Esland Bedford School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 3–4 May 2012 Inspection number 382001 Cirencester Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 135987 Local authority Gloucestershire Inspection number 382001 Inspection dates 3–4 May 2012 Lead inspector Jenny Batelen

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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 Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 413 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Charles Woodd Headteacher Graham Horton Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected School address Victoria Road Cirencester Gloucestershire GL7 1EX Telephone number 01285 658550 Fax number 01285 640799 Email address admin@cirencester-pri.gloucs.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 spent 10 hours watching 25 lessons, observing 16 teachers. They heard pupils read from Years 2, 4 and 6. The inspectors also held meetings with pupils and staff, as well as with members of the governing body. They took account of the responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection, observed the school’s work, and looked at documentation including policies, school action plans, pupils’ work and records of their learning and progress. The inspectors observed and discussed pupils’ behaviour and the school’s safeguarding procedures. The inspectors analysed 295 completed questionnaires from parents and carers, as well as 58 questionnaires completed by pupils and 31 by members of staff

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Information about the school

Cirencester Primary School opened in September 2010 following the amalgamation of Cirencester Junior and Cirencester Infant schools.

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Information about the school

The school is larger than the average-sized primary school. While most pupils are from White British backgrounds, a small number come from a range of other backgrounds. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below the national average. The percentage of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is average, as is the proportion with a statement of special educational needs or supported by school action plus. The governing body manages a breakfast club based in the school. The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress.

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Information about the school

An after-school club and playgroup, managed by private providers, are located on the school site. As these provisions are not managed by the governing body they were not inspected on this occasion. 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. Pupils make good progress from their starting points and their attainment is above the national average. Good quality safeguarding ensures that pupils feel very safe. The school is not yet outstanding because pupils’ progress is not yet rapid enough over a sustained period of time to ensure that attainment is well above average and middle leaders are still developing skills in order to take an effective lead in whole-school development.

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Key findings

 The leadership of teaching and learning and the management of teacher performance are good. Teaching is monitored very effectively and action is taken to remedy any weaknesses. As a result, teaching is mainly good with some outstanding practice evident. Tasks in lessons usually ensure that pupils make at least good progress in their learning. However, on rare occasions, teachers do not plan appropriate tasks for all groups and discussions during lessons do not fully engage every pupil.

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Key findings

 Confident teaching of sounds that letters make (phonics) enables pupils to develop successful strategies for reading and writing. Well-planned support for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs ensures that these pupils make good progress. The setting of pupils for English and mathematics ensures there is good challenge for more-able pupils.

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Key findings

 Pupils behave well. They respect and care about each other and display positive attitudes to learning. There is no evidence of any disruption by pupils in lessons..

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Key findings

 Leaders and managers, including the governing body, have created a cohesive school community. Rigorous monitoring of the school’s performance and of pupils’ work is leading to improvement and raising attainment. The good quality curriculum promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. Pupils are clear about their targets and know how well they have done and what they must do to improve. 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 the quality of teaching and learning so that it is consistently good or better across the school to ensure all pupils make rapid and sustained progress in order to improve their attainment to well above average by July 2013 through:  ensuring planning clearly and consistently identifies appropriate tasks and outcomes for all pupils  developing teachers’ questioning techniques so that class discussions involve all pupils and reflect the needs and abilities of all learners.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of the school’s leadership and management by improving the effectiveness of middle managers so that they are able to lead their areas of responsibility more effectively.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils’ achievement is good. Children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills and understanding that are in line with age-related expectations and make good progress through their Reception Year. This good progress continues throughout Key Stages 1 and 2 because teaching caters well for pupils’ individual needs. An example of this was observed in Year 5 mathematics sets as pupils learnt to manipulate data using a range of recording methods. Work was well matched to pupils’ needs and abilities and, as a result, all groups of pupils made good progress. More-able pupils, for example, confidently used and interpreted pie charts while the less able were well supported and gained confidence in using Venn diagrams. By Year 6, attainment is above average in reading, writing and mathematics and this was clear from pupils’ work and from records of their progress. Parents and carers agree that their children are making good progress and achieving well throughout

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Achievement of pupils

the school. ‘My children have made great progress according to their abilities….’ is representative of many positive comments made by parents and carers.

