Stoke Canon Church of England Primary School and Pre-School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 13–14 June 2012 Inspection number 395588 Stoke Canon Church of England Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 113367 Local authority Devon Inspection number 395588 Inspection dates 13–14 June 2012 Lead inspector Deborah Zachary

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare provision, managed by the governing body, was inspected under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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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 94 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair David Santillo Headteacher Richard Somerwill Date of previous school inspection 26 February 2009 School address Stoke Canon Exeter EX5 4AS Telephone number 01392 841279 Fax number 01392 841224 Email address admin@stokecanon.devon.sch.uk

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Registered childcare provision Stoke Canon Pre-school Number of children on roll in the registered childcare provision Date of last inspection of registered childcare provision 21 April 2010 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 inspe cts 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 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

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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 inspector observed six lessons taught by four different teachers. She observed a part session at the pre- school also and made 13 shorter observations of other teaching and learning activities. They included five sessions in which phonics (the links between sounds and letters) were being taught and the breakfast club and after-school club. She held meetings with pupils, governors, staff, and the headteacher, and spoke informally to some parents and carers at the school gate. The inspector observed the school’s work, and looked at documentation including the development plan, the tracking of pupils’ attainment, and safeguarding information. She scrutinised 47 parental questionnaires, together with others returned by staff and pupils.

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Information about the school

Stoke Canon is much smaller than the average-sized primary school. Most of the pupils are of White British heritage. A below-average proportion is known to be eligible for free school meals. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, who are supported at the stage known as school action plus or have a statement of special educational needs, is above average. The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for attainment and progress by the end of Year 6.

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Information about the school

The school runs a pre-school, a breakfast club and an after-school club. They were all inspected and are included in the report. 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. Parents and carers are exceptionally satisfied with it. Teachers make lessons stimulating and fun. Some pupils make excellent progress. The school is not yet outstanding because some of the pupils in Key Stage 2 have made slower progress in mathematics and, in lessons, pupils are not always clear about what new learning they should be aiming for.  Children make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage (in both the pre-school and Reception Year). Progress is outstanding in Key Stage 1. It is mainly good in Key Stage 2, but satisfactory in mathematics. Reading is now a particular strength throughout the school.  Lessons are fun because teachers choose extremely interesting resources that they know pupils will enjoy. They question pupils well. They are careful to think about pupils’ different ability levels when they plan work. However, they do not always tell pupils of different abilities what they are aiming to learn by the end

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Key findings

of the lesson, so they miss a chance to help pupils push themselves harder.  Behaviour is good. Pupils concentrate very well in lessons. Attitudes to learning are good. Pupils are courteous and ready to help each other, for example when they eat lunch in mixed age groupings. They feel very safe and secure. One young pupil pointed to the playground at lunchtime and said ‘Everyone is my friend.’  Despite teaching for a significant part of the week, the headteacher provides perceptive and effective leadership. Supported by a strong governing body and committed staff, he has ensured that the school has completed a series of key developments since the last inspection. The quality of teaching is checked, but the monitoring system has some minor weaknesses. Year groups’ performances are analysed well in Years 1 to 6, but not so efficiently in the pre-school or Reception Year.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching and learning by:  ensuring teachers give pupils of different abilities clear and distinctive 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?

learning objectives for lessons, especially in mathematics, and revisit them regularly to assess what has been achieved  implementing a more-regular cycle of monitoring of lesson quality, in which middle leaders are fully involved and individual improvement areas identified for teachers are followed up.  Devise a more-efficient system to give a strategic overview of children’s progress in Reception Year and the pre-school, once new national goals are implemented in September 2012.

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Achievement of pupils

In a school as small as this, attainment on entry varies a great deal from year to year. Attainment by Year 6 is also affected by fluctuations, but tends to be above average. Unpicking the progress of pupils from their different starting points shows that it is good overall, but does vary in different parts of the school. However, girls and boys and pupils of different abilities all make similar progress. Pupils achieve well overall.

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Achievement of pupils

Progress in Reception Year has improved since the last inspection. Children, now, show good skills of independence. Good routines ensure they learn effectively through their play. In Key Stage 1, progress in reading is exceptional. Pupils use a range of strategies to get at the meaning of the text, but are particularly confident in their use of phonics (the sounds letters make). The current Year 2 pupils are reaching above-average standards in reading and have made excellent progress over Years 1 and 2. Their progress in writing and mathematics has been almost as rapid.

