Snarestone Church of England Primary School

Snarestone Church of England Primary School Main Street, Snarestone, Swadlincote, DE12 7DB

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Inspection dates 31 October – 1 November 2012

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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.  Reception children make a strong start to their education and are well prepared for Year 1.  Pupils make good progress. Standards at the end of Year 6 in English and mathematics are higher than the national averages.  Teaching is generally good and some is outstanding. Teachers have high expectations of pupils and develop good working relationships in the classroom.  Pupils behave well in and out of lessons. They enjoy school and are keen to learn. Attendance is above average.  The headteacher provides strong leadership. Staff work very closely together as a team, supporting the school’s aims and values well.  School leaders and governors are sharply focused on making sure all pupils make even better progress in every year group. They have worked relentlessly to remove weak teaching.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Some pupils have not developed their writing skills as well as their other English skills. Some of their writing is untidy, and there are too many errors in their spelling and punctuation.  Occasionally, the pace of lessons is too slow and the work is not sufficiently challenging for some pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector conducted five lessons, three of them jointly with the headteacher. In addition, he made a number of short visits to other lessons and sampled pupils’ work.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils the headteacher, teachers, teaching assistants, members of the governing body and a local authority adviser.  The inspector also considered the views expressed in 11 questionnaires returned by school staff, along with the 18 responses submitted by parents and carers to the online Parent View survey.  He scrutinised a variety of school documents, including the school’s self-evaluation, the school development plans, behaviour records, and documents relating to the management of teachers’ performance.

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Inspection team

Keith Brown, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is much smaller than most primary schools.  It serves the village of Snarestone and surrounding villages.  A below-average proportion of pupils is eligible for additional government funding provided through the ‘pupil premium’.  Most pupils are of White British heritage. There are none who speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils receiving extra support through school action is broadly average. The proportion supported at school action plus or through a statement of special educational needs is above average.  Pupils are taught in three mixed-age classes.  The school’s most recent results cannot be compared to the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum standards for pupils’ attainment and progress, because there were not enough pupils to make such comparisons meaningful.  In September 2012, Snarestone Cygnets Pre-School opened in a self-contained wing in the same

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Information about this school

building as the primary school. It is not managed by the governing body of the primary school and is inspected separately.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Build on the strengths in teaching by ensuring that pace and challenge are provided in all lessons.  Raise standards further and accelerate progress in writing by:  improving pupils’ spelling and punctuation  improving the way pupils present their written work.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Although numbers are small and abilities vary widely from year to year, most children start at the school with knowledge and skills that are below those typically expected for their age. Good progress is made through the Early Years Foundation Stage and, by the time children are ready to start Year 1, most are working securely in all areas of learning.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress throughout Key Stages 1 and 2. By the end of Year 6, pupils’ results in the national English and mathematics tests are above average. However, their writing skills are weaker than their reading, speaking, listening and mathematical skills.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In guided reading lessons, the teachers question the pupils well, helping them to analyse the text they are reading well and to deepen their understanding. Many older pupils read widely. They talk confidently about the stories they have enjoyed and about their favourite authors.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils practise their mathematical skills well in other subjects, and this contributes to their good progress. In science, pupils are taught how to carry out investigations effectively and draw appropriate conclusions. For example, pupils in Reception and Year 1 studying ‘light and dark’, quickly learned the difference between objects that emit light and those which reflect light.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school has developed well-focused strategies to support those pupils eligible for extra government funding through the ‘pupil premium’. Approaches, such as one-to-one tuition, use of additional English and mathematics resources and funding for educational visits, are effective in helping pupils to overcome the barriers they face in their learning. As a result, gaps in attainment and progress between these pupils and others of their age are closing.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs achieve well. Their needs are identified early and the work set is matched closely to their ability levels. Teaching assistants help pupils by demonstrating skills precisely, teaching them the specialist vocabulary for various subjects and providing appropriate challenge and encouragement.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is usually good, and some is outstanding. The teachers plan well for their mixed-age classes, and lessons are usually appropriately matched to pupils’ capabilities and prior learning. Work is carefully modified for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Lessons often challenge pupils to think for themselves. For example, one high-quality English lesson which focused pupils in Years 4, 5 and 6 on flashbacks in a Harry Potter book, was very effective in developing their critical skills. The pupils assessed each other’s work at a deep level and received skilful feedback from the teacher.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Occasionally, teaching has insufficient challenge and the pace of learning is not fast enough. This is typically because the teacher spends too long talking in some parts of the lesson and so pupils’ interest wanes.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers know their pupils well and are making increasingly good use of data to measure progress. These factors help them to spot quickly any dips in attainment or slowing of progress and to set challenging targets for the pupils. Pupils say their new target bookmarks really help them to know what is expected of them.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers and teaching assistants explain clearly what they want pupils to do. Teachers’ good relations with their pupils encourage them to take a full part in lessons and not to feel afraid of making mistakes.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils all understand the school’s ‘green to be seen and pink to think’ marking system. Teachers increasingly praise high-quality work appropriately and provide clear guidance for improvement. The school recognises that there has been underachievement in pupils’ writing and, recently, there has been an increased focus on correcting pupils’ spelling, punctuation and written presentation.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school is calm and purposeful. The very few pupils who present challenging behaviour are managed well by staff and there is little disruption to learning. The parents and carers who offered views raised no concerns about pupils’ behaviour.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are eager to learn, and this has been important in the school’s improvement. They enjoy everything the school offers and take part whole-heartedly. Relationships are positive throughout the school, and pupils listen carefully to adults and to each other.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance has increased due to robust action by the school and is now above average. Pupils are punctual and break-times end promptly so that lessons start on time. Pupils play energetically, but with due regard for each other’s safety.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Older pupils take their extra responsibilities seriously. They enjoy being assembly monitors and acting as play coaches at lunchtime. The school council is influential and has raised considerable amounts of money for charities, as well as setting up a ‘buddy bench’ in the playground.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils have a clear understanding of the different kinds of bullying, including cyber- and prejudice-based bullying. They say that instances are very rare and they are confident that staff would deal well with any situations that arose. The school conscientiously records these very rare occurrences and the action taken.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils say they feel safe. Parents and carers agree that the school keeps their children safe. It provides a safe and secure environment that is valued and appreciated by all pupils.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher provides good leadership. The school’s view of its work is accurate and honest. The school development plan sets out clearly how the school intends to reach its ambitious targets.

