Cam Everlands Primary School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 14–15 May 2012 Inspection number 379104 Cam Everlands Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 115578 Local authority Gloucestershire Inspection number 379104 Inspection dates 14–15 May 2012 Lead inspector Krishan Sharma

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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 214 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Malcolm Jones Headteacher Ian Dixon Date of previous school inspection 10 February 2009 School address Birch Road Cam Dursley GL11 5SF Telephone number 01453 545452 Fax number 01453 549778 Email address admin@cameverlands.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 visited 17 lessons or parts of lessons taught by eight teachers. Two groups of Year 1 and 2 pupils were heard reading. Meetings were held with the Chair of the Governing Body, senior and middle leaders, and three groups of pupils. Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a wide range of documentation, including safeguarding records, the school improvement plan, a summary of the school’s self-evaluation, pupils’ written work, and tracking records of pupils’ progress in basic skills. One hundred and forty five questionnaires returned by parents and carers were analysed, as were others completed by pupils and staff.

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Information about the school

Cam Everlands Primary is smaller than the average primary school. Almost all pupils come from White British backgrounds. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below average. The proportion of pupils supported by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average. The school has Healthy Schools Plus status, an Activemark in recognition of its promotion of sport, and an International School Award for developing links abroad to extend pupils’ global awareness. The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for attainment and progress. 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 satisfactory school. It is not yet good because pupils do not make more than satisfactory progress over time, particularly in mathematics, and there are weaknesses in teaching and in the monitoring and evaluation of the school’s performance. Schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory may receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Key findings

 When pupils start at the school, their attainment is broadly average and, by the time they leave, their attainment is also broadly average, representing satisfactory progress and achievement. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs achieve in line with their peers.

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Key findings

 Teaching is satisfactory overall. In the most effective lessons, teachers expect and encourage pupils to work hard. When teaching is no more than satisfactory, pupils do not always fully understand what teachers want them to achieve and what they have achieved. The work planned does not always match the needs and interests of all groups.

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Key findings

 Behaviour and safety are satisfactory. Pupils, generally, work well with each other in lessons, although a small minority of them expressed concerns about behaviour around the school. Regular attendance remains a strong feature in the life of the school.

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Key findings

 The headteacher and staff are focused on building upon the gains made already in pupils’ literacy skills. The school’s self-evaluation informs its key priorities for development. However, because the school’s monitoring and evaluation of its performance, particularly of teaching and learning, are not always robust, leaders and managers have a somewhat more-favourable view of the school’s performance than is warranted. 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?

 Accelerate pupils’ progress in mathematics by:  providing them with regular opportunities to solve practical, ‘real-life’ mathematical problems  expecting them to organise their work independently and to explain and justify their methods of calculation.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of good and better teaching so that pupils make consistently good progress across the school by:  ensuring that pupils understand fully what they are expected to learn in lessons and that the planned activities effectively build upon pupils’ prior skills, knowledge and understanding  giving pupils incisive feedback about their work and checking that the recommended improvements are made  using assessment information in lessons to set tasks that match pupils’ different abilities and adjusting tasks if they are found to be too easy or too difficult.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of monitoring and evaluation by:  specifying the intended outcomes of improvement planning more precisely to assess the impact better of actions undertaken  focusing on pupils’ progress and learning more explicitly during the observation of teaching and in the scrutiny of pupils’ written work  updating the monitoring and evaluation skills of school leaders regularly.

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Achievement of pupils

Children enter Reception Year with levels of skill and knowledge that are broadly in line with those expected for their age. From those starting points, children make satisfactory progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage across all areas of their learning. From then on, pupils continue to make at least satisfactory progress in their basic skills as they move up through the school. Pupils progress rapidly in writing because of the school’s strong focus on it and the expertise teachers have acquired. By the time pupils leave the school at the end of Year 6, their attainment is broadly average in English and mathematics. Intermittently, it is above average in English, as was the case in 2011. Attainment in reading at the end of Key Stage 1 and by the time pupils leave school at the age of 11 is broadly average. Most disabled pupils and those with special educational needs achieve in line with their peers. Some groups,

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Achievement of pupils

such as those receiving additional support in mathematics and those with identified specific needs, are progressing well. As a result, they gain a timely boost to their literacy and numeracy skills, as well as to their confidence as learners.

