Wiveliscombe Primary School

Wiveliscombe Primary School North Street, Wiveliscombe, Somerset, TA4 2LA

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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.  Increasing numbers of pupils join the school with below age-related expectations in literacy and numeracy skills. Due to good teaching, they achieve well and reach average levels by the end of Reception.  The progress made by pupils in English and mathematics has been slightly above the national average in recent years. Teacher assessment shows that increasing proportions of pupils are now making better progress and achieving well in Key Stage 2.  Pupils are enthusiastic about topics they study enlivened with visits and role play. Older pupils also undertake significant responsibilities running lunchtime clubs.  Pupils speak very positively about their school and their enjoyment of lessons. They behave well and treat adults and each other with courtesy. They rightly believe that the school is a safe and secure environment.  The headteacher and assistant headteachers have a good understanding of what needs to

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

be done to further improve the school. Monitoring the quality of teaching and tracking pupils’ progress are their top priorities. Staff and governors share their vision and ambition.  Teaching over time is good because activities are carefully planned to meet most pupils’ needs.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because:

 Teaching is not yet outstanding because the pupils who are capable of making more rapid progress are not always set hard enough work.  Marking in subjects other than English and mathematics is not detailed enough and pupils are not always clear about how to reach the next level.  Pupils are not always clear about how to apply material from English classes to their writing in other subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors spent a total of seven hours observing 18 lessons or parts of lessons taught by ten teachers. Additional activities included observations at a breakfast club, a special event for talented writers as well as a school assembly.  One lesson was observed jointly with an assistant headteacher. The headteacher joined the inspectors in visits around the school to observe how well groups of pupils were progressing.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils, representatives of the governing body, school leaders and subject coordinators. A telephone conversation was also held with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the 35 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) as well as views communicated during informal discussions with parents and carers. They also took account of the views of the staff through meetings and responses to 14 staff questionnaires.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors listened to pupils read and examined the work in pupils’ books.  The school’s own attainment records for the current as well as previous academic years were scrutinised in addition to published information on pupils’ achievement and external consultants’ reports. Inspectors examined planning and monitoring documents, records relating to pupils’ safety and welfare, including the school’s single central record of checks on staff, the behaviour logs and attendance records.

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Inspection team

Patricia MacLachlan, Lead inspector Additional inspector Kevin Wright Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is slightly smaller than the average-sized primary school. The Early Years Foundation Stage is provided in a Reception class and in another shared Reception/Year 1 class.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium (extra money provided by the government for pupils eligible for free school meals and those in the care of the local authority) is less than half the national average.  A very large majority of pupils are of White British heritage with the next largest group coming from other White backgrounds. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is significantly lower than average with fewer than 4% of pupils believed to speak a different language at home.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported at school action is below the national average as is the proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs.

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Information about this school

 The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school provides additional services through a breakfast club managed by the governing body.  The school does not use any other school or location to provide alternative education for its pupils.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching so that more is outstanding by:  ensuring that pupils who are capable of making more rapid progress, are given more- challenging work.  enabling and encouraging pupils to keep records of their own progress over longer periods to help them understand for themselves how to improve their attainment levels.  Further strengthen the leadership and management of teaching by:  ensuring that the school’s marking policy is used consistently in all years and all subjects  reviewing the ways in which the discrete English skills lessons can be aligned more precisely to writing in other subjects.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with some skills in communication and understanding of number below the expected levels for their age. Good teaching ensures that children make rapid gains with increasing proportions making expected progress in reading and numeracy by the end of Reception.  As pupils move through the school their progress in reading is sustained. This is because they are well taught to recognise sounds and letters (known as phonics). Pupils of all ages enjoy reading; the pupils themselves run lunchtime library sessions and older pupils read with Key Stage 1 pupils. The school’s records show that the majority of current Year 5 and Year 6 pupils have made better than expected progress in reading.  Good progress is made during Key Stage 2 because teaching is well planned to develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding. By Year 6, pupils’ standards of attainment are now slightly higher

