Paulerspury Church of England Primary School

Paulerspury Church of England Primary School High Street, Paulerspury, Towcester, NN12 7NA

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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.  The teaching of pupils from all groups, including disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, is good and enables them to make good progress.  Pupils achieve well. This is particularly so in phonics (learning about the relationships between letters and the sounds they make) and in writing.  The leadership and management of the school have been effective in raising the quality of teaching and learning.  Behaviour is good because pupils have good attitudes to learning and are keen to do well.  Adults ensure that the opportunities provided for pupils in lessons and clubs are interesting and enjoyable.  The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. As a result, the basic culture of the school is one of care for others.  Links and training opportunities with other local schools are good and have improved teachers’ and governors’ knowledge and

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Although lessons enable pupils to make good progress in mathematics, reading and writing, opportunities are sometimes missed for learning to be accelerated still further by pupils applying these new skills in practical tasks and investigations in other subjects.  Teachers are not all as rigorous in encouraging pupils to regularly evaluate their own progress towards reaching their individual next steps in learning in mathematics as they are in literacy.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed teaching in all classes in six lessons, including one which was a shared observation with the headteacher. In addition, pupils were heard reading, assembly was observed and pupils’ work in books was scrutinised.  Discussions were held with a range of people including the coordinator for provision for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, the Chair of the Governing Body, pupils and a representative of the local authority.  Inspection took account of the 49 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) as well as five responses to staff questionnaires.  The inspector observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including documents relating to safeguarding, planning and monitoring documentation, records relating to pupils’ behaviour and attendance, documents relating to spending money received for the pupil premium (which provides additional funding for students in local authority care and those known

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Information about this inspection

to be eligible for free school meals) and the school’s own data on pupils’ progress.

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Inspection team

Sheelagh Barnes, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Paulerspury is smaller than the average primary school.  Almost all of the pupils are White British.  The number of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for looked-after children and those known to be eligible for free school meals, is much lower than the average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action, school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs, is below average.  The headteacher took up her post in April 2011. Before that, there had been two temporary acting headteachers for the previous two years.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  No pupils are currently educated in alternative provision away from the site.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and learning so that it is more often excellent by:  teachers organising lessons to give pupils more regular and systematic opportunities to develop literacy and numeracy skills in practical tasks and investigation in all subjects  developing pupils’ skills in evaluating their own progress towards their individual next steps in learning, particularly in mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children start in the Reception class with skills and knowledge broadly in line with that expected for their age. They make good progress, particularly in their personal and social development and early literacy skills.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Good progress continues in Key Stage 1, because of the good quality of the teaching, so that, by the end of Year 2, standards are above average in reading, writing and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Throughout Key Stage 2, pupils continue to make good gains in their learning. Although in recent years progress has been good throughout Key Stage 2, this has not always been the case. There was some significant underachievement in the past, which is only now being completely made up.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make similar progress to their peers, as do those few pupils who are eligible for the pupil premium. The gap between potentially lower attaining pupils and the rest is being effectively eroded. Pupil premium money is spent on ensuring that all pupils have equal access to trips and visits and musical tuition.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Progress in learning about the sounds letters represent (phonics) is particularly good. This is because of the initial focus leaders placed on the improvement of this aspect of learning. The introduction of systematic teaching of phonics has had the effect of enabling pupils to make good progress in developing skills in reading and in their writing. Pupils swiftly become confident and avid readers and writers.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The quick progress pupils make in developing literacy skills is also aided by their involvement in self-evaluation of how well they are proceeding towards their next steps. Because of this, they start to take more responsibility for their own learning.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Progress in mathematics is good throughout the school, although not as strong as literacy. Systems to aid pupils in their self-evaluation of how well they are doing in mathematics have been put in place, in the form of cards highlighting the next step for each pupils to take to improve their work. However, as the school has already identified, these are not yet used consistently. Some have been filled in, in detail by the teacher, others have minimal information on them. Pupils are not regularly reminded to use them in all classes and, as a consequence, some are relatively unused.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage is good and, as a result, children settle into school well and make a good start in their learning. This is particularly the case in the establishment of school rules and routines, and in learning to read and write.

