Lovington Church of England Primary School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 23–24 May 2012 Inspection number 380725 Lovington Church of England Primary School Inspection report

p.1

Unique reference number 123766 Local authority Somerset Inspection number 380725 Inspection dates 23–24 May 2012 Lead inspector Stephen Lake

p.1

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

p.1

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 53 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Nicola Seager Headteacher Claire Marsland Date of previous school inspection 21 November 2006 School address Lovington Castle Cary Somerset BA7 7PX Telephone number 01963 240305 Fax number 01963 240659 Email address office@lovingtonschool.co.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

p.1

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’.

p.2

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.

p.2

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

p.2

Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. A variety of classroom observation techniques were used, some in partnership with the headteacher. Five teachers and a higher-level teaching assistant were observed teaching across eight lessons. Short visits were made to a further four sessions with the headteacher and the school’s breakfast club was visited on both mornings. Meetings were held with groups of pupils, members of the governing body and staff. The school’s strategic plan for raising achievement was read and the inspector and headteacher together evaluated samples of pupils’ work. Other documents looked at included curriculum planning, documents relating to safeguarding and child protection, records of pupils’ attainment and progress, and records relating to the monitoring of teaching. Some parents and carers were consulted at the start of the school day. Inspection questionnaires received from pupils, staff and 42 parents and carers were analysed.

p.3

Introduction

There were no responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View).

p.3

Information about the school

This school is much smaller than average. Since the previous inspection it has reduced from three to two classes and a new headteacher was appointed four years ago. The school serves principally the local village, but a significant number of pupils attend from nearby villages and towns. The vast majority of pupils are White British. Many more pupils than usual join or leave the school other than at the normal times. The proportion of pupils known to be entitled to 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 main needs are behavioural, emotional and social difficulties, and specific learning difficulties. The school manages a breakfast club. The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

p.3

Information about the school

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

p.4

Key findings

 This is good school where pupils achieve well. It is not outstanding because achievement in writing is not as good as it is in reading and mathematics. In addition, leadership and management of the Early Years Foundation Stage are not quite as strong as other aspects of leadership and management. All of the large percentage of parents and carers who completed questionnaires would recommend this school.  Children make good progress in most aspects of the Early Years Foundation Stage, but progress in knowledge and understanding of the world is not quite as strong. By the end of Year 6 pupils make good progress and attain standards that are above average overall and well above in mathematics. Attainment in writing is broadly average overall because not enough of the more-able pupils are attaining the higher standards of which they are capable.  The quality of teaching is good and contributes well to pupils’ good learning. A

p.4

Key findings

small amount is of inconsistent quality, especially in writing where some lessons do not challenge all pupils well enough. In a few lessons, the pace of learning is not brisk enough. In the Early Years Foundation Stage activities planned for outdoors are not linked closely enough to the main themes of lessons.  Behaviour and safety are outstanding. The school is very effective at promoting pupils’ spiritual, moral and social education. As a result, pupils’ exemplary behaviour contributes very well to learning. Pupils are kept very safe and understand how to stay safe.  Leadership and management are good. The school has an accurate view of its strengths and weaknesses and uses the information well to plan school improvement. Performance management is used well to target professional development to improve the quality of teaching. New subject leaders are proving effective in helping to raise pupils’ achievement.

p.4

Key findings

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

p.5

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the management of the Early Years Foundation Stage to ensure that, by September 2012:  the planning and delivery of the curriculum are reviewed and all elements, especially knowledge and understanding of the world, are allocated appropriate time to secure children’s good progress  outdoor activities are linked more closely to the main themes of lessons.  By July 2013, improve achievement in writing, especially for more-able pupils by:  ensuring that tasks set in lessons challenge all pupils, especially the more able, to achieve their very best  ensuring that all lessons proceed at an appropriately brisk pace  providing more consistent opportunities to develop writing skills across the curriculum.

p.5

Achievement of pupils

The vast majority of parents and carers agree that their children make good progress in their learning. Inspection evidence supports this view. The small size of the school means that attainment on entry varies considerably from year to year, but typically children start school with skills in line with those normally found at age four. They make good progress overall and start Year 1 well prepared for learning. Achievement in communication, language and literacy and in personal and social education and development is particularly good. Achievement in Years 1 and 2 has improved considerably recently due to more focused teaching. Pupils in the current Year 2 are making good progress and are on track to attain above average.