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Achievement of pupils

Progress is good in reading and writing in Key Stage 2. Attainment in these areas is usually above average by the end of Year 6. Achievement in mathematics is more variable. The Year 6 pupils who left in 2011 made exceptional progress in that subject, but current pupils have made progress more slowly. The pupils complete the work they are asked to do in mathematics lessons, but are not always clear on what outcomes they should be aiming for. As a result, as they work, they do not always focus on the key things that will accelerate their progress.

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Achievement of pupils

Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs learn well. During the inspection, they made good progress in intervention lessons, thoroughly enjoying activities that were fun as well as focused closely on their needs. They are closing the gap to other pupils nationally.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils’ enjoyment of the content of lessons means pupils engage readily with their learning and contribute to the progress of the whole class. For example, pupils in Reception Year and Year 1 were delighted to be able to identify the teacher’s ‘mistakes’ as she wrote a thank you letter in front of them and, as a result, achieved very well. Pupils work well independently also, throughout the school. In a Years 1 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

and 2 literacy lesson, pupils showed good concentration when working in pairs while the teacher taught others. The task was planned and structured well to keep their interest and engendered lively discussion.

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Quality of teaching

Teaching is good overall. All teachers build well on pupils’ interests and draw out their ideas through careful questioning that is pitched at the right level to challenge them or to prepare them for writing. Teachers encourage good social skills through effective discussion work. There are also some outstanding features of teaching. For example, teachers choose and use resources extremely well throughout the school. During the inspection an Olympic theme was prominent. A video of Usain Bolt gripped Years 5 and 6 pupils when it was used to introduce a mathematics lesson and packs of Olympic ‘top trumps’ helped pupils in Years 3 and 4 greatly to examine how mathematical strategies might be used to win a game. In Reception Year and Year 1, classroom resources such as Victorian dressing-up clothes are used well to encourage pupils’ learning in the context of their topic. Also, the teacher used stamps from Victorian times and the Silver Jubilee to introduce a lesson effectively

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Quality of teaching

and broaden the children’s cultural understanding. In Years 1 and 2, pupils were delighted when large models of mini-beasts were used to introduce their science lesson.

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Quality of teaching

Phonics is taught particularly well by teachers and teaching assistants, who work with small groups of pupils of similar abilities. The teachers and teaching assistants articulate sounds clearly and accurately, helping pupils to understand and engage, with careful attention to how the position of the tongue affects the sound. Intervention groups that help pupils catch up on reading are examples of the good teaching for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. Activities are matched to pupils’ individual needs well and teachers and teaching assistants are careful to change them to keep engagement levels high. The teachers and teaching assistants are rigorous in their challenge and demand for correct sounds.

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Quality of teaching

During the inspection there was some outstanding teaching in a Years 5 and 6 literacy lesson. Here, the teacher challenged pupils to reflect on how an animation put ideas and emotions across to the viewer. He drew out ideas exceptionally well through a combination of questioning and prompting, consistently targeting the learning he intended for pupils of different abilities. Pupils knew exactly what they wanted to achieve individually by the end of the lesson, because they were told what ‘all would’ do, what ‘most should’ do, and what ‘some could’ achieve. As a result, the pace was exceptionally high. However, such specific learning objectives or success criteria for pupils at different stages are not routinely a feature of lessons. They are sometimes too general to engage pupils in pushing themselves towards challenging lesson targets. Occasionally, pupils are confused about what they are trying to learn

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Quality of teaching

and, during the inspection, this slowed their progress, particularly in mathematics in Years 5 and 6. 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

Behaviour is good overall. The school’s behaviour records portray behaviour and relationships that are very good. Pupils are polite and respectful to adults. They help greatly with things like recycling. Breakfast and after-school clubs are much appreciated by those who attend. Parents and carers are very positive and have no concerns at all about behaviour. Pupils say everyone behaves well in lessons. Questionnaires and discussions show pupils are less positive about typical behaviour in the playground, but they confirm that adults are vigilant and the school is definitely helping children who may become angry to improve their self-control. During the inspection, discipline was excellent and pupils’ attitudes to learning were extremely positive. Pupils are very keen and interested and listen well to each other. They are well aware of their learning targets for a topic for half term. However, they are not enabled to demonstrate outstanding learning behaviour because they are not

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

always clear about what they should accomplish by the end of the lesson, so cannot reflect on whether or not they have achieved it.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils say they feel very safe in school and parents and carers who responded to questionnaires all agree. Pupils have an excellent understanding of how to stay safe and how to help others to do so. They are well aware of what bullying means and the different forms it might take in society, such as racist name calling, or cyber bullying. They say that bullying of any sort is very rare and any incidents at all between pupils are sorted out immediately and sensitively.

