Chappel Church of England Controlled Primary School

Chappel Church of England Controlled Primary School The Street, Chappel, Colchester, CO6 2DD

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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.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make good progress in communication and language, in reading and writing, and in learning numbers.  Pupils throughout the school make good progress from their starting points in reading, writing and mathematics.  Attainment varies considerably from year to year because year groups are very small. By the end of Year 6, pupils are on course to reach above average attainment in English, reading and mathematics. Consequently achievement is good.  Teaching is good because lessons are well planned to cater for the different needs of pupils, and because teachers provide a variety of stimulating activities to make learning interesting.  Pupils’ behaviour is good and they stay safe around the school. Their attendance is above average and their punctuality is good.  The headteacher and governing body have improved the quality of teaching and raised

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

pupils’ achievements since the last inspection. Together, they have demonstrated good capacity to improve further.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Not enough lessons are outstanding and a few require improvement.  Pupils do not always know their next steps for learning when their work is marked.  Occasionally, the thinking of a few more able pupils is not extended to enable them to reach the higher levels in writing.  Subject leaders are not rigorous in looking at the impact of teachers’ marking on pupils’ progress.

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Information about this inspection

 In eight lessons seen jointly with the headteacher, all teachers were observed teaching. Six pupils read their books to the inspector and pupils were also heard reading in lessons.  The inspector looked at samples of pupils’ books jointly with the headteacher and subject leaders. Children’s work in the Reception Year and links with parents and carers were also seen. Records of pupils’ progress were examined.  A range of documents were looked at including: policies and procedures for safeguarding; the school development plan; the summary self-evaluation document; the recent local authority review of the school; and records of visits by members of the governing body.  The inspector took account of 25 responses to the online questionnaire for parents and carers (Parent View) and questionnaire returns from staff were also looked at.  Meetings took place with subject leaders and four members of the governing body. Discussions

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Information about this inspection

were held with individual parents and carers on arrival at school.

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Inspection team

Declan McCarthy, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a much smaller primary school than average. There are three mixed age classes: a Reception and Year 1 class, a mixed Year 2 and Year 3 class and a Years 4, 5 and 6 class.  The large majority of pupils are White British.  The proportion of pupils receiving the pupil premium (additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those in local authority care) is below average.  High proportions of pupils enter or leave the school other than at the usual times of admission or leaving.  An above average proportion of pupils are supported at school action. The proportion of pupils who receive support at school action plus or who have a statement of special educational needs is broadly average.  The school does not use any external providers or off-site provision.  Since the last inspection, there has been a significant turnover of teaching and support staff.  The school’s most recent results cannot be compared to the government’s current floor

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Information about this school

standards, which set the minimum standards for pupils’ attainment and progress, because there were not enough pupils to make such comparisons meaningful.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the quality of teaching to outstanding by:  ensuring pupils’ thinking is always extended to reach the higher levels in writing  consistently informing pupils of their next steps for learning when their work is marked  ensuring subject leaders are rigorous in measuring the impact of teachers’ marking on accelerating pupils’ progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children enter the Reception Year with attainment in communication and language, physical development and personal and social development in line with the expectations for their ages. They make good progress as most meet and some exceed the expectations for their ages in each area of learning by the end of the Reception Year.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children settle into routines quickly because staff work closely with families prior to each child’s admission and staff team work is strong. Children build confidence in learning together and make good progress in learning about numbers and in linking sounds to letters in reading and writing.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 There is considerable variation in attainment each year due to small year groups and the high numbers of pupils who join the school other than at the usual times. For example, in 2012, of the six pupils in Year 6, three joined the school in Year 5, one did not take the tests, and a third of these pupils were identified with special educational needs. As a result, attainment was low. Nevertheless, the school’s accurate data show that they made good progress from their relative starting points. The current 10 pupils in Year 6 are on course to reach above average attainment in reading, English and mathematics with broadly average attainment in writing.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school’s robust data analysis also shows that the attainment of those pupils who benefit from the pupil premium is similar in reading, writing and mathematics to that of other pupils. The gap in pupils’ performance in reading, writing and mathematics compared to other pupils nationally is now much narrower. A higher proportion of more able pupils are on course to reach the higher levels in English and mathematics this year, whereas in previous years a few of these pupils did not reach the higher levels, especially in writing.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 At Key Stage 1, pupils make good progress from their relative starting points in reading, writing and mathematics. Attainment has been steadily rising since the last inspection with the proportion meeting and exceeding the expected levels of progress above the national average, although in 2012 a few higher attaining pupils did not do as well as expected particularly in writing. Pupils in Year 1 met the required expectations in the national tests on phonics (knowledge and use of letter sounds for reading and writing) and current pupils are on track to exceed the national expectations for this test.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 All groups of pupils, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, make equally good progress from their relative starting points, although a few of the more able pupils are not reaching their expected levels in writing because their thinking is not always extended.