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The quality of teaching is good

 There has been a whole-school emphasis on improving the quality of teaching in recent years, which focussed initially on improving the teaching of reading and writing. The resulting emphasis on developing pupils’ awareness of the links between the written letters of the alphabet and the sounds that they represent is having a positive impact on their learning. As a consequence of this and other improvements, pupils make good progress in literacy.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are supported well in class and through individual and small-group tuition, so that they make progress in line with their peers.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers make highly effective provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development through the topics they choose and the emphasis they place on thinking of others. As a result, pupils are thoughtful and sometimes initiate collections for charity without prompting from adults.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers plan lessons to interest pupils and with their different needs in mind. Pupils enjoy activities such as finding interesting words to describe flowing water to create poems, or planting seeds to find out what conditions they will grow in best, and they concentrate well as a result.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers sometimes provide too much guidance in how investigations and experiments could be set up or how results could be recorded. This limits the progress pupils make in developing skills in initiative, research and evaluation. As a result, the progress pupils make is good rather than outstanding.

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The quality of teaching is good

 A new marking policy has been introduced, helping to point out to pupils to how they can improve their work and reminding them of their specific personal next steps in writing and in mathematics. This is starting to make a significant impact in raising standards in literacy and in some mathematics lessons. However, it is not yet consistently applied in all subjects.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers give pupils the opportunity to evaluate for themselves how well they have done in developing literacy skills. However, this is does not happen consistently in all classes in the case in mathematics.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils have positive attitudes to their work and to school. Because of this, their attendance is above average and their punctuality is good.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The great majority of parents who responded through the online questionnaire said that they feel that their children are safe and cared for in school. Pupils say that there is little bullying or prejudice and that disagreements are usually resolved quickly.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils have good awareness of safety issues and how to keep themselves safe, including when using the internet. They recognise unsafe situations. They say they are confident that any problems they have can be shared with staff.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. There are good opportunities for pupils to learn about the thoughts and views of others. As a result, the pupils are well prepared to talk about the world in which they live in and the beliefs of others. Their care for more vulnerable members of the school community is automatic and intuitive, because of the examples set by adults.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ opinions are taken seriously and their views are included in decision making within the school. This is through school and class councils. Pupils say that they know that their views are held as important. In discussions, pupils make decisions such as which charity to raise funds for next. Because of this, they develop as responsible members of the school community.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Staff management of the behaviour of pupils is good. There is a consistent approach within the school. As a result, the school provides a positive and industrious environment and pupils try their hardest to conform to the high expectations.  Just occasionally, pupils’ exuberance and enthusiasm means that reminders have to be given to them about keeping noise levels down, so as to not disturb others.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher has an accurate view of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. She has high aspirations for the school. She has the full support of staff and governors alike.

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The leadership and management are good

 Systems for assessment and tracking of the progress of pupils from all groups have been made more rigorous. Any signs that pupils’ progress is slowing are swiftly responded to, in the form of extra help.

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The leadership and management are good

 There has been a detailed focus on improving standards in literacy. This has been extremely successful. The school leadership is now turning its attention to improving standards in mathematics.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher ensures that teaching is monitored closely, and professional development is closely linked to individual needs and to school improvement priorities. As a result, the quality of teaching across the school has been raised.

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The leadership and management are good

 Safeguarding systems fully meet requirements. All necessary checks are completed and staff have received the appropriate level of training.

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The leadership and management are good

 The range of subjects taught is enriched by a wide variety of after-school clubs, visits out of school and visitors into school. For example, a recent visit from the Leicester Space Centre inspired awe and wonder in the pupils. There are many opportunities for pupils to take part in sporting and musical events, some with other local schools.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority has provided good-quality support and training, which has enabled the school to improve the quality of teaching and learning.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The effectiveness of the governing body has been improved in recent years through training and guidance, so that it is now good. Governors provide school leaders with effective support and realistic challenge. They hold leaders to account for the quality of education provided and are fully aware, through their monitoring, that this has also improved and is now good. Governors ensure that resources are used wisely, including pupil premium funding, which is used to enrich and extend learning experiences for those for whom it is provided. They also take their responsibility for the management of performance of staff as vital, and so evaluation is linked both to salary progression and also to pupils’ achievements. Governors are also involved in a system to evaluate their own performance, in conjunction with other local schools.

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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 121986 Local authority Northamptonshire Inspection number 406069

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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 115 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Tim Foster Headteacher Sarah Whitlock-Pritchard Date of previous school inspection 13 July 2011 Telephone number 01327 811674 Fax number 01327 811674 Email address head@paulerspury.northants-ecl.gov.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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