Cuddington and Dinton CofE School

Cuddington and Dinton C of E School Upper Church Street, Cuddington, Aylesbury, HP18 0AP

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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 achieve well and make good progress in their lessons and over time. Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 is above national figures, and at the end of Key Stage 1 has risen rapidly.  The quality of teaching continues to improve. It is now good across the school, and some teaching is outstanding. The progress of pupils is carefully checked and, if a pupil is not doing well enough, help is quickly given.  Pupils are taught a broad range of interesting topics and subjects. They enjoy a variety of clubs and special events in school.  Reading is taught well. Pupils enjoy reading for learning and for pleasure.  Pupils behave well and the school is a very calm and orderly place to learn. Attendance is high and improving, and bullying is very rare. Pupils enjoy school and feel safe, valued and well looked after.  Leaders and managers, including governors, are committed to continuously improving

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

pupil achievement. School leaders rigorously monitor the quality of teaching and learning.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Not all teaching provides work that consistently challenges the most able pupils, or allows them to develop their own ideas.  Although some marking of pupils’ work is excellent and helps them to understand how to improve, this is not yet consistent across the school.  The progress made by a small number of disabled pupils or with special educational needs is not consistently strong in all subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 18 lessons or part lessons and made a number of shorter visits to lessons to observe pupils at work. A number of these lessons were jointly observed with school leaders. Inspectors attended assemblies.  Meetings were held with a group of pupils, with members of the governing body, with representatives from the local authority and with members of school staff, including senior and middle leaders.  Inspectors took account of the 14 responses to the staff questionnaire that were received. They spoke to parents and considered the 26 responses from parents to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View). They also looked at the results of a recent survey of parents’ views conducted by the school.  Inspectors looked at a number of documents as well as pupils’ books and teachers’ planning. These included the school’s own data on pupils’ current progress, school improvement plans and school policies. They also looked at school records relating to pupils’ behaviour and

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Information about this inspection

attendance, and at documents concerning the safeguarding of pupils.

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Inspection team

Mike Phipps, Lead inspector Additional inspector Gill Walley Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 Cuddington and Dinton C of E School is smaller than the average-sized primary school. It has an Early Years Foundation Stage unit for Reception-aged children.  The school is based on two sites, in two villages which are approximately two and a half miles apart. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage and in Key Stage 1 are based at Cuddington. Key Stage 2 pupils are based at Dinton.  In 2011 a fire in buildings at the junior site caused the transfer of Key Stage 2 pupils to the infant site, where they were taught in temporary classrooms for all of the 2011–12 school year.  Since the last inspection the school has grown to its full planned size. The school now includes pupils from the Reception Year to Year 6.  The current headteacher was appointed in February 2011.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is well below national figures.  A high percentage of pupils are of White British heritage and there are very few pupils in

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Information about this school

school who do not speak English as their first language.  The proportion of disabled pupils or those with special educational needs is below average. The proportions of those supported through school action or through school action plus and those with a statement of special educational needs are all below national figures.  The proportion of pupils who move in and out of the school at other than the usual times of joining and leaving is higher than the national average.  The school meets the current government 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?

 Improve the quality of teaching from good to outstanding and further accelerate pupils’ progress by:  ensuring that the most able pupils are consistently given challenging work and opportunities to develop their own ideas and organise their own learning  ensuring that all teachers’ marking shows pupils how to improve, and that pupils are given the chance to improve their work by following the advice contained in marking.  Ensure that the progress made by all pupils with disabilities and special educational needs is consistently good in all subjects by:  tracking more closely the progress made by all pupils  more precisely targeting extra help in subjects where it is needed the most.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Achievement across the school is good. Children start school with skills a little above those expected for their age. Good teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage ensures they make good progress and achieve well. As a result, they are well prepared for Key Stage 1, which they enter with levels of skills and knowledge that are higher than expected.  Reading is taught well across the school and by the end of Year 2 pupils’ standard of reading is above average. By Year 6 most pupils are confident and fluent readers who enjoy using the school library for learning and for pleasure. Pupils’ attainment in reading is securely above the national average when they leave school.  Attainment by the end of Key Stage 1 is above national averages in reading, writing and mathematics and has improved rapidly, from being broadly average in 2010. Inspection evidence clearly indicates that these improvements are set to continue because standards

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The achievement of pupils is good

of teaching are now good, and pupils make good progress.  The school has now grown to its full size with the first group of pupils completing Key Stage 2 in 2012. They made good progress from their starting points in Key Stage 1. They made particularly good progress in mathematics. The proportion of these pupils making better than expected progress both in English and in mathematics compared favourably with national figures. As a result, attainment was above the national averages in English and mathematics and was particularly high in mathematics. A much greater proportion of pupils reached the higher levels of attainment in mathematics and in English than was the case in schools nationally.  Lesson observations, scrutiny of pupils’ work and analysis of the school’s data clearly indicate that this trend of good progress is embedded across Key Stage 2.  There are only a small number of disabled pupils or with special educational needs in school

