Chadsmoor CofE (VC) Junior School

Chadsmoor CofE (VC) Junior School Burns Street, Chadsmoor, Cannock, WS11 6DR

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Pupils make good progress in most subjects, but especially in reading and writing.  Pupils’ behaviour is good. They feel safe and are well motivated to learn.  Those who find learning more difficult have high-quality help from additional adults.  Teachers provide a good range of well- planned activities in all subjects, based on interesting topics and brought to life by a good range of resources.  The staff work closely together as a team. They are very positive about the recent changes made to the school.  The headteacher has led the school very effectively since her appointment. Standards are rising and there is a consistent improvement in the progress made by pupils.  The governing body has managed the recent federation with the infant school well.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The progress made by the most able pupils in mathematics is not consistently good.  Not enough teaching is consistently good or better.  The senior staff and governors do not have enough opportunities to check for themselves how well the school is performing, and the creation of links with the infant school is at an early stage.

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Information about this inspection

 Fifteen lessons or parts of lessons were observed.  Meetings took place with the headteacher, staff, a sample of the pupils, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  A number of pupils read to inspectors and talked about their work. Samples of pupils’ work were scrutinised.  Although no views from parents or carers were available through the Parent View website, the school’s own questionnaire returns were analysed.

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Inspection team

Geof Timms, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Alison Lamputt Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Chadsmoor is smaller than the average primary school.  An above-average proportion of the pupils are supported through school action.  An above-average proportion are supported through school action plus or a statement of special educational needs.  A very small number of pupils are from a minority ethnic heritage background.  A well-above-average proportion of the pupils qualify for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for children in local authority care and pupils known to be eligible for free school meals.  The school formed a federation with its feeder infant school in April 2012. The infant school headteacher then became executive headteacher of both schools.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Help more pupils reach the higher levels in mathematics by ensuring that:  basic mathematical skills are built up systematically  mathematical activities in lessons are always demanding enough to stretch the most able learners.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Make more of the teaching consistently good or better by ensuring that:  teachers question pupils more effectively to extend their learning  the work provided is matched closely to pupils’ ability levels  the new marking and feedback policy is always applied  teachers check pupils’ learning regularly during lessons.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Give the governing body, subject and middle leaders more opportunities to monitor the school’s strengths and weaknesses, and to develop the links with the newly federated infant school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Most pupils start at the school with abilities, knowledge and skills close to the levels expected for their age. Progress is good and much improved since the previous inspection.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The proportions of pupils making expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics compare favourably with national data. So do the percentages of pupils who make more than expected progress in reading and writing, although in mathematics this is not consistent in all year groups. The current Year 6 pupils are on track to exceed the national averages in English and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ books show that they have made good progress over the year, especially in their writing. This is supported by good opportunities to write in a range of styles and for different purposes. For example, younger pupils have written some high-quality and imaginative stories relating to the Harry Potter books.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils enjoy reading and talking about their favourite books. Those who find reading harder are well supported in learning to link sounds and letters (phonics), although often this work is hindered because many lack a wide and rich vocabulary.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The pupils’ good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well through many activities. For example, an appreciation of the natural world was well developed through a recent visit to a local area of outstanding beauty.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 There are examples of high-quality work in art and design, design and technology, music and the performing arts. Pupils enjoy practical tasks, such as those in Year 5 which involved designing, building and testing dens made from natural materials. The many links made between subjects mean that pupils are able to use the skills learned in one subject to support their learning in another.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are very well supported, especially by very effective teaching assistants and learning mentors. This means they are fully included and involved in all activities.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The small number of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds make good progress. The few who are at an early stage of learning English also make good progress, although the support provided for them would occasionally be more appropriate for pupils who have special educational needs.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The highly effective staff team provides pupils with a good education that enables them to make at least good progress in most lessons. The evidence from pupils’ work shows that a small amount of outstanding teaching occurs, but there is not yet enough to ensure outstanding progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers have excellent relationships with the pupils. This creates a very strong and positive climate for learning in lessons. Regular opportunities for pupils to collaborate and cooperate in lessons encourage them to support each other’s learning. For example, in one case older pupils read and evaluated each other’s written work, highlighting the parts they liked and any improvements they felt could be made. This activity supported their progress well because they learned from each other.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Excellent support is given to small groups or individuals who are recognised to be underachieving, both in class and sometimes in sessions away from the class. This successful work ensures that pupils often make more rapid progress than their peers. This work mainly relates to reading, but also extends to pupils’ number and writing skills.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Where the teaching is less effective, tasks are not sufficiently well matched to pupils’ prior attainment or do not really stretch them, especially pupils who can learn quickly. In one lesson, for example, all pupils were working on the same number line activity, which was too easy for the most able in the group.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In addition, teachers do not always check the success of their teaching during lessons, and adjust it accordingly. In a small number of mathematics lessons the tasks provided did not build progressively on pupils’ previous learning.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Training for teachers has helped to improve their work in a number of areas. A recently completed marking and feedback policy now needs to be fully applied by all teachers. The assessment of pupils’ writing has improved and the school now plans to develop this more in mathematics. Expertise in the infant school has been used well to provide guidance in the teaching of how sounds and letters are linked.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school is a very harmonious community. This is the result of the development of a very successful behaviour policy. The policy includes an excellent system for rewards and sanctions, which all pupils understand and enjoy putting into practice. It is based on a very effective system of houses, merits and ‘golden time’.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils show pride in their work. They have very positive attitudes to their lessons and try hard to be successful. Talking to them shows that they enjoy school and particularly some of their homework projects. For example, they talk with real enthusiasm about school productions in which they have taken part.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school’s very effective social and moral development is centred round the good work of the learning mentors. These members of staff support pupils who have worries or problems, or who find learning difficult. Their strong personal, social and emotional support for those pupils goes a long way towards helping them to take a full part in school life. In addition, their work has had a positive impact on pupils’ attendance which has greatly improved and is now in line with that found nationally.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils say they feel safe in school, and this is supported by the views of their parents and carers. They are clear about the staff they would turn to if worried or concerned. They are confident bullying is well dealt with, if and when it occurs.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils also enjoy taking on responsibilities. They take part in peer mentoring, which has helped reduce problems during break times, and in a school council. Some enjoy looking after the school chickens. The school provides an excellent range of after-school clubs and these are very well supported and enjoyed by the pupils.

