Moreton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

Moreton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Moreton, Ongar, CM5 0JD

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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.  Teaching is good and sometimes outstanding. Teachers know their pupils as individuals, and give them tasks that they enjoy.  Pupils make good progress throughout the school. Those who need it receive good- quality extra help so that pupils of all abilities achieve well.  Pupils are well behaved in lessons. They are polite and courteous to one another and to adults in the school.  Pupils enjoy taking responsibility, and take a pride in the contribution they make to the school and wider community.  Parents are pleased with the school’s support for their children. They especially appreciate the help that their children are given to grow into confident young people who relate well to others.  Additional government funding is used well to support pupils known to be eligible for free school meals.  Leaders have ensured that the quality of teaching has improved and that pupils make good progress. The school has good capacity

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

to improve further.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Work is not always matched well to pupils’ abilities.  Not all teachers do enough to help pupils to work independently or in small groups, or to take responsibility for their own learning.  Professional development for teachers is not linked closely enough to classroom observations by senior staff, or to the need for better use of day-to-day assessment.  Marking does not always show pupils clearly what they need to do to improve.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 13 lessons or parts of lessons, and two assemblies. They saw every teacher teach on at least one occasion and conducted joint observations with senior staff. They heard pupils read, and looked at the quality of work in their books.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils and staff, with the Chair of the Governing Body and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors took into account the views of 25 parents who completed the Ofsted online survey (Parent View) and met with 14 parents of pupils when they brought their children to school in the morning. They also took into account the responses to the staff questionnaire.  Inspectors looked at a range of documents provided by the school, including data showing the tracking of pupils’ progress, school policies, and minutes of governing body meetings. They also examined the school’s records relating to safeguarding.

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Inspection team

David Lewis, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Bimla Thakur Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller than average-size primary school.  Most pupils are White British, with small numbers of pupils coming from a variety of other backgrounds.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for children in the care of the local authority and for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, is below average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported at school action, school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average.  The school meets the government’s 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?

 Increase the proportion of consistently good or outstanding teaching by:  using information from the school’s tracking system and day-to-day assessment in class to ensure that work is not too easy or too hard for the pupils  planning the work of support staff to ensure that pupils of all abilities are helped to develop their curiosity and independent learning skills  ensure that marking is consistently as good as the best by providing pupils with constructive comments on their work to help them to understand how they can improve.  making better use of links with other schools to provide opportunities for teachers to observe outstanding practice

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Boys and girls make good progress in the Reception class because the activities prepared for them help them to gain confidence and to work independently. Children typically start in the Reception class with skills and knowledge below those expected for their age.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 They get good support in developing their writing skills and quickly start to use them; for example, in writing a shopping list for making a bird table. They learn to count and often practise their number skills.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils continue to make good progress in Years 1 and 2, and by the end of Year 2 their attainment is typical for children of their age. Nearly all children know the sounds that letters make, and use them to read unfamiliar words. Most can read fluently and with understanding.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In Years 3 to 6, pupils progress well. There has been a steady rise in attainment at the end of Year 6, and pupils currently in the school are on track to attain above-average standards.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Analysis of the progress of children who benefit from additional government funding (the pupil premium) shows that all progress as well as their peers, and that more than half make better progress than expected. In 2012, pupils known to be eligible for free school meals were the equivalent of around six months ahead of their classmates in English and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school is careful to support pupils of all abilities, so that disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs progress well, as do those who are very able.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Scrutiny of pupils’ work shows consistently good progress, especially in Years 4, 5 and 6, and that teaching ensures that they build on what they have learned before.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils and their parents agree that pupils make good progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school quickly identifies children who need extra help with their reading, so that reading difficulties never inhibit progress in the full range of subjects. Children say that they enjoy reading, though many say that they do not get regular support at home in learning to read.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Inspectors judged teaching and learning in most lessons to be good. The school sees it as a priority to work with teachers to ensure that all teaching is as good as the best.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching in Reception is good because the teacher understands the children well and knows how to give them tasks that help them to learn effectively using activities that promote independence and creativity. For example, in the outdoor area they built a racing circuit with barriers, and created a racing scenario with tricycles and scooters in which they showed ability to take risks whilst never stepping over the line of maintaining safety. Teaching in the Reception Year prepares the children well for learning in Key Stage 1.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The best teaching seen in Key Stage 2 is characterised by intelligent discussion between the pupils and their teacher, followed by activities that are planned to match their needs well. For example, in a lesson on the 24-hour clock, children discussed the advantages of using the 24- hour clock in railway timetables, and worked out, in discussions in small groups, how to use timetables to find the length of a journey.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers mark pupils work regularly and the best marking includes clear comments to help pupils to improve.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils’ approach to their work is nearly always mature and sensible, but just occasionally the challenge set by the teacher is misjudged, and pupils are left struggling with work that is too difficult for them. For more-able pupils, the work is sometimes too easy. In these lessons, they sometimes find it hard to maintain their concentration.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers manage the work of support staff well, so that they make a good contribution to pupils’ learning. However, in a very small proportion of lessons, they did not identify quickly enough where help was needed and pupils lost interest.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attitudes to learning are uniformly good, and pupils are almost always engaged in what they are doing in lessons. Pupils are proud to contribute to aspects of the school’s work by taking on roles of responsibility such as membership of the school council. They have been conspicuously successful in working in the community to raise money for charitable causes. Pupils are proud to be awarded house points for good work.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They understand the school’s system for behaviour management and the way that sanctions are used in response to poor behaviour. Exclusions are rare.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Throughout the school, pupils’ are courteous to one another and to adults. They are proud of their school, and seek always to uphold the standards modelled to them by their teachers.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils feel safe in school, and they and their parents confirm that good support is always available when needed. There is very little bullying, but the occasional fallings-out are well managed.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Lunchtime in the dining hall is a good social occasion when pupils can chat to one another amicably. After lunch and at break time, pupils make good use of the extensive range of climbing apparatus near to the wooded area at the end of the playground.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Adults in the school know their pupils well, and help them to develop into mature and sensible young people.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance has been improving steadily, and is now in line with the national average. This is because the school has been uncompromising in its approach to absence, making good use of links to appropriate agencies. It deals sensitively with unauthorised or persistent absence, especially when this reflects difficult home circumstances, but parents all now understand that they are required to ensure that their children attend school regularly.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and senior staff work closely together to create an environment in which pupils can learn well and achieve their potential. Mutual trust and respect are paramount, and staff at all levels work together with a high degree of unity of purpose to create a happy environment in which children enjoy learning.