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The quality of teaching is good

 As a result of rigorous monitoring and good management of teachers’ performance by the headteacher since the last inspection, teaching has improved from satisfactory to good. School records show that teaching has moved from requiring improvement to good during the past year and this was confirmed during the inspection, where most lessons seen were good, a few were outstanding and a few required improvement.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers plan a variety of interesting activities to stimulate pupils’ learning. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, there is a good balance of learning that is led by the teacher and activities chosen by the children, both indoors and outdoors. For example, children developed their knowledge of numbers as some were encouraged to roll a dice and say the number out loud before cutting out the same number of teeth to attach the crocodile’s mouth, while others counted out the number of mats to make a path in the outdoor area.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Assessment is used well to match different learning tasks to the wide range of needs in each class, so that all pupils are able to do the tasks they are given. For example, pupils in Year 1 were given games of varying difficulty to consolidate their understanding of doubling and halving in single-, two- or three- digit numbers. Good feedback is provided to pupils on how well they are doing in lessons and what they need to do to improve. On a few occasions, there are missed opportunities to extend pupils’ learning in writing. This was seen in an English lesson where a few more able pupils could have been challenged to use more complex clauses in their sentences. Marking usually provides pupils with good feedback on their next steps for learning, although this is not always the case. Occasionally, there are missed opportunities to use pupils’ individual writing targets to show them how to improve their work.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers build systematically on pupils’ prior learning and make good use of questioning to challenge pupils’ thinking. For example, pupils in Years 4 and 5 were repeatedly challenged through questioning to come up with more interesting descriptive words to generate ideas for their story; they wrote, ‘One stormy night, in the bubbling murky marsh, a green monster emerged from the depths.’

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching of communication, reading, writing and mathematical skills is good throughout the school. The teaching of letter sounds and their use for reading and spelling is good with strong promotion of literacy and numeracy skills in topic work.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching assistants provide good support for pupils with disabilities and special educational needs in lessons, where they break down tasks into smaller, achievable steps. Good individual support sessions for those who benefit from the pupil premium and those requiring support at school action plus are provided outside lessons by skilled teaching assistants. They use bespoke approaches to accelerate the pupils’ progress in reading and spelling, and make detailed notes on any gains in learning.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are well behaved in lessons and around the school and they are safe in school. Pupils move quietly from their classrooms to assembly, they move safely in the hall at lunchtime and they play safely outdoors. They maintain good relationships with others and are polite and courteous to visitors. School records show that this is typical of every-day behaviour.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils have good attitudes to learning as they nearly always concentrate, follow instructions and do their best. This, together with their good behaviour and good attendance and punctuality, has a significant impact on their learning, enabling them to make good progress in lessons. Pupils respond well to the management of their behaviour during the rare instances of minor disruption, such as calling out.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Most parents and carers agree that behaviour and safety are good, which was reflected in discussions and in the responses to parent view.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils have a good understanding of the different types of bullying and on the rare occasions that any bullying occurs they believe it is dealt with quickly and effectively by staff. Good systems are in place to record incidents of unacceptable behaviour with very few recorded in recent years.

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The leadership and management are good

 Under the purposeful leadership of the headteacher, there has been good improvement in the school’s work since the last inspection, particularly in developing staff team work, improving the quality of teaching and assessment systems and in raising pupils’ achievement.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher uses the outcomes of her rigorous checking of teaching and learning to set clear objectives and provide effective training and support for staff. For example, one valuable outcome of this training has been the improved effect that subject leaders have on raising pupils’ progress. They do not check on the quality of teachers’ marking rigorously enough and so miss an opportunity to extend pupils’ learning further.

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The leadership and management are good

 The good curriculum across the school has a strong emphasis on promoting pupils’ personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding. Each classroom has a quiet area for reflection and pupils learn about different cultures and traditions, for example, the celebration of Diwali. Children in the Reception Year greatly enjoyed making paper snakes and Chinese food for the celebration of Chinese New Year of the Snake.

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The leadership and management are good

 The skills of communication, literacy and numeracy are promoted well across a range of subjects and activities, such as assembly and after-school clubs. A rich variety of clubs, such as the singing and cookery clubs, and a wide range of activities and visits to places of interest support learning well.

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The leadership and management are good

 Funding for the pupil premium is used well, through good individual support from teaching assistants to develop basic skills. As a result, these pupils are making faster progress. Equally good support arrangements are in place for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs. This has led to the narrowing of gaps in the learning of different groups of pupils and as a result the school promotes equality of opportunity well. More able pupils are given higher Level 6 work to extend their learning further, although teachers sometimes miss the chance to deepen the thinking of some pupils.

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The leadership and management are good

 Good partnerships with parents and carers, are reflected in their positive responses to the Parent View questionnaire, where nearly all said they would recommend the school to others.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority is providing good support for the school through visits to review aspects of its work and in providing training for staff and governors,

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Members of the governing body have a clear view of the quality of teaching and use the school’s accurate self-evaluation well to ensure school improvement. They use data well and regularly check for themselves the school’s work, holding leaders to account for progress against priorities in the school development plan. They ensure good teachers are rewarded and any underperformance tackled. Governors rigorously check financial expenditure, looking closely at the effectiveness of spending of the pupil premium. They ensure all statutory requirements are met, particularly for safeguarding, which fully meets requirements, for example, through the rigorous vetting procedures for staff and visitors and the annual review of all policies and procedures.

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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 115073 Local authority Essex Inspection number 401488

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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 controlled Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 79 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Les Houghton Headteacher Julie Ingram Date of previous school inspection 17 May 2010 Telephone number 01787 222296 Fax number 01787 224208 Email address admin@chappel.essex.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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