Ilsington Church of England Primary School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 27–28 June 2012 Inspection number 395760 Ilsington CE VC Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 136919 Local authority Devon Inspection number 395760 Inspection dates 27–28 June 2012 Lead inspector Phillip Minns

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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 Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 71 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Faye Tonepohl Headteacher Hugh Bellamy (Executive Headteacher) Date of previous school inspection N/A School address Ilsington Newton Abbot TQ13 9RE Telephone number 01364 661208 Fax number 01364 661208 Email address admin@ilsington-primary.devon.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. Eight lessons were observed and all five teachers were seen teaching. Meetings were held with the associate headteacher, groups of pupils, staff, the executive headteacher, members of the governing body and the substantive executive headteacher. The inspector took account of the responses to the online Parent View survey in planning the inspection, observed the school’s work, and looked at a range of documentation including school improvement planning, assessment information, lesson planning, the school’s monitoring information and policies. The inspector scrutinised questionnaires completed by 52 parents and carers, 10 staff and 37 pupils.

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Information about the school

The school is much smaller than the average-sized primary school. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is well below the national average. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is higher than average. There is on-site before-school childcare provision which is managed by the school. The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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Information about the school

Since its last inspection the school has become an academy and joined a Trust with four local schools. Currently, the headteacher of the local secondary school is the executive headteacher with an associate headteacher having responsibility for the day-to-day leadership of the school. There has been considerable change in the senior leadership of the school over the past three years. A permanent structure is in place for September 2012, with a new executive headteacher shared with a neighbouring primary school, and a full-time head of school. 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

 Ilsington Primary is a good school. It is not outstanding because teaching is not of a consistently high enough quality to ensure that all pupils make outstanding progress. Teaching does not always fully challenge pupils or give them the opportunity to lead their own learning.

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Key findings

 Pupils make good progress throughout the school. Close tracking of individuals in the small year groups ensures that pupils achieve well from their starting points. Although the achievement of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs has not been consistently good in the past, these pupils also now make good progress.

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Key findings

 Teaching is good across the school. When teaching is at its best, pupils are actively engaged in their learning and teachers’ strong subject knowledge enables them to provide high levels of challenge to accelerate pupils’ progress. Pupils make slower progress when they are less engaged in their learning and have limited opportunities for independent work.

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Key findings

 Behaviour in and around the school is good. Pupils display good manners and treat adults and each other with respect. Behaviour for learning is not yet outstanding because pupils do not always have sufficient opportunity to be active learners in class leading their own learning.

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Key findings

 Leadership and management are good. The associate headteacher leads teaching well and has made it more consistently good. School performance is managed well and successful action has been taken to raise pupils’ achievement.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Accelerate rates of progress by ensuring pupils are always fully engaged in their learning, by: 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?

- ensuring increased opportunities for pupils to lead their own learning and develop independent learning skills - coordinating all elements of the curriculum to provide even richer opportunities for learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the amount of teaching that is consistently good or outstanding, by: - using challenging questioning that promotes learning - ensuring consistently high expectations of handwriting and presentation of work in books across the school  making sure that pupils are given helpful feedback, both verbally and in writing in their books so they always know what they are doing well and what they need to do to improve.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils make good progress in most lessons. Pupils achieve well when activities are well matched to their current levels of attainment and contain sufficient challenge. This was typified in a Year 6 lesson where pupils worked independently to solve challenging problems with ratio and proportion. The adult support they received made them think for themselves and learn more.

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Achievement of pupils

Children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills that are broadly in line with age-related expectations and make good progress. Most achieve well and are ahead of the expected levels in all areas of development by the time they enter Year 1 and attainment is improving year on year. Children in the Reception class are able to write simple sentences using a range of straightforward and more complex words. During the inspection, children were observed enthusiastically tackling compound words, for example ‘lighthouse’, with confidence and pride. This effective learning provides them with a very secure foundation for reading and writing.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils make good progress across Key Stage 1 and 2. School data indicate that pupils currently in both Year 2 and Year 6 have already at least met and, many, surpassed national averages for English and mathematics.

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Achievement of pupils

Any gaps in achievement between individuals and groups compared with that of pupils nationally have been narrowed across the school by a more strategic approach to the delivery of targeted provision for individual learners. For example, better teaching has increased rates of progress and resulted in improved outcomes for pupils in Year 6. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress through the school. Enhanced and better directed systems and support have improved provision for these pupils. However, the effectiveness of interventions and support vary too much for progress to always be good for all these pupils. 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

Achievement in reading by the end of Year 2 is improving and the school’s reliable data indicate that all pupils in Year 2 will achieve at least age-related levels in reading. Pupils in Year 2 use secure phonic (sounds and letters) knowledge to decode unknown words and many read fluently and with expression. Pupils in Year 6 enjoy reading and are able to talk confidently about their favourite authors and types of books. They have developed a good range of reading skills and inspection evidence and school assessment indicate that they have all reached, at least, average standards and many have surpassed this level.

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Achievement of pupils

Most parents and carers believe their children are making good progress and that the school meets their children’s learning needs, and inspection findings largely endorse their views.

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Quality of teaching

Teaching is good and most parents and carers agree with this evaluation. They consider their children are well taught and told the inspector that the school successfully helps their children develop skills in communication, reading, writing and mathematics.