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The leadership and management are good

 Since the last inspection, senior staff and governors have made improving the quality of teaching, and tracking pupils’ progress their priority. Progress in English and mathematics has improved as a result, and the steady rise in attainment indicates the capacity to improve further.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has put in place a good system for monitoring pupils’ progress. Regular testing is used well to measure progress and to identify where additional help may be needed.

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The leadership and management are good

 Senior staff monitor the quality of teaching against the Teachers’ Standards. They challenge robustly any underperformance. Performance management is used to identify professional development needs for staff, and leaders and governors ensure that pay is closely linked to performance. Leaders provide good support for staff new to the profession, and model the high standards expected of staff at all levels.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school curriculum is constantly being developed and provides a wide range of activities that pupils enjoy during the school day, followed by enjoyable after-school activities, which are well attended.

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The leadership and management are good

 Teachers build links between different subjects, especially to develop pupils’ reading and writing skills. They usually set varied tasks to match pupils’ different abilities, but the management of the support that is provided by adults in the class is not always as effective as it could be in ensuring that all pupils are challenged.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school prides itself on supporting the professional development of its teachers and support staff. However, staff do not have opportunities to visit other schools to share ideas and see examples of outstanding work. They would particularly benefit from opportunities to sharpen their skills in using day-to-day assessment to identify barriers to learning and to provide help where needed.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school manages the provision for pupils who need additional help well. Support with reading means that no pupil’s progress is affected by reading difficulties, and help with mathematics is available where needed.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. An outstanding assembly during the inspection had children spellbound as they considered how appearances influence our reactions to other people.

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The leadership and management are good

 Additional government funding for those entitled to the pupil premium is used well and its impact is carefully monitored by the school. Data shows that the extra help given to pupils who benefit from the pupil premium is effective in helping them to progress as well as their peers.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school ensures that children’s safety is at the heart of its work, and meets all requirements for safeguarding pupils.

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The leadership and management are good

 The work of the school is monitored by the local authority, and was subject to a recent review. The school currently buys into a variety of local authority services including but does not currently do so.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The school makes good use of the considerable and varied expertise represented on the governing body and relentlessly upholds the school’s commitment to its pupils’ social and academic development. The governors take a keen interest in the progress of pupils in the school. They have received training in the interpretation of school data and information about schools nationally, and they hold the headteacher and senior staff to account for the school’s performance. Governors visit the school regularly and put into practice the training they have had in evaluating the work of the school at first hand. They monitor effectively the spending of the pupil premium funding and ensure that good support is provided for pupils whose circumstances may make them vulnerable. Governors have supported the headteacher in monitoring the quality of teaching in the school.

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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 115188 Local authority Essex Inspection number 405571

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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 aided Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 170 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Della Milne Headteacher Linda Wiskin Date of previous school inspection 14 February 2011 Telephone number 01277 890255 Fax number 01277 890127 Email address admin@moreton.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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