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The achievement of pupils is good

than the national average in both English and mathematics. Increasing proportions of pupils currently in Years 5 and 6 are making good progress because more ambitious targets are being set. Teachers’ marking gives detailed advice on how to improve in English and mathematics. As a result, school records and scrutiny of English books show that more pupils are producing a higher standard of work than pupils of the same age in previous years.  Achievement is not yet outstanding because the school needs to sustain this high attainment and increase the numbers of pupils who reach Levels 5 and 6 in English and mathematics by the age of 11.  Discrimination of any type is not tolerated and all groups of pupils make equally strong progress. This includes disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs and also those who are supported through additional pupil premium funding because pupils are well supported in

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The achievement of pupils is good

small-group and one-to-one sessions according to their needs.  Careful tracking of individual pupils ensures that most pupils make at least the progress they are capable of and increasing proportions of pupils in both Key Stages 1 and 2 are on track to secure better attainment than in previous years.  Pupils who are supported through the pupil premium are achieving average point scores for reading and writing in Key Stage 1 that are close to or the same as the scores of their classmates. At Key Stage 2 the gap is narrowing between those in receipt of the pupil premium and their peers because both groups are attaining similar average point scores in English and mathematics.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is good because well-planned tasks offer pupils briskly paced opportunities to develop their understanding. For example, in a Year 4 lesson on parts of speech, pupils used a sample poem to compose their own verses exemplifying nouns, adjectives and adverbs. This engaged and stretched pupils in focused discussions about whether to use alliteration, personification or acrostics and as a result, pupils made good progress and produced some high-quality work.  Pupils are adept at discussing whether they have met improvement targets because teachers mark work extremely clearly in English and mathematics, although less so in other subjects. However, pupils do not keep records of their own progress over longer periods to help them understand for themselves how to improve their attainment levels.  Planning is thorough and enthusiastic subject leaders check that sequences of lessons offer interesting tasks that help pupils to make progress. However, pupils who are capable of making

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The quality of teaching is good

faster progress are not set enough challenging work that requires independent research over longer periods.  School leaders’ own evaluation of teaching is accurate. Focused coaching has enabled some teachers to improve rapidly.  Some outstanding practice was seen in Reception, when each child’s writing was stimulated by innovative use of a globe at the start of a lesson to revise letters and sounds. The children were enthusiastic about writing. The teacher had a detailed knowledge of each individual’s skill level, and matched this to different tasks, so that some children were able to compose simple sentences of their own while the others used well-selected checklists to help them complete sentences putting letters in the correct order.  While pupils know what to do to make their individual English or mathematics answers better, they are not always clear about how to reach the next level nor are they always clear about how

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The quality of teaching is good

to apply material from English classes to their writing in other subjects.  The majority of parents and carers who responded to the online survey or who spoke to inspectors believe that their children are well taught; inspectors agree.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ attitudes to learning are good. This is because they are enthusiastic about the activities in which they are engaged and, in the words of one pupil, ‘Teachers make lessons fun.’ In the Early Years Foundation Stage children show good social skills, sharing their thoughts with a partner. Behaviour is good rather than outstanding because pupils who are capable of making faster progress are sometimes passive because when they finish their work they do not have a choice of activities or targets that would stretch their capabilities.  Pupils feel well looked after by the adults around them. Pupils who previously have displayed challenging behaviour speak of the very supportive ways in which they have been helped to improve because they have been taught to express their feelings to teachers and other adults. Well-mannered, courteous behaviour is typical.  Bullying is rare and parents and carers have expressed satisfaction with the school’s good