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The leadership and management are good

 Since the school federated with its feeder infant school, the executive headteacher took on the headship of both schools. She has been well supported by the local authority, who have also provided training and support for the newly formed governing body, in addition to the effective support and challenge offered in the past to help raise standards. This has helped the federation process to proceed smoothly.

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The leadership and management are good

 Prior to the federation and since the last inspection, the school was making good progress towards improving the achievement and learning of all pupils. This work has continued and many pupils now make better than expected progress in all subjects. The school’s view of itself is accurate. Its development planning is based on the right priorities.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher has provided the school with a clear vision, ‘Enjoying learning together’, and the staff are fully supportive of the direction the school is taking. All say they are proud to be a member of the team at Chadsmoor.

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The leadership and management are good

 Effective leadership of teaching has improved its quality since the last inspection. Teachers are becoming more familiar with a range of assessment data and the ways they can use this to track their pupils’ progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 The money available through the pupil premium is used very effectively to support pupils’ learning and their emotional and personal development.

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The leadership and management are good

 Subject leadership has been successful in supporting improvements. Staff monitor performance work regularly through looking at pupils’ books and teachers’ planning. However, senior staff have had insufficient opportunities to observe and work alongside colleagues so that good practice can be more widely shared.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school’s senior leaders, and especially the deputy headteacher, have worked hard to develop a creative, imaginative curriculum which enables teachers to plan through themes that interest pupils while supporting their knowledge and skills. For example, the recent project on Harry Potter stories provided an excellent opportunity to learn about owls from an expert who visited the school with live birds.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  is at an early stage due to the recent formation of a new governing body after the federation of the two schools  has created a successful structure for managing financial affairs  provides the school’s leaders with support and encouragement  is yet to develop fully its monitoring and evaluation role, so that governors have the knowledge to question the school’s performance as well as supporting it.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 124240 Local authority Staffordshire Inspection number 402244

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School details

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

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School details

Type of school Junior School category Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 7–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 182 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Katie Hill Headteacher Karen Burns Date of previous school inspection 11 February 2010 Telephone number 01543 511000 Fax number 01543 511005 Email address headteacher@chadsmoor-junior.staffs.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', 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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School details

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 and as part of the inspection.

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School details

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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School details

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 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

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School details

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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