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The leadership and management are good

 There is a good team spirit among the staff, all of whom say they are proud to work for the school. They are highly committed to its success.

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The leadership and management are good

 Teachers have high expectations of the pupils. Improvements in teaching have been achieved by establishing a rigorous programme of monitoring, alongside well-focused professional development. There is now a solid base of outstanding teaching for sharing more widely across the school, particularly in ensuring that all lessons have a brisk pace and sufficient challenge for all pupils.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school uses a detailed tracking system that helps staff to see clearly how well pupils are progressing. Resources are deployed where they are most needed to prevent underachievement. For example, the well-organised daily sessions for all pupils on the sounds that letters make (phonics) that started in September are already leading to improvements in reading and writing skills.

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The leadership and management are good

 The management of teachers is robust, and discretionary pay increments have to be earned. Teachers are held accountable for the progress of pupils they teach, and for the areas they lead.

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The leadership and management are good

 The range of subjects and activities offered is good because it meets the needs of a wide range of pupils, builds effectively on their previous learning and prepares them well for the next stages in their education and later life. Pupils enjoy the regular curricular enrichment days. For example, in a recent ‘European Day’, they learned a lot more about European languages, food, customs and clothing.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school’s values are promoted strongly through assemblies, lessons and a wide range of art, dance, music and sports activities, as well as by visitors and visits. This broad range of activities promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. Pupils, staff and governors are particularly proud of gaining the Eco School Green Flag Award recently.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority has played a useful role in providing support for strategic leadership. It currently provides the school with ‘light touch’ support because the pupils make good progress. A new governor noted that local authority induction training has given him a good insight into the role of governors.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors receive well-focused analyses of pupils’ progress, which allow them to gain a deeper insight into the school’s strengths and weaknesses and to compare it to other schools nationally. The governing body increasingly holds leaders to account for the school’s performance. The governors work along with senior staff to evaluate the school’s performance and set priorities for improvement. They also provide strong guidance for the school, to ensure that its values are maintained and remain prominent. The governing body oversees the management of finances and resources effectively and increasingly ensures that the salary progression of staff is justified. Governors make sure that additional ‘pupil premium’ funding is well directed to improve the achievement of the pupils entitled to it. The school’s safeguarding arrangements are rigorously checked by the governor who has

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The leadership and management are good

responsibility for pupils’ safety. As a result, safeguarding arrangements meet current national requirements.

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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 120199 Local authority Leicestershire Inspection number 405916

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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 51 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Debbie Evans Headteacher Sally Hunt Date of previous school inspection 18 November 2010 Telephone number 01530 270598 Fax number 01530 270598 Email address office@snarestone.leics.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

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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