Rockwell Green Church of England Primary School

Rockwell Green Church of England Primary School Brooklands Road, Wellington, TA21 9DJ.

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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 because the supportive leadership of the headteacher has built a strong team who work together to help pupils make good progress.  The teaching of phonics (linking sounds with letters) has helped to improve pupils’ reading and writing skills. It has also helped some pupils to be better at problem-solving in mathematics.  The strong links that have been developed between the pre-school and the school, along with the positive leadership of the Early Years Foundation Stage, has helped children to settle into the school well and make good progress.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are supported well by giving them work that is planned at the right level. The school has also ensured that there are several trained adults in each class to help these pupils make good progress.  Teaching is good because all the staff are given opportunities to be trained to develop

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

their skills. The school also makes sure that teachers support one another so that there is a sharing of good teaching skills.  The pupils behave well and feel safe in the school.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 There are not enough opportunities for pupils to work independently and make outstanding progress.  The marking of mathematics’ work is not as good as it is for writing.  Staff with responsibilities for subjects do not make a full contribution to school improvement because they are not involved enough in checking teaching and learning in their subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed teaching in all classes and observed some of the intervention work. In total they visited 13 lessons and carried out a learning walk. Joint observations were carried out with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. Some pupils were heard reading. Pupils’ work was also scrutinised.  Inspectors had discussions with the Headteacher, senior and middle leaders, teachers, teaching assistants, representatives of the governing body, pupils, and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors looked at a range of documentary evidence, including pupil progress data and documents relating to safeguarding, monitoring and special educational needs.  Inspectors took account of the 29 responses to Ofsted’s Parent View on-line survey. They also took into account the views of parents that they spoke to during the inspection

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Inspection team

Huw Evans, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Linda Rowley Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is a below average-sized primary school where most pupils are from White British backgrounds.  The proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and for whom the school receives additional income (pupil premium) is above average and has also increased since the previous inspection.  The school has an above average proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs than usual, including pupils supported through school action, school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs.  A higher proportion of pupils than in most schools enter or leave the school roll at other than the usual times.  The school meets the government’s floor standards, which sets the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school does not use any alternative provision (lessons that take place regularly away from the school site).

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Information about this school

 A pre-school facility is part of the school site, run by other providers. It was not part of this inspection.  The school belongs to Wellington Cluster of Schools, a group of local primary schools, a Children’s Centre and the high school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the consistency of teaching so that more is outstanding and more pupils make outstanding progress by:  making sure that pupils have more opportunity to work independently in all lessons  ensure that the marking in mathematics clearly tells pupils how they can improve their work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the leadership of teaching and learning by enabling all staff with subject responsibilities to make a fuller contribution to checking the progress of pupils.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 By the time they leave the school in Years 6, pupils have achieved well, often from low starting points when they enter the school.  Children start school in the Early Years Foundation Stage with their skills in language and communication often well below those usually found. They make good progress during their first year because the adults working with them help them improve their speaking and listening skills, but some are still below average at the end of the year.  The pupils achieve well in their phonics test in Year 1. This is because of the focused support the pupils receive to develop their communication skills. This success is built on and all pupils achieved the expected level in reading at the end of Year 6 for the last two years with over half exceeding this level last year.  Improvements have been made in how well the children achieve at the end of Year 2 in reading, writing and mathematics, with last year’s overall results being better than at the previous

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The achievement of pupils is good

inspection, and the best in recent years. This is because teaching is better and the focus on the teaching of phonics has helped pupils with their reading and writing skills.  The proportion of pupils making higher rates of progress than average by the end of Year 6 is above average in both English and mathematics. This is reflected in the pupils’ books and is the result of the good quality of teaching.  Pupils for whom the school receives pupil premium funding achieve as well as others in the school and are a year ahead of similar children nationally in their reading.  Pupils who have disabilities and special educational needs progress well because of well-planned interventions and careful checking of their learning.  The good progress evident across the school confirms that all pupils are provided with equal opportunities to learn, and there is no discrimination.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is typically good or better throughout the school. The teaching of phonics has been a particular strength, and through this structured support pupils are making good progress from their starting points. Building on this the teaching of reading is good. Teaching encourages pupils to enjoy reading and be actively engaged in the selecting of books for their classrooms. The library is used regularly and the pupils have a range of favourite authors. Homework is used well to support pupils who need extra reading. Parents and pupils are aware of the key areas the pupils need to work on.  Teaching is well planned so that different groups have work that is generally well matched to their needs and interests and as a result they are engaged in their learning. Pupils have more limited opportunities to work independently individually or in their groups.  Teachers use questions well in lessons to help them to understand how well the pupils are