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Achievement of pupils

Skilled teaching of phonics in the Reception Year and Key Stage 1 means that attainment in reading is above average in Year 2. Pupils read confidently and talk with enthusiasm about the books they are reading. Older pupils share how authors engage their interest and make them feel they are ‘part of the story’. Throughout the school written tasks link well to the topics pupils are studying and also to real-life situations. In an English lesson when Year 4 pupils demonstrated their excellent understanding of how similes and metaphors would enhance their writing of a poem about the dinosaurs they were studying as a class topic. 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

Parents and carers praise the support they and their children receive. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make similar good progress to all other pupils because their needs are clearly identified and they receive a good level of targeted support with their learning. Pupils from different backgrounds make good progress because they are helped to settle quickly into school routines and make friends quickly. The international dimension of the curriculum gives them confidence to share their experiences. There is strong support for pupils whose circumstances may make them vulnerable and this enables them to work hard and make good progress. The school works well to enable these pupils to understand and manage their feelings, behaviour and learning.

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Quality of teaching

The quality of teaching is good. Parents and carers agree that their children are taught well. Strong relationships between staff and pupils encourage an atmosphere of trust and a sense of fun. Pupils enjoy learning and feel teachers help them to make good progress. Teachers make good use of ongoing, accurate assessments of pupils’ work so that they have a clear understanding of how well individual pupils are doing. In most lessons clear planning ensures varied tasks meet pupils’ needs well. However, in a minority of lessons, teachers do not plan carefully enough to ensure that appropriate tasks enable all pupils to make good progress. Pupils are keen to learn and say they enjoy challenging questioning, but in whole-class sessions the questioning is not always clearly directed to actively involve all pupils in that part of the lesson.

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Quality of teaching

Pupils are very clear about what they are learning and how they know if they are successful in meeting the learning objectives. They understand what targets they must meet in order to move to the next level of learning. Clear, consistent, written and oral feedback helps pupils understand what they have done well and how they can make further improvements. They appreciate the chance to reflect on the quality of their own work and are keen to help others. For example, Year 3 pupils who were demonstrating good progress in writing descriptive sentences shared how colour- coded marking helped them to improve their work.

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Quality of teaching

Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs have clear programmes of work in order to reach specific targets. This helps them make good progress. Skilled teaching assistants ensure pupils can access their classroom tasks. A range of individual and group interventions provide further targeted support for pupils who require it. For example, a phonics intervention programme in Year 2 enabled pupils with special educational needs to make progress in both reading and writing and to gain confidence in their skills.

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Quality of teaching

Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage develop their learning through adult- led, child-initiated and independent activities, both within the well-resourced classrooms and stimulating outdoor area. Children enjoy learning. This was evident during a lesson in which children learned about the seaside and made pictures of a beach using a variety of materials. Their writing to accompany the pictures 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

demonstrated a growing understanding of phonics as children attempted independent spelling of the words they wanted to use.

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Quality of teaching

The topic-based curriculum provides pupils with opportunities to improve their numeracy and literacy skills in a range of different subjects. Lessons contribute well to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. This was apparent during a Year 6 music lesson when pupils enjoyed exploring the musical rhythms used by different cultures and performing them in groups to the rest of the class.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Good behaviour around school and in lessons ensures that pupils thrive. They are encouraged to be, ‘Sensitive, Motivated, Attentive, Responsible and Truthful’ in managing their behaviour for learning. Pupils are keen to get on with their tasks and support each other well when working in groups and pairs. A few parents and carers expressed concern about disruption to their children’s lessons. Pupils’ views and inspection evidence found that the school effectively helps those who may find it difficult to manage their own behaviour. As a result, these pupils are able stay on task and make progress.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils understand about different types of bullying and know how to respond to any difficulties, such as physical and cyber-bullying. They showed a clear understanding of the use of social networking sites and the rules they had to follow regarding these. Pupils are confident that there is no bullying in the school and that any incidents of bad behaviour are effectively dealt with by adults. Inspection evidence, including school logs, shows that pupils’ behaviour over time is consistently good and that there are few reported incidents. Most parents and carers agree that behaviour is good around the school.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils feel very safe at school and parents and carers agree. Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe in a range of situations, including when using modern technology. Attendance is above average and parents and carers comment on how their children love coming to school.

