Edwinstree Church of England Middle School

Age group 9–13 Inspection date(s) 24–25 May 2012 Inspection number 395302 Edwinstree Church of England Middle School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 117554 Local authority Hertfordshire Inspection number 395302 Inspection dates 24–25 May 2012 Lead inspector Stephen Walker

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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 Middle deemed secondary School category Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 9–13 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 454 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mark King Headteacher Julie Michael Date of previous school inspection 24 September 2008 School address Norfolk Road Buntingford SG9 9AW Telephone number 01763 271446 Fax number 01763 274005 Email address admin@edwinstree.herts.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 30 lessons and observed 21 teachers. Meetings were held with the headteacher, the Chair of the Governing Body, an additional governor, senior leaders, staff and groups of pupils. The inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection, observed the school’s work and looked at a range of evidence, including the school development plan, the tracking system to monitor pupils’ progress, safeguarding documentation, and a sample of pupils’ work. They also analysed questionnaires completed by staff, pupils and 354 parents and carers.

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Information about the school

The school is of average size, serving the town of Buntingford and local villages. The majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds, with a very small number from minority ethnic backgrounds. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or who have a statement of special educational needs is below average. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is also below average. The school meets the current floor standard, which sets the government’s minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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Information about the school

The school has recently reorganised the senior leadership team. The school has received the Sportsmark, Activemark, ECO School Bronze and International Schools awards, and has achieved National Healthy Schools status. 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 outstanding school is high achieving and provides a very safe and happy environment. Standards have been consistently maintained at a very high level. The school has made substantial improvement to the quality of teaching since the last inspection, when it was judged to be good.

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Key findings

 Pupils’ achievement is outstanding and by the end of Year 8, their attainment is well above average in both English and mathematics. Pupils make a good start in Year 5 and Year 6 and most pupils continue through school making rapid and sustained progress in all subjects.

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Key findings

 The overall quality of teaching is outstanding so that pupils make excellent progress over their time at the school. There is a very positive learning atmosphere in lessons and teachers have high expectations for all pupils. Although teachers are very conscientious with their planning of lessons, they do not always fully check pupils’ understanding of the work.

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Key findings

 Pupils’ behaviour is excellent. They feel very safe, are polite and respectful, and have very positive attitudes to learning. They enjoy school and develop into friendly and considerate individuals. Attendance is well above average and reflects pupils’ real enjoyment of school.

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Key findings

 The school is exceptionally well led and managed. The headteacher has a precise understanding of the areas for development, including the performance and professional development needs of staff. Senior leaders and subject leaders provide high quality leadership of teaching and learning. The school has embraced the need for continuous improvement and has been successful in raising standards further since the last inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that all teachers check that pupils understand both the work in lessons 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

Most parents and carers who responded to the inspection questionnaire feel that their children make excellent progress. The inspection found that achievement is outstanding for pupils during their time at the school. Pupils enter the school with standards that are above the national average and make outstanding progress during their time at school. By the time pupils leave the school, attainment is well above average across the range of subjects. The large majority of pupils in Year 8 exceed the national standards expected of pupils at the end of Year 9 in all subjects. For example, pupils demonstrated outstanding progress in mathematics in 2011 with over 70% of pupils gaining level 6 standards; (level 6 is higher than expected nationally).

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils make excellent progress in reading because this is a key focus in the school. By the end of Year 8, standards in reading are well above the national average. The school has been active in encouraging parents to read with their children at home. In addition, each class has a reading period every week which has greatly supported the improvement in reading standards across the school.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils’ current work and lessons show that the majority are making rapid and sustained progress in most subjects. The school has been particularly successful in accelerating the progress of boys in English through an emphasis on structured writing and ensuring that there is wide range of suitable reading material for them. In lessons, most pupils learn very well. Their attitudes are very positive and they work extremely well with others, respecting each other’s views. They are able to reflect and are growing in confidence when discussing issues in class. They persevere with challenges and enjoy taking responsibility for their own learning.

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Achievement of pupils

The well-developed tracking system and range of intervention strategies are used exceptionally well to identify and support any pupils who are at risk of underachieving. Subject teachers are effectively developing and implementing action plans for pupils who are not making the required progress towards their challenging targets. Most disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make progress in line with their peers because of excellent additional support from teaching assistants, which helps them overcome barriers to learning and take a full part in lessons with the other pupils. The very small number of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds also make outstanding progress.

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Quality of teaching

The vast majority of parents and carers who returned questionnaires feel that their children are taught well and pupils agree. Much of the teaching is outstanding and it 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

is never less than consistently good, with the result that the pupils are making exceptional progress over time. Lessons involve a range of interesting activities so that pupils display great enthusiasm and sustain high levels of concentration. Pupils learn particularly well because activities are very well matched to their different abilities. Displays in classrooms provide a stimulating environment for learning and celebrate pupils’ work. Disabled pupils and those who find learning difficult or have special educational needs are very well supported and challenged by teaching assistants in class or withdrawn on a regular basis in small groups for extra help in reading, writing and numeracy. Teaching is excellent in these small group sessions. Marking is supportive and is increasingly more detailed and helpful in showing pupils how they can improve their work. There are occasional inconsistencies in the

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Quality of teaching

classroom when teachers assume too much and do not always check that pupils understand both the work in lessons and the tasks which are set for them.

