Corvedale CofE Primary School

Corvedale CofE Primary School Diddlebury, Craven Arms, SY7 9DH

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Overall effectiveness

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

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Too few pupils are working above the expectations for their age in writing. Standards in writing, although improving, are lower than in reading and mathematics.  Although teaching is improving rapidly, it requires further improvement. It has not been consistently good enough over time to enable all pupils to achieve well in all subjects and ensure that they leave the school with attainment that is above average.  Teachers do not always ensure that more able pupils are suitably challenged and at times the pace of learning is too slow.  There are not enough planned opportunities for children in the Reception class to develop their independent learning skills in the outdoor environment.  Leadership, including the governing body, requires improvement because it has not yet ensured that all groups of pupils make good progress.

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The school has the following strengths

 Since the previous inspection the school has had an increasingly effective focus on improving teaching and accelerating progress.  The recently improved system for assessing and tracking pupils’ progress is extremely rigorous and the information is used well in planning and organising support.  Provision for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is good.  Pupils feel safe because staff provide a good level of care and support.  Pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to work are good.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good.  Provision for safeguarding pupils is good.  Attendance is above average.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed eight lessons, of which two were joint lesson observations with the headteacher.  Meetings and discussions were held with the Chair of the Governing Body, members of staff with curricular responsibility, a representative of the local authority and groups of pupils.  There was one response to the online questionnaire (Parent View).  The inspector observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own data on pupils’ current progress, planning and monitoring documentations, records relating to behaviour and attendance, and documents relating to safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Clive Lewis, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is smaller than most other primary schools. Most pupils attending the school come from outside the immediate locality.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for children in local authority care, and pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, is below the national average.  Above-average proportions of pupils leave and join the school at other than the normal time, mid-year and mid-key stage. Currently only one pupil remains of the Year 6 cohort.  Pupils are organised into three mixed-age classes.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is below average and no pupils speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs who are supported at school action is below the national average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is similarly below average

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Information about this school

overall, although it is particularly high in some year groups.  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?

