pupils’ learning experiences.

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Leadership and management

The school’s leaders understand its strengths and weaknesses well and self- evaluation is accurate. They have a good track record of success, manage resources effectively, and are well placed to bring about further improvement. The governing body is ambitious for the school and offers good challenge and support to the headteacher in equal measure. However, school development plans do not always make it clear how and when they can accurately monitor the impact of the school’s work.

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Leadership and management

The school operates effectively with partners to promote pupils’ learning and well- being, particularly through a well-established partnership with two other local schools, known as the ‘3KANDO’ partnership. This adds capacity to the school in a number of ways, including through joint school trips, cross-school lesson observations from the headteachers and moderation of teachers’ assessments of pupils’ progress. However, subject leaders within the school rarely have opportunities to observe their colleagues’ teaching. This makes it difficult for them to support the improvement of teaching within their subject and to identify areas for improvement.

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Leadership and management

Safeguarding policies and procedures are securely in place and are well understood by staff and the governing body. School leaders promote equality of opportunity effectively and are prepared well to tackle any discrimination.

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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 Caunton Dean Hole CofE Primary School, NewarkNG23 6AD

Thank you for making me so welcome when I came to inspect your school recently. I would like to give a special thank you to the pupils in Years 2, 3 and 6 who gave up part of their playtime to answer some questions and read to me from their books.

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Inspection of Caunton Dean Hole CofE Primary School, NewarkNG23 6AD

You go to a good school and you make good progress in your learning. This is because your teachers do a good job and spend a great deal of time planning your lessons to make sure that they are just right for you. It is also because your behaviour in school is outstanding and your attendance is above average. Well done! You learn about a lot of exciting things in school and a good number of you take full advantage of all your school has to offer you by attending after-school clubs. You also take responsibility for making your school an even better place to be, for example through those of you who work on the school council, the junior road safety officers and those of you have supported the anti-bullying charter.

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Inspection of Caunton Dean Hole CofE Primary School, NewarkNG23 6AD

I have asked the school to do some things to improve even more. They are to:

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Inspection of Caunton Dean Hole CofE Primary School, NewarkNG23 6AD

 help you to understand exactly what is expected of you in each lesson by using success criteria more effectively, so that you can make better progress  give you more chances to practise and improve mathematical skills, particularly calculating and problem solving, in other subjects and topics  check more carefully to see how well the school is improving, so that school leaders can make better decisions about what to do next  make sure that the teachers watch each other teach more often, so that they can learn new ideas and help each other.

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Inspection of Caunton Dean Hole CofE Primary School, NewarkNG23 6AD

You can all help too by continuing to try your best and enjoying learning. Some of the older pupils could also help teachers to write challenging success criteria in lessons! Thank you once again to all of you for your help and support.

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Inspection of Caunton Dean Hole CofE Primary School, NewarkNG23 6AD

Jeremy Spencer Her Majesty’s 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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