Wigmore Primary School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 19–20 June 2012 Inspection number 382052 Wigmore Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 136374 Local authority NA Inspection number 382052 Inspection dates 19–20 June 2012 Lead inspector Stephen Dennett

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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 Academy converter School category Non-maintained Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 148 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Cheryl Woolley Headteacher Andrew Shaw Date of previous school inspection 4 March 2009 School address Ford Street Wigmore Leominster HR6 9UN Telephone number 01568 770333 Fax number 01568 770333 Email address admin@wigmore.hereford.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 Reference source not found.Error! Reference source not found. 3 of 11

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days’ notice. The inspector visited eight lessons and parts of other lessons, and observed five teachers. He held meetings with members of the governing body, staff and groups of pupils. The inspector took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection, observed the school’s work, heard pupils’ reading and looked at policies, pupils’ books, safeguarding records and evidence of the monitoring of teaching and learning. The inspector examined 45 questionnaires from parents and carers, 80 from pupils in Key Stage 2 and 19 from staff.

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Information about the school

Wigmore Primary is a smaller than average-sized primary school. Nearly all pupils are of White British heritage and none speaks English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below average. The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported at school action plus is broadly average. The proportion of pupils who have a statement of special educational need is also broadly average. There are fewer girls at the school than boys. The proportion of pupils who join the school at times other than in Reception is above average. Pupils are taught in four mixed-age classes and one single-age class. Since the last inspection there have been some significant changes to staff and the school has become an academy. The school has been part of a federation with Wigmore High School since September 2007 and the headteacher and deputy headteacher oversee both schools. There is a separately registered

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Information about the school

nursery using the school building that is subject to a separate inspection. The governing body manages morning and afternoon out-of-school clubs, which were inspected. The school has the Eco Schools Green Flag Award, the Special Needs Quality Mark and the Gold Sing-Up Award. The school meets the current floor standard, which sets the minimum government expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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Key findings

 This is a good school. Standards have risen and continue to rise and pupils’ attainment is above average in English and mathematics at the end of Year 6. The school is not yet outstanding because pupils’ attainment in writing at Key Stage 1 needs to rise further and there are a few inconsistencies in the achievement of pupils on school action plus and those who join the school in Key Stage 2.   Most groups of pupils, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, make at least good progress, the majority from below average starting points when they first come to school. Nearly all gaps in performance are narrowing rapidly and several have been eliminated entirely.   The quality of teaching is good and all teachers have high expectations of pupils’ achievement and behaviour. Assessment is good and pupils are well aware of what they need to do to improve their work.   Behaviour is good throughout the school and pupils have positive attitudes to

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Key findings

learning. Pupils are welcoming and courteous to staff, each other and visitors. They say they feel safe and well looked after in school and evidently thoroughly enjoy learning.   The school is well led and managed. Good leadership and management of teachers’ performance have led to improvements in teaching and support. There is a clear drive to improve the school, which is shared by governors, staff, pupils, parents and carers. The curriculum is very well matched to pupils’ needs and makes a good contribution to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Links with parents and carers are good.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ attainment in writing at Key Stage 1 so that it is at least in line with national averages and other subjects by July 2013 by:  increasing pupils’ accuracy in spelling and punctuation 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?

 improving their handwriting so that it is neat and legible  improving their knowledge of basic grammar.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Eliminate the inconsistencies in the progress and attainment of pupils on school action plus and those who join the school in Key Stage 2 so that they all achieve at levels similar to that of other pupils.

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Achievement of pupils

Children enter Reception with attainment that is below expectations, especially in communication, language, literacy, calculation and their emotional development. They make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage and they generally reach the expected levels by the time they enter Year 1, except in writing. Pupils’ attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 is above average in reading and broadly average in mathematics. Writing is still below average and pupils' spelling, grammar, punctuation and handwriting all need improvement. However, the recent introduction of a commercial literacy programme is having a positive effect on the progress pupils are making. A small proportion of pupils join the school at times other than the start of their Reception year and some of these have behavioural, emotional and social needs. These factors sometimes have a negative effect on test results, as many pupils come into Key Stage 2 with low starting points.