 Raise the overall quality of teaching in the school to good by ensuring:  there is an appropriate level of challenge for all age and ability groups within each mixed-age class  all lessons proceed at a brisk pace.  Improve writing further by devising ways to improve pupils’ understanding and application of grammar and punctuation rules.  Improve the planning, use of resources and access to the outdoor environment in the Early Years Foundation Stage in order to better develop children’s independent learning skills.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ progress is variable. Although improvements have been made in both reading and mathematics, the proportion of pupils achieving the higher levels in writing remains below average.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Most children enter the Reception class with skills that are broadly typical for their age. They make satisfactory progress in all areas of learning. In recent years the school’s results in the Year 2 and Year 6 national tests have fluctuated widely due to the small cohorts but have been broadly average.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 There are clear indications that attainment and progress are beginning to improve rapidly; school data and lesson observations show that standards are higher for pupils in younger year groups. Recent improvements in provision have yet to work their way through to the end of Key Stage 2. School expectations for the current Year 5 cohort, confirmed by observations of pupils’ work, are that they are in line to achieve above average results in Year 6.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Regular phonics activities (the links between letters and sounds) and guided reading activities help pupils make good progress in their reading from their starting points when they enter the school. As a result, attainment in reading is above average at the end of Year 2 and in the current Year 5 cohort.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress because of the good support provided by class teachers, teaching assistants and outside agencies. Their individual education plans are child-friendly and appropriate. This helps these pupils to learn successfully.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Those who are eligible for support from the pupil premium make similar progress to their peers.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils who join the school during the year, or in different year groups, benefit from good individual support so that they quickly catch up with their classmates.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching across the school requires improvement. Recent improvements have yet to have their full impact to enable pupils to make faster progress.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Where there is good teaching and where it has recently improved, for example, in reading and mathematics, this is because staff have received good training and support and there has been a whole-school focus on improving pupils’ progress in these areas.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching in writing still requires some improvement. The school is, rightly, concentrating on providing more opportunities for pupils to use their writing skills across other subjects and this is showing signs of success. However, pupils’ grammar and punctuation skills require further improvement.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 In the best lessons, teaching is fast-paced and teachers display good subject knowledge. They use a wide range of teaching methods and resources to engage and maintain pupils’ interest well. In one good Year 2/3 literacy lesson, pupils were learning how to write instructions by producing as many ‘bossy sentences’ as they could in a given time. The teacher set and maintained a brisk pace throughout the lesson, changed activities frequently to maintain pupils’ interest, made good links to previous learning and ensured that pupils had a good understanding of what they needed to do to improve.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 In a small minority of lessons, often after a brisk start, the pace of learning slows considerably. In other lessons, in the mixed-age classes, teachers’ expectations of what pupils can do are not high enough. Teachers do not always set work that challenges them, particularly the more able, to think hard and achieve their best.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers and teaching assistants provide timely extra help and personalised support for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs. These pupils consequently take a full part in lessons, enjoy their learning and make good progress.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Pupil premium funding is used well to employ an additional teacher to allow small group support for these pupils.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Pupils’ books are marked regularly and thoroughly. The whole-school marking system is fully understood by pupils and gives them good guidance on how well they have achieved and what they can do to make their work better.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour is typically good and often better in lessons and around the school. Pupils are confident that any poor behaviour is dealt with effectively and promptly. The school has an effective system of rewards and sanctions.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are enthusiastic about their education and say learning is fun. They confirm that behaviour is usually ‘really good’. They talk knowledgably about different types of bullying and understand that ‘little arguments in the playground aren’t really bullying’.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils say they really enjoy coming to school and this is confirmed by their above average levels of attendance.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils understand the need for a healthy lifestyle and exercise. They have a good understanding of how to keep safe and are confident that any issue they raise with the school will be dealt with promptly.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils relate well to each other, are courteous and polite to visitors and show respect for the feelings and beliefs of others. They display good levels of concentration and, when working in pairs or in groups, organise themselves swiftly and with the minimum of fuss.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 They willingly take on responsibility and, through the activities of the school council, demonstrate their pride and play a constructive role in the school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. They are curious about the world around them and embrace new experiences which broaden their understanding.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 With the support of the local authority, leaders and managers have correctly identified some key strengths and areas for improvement.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 An extremely rigorous and accurate whole-school assessment and tracking system, linked to termly pupil progress meetings, is now in place. This has recently been further improved by the introduction of individual ‘pupil progress grids’. These provide pupils and parents with clear indications of how well individuals have progressed in reading, writing and mathematics on a termly basis and, through individual pupil targets, what is required to produce further improvements.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 This strong focus on termly assessment and tracking data has led to improvements in teaching and this, in turn, has led to improvements in pupils’ achievement in reading and mathematics. However, leaders have not yet secured the same level of consistent improvements in writing across the school.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The Early Years Foundation Stage classroom has a spacious and secure outdoor area, directly accessible from the classroom; currently it is not being used to its best advantage. Present arrangements do not provide pupils with sufficient opportunities to select activities for themselves, either indoors or out. This hampers the development of their independent learning skills.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Teaching programmes are appropriately balanced and there have been improvements in planning for the use of skills in other subjects, particularly in the opportunities for extended writing and the application of numeracy skills in history, geography and science activities.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Teaching programmes ensure pupils have a suitable balance of interesting activities. The recent strong focus on supporting literacy and numeracy across all subjects, integrated with the revised ‘creative’ programme of study, has had a positive impact on pupils’ progress, enthusiasm and ability to learn and work on their own.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Safeguarding systems are secure and discrimination is not tolerated. The school provides good pastoral care for all its pupils. The small size of the school ensures that all pupils and families are known very well by staff. The school’s positive relationship with parents and carers and its good links with a wide range of partners, including the secondary school which most pupils attend when they leave at the end of Year 6, contribute significantly to improvements in pupils’ achievement and well-being.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governing body fully monitors and supports the school’s effective use of money derived from the pupil premium. Extra teaching staff provide support for frequent small-group and one- to-one work. This helps eligible pupils to achieve as well as their friends.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The local authority has provided good training opportunities and support for the school and has helped it to improve practices in assessment, moderation of work and in raising attainment.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governance of the school:  The governing body provides satisfactory support and challenge for leaders and managers to ensure that the school improves and moves forward. It checks that safeguarding is secure and has overseen the arrangements for the use of the pupil premium funding and the arrangements for relating teachers’ performance to pay effectively. It plays an active role in the school’s self-evaluation, monitoring and improvement planning processes. It has a satisfactory understanding of the data and the comparative performance of the school in relation to similar schools, and is aware that overall provision requires improvement.

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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 123559 Local authority Shropshire Inspection number 406175

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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 School Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 79 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Tim Loft Headteacher Chris Ball Date of previous school inspection 28 September 2010 Telephone number 01584 841630 Fax number 01584 841598 Email address admin.corvedale@shropshirelg.net 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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