p.5

Achievement of pupils

Pupils make good progress in Years 3 to 6. Attainment in national assessments is typically above average at age 11 but varies from year to year because of the small cohorts and the large of number of pupils who join or leave the school other than at the normal time. Achievement in mathematics is particularly good due to consistently good teaching and pupils in Years 5 and 6 are on track for outstanding achievement in mathematics. In an outstanding lesson observed with Years 5 and 6 pupils, including those who have joined the school recently, excellent progress was made in considering how to use and interpret bar charts. They were motivated by the link to the forthcoming Olympics as they considered the proportions of medals allocated to different countries in the 2004 Olympics. Learning was enhanced because the teacher made learning enjoyable and relevant.

p.5

Achievement of pupils

Progress in writing across the school is improving rapidly as teachers focus upon developing talk for writing in order to prepare pupils to undertake written tasks. Almost all lessons now make effective use of strategies such as talk partners and ‘talk for writing’ to enable pupils to develop suitable vocabulary before starting their writing. This is proving particularly effective at ensuring that all pupils contribute to 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

p.5

Achievement of pupils

discussions and develop vocabulary that supports them in their writing. In a good lesson observed with Years 3 and 4, pupils were particularly motivated by a task to write magic spells such as ‘turning their teacher into a toad’. Discussion with partners and in groups stimulated pupils to come up with imaginative and relevant slogans for their writing. Some made good use of word play with slogans such as ‘This is toadly fantastic,’ that showed their confidence with language.

p.6

Achievement of pupils

The new literacy leader has revised the way reading is taught. Daily sessions that focus upon developing pupils’ understanding of letters and sounds (phonics) are taught in a rigorous and systematic manner. All adults lead groups based upon pupils’ prior achievement and pupils move between the groups as a result of the frequent and regular assessments of their reading. Pupils are learning very effectively and the already good achievement in reading is improving rapidly and consistently. By the end of Year 2, achievement in English, including reading, is on track to be outstanding this year; this is also the case in reading for the vast majority of pupils in Year 6.

p.6

Achievement of pupils

Pupils who are disabled and those with special educational needs receive high quality support from capable teaching assistants. As a result they are fully engaged in learning and make similar progress as other pupils, with some of them making outstanding progress in short periods of time to close the gap between their attainment and that of their peers.

p.6

Quality of teaching

An overwhelming majority of the many parents and carers who responded to the inspection questionnaire consider that their child is taught well. Inspection evidence supports this view and shows that teaching is mostly good, with some that is outstanding.

p.6

Quality of teaching

Teachers make good use of information and communication technology to stimulate and motivate pupils. Visits and visitors to the school are used effectively when implementing the well-planned and creative curriculum. For example, the school trip to watch one of the teaching assistants carry the Olympic torch, followed by a visit to Bristol Zoo, provided an excellent contribution to pupils’ personal development. Both events stimulated a great deal of discussion and writing in a wide range of lessons. These high quality opportunities to promote discussion as a way of stimulating writing are becoming more frequent but are still not sufficiently well embedded across the whole curriculum.

p.6

Quality of teaching

In most lessons, the sharing of objectives with pupils is well focused and sets a secure context for learning. For example, in a good lesson observed with Reception and Years 1 and 2, mathematical concepts of ‘longer’, ‘shorter’ and ‘time’ were developed through well-targeted and motivating activities and games. Pupils of all abilities, included disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, have tasks matched closely to their prior learning and as a result make good progress. Nevertheless, in a small minority of lessons, especially in writing, objectives are set 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

p.6

Quality of teaching

for the whole class which are too broad. As a result, work is too hard for some of the youngest or less able and does not challenge the most able pupils enough. In some lessons, teachers take too long explaining the lesson or going over previous work. The pace of learning slows in these lessons and limits the time available for more challenging tasks matched to the different abilities of pupils.

p.7

Quality of teaching

Pupils appreciate the way teachers talk to them about their work and how to make it better. They like the targets in their books and clearly understand how well they are achieving them. For the older pupils, teachers’ written marking usually reinforces oral guidance well.