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Quality of teaching

All pupils have regular periods of literacy and numeracy, and this aspect of the curriculum greatly supports the teaching of basic skills. Teaching in the school actively supports the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils. Pupils are encouraged to think about and express their own beliefs and values as seen in the Year 7 English lesson where pupils analysed how texts influence personal opinion.

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Quality of teaching

Outstanding teaching was seen when teachers challenged their pupils with high quality questioning and tasks as well as encouraging them to take greater responsibility for their own learning. Highly skilled teachers were able to engage the whole class, including both boys and girls, in discussions and ensured that most pupils had an opportunity to contribute to the lessons. For example, Year 6 pupils made rapid progress when they were set the task of creating board games to demonstrate recently learnt mathematical concepts and then explaining their rationale to the rest of the class.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The vast majority of parents and carers are highly positive about behaviour in the school. The behaviour of pupils is excellent and this contributes to an ideal atmosphere for learning and personal growth. Pupils’ behaviour is outstanding in lessons and around the school, and this contributes to a calm and orderly environment. In lessons, pupils consistently meet the school’s expectations and, typically, pupils respond well to teachers’ good use of praise and encouragement to promote high standards of behaviour. Pupils as a whole are highly proficient in managing their own behaviour in lessons and around the school. For example, pupils can be trusted to work on their own, move around the corridors and play outside at break and lunchtimes with minimum supervision. Pupils are considerate, polite and courteous to staff and each other and this has a very positive effect on learning. They make every effort to ensure that the other pupils learn and flourish in an

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Although bullying of any kind is extremely rare, pupils, parents and carers say any 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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Behaviour and safety of pupils

unkind behaviour, such as teasing and name calling, is dealt with quickly and effectively. All class groups are actively engaged in supporting the school’s anti- bullying policy and pupils are very aware of the different forms of possible bullying such as cyber-bullying and prejudice-based bullying related to sexual orientation, gender, race and disability. Teachers and other adults take good steps to ensure that all groups of pupils have an equal chance to thrive in an atmosphere of fairness and trust, and without fear. The Resilience Programme in Year 7 is greatly supporting self confidence and respect for others so that all pupils feel valued as individuals in the school. Pupils feel very safe in the school and display an excellent understanding of the issues relating to safety. They talk confidently about how they would keep themselves safe in a variety of situations such as using the internet, talking to

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Leadership and management

The headteacher is providing very effective leadership so that staff work very closely on the shared vision to gain the very best academic and personal outcomes for all pupils. The newly formed senior leadership team is developing well and greatly supporting the improvements in the school. Rigorous systems of monitoring teaching and tracking pupils’ progress are responsible for the high standards in literacy and numeracy. Professional development of staff is a key focus in the school so that teachers are continually reflecting on their teaching practice in order to improve the quality of learning further in their classes.

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Leadership and management

The governing body is well informed of the school’s progress and areas for development. Its members are fully involved in monitoring progress and in holding the school to account. They are reviewing the milestones of the success criteria of the school development plan so that it is a more effective tool in the monitoring process. Robust procedures for safeguarding meet statutory requirements and underpin the school’s very caring approach. There is a strong commitment to promoting equal opportunities and tackling discrimination.

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Leadership and management

The school has developed an imaginative and engaging curriculum which is highly relevant to pupils’ needs and provides an exciting range of enrichment activities. For example, visits including those to Normandy, Derbyshire, London and Cambridge provide excellent enhancement for the curriculum as well as a range of extra curricular activities which greatly increase pupils’ enjoyment and experience of school. The broad range of experiences within the curriculum contributes very well to pupils’ achievements and to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils gain confidence and self-esteem, and develop excellent social skills and a genuine respect for each other. The International School award recognises that the school is very active in developing pupils’ awareness of different cultures through links with a school in Rwanda and frequent multicultural activities in assemblies and religious education, personal and social education lessons.

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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 a bout 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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SG9 9AW

Thank you for making us so welcome and for sharing your views with us during the inspection and through your questionnaires. We greatly enjoyed watching your lessons and looking at your work. It was also good to see you during assembly, at playtime and lunch. Your school is an outstanding one which has made considerable improvements since the last inspection. We know that your parents and carers are very supportive of the school and value the education provided for you. There are many positive things about your school.

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SG9 9AW

 You enjoy school, attend regularly and work hard in your lessons.  You make excellent progress in your subjects and attain well-above-average standards.  You are exceptionally well behaved and feel very safe in the school.  You are considerate, respectful and courteous to staff and each other.  Your teachers provide a range of interesting activities which engage and challenge you.  Your school is outstanding in its support of both your academic and personal development.  Your school is led very effectively by the headteacher, senior leaders and the governing body.

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SG9 9AW

The headteacher and staff are always looking at ways to make your school even better so we hope you will continue to use the school council to put forward your ideas for improvement. We have asked your teachers to make sure that they are consistently checking your understanding of work in lessons and the tasks which are set for you. You can all help by asking the teacher for help when you do not understand the work.

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SG9 9AW

We trust that you will continue to work hard, behave well and benefit from the range of opportunities in your school. We wish you every success in your future education.

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SG9 9AW

Stephen Walker 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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