St Mary's Church of England (Aided) Primary School, Chipping Norton

St Mary's Church of England (Aided) Primary School The Green, Chipping Norton, Oxon, Oxfordshire, OX7 5DX

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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:

 Pupils in Key Stage 2 make slower progress than they should, especially in mathematics. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, as well as those who speak English as an additional language, make slower progress than other pupils.  Some lower-attaining pupils’ progress in reading is hindered because they lack confidence in applying phonics (the sounds that letters make).  In some of the teaching, planning does not fully meet the needs of all groups of pupils.  Adults’ support is not consistently well used in whole-class teaching specially in Key Stage 2, and modern technology is underused as a tool to improve learning.  Pupils are not always sure of their learning targets, especially in mathematics.  Leaders, including middle leaders and the governing body, have not monitored pupils’ progress and the quality of teaching throughout the school thoroughly enough.  Not enough information is provided to parents

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

and carers so they know how they can support their children.

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The school has the following strengths:

 The headteacher, together with the new senior leadership team and the governing body, is beginning to drive forward improvements in teaching and pupils’ achievement, especially in Key Stage 1.  Children in Reception make a good start.  Teaching in some classes, notably in Key Stage 1, is good.  Marking in pupils’ books effectively identifies strengths and what must be improved, especially in English.  Pupils behave well and have respectful attitudes. They feel safe and are keen to come to school. Attendance is above average.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in 17 lessons, of which two were joint observations with the headteacher.  Inspectors made a number of shorter visits to other lessons. Inspectors also listened to pupils read and jointly scrutinised their work with the headteacher.  Meetings were held with two groups of pupils and informal discussions with other pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body, senior leaders and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors looked at documents relating to safeguarding, the performance management of staff, the tracking and assessment of pupils’ attainment and progress, records on behaviour and safety and the monitoring of teaching and learning. They looked at the school’s spending of the pupil premium funding.  Inspectors took account of the views of 23 parents and carers in the online questionnaire (Parent View) and the school’s own surveys of the views of parents and carers. The views of

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Information about this inspection

parents and carers were sought at the start of the school day. Inspectors scrutinised 21 questionnaires completed by staff.

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Inspection team

Zahid Aziz, Lead inspector Additional inspector Carol Worthington Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 St Mary’s Church of England (Aided) Primary School is an average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium (additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, children who are looked after by the local authority and the children of service families) is about one-in-five and this is below average. There are no children who are looked after by the local authority or children of service families.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is above average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is broadly average.  The largest groups of pupils are of White British heritage. The proportion of pupils from other ethnic backgrounds and those who speak English as an additional language is below average.  The school provides a breakfast club which is managed by the governing body. The school

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Information about this school

provides an after-school club, which is not managed by the governing body. This is subject to separate inspection arrangements.  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?

 Improve teaching and pupils’ progress, especially in mathematics in Key Stage 2, for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs and for those who speak English as an additional language by ensuring that:  assessment information is used consistently to plan lessons which fully match pupils’ needs, so that activities challenge and interest all pupils, including those that are less able and those of average ability  pupils and teachers make greater use of modern technology in the classroom as tools for learning  support staff are suitably trained and used effectively in the classroom to support individual pupils during whole-class teaching sessions  all pupils know their targets as part of their ‘next step’ for improvement, notably in mathematics.  Raise levels of achievement in literacy by:  improving the quality of phonics teaching for less able pupils to give a more secure basis for