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Achievement of pupils

There is clear evidence that most groups of pupils, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, are making at least good progress and by the end of Year 6 attain above average standards in English and mathematics. However, the data show that progress made by the small numbers of pupils on school action plus as well as those who join the school in Key Stage 2 is variable, and a few underachieve in relation to their starting points. The school has identified the barriers to learning for these vulnerable pupils, but as yet this has not resulted in all of them making the progress of which they are capable. Pupils’ attainment in reading is above average at the end of Year 6 and pupils use their skills effectively in many areas of the curriculum. In Key Stage 2, pupils write for a wide range of purposes and show a sophisticated use of vocabulary. The school has focused on the performance of boys and gaps have narrowed so much that there is no significant

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Achievement of pupils

difference in their attainment and that of girls in most year groups. Pupils known to be eligible for free school meals perform at a better level than those nationally.

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Achievement of pupils

In lessons and over time, pupils make good gains in their knowledge and understanding. Many pupils have well-developed communications skills and explain their reasoning effectively, for example in a good literacy lesson in Year 6 where they explained why they thought a text passage had been written by Charles Dickens. Pupils’ mathematical skills are developing well and pupils in Key Stage 2 are making accelerated progress. Previous under achievement in the subject has been successfully eliminated and pupils say they really enjoy their numeracy lessons. In a Year 6 lesson where a group of boys were designing a board game, they 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

concentrated very well and used their excellent understanding of algebra to create equations to be solved by players of the game. More-able pupils in Year 4 have a good grasp of place value and correctly multiply and divide numbers by 100 and 1000, with up to three places of decimals. Less-able pupils also are progressing well and, for example in Year 3, use coins to work out accurately the change they need to give for items bought from an imaginary shop.

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Achievement of pupils

All parents and carers are happy with the progress their children are making. One wrote, ‘This is a super school. Its standards and ethics are excellent. My son is very happy and is making excellent all round progress.’ Pupils also say they think they are learning effectively. Inspection evidence supports these positive views.

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Quality of teaching

Teaching is almost always good throughout the school, with some outstanding practice at Key Stage 2. Teachers have good subject knowledge and use a wide range of teaching methods successfully to engage pupils. Some mathematics lessons are particularly imaginative and this is greatly appreciated by pupils, who respond with high levels of concentration and application to their work. Teaching assistants give very valuable support to teachers and pupils, both in the classroom and in small withdrawal groups. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are given support, enabling most of them to learn effectively. Staff make good use of questioning to extend pupils’ understanding of what they are learning and what they need to do to improve. Relationships between staff and pupils are very secure and this provides an excellent environment for learning. Planning is effective and clearly identifies what pupils will learn. The teaching of reading is effective, enabling nearly

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Quality of teaching

all pupils to make good progress. The curriculum is used creatively and imaginatively by teachers to develop pupils’ personal and social skills and the result is seen the mature and positive attitudes of nearly all pupils. Pupils have contributed to the design of the curriculum by suggesting what they would like to study and the topics to be covered. This has resulted in very high levels of engagement and enjoyment in learning.

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Quality of teaching

Assessment systems are good and are used effectively to identify individuals and groups of pupils who need additional support. The detailed tracking process ensures that pupils are monitored closely and interventions are proving to be effective in helping most of them learn rapidly. Marking is good and provides a valuable tool to help pupils understand how well they are learning and what they need to do to move on to the next level.