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

management of infrequent incidences of unkind behaviour. Pupils understand what bullying means and speak highly of the ways they have been taught to resolve arguments by talking with each other. Pupils are kind to each other. They are confident that if someone is in need of sympathetic companionship, a visit to the ‘friendship post’ will bring willing playmates to their side.  Pupils have a good awareness of personal safety including cyber safety and respond well to situations by avoiding unsafe behaviour. For example, the playground rules for safe behaviour are understood and followed. Parents and carers in discussions with inspectors rightly believe that their children are safe at school.  Attendance is improving each year and is in line with national averages because effective strategies are deployed to encourage good attendance. Pupils know right from wrong and respond to the school’s philosophy of ‘catching pupils doing well’ by celebrating good behaviour

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

publicly. Assemblies congratulate good actions and encourage team presentations that draw upon individuals’ different talents. This reinforces social development.

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The leadership and management are good

 The areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection have been successfully addressed. Pupils’ attainment is carefully tracked across the school and if an individual is falling behind, support programmes are designed to improve their progress. Pupils’ writing has improved because teachers now plan systematically for extended writing in different subjects.  A robust system has been introduced for monitoring teaching. This has made an impact on classroom practice because the headteacher and his committed assistant headteachers check teachers’ plans and their marking as well as visiting lessons regularly.  Subject leaders coach colleagues and organise training, enlisting external consultants if necessary, to help staff to improve the quality of teaching. Teachers and other adults are consistently satisfied with the quality of professional development provided for them.  The performance management system is beginning to set clearer targets that hold teachers

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The leadership and management are good

accountable for pupils’ achievement before moving up the salary scale. The headteacher has not shied away from difficult conversations about teaching performance when these were necessary.  Provision to encourage spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils express moral viewpoints and are respectful about different religions, discussing Islamic artefacts for instance with great interest. Opportunities to visit nature centres or to enjoy acting as Victorian children in places of historic interest are relished and widen their cultural horizons, as do the investigations into other European countries as part of the Comenius Project.  Management of the Early Years Foundation Stage shows a good understanding of assessment information and the new curriculum. Adults form a well-led team which plans stimulating experiences for the children who consequently make good progress. Arrangements for transition

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The leadership and management are good

from home to school are valued by parents and carers, with one, whose child had been very withdrawn in a previous setting, speaking for many when she said, ’My child has blossomed in the Reception class in Wiveliscombe Primary where staff are so caring and do so much to help the children to make progress. ’  Safeguarding systems that meet statutory requirements are in place and policies are rigorously applied. Leaders promote equal opportunities and are assiduous in tackling any discrimination that may arise.  The breakfast club is well managed and enjoyed by a small group of pupils who are well supervised and make good use of computer packages in the information and communication technology suite.  The local authority adopts a light touch when monitoring this school because it is satisfied with the outcomes in terms of pupils’ achievement and attendance as well as the reports commissioned by the school in 2012 from external consultants.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The governing body knows the standards of achievement and teaching in the school because the headteacher provides summary reports after each term’s set of pupil progress meetings to the education sub-committee. Governors review the improvement plan, based on an accurate understanding of how pupils are performing compared with national standards, because they receive clear summaries of attainment from the assistant headteacher responsible for tracking pupils’ progress. The school’s appraisal policy has been revised to incorporate the new standards for teachers and governors understand the need to establish a clearer link between teachers’ pay progression and their pupils’ progress. Checks are made to ensure that the pupil premium funds are spent on the intended groups because the headteacher is introducing regular reports on the impact made by the funds on attainment of the target pupils compared

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The leadership and management are good

with their peers. Oversight of safeguarding is effective and the link governor makes regular monitoring visits. Governors take an active role in events such as monitoring the pupils’ evaluations of an e-safety day and adding links for parents and carers about vetting internet sites to the school website.

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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 123713 Local authority Somerset Inspection number 402193

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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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 223 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Tim Parker Headteacher Tony Halstead Date of previous school inspection 3–4 December 2009 Telephone number 01984 6233325 Fax number 01984 623534 Email address office@wiveliscombe.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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