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The quality of teaching is good

learning and also to encourage the pupils to think more deeply. This provides a level of challenge, which helps the pupils to make good progress. Teaching assistants are used well to support the pupils in intervention work to achieve well.  The quality of marking has improved, especially in literacy. Pupils are given useful comments on how well they are doing and what they can do to improve their work. They are often encouraged to mark their own work and to comment on their learning. Sometimes they mark each other’s work using the targets they have been given. The quality of marking is less effective in mathematics, where written guidance as to how pupils might improve their work is less frequently given. .  The teacher and other adults in the Early Years Foundation Stage are skilful at supporting pupils in improving their speaking and listening skills through planning interesting activities to encourage the pupils to talk. The adults also act as very good role models by enthusiastically

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The quality of teaching is good

joining in with activities and encouraging all pupils to fully participate.  The teachers are planning more opportunities to develop writing across the curriculum, which is helping the children to improve their writing and reading skills. It also helps them to see the purpose for writing. For example, one class were designing vehicles and creating a booklet to describe what they were doing, another class were writing menus from their World War 2 ration book.  Good relationships between adults and pupils help the lessons to run smoothly and enable the pupils to feel confident about answering questions and having a go in a very positive ethos.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour throughout the school is typically good and there is a strong caring and supportive ethos. Pupils are well mannered and are polite. They interact well with adults, and with each other and they help each other in the classroom and out in the playground.  In the classroom pupils’ behaviour is generally good. Pupils respond well to the focus on ‘Golden Time’ and the selection of pupils for ‘Gold’ awards for good behaviour. They feel this helps them all to behave well.  Pupils feel safe in school and can explain why. They feel confident that the staff would sort out any problems. Parents agree with most reporting that they feel their children are safe and well looked after.  Pupils say that bullying is rare and that there is very little name-calling. Boys and girls were seen playing together well and are both represented in the football team and attend the tag rugby after school club.  Pupils are proud of their school and like to help others in the community. They enjoy the regular

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

visits to the elderly and are actively involved in raising funds for local and national charities.  Attendance dipped recently due to the seasonal weather and sickness but the children normally attend regularly. One parent, typical of others, said, ‘My children can’t wait to get to school.’

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders and managers have built up a strong team who all share the vision, which has led to a caring, supportive school where all pupils achieve well.  The work of teachers and teaching assistants is checked thoroughly by the school’s leaders and staff are given a range of opportunities to develop their skills through additional training.  Senior leaders know their school well and know what needs to be improved. They know for example, that some of the pupils need support in developing skills in speaking and listening and have improved the style of teaching to help these pupils achieve better.  Subject leaders are at various stages of development. Because of this, they make only a limited contribution to checking the effectiveness of the work in their areas of responsibility.  Strong leadership in the Early Years Foundation Stage has enhanced the transition between the preschool and the school. These help children settle in well. The smooth transition extends

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The leadership and management are good

through the school.  Pupils for whom the school receives pupil premium funding are well supported. The money goes on extra support that helps them make the same progress as their classmates.  The school has developed stronger links between subjects to give pupils more to write about. For example, pupils in Year 2 were carrying out research on guinea pigs to write an information book for the younger pupils.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well through the personal education programme. A lesson on stereotypes challenged pupils to think about the roles of boys and girls.  The school has established very good links with the local churches and church leaders regularly lead daily worship at school. The books chosen by teachers to share with the class help to develop an understanding of other cultures.  Work in partnership with the Wellington Cluster of Schools includes working closely with the

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The leadership and management are good

Children’s Centre to developing whole family support of benefit to pupils.  Parents are given good opportunities to find out more about how their children learn through events such as a phonics evening. Events for families are very well attended.  The local authority keep an eye on the school but provide no direct support, reflecting their level of confidence in the school.  The governance of the school:  Governors understand the challenges the school faces and the range of needs the pupils in the school have. They regularly visit the school and link to the areas the school has identified to improve, which means that they gain information about the school helping them to challenge the leadership. The governing body oversees the spending of pupil premium money and receive updates from staff on the progress pupils make. They manage the budget well so that the school has, for example, been able to employ additional adults to support the

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The leadership and management are good

interventions that some of the pupils need for them to achieve well. Through their understanding of the data provided by the school, they know how the school is doing in comparison with others. Governors are not complacent and constantly adapt the monitoring visits to ensure robustness in challenging the school to continue to improve pupils’ achievement. They, along with the headteacher, oversee the performance management of all staff, understand the quality of teaching and are aware of the links between how well staff perform and whether they move up the salary scale. The governing body ensures that all statutory requirements are met regarding safeguarding.

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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 123800 Local authority Somerset Inspection number 403542

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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 164 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Samantha Rylatt Headteacher Peter Williamson Date of previous school inspection 18 June 2008 Telephone number 01823 661246 Fax number 01823 661246 Email address office@rockwellgreen.somerset.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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