Orchard Community Primary School

Orchard Community Primary School Grange Drive, Castle Donington, Derby, DE74 2QU

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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 particularly good progress in reading and mathematics.  Consistently good teaching for all age groups means that pupils do well in all classes.  Teachers plan well to ensure that pupils of different ages and abilities make equally fast progress in lessons.  Pupils behave well because teachers make their expectations for work and behaviour very clear. Pupils are courteous and treat adults and one another with respect.  The vast majority of parents and carers say how well the school cares for their children and makes them feel safe.  Good leadership and management are key to the school’s success. The headteacher is respected for the way she supports staff in their training and has such high expectations of what all members of the school community can achieve.  The good systems for checking on teachers’ performance help to account for the improvements in teaching and pupils’

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Progress in writing, particularly by boys, is not as quick as in reading and mathematics. Sometimes, teachers expect too little of the quality of writing in subjects other than English.  The leaders have been slow to agree on a system to enable teachers to check on pupils’ progress in their class and quickly identify those who may be falling behind in their work.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 18 lessons, one of which was seen together with the headteacher.  The inspectors also made a number of brief visits to other lessons.  Meetings were held with pupils, senior and middle leaders, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  The inspectors took account of the 54 responses that had been made to the online questionnaire (Parent View) at the time of the inspection.  They observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own data on pupils’ progress, planning and monitoring files, behaviour records and documents relating to attendance and safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Terry Elston, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Patrick Cook Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller-than-average primary school.  Pupils enter the school in the Reception class and leave at the end of Year 5.  The proportion of the pupils who are eligible for the pupil premium, which in this school provides additional funding for children in local authority care and pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, is below average.  The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage and none speaks English as an additional language.  The proportions of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported at school action, and at school action plus or through a statement of special educational needs, are all average.  Some classes have mixed age groups.  All pupils are educated on site. The school does not use alternative provision to support any of its pupils.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise achievement in writing to match that in reading and mathematics by:  giving boys tasks that capture their interest as well as that of the girls  insisting on a high level of written work in all subjects  providing more opportunities for pupils to write long pieces of work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that teachers and leaders quickly spot any pupils in danger of underachieving by:  adopting a workable system to check on the progress of all groups of pupils throughout the year  training staff so that all are confident using the resulting information.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils achieve well from starting points that are broadly typical for their age. Pupils, as well the vast majority of parents and carers who completed the online questionnaire, feel they do well at school and are rightly proud of their achievements.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children make a good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage and settle quickly into the Reception class. They make good progress in their reading as they quickly learn how to build sounds into words in the daily sessions on phonics (the sounds that letters make). They write good descriptions of their powers as ‘superheroes’ and enjoy using bricks and animals to hone their counting skills. Children develop their physical skills well and showed good technique in hitting the shed with well-fashioned snowballs.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In Key Stage 1, pupils enjoy books and read with a good level of accuracy by the end of Year 2. A few younger ones struggle with unfamiliar words, and their scores in the 2012 Year 1 assessments were below average. In writing, tasks such as describing their visit to a farm encourage pupils to enhance their work with good descriptive words but few write at length.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In mathematics, pupils in Years 1 and 2 count accurately and make very good progress when using real objects such as fruit to add and take away.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In Key Stage 2, pupils continue their good progress. In reading and mathematics, two-thirds leave Year 5 working at levels expected of those at the end of Year 6. They read widely, and more-able pupils skim texts quickly to gain information. In mathematics, they calculate quickly in their heads and use their number skills well, for example to plot their spelling test results on graphs.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils write with a good awareness of their audience, and some of their ‘suspenseful stories’ are thrilling to read. However, there is a pattern of boys’ attainment being lower than that of girls. Some boys are slow to get down to writing and have too few opportunities to produce longer pieces of work to develop their stamina as writers.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress, and their parents and carers speak highly of the support that teachers and teaching assistants provide.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils supported by the pupil premium achieve well. The school uses the funds effectively to provide individual teaching and extra adult support in classes. As a result the attainment of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is not markedly different from that of other groups.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils say how teachers make learning fun. They enjoy the way teachers use the interactive whiteboards to illustrate the topics and show video clips to enhance their understanding. For example, in one lesson the teacher showed pupils a brief cartoon that helped them grasp the idea of writing stage directions.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers are very good at explaining new work and using questions to check on pupils’ understanding. This means that pupils learn quickly and gain confidence in their own abilities.  The pace of lessons is brisk and teachers provide good opportunities for pupils to work in groups at tasks that are challenging yet achievable.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers manage behaviour well with clear rules, praise for those who behave well and consistent use of the green, amber, red system for those who transgress. Pupils appreciate the consistency of these systems and say how it helps them learn.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve are almost invariably high, and this helps pupils develop a pride in their completed work. In writing, however, teachers do not always ask enough of pupils, either in the quality or quantity of their work when they write in topics or in science lessons.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers check on pupils’ progress thoroughly and write helpful comments that help them do better next time. They ensure pupils know their targets and, in the best practice, help pupils see what they need to do in order to move on to higher levels of the National Curriculum.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers and teaching assistants plan well to meet the needs of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. This ensures that they learn quickly and gain the confidence to work independently.