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Quality of teaching

Many parents and carers commented on the good quality of teaching and the positive effect this has had on their children. The inspection findings support these positive views.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

In lessons and over time, pupils’ behaviour is good. Very occasionally, pupils with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties who have recently joined the school or who are on school action plus cause low-level disruption because of inattention. 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

However, these incidents are dealt with well and pupils settle in quickly to the school’s routine. Nearly all pupils are well aware of the class and school rules and most follow them consistently. As a result, the school is a calm and welcoming learning environment. Pupils are almost always polite and very willing to help others. The school council and ‘buddies’ assist greatly in maintaining the good standards of conduct and behaviour around the school. Pupils say they are safe in school and insist that there are very few incidents of bullying of any kind. Nearly all pupils say they are well aware of internet safety and the dangers of cyber bullying.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Most parents and carers support these positive views. Although a few pupils, parents and carers raised minor concerns about behaviour, these related to isolated incidents involving pupils who had recently joined the school. The inspector investigated these and found that the school had dealt them with effectively.

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Leadership and management

The school has benefited greatly from its federation with Wigmore High School, including effective joint training, planning and shared resources. The school is well led and managed by the headteacher. There is a clear educational direction to its work, which is shared by all. The sustained focus on raising attainment and improving the quality of teaching is communicated consistently to parents and carers, pupils and the wider community by the effective senior leadership team and the joint governing body. Governors monitor the school’s provision well and they make a good contribution to the school’s self-evaluation process.

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Leadership and management

The school has demonstrated its capacity for improvement by the way in which it has successfully raised standards in mathematics throughout the school and dealt with the key issue raised by the last inspection. Much better use is made of marking to inform pupils how well they are doing and what they need to do to improve. There has been good monitoring of teaching, leading to a marked improvement in the teaching of mathematics and literacy. There are good links between monitoring and teachers’ professional development and the school targets for improvement in its development plan. Key to this has been the effective assessment and tracking system, which enables managers and teachers closely to monitor pupils’ progress and attainment. The curriculum is good because it is creative and innovative in meeting pupils’ needs, with a strong emphasis on pupils’ spiritual, moral, cultural, emotional and social development.

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Leadership and management

The school is inclusive and has ensured that all pupils have equal access to all it has to offer, whatever their background. Great emphasis is placed on removing barriers to learning and any discrimination. The school has been diligent in ensuring that safeguarding is effective and requirements are fully met.

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Leadership and management

The school has been successful in engaging many parents and carers who are traditionally hard to reach and nearly all parents and carers would recommend the school to others. All parents and carers agree that the school is well led and managed. Inspection evidence supports this view. The successfully run before- and after-school clubs provide a useful service for parents and carers.

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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 Wigmore Primary School, Leominster, HR6 9UN

I want to start by thanking all of you for making me so welcome to your school. I very much enjoyed the many conversations I had with you and the polite way you answered my questions. What was most impressive was the way you looked after each other and obviously enjoyed your lessons. This letter is to tell you what I found out.

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Inspection of Wigmore Primary School, Leominster, HR6 9UN

Your school is good and provides you with interesting lessons, to which you contribute by suggesting topics and things you would like to learn. Teachers help you by making sure that the tasks you have to do in lessons are well matched to what you already know. You all told me how safe and well cared for you feel and that there is hardly any trouble or bullying. Your school is well led and is improving all the time.

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Inspection of Wigmore Primary School, Leominster, HR6 9UN

I have asked your headteacher and the governors to make your school even better by making sure that pupils in Key Stage 1 improve their writing skills. You can help by working hard on learning your spelling words, checking your punctuation and making sure your handwriting is neat. I have also said that teachers need to make sure that some of you who find some things really difficult are helped to make better progress and achieve higher standards. I have also asked teachers to make sure pupils who have come from other schools in Key Stage 2 settle in quickly and do as well as the rest of you.

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Inspection of Wigmore Primary School, Leominster, HR6 9UN

I am sure you all want to help the school improve and I wish you all the best for the future.

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Inspection of Wigmore Primary School, Leominster, HR6 9UN

Stephen Dennett 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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