p.7

Behaviour and safety of pupils

Adults manage behaviour effectively and consistently set very high expectations of how pupils should behave. Inspection evidence shows that in the last few years behaviour has improved considerably because the very good support for pupils with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties has engaged them well in learning. This is a key factor in the rapidly improving achievement. The overwhelming majority of parents and carers believe that behaviour is good and pupils agree.

p.7

Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils say, and their parents and carers agree, that they feel very safe in school and that incidents of bullying are extremely rare. They have an excellent awareness of different types of bullying – including physical, verbal and emotional bullying. They have a strong understanding of cyber-bullying and how to avoid it. Pupils are confident that any bullying that might occur will be dealt with effectively. They say that adults listen to them and they can share any concerns easily. Inspectors found pupils respond very well to teachers’ directions and show excellent cooperation in lessons. Attendance has improved and is above average this year. The breakfast club provides a calm and enjoyable start to the day for those who attend.

p.7

Leadership and management

The headteacher has a very clear vision for the school and all staff and governors share her ambitious view of how the school can improve further. The governing body has a firm understanding of the strengths and areas for development. The governors have been particularly effective in helping improve leadership and management and balance the workload of the headteacher in improving the quality of teaching and learning. A deliberate policy to appoint some experienced staff has enabled the subject responsibilities to be shared. Performance management is used effectively to identify areas for improvement in teaching and good quality professional development is put in place as a result. Subject leaders are already providing strong leadership, especially in special educational needs and literacy.

p.7

Leadership and management

The headteacher, in discussion with staff, has identified the need to improve the leadership and management of the Early Years Foundation Stage and suitable professional development has recently taken place. In order to manage change effectively the current focus is upon improving pupils’ writing and further changes 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

p.7

Leadership and management

identified as needed to the Early Years Foundation Stage have been delayed until later this term. The significant leadership skills of the headteacher ensure that teachers with management responsibility feel empowered to make changes which are bringing about significant improvement in the quality of teaching and the achievement of pupils.

p.8

Leadership and management

The broad, balanced and well resourced curriculum ensures a creative environment and contributes very well to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Procedures for safeguarding, especially those for child protection, are robust. Policies are of good quality and training for staff and governors is up to date. The school takes great care to ensure equality of opportunity and prevent discrimination. The progress of all pupils, especially those whose circumstances may make them vulnerable, is monitored regularly and frequently. The information gained is used increasingly to target additional and effective support. The impact of the work of all leaders and managers can be seen in the good teaching and improving rates of pupil progress and behaviour. The improvements over the last few years show a clear capacity to maintain strengths and improve further.

p.8

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.

p.9

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

p.9

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 schoo ls. 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.

p.9

Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

p.9

Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

p.10

Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

Common terminology used by inspectors

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

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

p.11

Inspection of Lovington C of E Primary School, Castle Cary BA7 4PX

Thank you for making me so welcome when I came to visit your school. I particularly enjoyed hearing about your visit to see the Olympic torch relay.

p.11

Inspection of Lovington C of E Primary School, Castle Cary BA7 4PX

Yours is a good school and improving. You achieve well to attain standards better than those in most schools. Here are just a few of the good things about your school.

p.11

Inspection of Lovington C of E Primary School, Castle Cary BA7 4PX

 You get a good start to school in the Early Years Foundation Stage and achieve well all the way through school because of the exciting activities and good teaching. You achieve particularly well in reading and mathematics.  I agree with you that the school looks after you very well and helps you understand how to stay safe, especially when you are using the internet.  The school works very hard to make your learning enjoyable, with many exciting and stimulating activities.  Your outstanding behaviour and positive attitudes to learning are reasons that your achievement is improving rapidly.  Your school is led and managed well and all leaders and managers, including the governors, are working hard to make the school even better.

p.11

Inspection of Lovington C of E Primary School, Castle Cary BA7 4PX

In order to help you learn even more effectively I have asked the school to:  make sure that all the good ways that have been introduced to help you improve your reading and writing are used in all subjects. You can help by always trying to produce your best writing in all lessons  improve the way that the Early Years Foundation Stage is managed so that those of you in Reception have access to a full range of activities outdoors and these are matched closely to the main theme of the lesson.

p.11

Inspection of Lovington C of E Primary School, Castle Cary BA7 4PX

Thank you again for making me so welcome.

p.11

Inspection of Lovington C of E Primary School, Castle Cary BA7 4PX

Stephen Lake 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 .

p.11