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Leadership and management

Leadership and management are good. Members of the governing body and senior leaders have been very effective since the school opened in creating a cohesive community that is continually improving. This demonstrates their capacity to make further improvements. They have ensured there is no discrimination and that all pupils have equal access to the full curriculum. They realise the need to improve the effectiveness of middle managers so that they are able to lead their areas of responsibility more efficiently.

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Leadership and management

The rigorous monitoring and tracking of pupils’ progress allows prompt action to be taken so that no pupil falls behind and, as a result, pupils make good progress. The vision to equip pupils with a range of skills for their future is valued by parents and 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

carers, who comment on how their children are able to ‘flourish’. Discussions with secondary schools ensure that pupils make a successful transition to the next stage of their education.

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Leadership and management

Staff value the good level of support they have received to improve their practice. Members of the governing body have a wide range of skills that enable them to effectively monitor the work of the school and offer a good level of support and challenge when necessary. Most parents and carers feel well informed and able to support their child’s learning. They also value the input of the school’s breakfast club which provides pupils with a safe, welcoming start to the school day.

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Leadership and management

The well-balanced curriculum provides pupils with memorable experiences. Visits, visitors and ‘wow’ afternoons enrich pupils’ understanding of the topics they are studying as well as strengthening their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The international dimension to the curriculum means that pupils have a deepening understanding of other communities. A range of local partnerships such as the use of the nearby Forest School and the link with a school in a contrasting part of the county, enhance pupils’ development. Extra-curricular opportunities, including residential visits, encourage independence and resilience.

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Leadership and management

The school has effective procedures for safeguarding and risk assessment. These meet government guidelines. There is a carefully planned approach to managing the safety of pupils. Parents and carers expressed no concerns about their child’s safety.

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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 Cirencester Primary School, Cirencester, GL7 1EX

Thank you for making us so welcome when we visited your school recently. Thank you also to those of you who returned questionnaires about your school. We enjoyed observing your lessons, assemblies, talking to you and sharing books with you.

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Inspection of Cirencester Primary School, Cirencester, GL7 1EX

Yours is a good school and, as a result, you make good progress in your learning. There are many good things that impressed us.  You behave well, are very polite, help each other and have a good knowledge and understanding of how to keep safe.  You listen carefully to your teachers and work hard in lessons and also have a lot of fun while learning.  All the adults in the school care a lot about you and make sure that you are safe and well supported.  You enjoy the topics you study and the visits, visitors and ‘wow’ afternoons that make them really interesting.  The adults who manage and run your school work hard to make sure you have the best opportunities to achieve well.

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Inspection of Cirencester Primary School, Cirencester, GL7 1EX

We have asked the school to do three things to make it even better.  Teachers to be sure to always plan tasks that mean that you will make even more progress than you do already.  Adults to make sure that you all take part in whole-class sessions and ‘have a go’ at answering the questions.  Adults who lead the different phases and subjects to develop their skills so that they can help make the school even better.

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Inspection of Cirencester Primary School, Cirencester, GL7 1EX

All of you can help by making sure you answer questions and remembering to be ‘Sensitive, Motivated, Attentive, Responsible and Truthful’ at all times.

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Inspection of Cirencester Primary School, Cirencester, GL7 1EX

Jenny Batelen 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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