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Quality of teaching

When teaching was at its best, pupils were actively and enthusiastically engaged in activities that were closely matched to their learning needs. Learning intentions were clear and pupils had a good understanding of what they needed to do to succeed. Typically, these lessons had high expectations of both the quality of the work pupils would produce and of the effort pupils would put in. Relationships were good. Pupils had tasks that contained sufficient challenge for them to have to think for themselves. For example, in a Key Stage 2 literacy lesson based on The Iron Man, pupils’ clear understanding of the learning intended enabled them to show initiative and make good progress. Teaching and support for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is usually effective. However, while in some classes additional adults made a positive contribution to the learning, this practice was not

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Quality of teaching

consistent across all year groups. Progress slowed when pupils were not clear about what they had to do and adult intervention was too focused on behaviour and the completion of activities rather than the learning.

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Quality of teaching

Work in pupils’ books covers a range of subjects and there is evidence of writing across the curriculum. However, standards of presentation are not consistent and, sometimes, result in work that is untidy and poorly presented. Some marking provides teachers with useful information about pupils’ progress and informs the pupils how well they are doing and what they should do to improve. Such good practice is inconsistent across the school and, where pupils do not receive sufficient guidance on how well they are doing, progress is slower.

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Quality of teaching

The teaching of reading is effective and pupils across the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 are able to demonstrate a secure knowledge of phonics and apply it in their reading and writing. 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

Teaching provides good opportunities for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. For example, the Reception class were helped to use the Olympics as an opportunity to consider similarities and differences in ethnicity, and whole-school work with The Scary Guy aimed at encouraging pupils to look beyond outward appearance.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The school has a very real sense of community and this is evident in the very positive relationships that exist between staff and pupils. Inspection findings are fully endorsed by parents and carers, who all believe their children are safe at school, although a few raised concerns that bullying was not dealt with effectively. Pupils have a good understanding of types of bullying, including cyber-bullying and how hurtful verbal comments about others can be. Pupils, themselves, were clear that they felt safe in school. Pupils commented on the level of care they received with one pupil describing a strength of the school as ‘teachers who are always there for you’.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

While most parents and pupils felt that behaviour at the school was good, a few expressed concerns and that lessons could be interrupted by poor behaviour. Again this concern was carefully considered and the inspector found that behaviour is, typically, good. In lessons, it is almost always good and sometimes outstanding. Excellent attitudes to learning are shown when teachers provide opportunities for pupils to take responsibility for their own learning in well-planned, challenging activities that develop pupils’ ability to work independently. Although behaviour is well managed over time it is not yet outstanding because pupils do not always have sufficient opportunity to be more active learners in class and are sometimes not yet sufficiently engaged in taking their own learning forward.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Effective action has raised attendance to above average with no pupils being persistently absent.

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Leadership and management

Changing leadership, as conversion to academy and Trust status has taken place, has now stabilised. The associate headteacher has maintained a strong focus on improving the quality of teaching and this has resulted in improved rates of progress across the age range. Professional development and performance management have been used well to develop teaching and positively impact on pupils’ achievement. Leaders at all levels have identified areas for development and worked hard to improve the quality of learning for the pupils. Pupils’ good achievement and positive attitudes to school and to learning supported by improved teaching show the school’s capacity to improve further.

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Leadership and management

The substantive executive headteacher has a good knowledge of the school with clearly planned transition to the new leadership structure so that the gains already made this year can be embedded in the better practice now established. The governing body has high aspirations for the school’s development and is determined 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

to drive the school to further improvements. Governors are beginning to use progress and performance data to hold leaders to account and support them to improve the school. Arrangements for safeguarding meet all requirements and give no cause for concern.

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Leadership and management

The successful drive to improve the quality of teaching, improvements in support for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs and the meticulous tracking of pupils’ progress very effectively promote equality and tackle discrimination.

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Leadership and management

A broad and well-balanced curriculum makes a positive contribution to the acquisition of pupils’ basic skills of reading, writing and mathematics. Curricular provision for delivery of spiritual, social, moral and cultural development is good. Opportunities for pupils’ broader personal development are an everyday occurrence. While pupils value the range of learning opportunities offered, and such worthwhile elements – for example the Forest School – add significantly to their experience, these elements are not yet sufficiently well coordinated with the rest of the curriculum to make the most of the opportunities available.

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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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TQ13 9RE

Thank you for being so welcoming when I recently inspected your school. I thought you would like to know what I found out.

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TQ13 9RE

You go to a good school, which you said you enjoy attending. You told me that you feel safe and that staff take good care of you. You make good progress with your learning. The adults in your school are working hard to make your learning even better.

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TQ13 9RE

This is what we have asked the headteacher, governing body and teachers to do to make your school even better.

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TQ13 9RE

 Help you make even better progress with your work by always making it challenging and encourage you to use your skills to work more independently.  Help you to learn better by marking and feedback, which make clear how well you are doing, and make sure you understand what you need to do to improve your work.  Make sure that you always present your best work in books and be proud of it.

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TQ13 9RE

You can help by continuing to work hard and by making sure that your work in your books is always neat and well presented so you can rapidly revise what you have learned.

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TQ13 9RE

Phillip Minns 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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