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The quality of teaching is good

 There is some excellent teaching, particularly in Key Stage 2, that inspires pupils and ensures that they make rapid progress. In one such lesson, pupils of varying ability worked feverishly to solve mathematical problems that became ever more challenging.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils listen carefully in lessons and concentrate well. Children learn the rules for good behaviour quickly in the Reception class and understand the need to put their hand up to answer a question. Pupils show courtesy to adults and one another, and this helps to maintain very good relationships throughout the school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils enjoy school and arrive punctually. Parents and carers respond well to the school’s effective systems for discouraging unnecessary absences, and attendance is consistently well above the national average.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils show a very good understanding of all forms of bullying and say that it rarely happens. When it does, they know that adults will take prompt and effective action. The vast majority of parents and carers comment on how safe their children feel at school. Records show that instances of inappropriate behaviour are decreasing year by year and there have been no recent exclusions or racist incidents.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils develop a good awareness of hazardous situations and know, for example, about the potential dangers of using the internet.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils take responsibility well, and enjoy their roles as members of the school council and the eco-committee. In class, they perform duties such as giving out equipment with enthusiasm and a sense of pride to be the chosen ones.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher works closely with the other senior leaders to analyse the school’s effectiveness and tackle areas of weakness. They are making some progress in improving boys’ achievement in writing, for example by providing tasks such as describing the functions of robots.

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The leadership and management are good

 Since the last inspection, the school has made marked improvements in attainment, teaching and the role of subject leaders. With such good leadership, it shows the capacity to improve further.

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The leadership and management are good

 The systems to check the quality of teaching and learning are thorough, and are followed up with clear guidance to teachers on how to improve their work. Targets arising from observations of lessons form an important part of the annual meetings on teachers’ performance and decisions about promotion.

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The leadership and management are good

 The leaders show a good commitment to providing equal opportunities for all pupils. Their detailed analysis of the achievements of different groups, such as boys and girls and those known to be eligible for free school meals, enables them to support any pupils who are in danger of falling behind.

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The leadership and management are good

 For some time, the leaders have explored the best way for teachers to track progress of pupils in their class in order to raise achievement further. New systems have now been established but they do not yet ensure that teachers always know precisely how well pupils are doing, not only at the end of the year but also partway through.

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The leadership and management are good

 The leaders make good use of local schools to provide joint, cost-effective training based upon common needs. The school also enjoys good partnerships with local businesses, who arrange exciting challenges for pupils to enhance their skills in information and communication technology and art and design.

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The leadership and management are good

 Safeguarding systems follow good practice and meet current national requirements. They are reviewed regularly by the leaders and the governing body.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has a good partnership with parents and carers. Their comments to inspectors and responses to the online questionnaires were positive, particularly in terms of their children’s enjoyment of school and their progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 The activities provided for pupils are interesting, and enhanced by a wide range of visits and visitors to bring topics such as ‘The Victorians’ to life. Pupils hone their skills in reading and mathematics in all subjects, and this helps to explain their good progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school gives pupils many opportunities to reflect on issues such as the fragile environment and the hardships faced by some people in the world. They develop a good understanding of right and wrong and an adequate awareness of different religions.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has made good use of the expertise from the local authority in the past to raise the quality of teaching and learning. This support is used less now that the school has made such good improvements.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The governing body’s good understanding of how well the school is doing compared with other schools is gained through regular visits, meetings with senior leaders and observations of lessons. Governors have the skills to hold the leaders to account, and ask searching questions about pupils’ progress and well-being. They are closely involved in checking teachers’ performance and its impact on their pay. Regular training is matched well to the needs of governors and the school. Governors have a good awareness of the school’s budget. For example, they know how the pupil premium funding is spent, why it is allocated in this way and the impact it has on pupils’ academic and personal development.

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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 119982 Local authority Leicestershire Inspection number 405898

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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 Community Age range of pupils 4–10 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 198 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Michael Battle Headteacher Anne Sherwood Date of previous school inspection 17 May 2011 Telephone number 01332 810078 Fax number 01332 810078 Email address school@orchard.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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