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The achievement of pupils is good

and they are generally well supported in lessons and this contributes to an overall picture of good progress. However, the progress of a small proportion of these pupils, with specific needs, is not always tracked as rigorously as it should be and support is not always targeted to where the learning need is greatest. This, at times, leads to some inconsistency in progress across different subjects.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The overall quality of teaching over time is good. Teachers plan interesting and enjoyable lessons in which pupils are encouraged to play an active part. As a result, pupils pay attention, work hard and learn well.  In the many good or better lessons teachers plan work carefully which closely matches the range of pupils’ abilities in the class. In a minority of lessons however, the work set for the more able pupils is not challenging enough and opportunities are missed to allow them to explore their ideas and organise their own learning more independently.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are generally given good support in lessons by teachers and by other adults. They encourage these pupils to think for themselves by skilful questioning, and they explain tasks carefully. On occasions, support for this small number of pupils is not always targeted to where it is needed most.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The progress of the large majority of pupils is tracked carefully through regularly assessing what they can do, and sharing the results of this assessment among teachers and school leaders. Pupils who fall behind are quickly given extra help to catch up, particularly in numeracy and literacy.  Some teachers’ marking is excellent and gives pupils a clear idea of how to improve. Pupils are then given the chance to improve their work by following the advice contained in marking. This good practice is, however, not carried out consistently by all teachers in the school. 5 of 9

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils behave well in lessons, and have positive attitudes to their learning. They are very willing to participate actively in lessons and interruptions to learning caused by inappropriate behaviour are rare.  Pupils are kind and considerate, and treat adults and each other with respect. They move around the school in a safe and sensible way. Playtimes and lunchtimes are calm and orderly.  Parents rightly feel that pupils’ behaviour in school is good. They are confident that their children are well looked after and will be kept safe. Staff questionnaires indicate that staff too feel that pupils’ behaviour is good, and that pupil behaviour is well managed.  Pupils have a good understanding of different forms of bullying, including cyber bullying. Bullying in this school is very rare, but pupils know who to report incidents to if they should happen. Pupils are confident that the school will deal with any bullying effectively.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils say they feel safe and valued in school. Racist incidents are almost unknown. No pupil has been excluded from school since the last inspection.  The school’s attendance is above national average figures. Attendance rates continue to rise and the proportion of pupils who are persistently absent is very low. Pupils are punctual to school and to lessons.

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The leadership and management are good

 Despite difficulties caused by the fire in 2011, the effective leadership of the headteacher has led to rapid improvements. Standards at the end of Key Stage 1 have risen and the quality of teaching across the school has improved, and is now good. There is a shared commitment from leaders and staff to continue to make the school an even better place for all pupils to learn.  The school knows its strengths and weaknesses well. School leaders carry out regular checks to make sure that teaching is good or better, and robust action is taken if it is not. Performance management is well embedded and closely linked to the professional development of staff. School leaders have put in place systems to check how well pupils are doing and use this information well to hold teachers accountable for the progress of pupils they teach.  The school’s self-evaluation is robust and school development planning is accurately focused

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The leadership and management are good

on the right priorities. Any identified weaknesses are tackled rigorously and this contributes well to a continuous drive in improving teaching and pupil achievement. The school promotes equality of opportunity well and does not tolerate discrimination of any kind.  School leaders ensure that financial resources are used well. Additional funds from the pupil premium are used appropriately to enhance the achievement of identified pupils.  The school’s curriculum is good. In topic work pupils decide what areas they would like to explore, which they then research. More able pupils can work with similar pupils from other schools in special subject-based events which provide them with an enjoyable challenge.  The school has a good, and growing, range of additional activities including music, film, creative and sports clubs. Pupils’ self-confidence is improved by taking on responsibilities such as membership of the school council or helping with technology in school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school promotes pupils’ social and moral development effectively. Pupils get on very well together, and have a good understanding of right and wrong. Links with local churches help to promote pupils’ spiritual development. Pupils’ understanding of people with different beliefs or from different backgrounds is developing appropriately.  The school works very well with parents. A recent school survey indicates that the large majority of parents are very supportive of the school and its leadership. Regular parents’ forum meetings encourage clear communications between parents and the school.  The school has received effective support from the local authority, focusing on improving teaching, tracking pupils’ performance and strengthening governance. Middle leadership has been strengthened, and is now able to drive improvement. The school has good capacity to improve further. 6 of 9

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The leadership and management are good

 All legal requirements relating to the safeguarding of children are met. The school provides good levels of care and support for its pupils.  The governance of the school:  Governors have a good awareness of the school’s strengths and weaknesses, including the quality of teaching. They have a good understanding of what the school’s achievement data show, and they carry out their legal duties well.

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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

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Grade Judgement Description

is 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 110452 Local authority Buckinghamshire Inspection number 401126

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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 Primary School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 163 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Christopher Blumer Headteacher Kim Price Date of previous school inspection 5–6 May 2010 Telephone number 01844 291206 Fax number 01844 291911 Email address office@cds.bucks.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,

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School details

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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School details

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

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