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Achievement of pupils

In lessons, pupils apply their reading and writing skills to a wide range of subjects. 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

Their written work shows clear evidence of pupils having read in depth. The Year 6 topic books on local history seen during the inspection demonstrated pupils’ well- developed skills in locating and summarising relevant information. In a Year 2 lesson, the teacher’s reading of the class story book and the subsequent discussion motivated pupils to write independently. In numeracy lessons, pupils make a range of calculations, but do not apply their mathematical skills to solve problems often enough. As a result, pupils’ confidence in organising their own work and in giving reasons for the choices they make in tackling a mathematical problem is limited. In lessons, pupils are keen to communicate with others, but often there is insufficient time for discussion about their learning. Almost all parents and carers believe that their children are making good progress at school. Inspection evidence does not

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Achievement of pupils

support this view, however, as the progress made by pupils is no more than satisfactory overall.

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Quality of teaching

Teaching is typically satisfactory, although examples of good teaching were seen across the school. The systematic teaching of reading and its use across the curriculum is a regular feature on the timetable. The focus on improving pupils’ phonic skills (linking letters and sounds) in lessons is making a positive, but inconsistent contribution to pupils’ achievement in reading across the school.

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Quality of teaching

Where teaching is at its most effective, teachers have high expectations, which are communicated clearly to pupils. The quality of the questions they ask leads pupils to think deeply. Teachers’ comments on pupils’ work are precise and show the way forward. Pupils are left in no doubt about what they have done well and how they could improve. Where lessons are less successful, those features are not as evident. Additionally, in some of those lessons, teachers’ intentions are not always clearly understood and their planning does not build directly upon pupils’ prior knowledge, understanding and skills. Teachers do not use the outcomes of assessment consistently to provide suitable tasks which challenge all groups of pupils or adjust tasks to meet pupils’ different needs. In those cases, it is the potentially higher- attaining pupils that are catered for least well.

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Quality of teaching

In the best lessons, teachers motivate pupils to challenge themselves. In one Year 5 lesson, the teacher presented pupils with a short sentence and asked them to improve it. Although there were guidelines, pupils were free to experiment with words and phrases that would add to the quality of the sentence. As this was a frequent routine in the class, pupils engaged with the task confidently and altered the sentence to good effect. In the Reception class, children were keen to see a robot following their instructions to travel a route they had programmed. Children enjoyed seeing it following their instructions; when it completed the journey successfully, their enjoyment was palpable. Teachers provide numerous opportunities for pupils to work with others in their classes to promote their social skills. The personal, social, and health education activities and those planned for promoting global awareness enable pupils to reflect on their own and others’ experiences. They

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Quality of teaching

develop a good understanding of and respect for different views and cultural 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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Quality of teaching

religious traditions. Parents, carers, and pupils view the quality of teaching at school very favourably, a view which inspection evidence does not support, as a result of the teaching observed during the inspection and its impact on pupils’ achievement over time.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

In lessons, most pupils engage with their work and their behaviour contributes to an orderly learning environment. Pupils, including those in Reception Year, are considerate and courteous towards each other and adults. A small minority of pupils expressed concern about behaviour away from classrooms in their responses to the inspection questionnaires. Even so, during discussions with inspectors, they confirmed that disruption in lessons and unacceptable behaviour around the school are unusual. This view matches what the inspectors themselves found during their own observations. However, pupils explained their concerns mainly as disagreements and falling out that occur from time to time, which pupils often sort out themselves. Pupils assured inspectors that bullying in any form, including that which is prejudice- based, is rare and is dealt with well when it occurs. Although most parents, carers, and staff are very positive about pupils’ behaviour at school, behaviour and safety

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

are judged satisfactory because some concerns have been raised, both through inspection questionnaires and during discussions with inspectors.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils say that they feel safe at school and their parents and carers agree with them. Attendance is above average. Pupils are aware of risks, including that of cyber- bullying, and are generally confident enough to approach an adult if they have any concerns.