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Leadership and management

The school has made excellent improvement in the areas identified for action from the last inspection. Parental confidence is now extremely high, for example, all who gave their views agreed their children are taught well and make good progress. Independent learning is now very effective in Reception Year. Good improvements have also been made in other areas, for example, in the way staff assess pupils’ performance. School development planning is based on accurate self-assessment, professional development has a good impact, and plans are followed through effectively. Staff morale is high. Those things illustrate that the capacity to improve is strong.

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Leadership and management

Staff work together well and support each other. The headteacher has a very good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of staff, through both recorded and informal lesson observations. Statutory performance management meets requirements, but there is not a regular programme of other formal, recorded observations of lessons. When the lesson observations take place they are usually made by the headteacher and have a good focus on the impact that teaching is having on learning. However, middle managers have limited involvement in observing lessons and there is no system to make sure areas identified for improvement are followed up in future observations. 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

Governance is good and there are examples of it making an exceptionally strong contribution to the school. Safeguarding policies and procedures meet current national requirements. The school promotes equality effectively and staff and pupils are committed fully to tackling discrimination. Leaders make good use of data to look for patterns in the progress of groups and address underperformance in Key Stages 1 and 2. They use data in Reception Year effectively to check the continuing progress of each child, but it is not held in a form that allows leaders to take a strategic overview and analyse it for patterns.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum is broad, balanced and imaginative. Teachers promote literacy, numeracy, and personal development well in different subjects. Spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development is given good attention through the curriculum, including through questioning in lessons that encourages reflection. Enhancement activities, such as trips out or mathematics challenges, promote effective learning. The after-school club enriches pupils’ experiences, with a different theme every evening, including art, science, and film. 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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childcare provision

This section of the report applies only to the pre-school, which is located in the same building as the Reception Year and Year 1 class. Provision for Reception-Year children is covered in the main part of the report. The pre-school meets the needs of the children well. The children learn well and are developing confidence and independence. Most are making good progress in the different areas of learning. They take responsibility well. For example, during the inspection, a child borrowed a digital camera to take a photograph of the tower she had carefully built, handling it with care. The children play well and hold their concentration, with the support of good intervention and guidance from adults. The learning environment is well equipped and activities are planned carefully to challenge the individual children who are present at the time. Children are encouraged to make choices and investigate the

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childcare provision

world around them, mixing paint colours or learning words to do with size and capacity, through guided play. The children are protected and supported well. They benefit from opportunities to work with Reception-age children and confidently attend assembly with the whole school. They are very well prepared to move into the Reception Year.

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childcare provision

The adults work together to plan good activities and improve the provision. Identified staff (‘key persons’) take responsibility for specific children and for recording their assessments, which staff use effectively to ensure children are challenged by the activities provided for them. However, no-one keeps a strategic overview of the progress made by different groups. That means there is no quick way to see patterns in what the pre-school is achieving. Nevertheless, leadership is good. The pre-school leader knows the staff and children well, ensures staff receive appropriate professional development, and plans effectively for improvements to the setting. Both the recommendations from the previous report have been tackled. Registration and welfare requirements are met fully.

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childcare provision

These are the grades for the Early Years Foundation Stage of the registered childcare provision, inspected under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare A ct 2006

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childcare provision

Overall effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage Taking into account: Outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage The quality of provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage The effectiveness of leadership and management of the Early Years Foundation Stage for the registered provision

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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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EX5 4AS

Thank you for the help you gave me when I visited your school this week. I enjoyed hearing your views and reading your questionnaires very much. I would particularly like to thank the Year 6 pupils I spoke to for your mature and reflective approach to our meeting.

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EX5 4AS

You attend a good school, where you make good progress. Progress is sometimes excellent, particularly in reading in Key Stage 1. Your progress is a bit slower in mathematics in Key Stage 2 at the moment. Your behaviour is good. It was often excellent during the inspection, although some of you said that not everyone behaves so well in the playground. I was very impressed by your understanding of recycling and the way you help.

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EX5 4AS

Teachers make lessons interesting for you through the things they plan. They take a lot of trouble to make sure the work is usually at just the right level to challenge you. The school is led well and all the adults are working together to try and make it even better. The things I have asked them to do are listed below.

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EX5 4AS

 Make sure teachers tell you what you should be aiming for in each lesson and help you to check if you have achieved it – you can help with this, by trying to make sure you reach your lesson target every time.  Keep a closer check on what the different teachers could do to make their lessons even better.  Decide on a good way to summarise the progress of the children in Reception Year and the pre-school, so that leaders are very clear about how well the things they are doing are working.

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EX5 4AS

Deborah Zachary 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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