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

progress in literacy throughout the school.  Further improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by:  developing the skills of subject leaders in monitoring progress in their areas and ensuring that leaders at all levels check the progress of all groups of pupils regularly by:  ensuring that monitoring provides a sharper focus on weaknesses in teaching and learning  improving communication with parents and carers about pupils’ progress  ensuring governors have a good grasp of performance data and understand how well the school's performance compares with others’ nationally and how to reward good teaching. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils do not make enough progress, especially at Key Stage 2. Attainment at the end of Year 6 is broadly average but this is not high enough, given pupils’ starting points.  Slower progress is especially evident in Years 3 and 4 in mathematics. In these classes, individual progress is not checked thoroughly enough and, as a result, information about how well pupils are doing is not used effectively in planning future work.  Not all pupils make enough progress in developing their reading skills. Although the phonics screening check of 2012 indicated that standards in Year 1 are above average overall, the progress of lower ability pupils in particular is not fast enough.  Disabled pupils, those with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language do not make as much progress as their peers; some support staff are not sufficiently well trained and leaders’ tracking of progress is not sufficiently thorough.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 School data and checks of pupils' books show that some groups of pupils have started to make faster progress. For example, in Key Stage 1, pupils' work in writing shows they are making better progress because of good teaching, well-planned lessons and good use of marking and feedback. Also, girls of White British heritage are making good progress.  Many children enter the Reception class with skills that are below the levels expected for their age. They make good progress and enter Year 1 with skills broadly in line with expected levels, particularly personal, social and emotional skills.  The progress of pupils receiving additional funding through the pupil premium is improving and they now make good progress because of the effective deployment of staff to support them. The gap in attainment between those receiving the pupil premium and other groups in the school is narrowing as measured by their average point scores.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching is not good enough because some teachers do not plan lessons which meet the needs of all pupils, especially at Key Stage 2.  In contrast, teaching at Key Stage 1 is more effective in meeting the needs of more-able pupils and they make faster progress.  Support staff are not consistently well deployed, especially to provide support to individuals during whole-class teaching specially at Key Stage 2.  Some teachers miss opportunities to use modern technology to improve their teaching and pupils’ learning, particularly for those pupils of lower ability and those with special educational needs.  The marking of pupils’ books is improving across key stages and pupils check their own work regularly. As a result, they know better than previously what they need to do to improve. However, comments in pupils’ books do not routinely refer to pupils’ learning targets, especially in mathematics, and, consequently, they do not always know what their targets are.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The teaching of phonics is not sufficiently effective, especially for lower ability pupils, because letter sounds are not consistently well taught.  The children in the Reception class make good progress because of effective planning, good use of resources and adult support. For example, at the start of the day, children made spaceships and cameras from junk toys, helping to develop their imagination and hand skills.  Teaching has improved at Key Stage 1, with better time management, more regular checks on progress and the use of a wider range of learning strategies.  Pupils receive regular homework during term time and during the holidays. However, some parents and carers feel their children’s homework is not challenging enough.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils' attitudes to learning are good in the lessons where teaching engages them. Although behaviour is good overall, parents, carers and pupils are not unreservedly positive about the quality of behaviour in the school.  Almost all pupils behave well and respectfully towards each other, and adults throughout the school and in the playground get on well together. For example, Year 4 pupils happily spoke about ‘sharing good things about the school’. On a few occasions, however, there are instances of pupils having to be reminded by adults to follow the school rules for behaviour.  Pupils enjoy and feel safe at the school. Pupils know what to do if they are worried and who to approach for help. They understand the rules of road safety. Pupils have a clear understanding of the dangers of using the internet.  Pupils are aware of different types of bullying, but say it is rare and that it is dealt with promptly

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

when it does occur. This was confirmed by parents and carers when talking to the inspection team.  Pupils with behaviour difficulties are well managed and, as a result, their behaviour improves, and in some instances this has a positive impact on academic performance. For example, one pupil had made good progress in reading from a low start.  The school has a detailed system of rewards and sanctions and pupils know them well. There is effective supervision, for example, at break times and on playgrounds.  The school keeps full records of any incidents, such as a log of any racist incidents, but the records show that such incidents are rare.  Attendance has improved since the previous inspection and is now above average. The school is rigorous in tackling poor attendance and persistent absences. A good range of effective strategies is deployed, including inviting parents and carers to discuss any issues with the

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The leadership and management require improvement

 Leadership, including that by governors, requires improvement. The new senior leadership team is not yet fully effective, and subject leaders in particular are not all sufficiently skilled in monitoring performance.  Leaders have not kept a close enough check on pupils’ progress or on the weaknesses in teaching that affect progress.  Although there have been some improvements in the quality of teaching, notably in Key Stage 1, teaching overall is not yet sufficiently effective in ensuring that all groups of pupils make enough progress. The school does however ensure that progression through the pay scales is linked to teachers’ performance and this has helped improve the quality of some of the teaching.  Improvements since the last inspection demonstrate the school’s capacity to improve further. There are now more accurate assessment and tracking systems in place and regular pupil progress meetings have been introduced. Self-evaluation is accurate, with appropriate priorities

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The leadership and management require improvement

for further improvement identified.  Subject leaders are now increasingly involved in the process of securing further improvement in achievement.  The curriculum gives opportunities for pupils to improve their knowledge and experience of the wider world, such as for Year 6 through residential visits. As a result, pupils learn team building and independent learning skills as well as enjoying the event. Work seen in topic books indicates pupils make good progress in writing, although few examples were seen of pupils developing their numeracy skills across different subjects.  The school has good links with outside agencies to support individual pupils’ needs. However, many parents and carers feel that not enough information is provided about their child’s progress.  Although the school promotes equality of opportunity and tackles discrimination by working effectively with pupils to reflect on behaviour that might cause offence, it is not fully effective as

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The leadership and management require improvement

not all groups of pupils achieve equally well.  The local authority provides regular support such a consultant to improve attainment in mathematics as well as training for the development of the governing body.  The governance of the school:  Since the previous inspection, the governing body has become more challenging as well as supportive than previously and has a grasp of most of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. There has been additional training to enhance governors’ skills. However, it lacks a good grasp of data and does not know how well the school's performance compares with others’ nationally. The governing body is aware that the quality of teaching requires improvement and of how weaknesses are to be addressed. It is aware of performance management procedures and links to pay. It ensures that safeguarding procedures are secure. It knows how well the pupil premium funding is spent, which includes the provision of extra staff to improve

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The leadership and management require improvement

achievement in mathematics, and is aware of the impact.

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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 123227 Local authority Oxfordshire Inspection number 402106

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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 246 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jenny Williams Headteacher Yvonne Barnes Date of previous school inspection 14–15 July 2010 Telephone number 01608 642673 Fax number 01608 641568 Email address office.3858@st-marys-chipping.oxon.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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