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Leadership and management

The headteacher and other leaders and managers, including the governing body, are fully committed to working together to improve the school’s provision. Improving achievement in writing and the concentrated support in mathematics for groups of pupils who the school believes would benefit from it most are beginning to make a positive impact on the school’s performance. Pupils’ progress is now tracked systematically. Those measures indicate that the school’s capacity to improve is sound.

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Leadership and management

Middle leaders are keen to support planning in their subjects to improve classroom practice. They summarise and report on what has been implemented in their areas of responsibility and what they believe to have been achieved. However, the inconsistent quality of teaching is proving to be a barrier to improving the school’s overall effectiveness to ‘good’. Furthermore, the quality and rigour of the school’s monitoring and evaluation do not contribute sufficiently to the next stage of the school’s development. For example, development plans have the right priorities, but the intended outcomes are insufficiently clear or usable to evaluate their impact. School leaders’ observations of teaching and their scrutiny of pupils’ written work do not always focus explicitly on the impact teaching is having on pupils’ progress and Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

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Leadership and management

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

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Leadership and management

attainment. Because their monitoring and evaluation skills are insufficiently fine- tuned, they sometimes overestimate the school’s effectiveness.

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Leadership and management

The school’s curriculum has a suitable breadth and balance and is organised to meet the needs and interests of most groups of pupils. It ensures that disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs and pupils whose circumstances might make them vulnerable are well provided for. As a result, the pupils feel included in all that the school offers. The curriculum provides a range of enrichment experiences through educational visits, art, music, and sport that promote pupils’ creative response. The school’s engagement with parents and carers has improved considerably as a result of the deployment of support advisors, who work with parents, carers, and members of the community to enhance their interest in children’s learning at the school.

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Leadership and management

Arrangements for safeguarding meet statutory requirements. The school’s policies and procedures ensure pupils’ safety. Monitoring of the performance of different groups is used effectively to secure equal opportunities for all of them. The school takes a stand to ensure that no pupil or groups are discriminated against.

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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 Cam Everlands Primary School, Dursley GL11 5SF

Thank you for helping the inspection team when we visited your school recently. Special thanks are due to those pupils who filled in questionnaires or came to talk to us and share their views about the school. It was good to talk to you during lessons and see your work. We judged your school to be satisfactory, which means it is doing many things right and could do better in some others. Here are some of the good things about Cam Everlands.

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Inspection of Cam Everlands Primary School, Dursley GL11 5SF

 Most of you make rapid progress in writing as you move up through the school.  The standards you achieve in English and mathematics by the time you leave school are about average.  You concentrate on your work in lessons and get on well with each other.  You say you feel safe at school and your parents and carers agree with you.  The school’s links with your parents and carers and the community are good.

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Inspection of Cam Everlands Primary School, Dursley GL11 5SF

To improve your school further, we have asked your headteacher and other school leaders to make sure that:  you are given more opportunities to use your calculation skills to solve practical mathematical problems and to explain how you went about solving them  teachers make it clear what they expect you to have achieved by the end of lessons, change work in lessons if you find it too easy or too difficult and tell you precisely what you have done well  leaders and managers measure more thoroughly how well their plans are working by visiting classrooms and by continuing to refine their checking skills, so that they are able to judge how teaching is helping you in lessons and through your written work.

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Inspection of Cam Everlands Primary School, Dursley GL11 5SF

All of you can help by always taking note of teachers’ comments and marking and by not making the same mistakes again!

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Inspection of Cam Everlands Primary School, Dursley GL11 5SF

Krishan Sharma Lead inspector (on behalf of the inspection team) 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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