Leintwardine Endowed CE Primary School

Leintwardine Endowed CE Primary School Watling Street, Leintwardine, Craven Arms, SY7 0LL

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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.  Leaders, managers and governors have worked exceptionally well to improve pupils’ achievement.  Pupils’ progress in reading is good, with progress in writing and mathematics improving rapidly across the school.  Pupils, including disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, make good progress from low starting points to reach standards that are broadly average at the end of Year 6. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 make rapid progress. particularly in writing. As a result, attainment is rising rapidly.  The quality of teaching has improved since the previous inspection and is now almost always good or outstanding.  Marking is good, with helpful ideas and suggestions as to how pupils can improve their work further.  Behaviour in lessons and around the school is good. Pupils are invariably polite, friendly and considerate. They are keen to learn and most work very hard in lessons and when

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

completing written tasks.  Pupils feel very safe in school because they know that the adults they work with are committed to their welfare and there is hardly any bullying.  Attendance has improved and is now above average. Punctuality is also good.  The school knows how well it is doing. Plans for improvement link clearly to the robust targets for teachers’ performance.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils do not have enough chance to find things out for themselves.  Questioning by teachers and teaching assistants sometimes does not deepen pupils’ understanding.  On occasions, the comments teachers make in pupils’ book and on other written work are not followed up. Pupils do not routinely have the opportunity to respond to these comments.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed all teachers teaching, covering six lessons, of which four were jointly observed with the headteacher. Time was spent observing the quality of support given to pupils by the teaching assistants and hearing pupils read. Short visits to classes were also carried out.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, other staff and governors to gain an accurate understanding of the progress made by pupils throughout the school.  A meeting was held with a representative of the local authority, and with pupils from different year groups.  Many documents were looked at, including curriculum planning, documents relating to attendance, safeguarding and child protection, records of pupils’ attainment and progress, records of behaviour, records relating to the monitoring of teaching and minutes of the governing body.  The views of the 16 parents or carers who responded to the online questionnaire, Parent View,

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Information about this inspection

were taken into account together with the school’s own parent surveys and direct discussions with parents and carers. The views of staff from the inspection questionnaire were analysed.

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Inspection team

Keith Shannon, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller in size than the average primary school.  The vast majority of pupils are White British.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and attracting funding through the pupil premium is low.  A below-average proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is supported through school action. The percentage supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also below average.  Pupils mainly learn in mixed-age classes.  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?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching by making sure that all teachers:  provide regular opportunities for pupils to be actively involved in their learning and work with greater independence to find things out for themselves  together with teaching assistants, use more challenging questions to help pupils to reflect upon their ideas and to deepen their understanding.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Speed up pupils’ progress by making sure that:  pupils are able to enter into dialogue with teachers about the comments teachers write when they mark their work  teachers give pupils time to respond to their comments and check that their suggestions have been followed.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children start in the Reception class with skills and abilities that are below those expected for their age. They make quick progress because there is a strong focus on developing children’s ability to communicate with each other and learn about the world around them. They have a wide range of learning experiences, both indoors and outdoors, and are successfully prepared for learning in Key Stage 1.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ achievement in reading is good. The school teaches reading well through phonics (letters and sounds). Some work with younger pupils is of outstanding quality. Children of all abilities make at least good progress because the planned activities give them the confidence to read independently from an early age.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Writing has been an area of focus to increase the proportion of pupils who reach the higher levels of attainment. This is proving successful, with high-quality pieces being produced in a range of different subjects.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils are making good progress in writing because they have many opportunities to practise their skills in other subjects. Progress in mathematics is improving as pupils are being given more opportunities to develop their calculation skills when solving real-life problems.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils are now making good progress across Key Stage 2 and this is more consistent than at the time of the previous inspection. Pupils have opportunities to read a range of books, especially with the recent development of an extended and improved library, and they have good levels of understanding of the meaning of the text. This was seen during conversations with pupils.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress because of the quality of the additional support given. A small number of pupils join the school other than at the start of the year. These pupils are quickly helped to settle and they make rapid progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils are most successful in improving their learning when given greater degrees of independence to find things out for themselves. Teachers do not provide enough opportunities for this independent learning.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 At the time of the previous inspection, not enough was expected of pupils and checks on their progress were not rigorous enough. The attainment of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals has not been as high as that of other groups. Test results and current school progress information show that the gap is now closing because pupil premium funding is being used effectively to provide extra staff and resources, and these pupils are making good progress. At present, pupils known to be eligible for free school meals are around a term behind their classmates in English and mathematics.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching in most subjects is almost always good, with aspects that are outstanding. This is a significant improvement since the previous inspection and is the result of senior leaders both challenging and supporting colleagues.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In the most successful lessons, teachers present topics in ways that allow pupils to become more involved in their learning, with opportunities to question and be questioned by others. Teachers respond quickly to pupils’ needs and interests, and make sure that teaching assistants are utilised well.

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The quality of teaching is good

 As a result of a great emphasis on the teaching of reading and the development of language skills, pupils have become more able to work out complicated words and to better explain meanings. This was observed a number of times whilst listening to pupils read.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Parents and carers agree that their children are well taught at the school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils spoke clearly about their enjoyment of lessons, and how well staff supported them both in class and during the many extra activities run at the school. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well, with teachers providing opportunities for pupils to meet people of other cultures and faiths.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The marking of pupils’ work is generally good, with examples of outstanding use of comments that explain what has been done well and what needs to be done to achieve higher levels. However, few opportunities are taken to enter into dialogue with pupils about their understanding of the teacher’s comments.. This limits the impact of teachers’ marking. Pupils are not all given time to respond to teachers’ comments and teaches do not all check that pupils have followed the advice they have been given.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Staff review pupils’ progress and check one another’s judgements on a regular basis. This allows the individual needs of pupils to be known to all staff, and for support to be directed where it is most needed.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The vast majority of teaching assistants provide good and, at times, outstanding support for disabled pupils, those who have special educational needs and those supported through the pupil premium. These pupils are kept fully included in lessons by tasks matched closely to their assessed needs. Those with additional needs are supported in small groups or by one-to-one tuition. Teaching assistants are quick to respond to pupils’ needs as they arise, and they are given extra training to equip them to fully support the pupils. There are times, however, when the questioning of teachers and support staff are not as focused as they need to be to deepen and extend pupils’ understanding.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Almost all parents and carers, together with the staff at the school, agree that pupils’ behaviour is good. Pupils are courteous, helpful, considerate and pleasant to work with. Very high standards of behaviour and attitudes are taught and expected.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Bullying of any kind is extremely rare. All pupils who spoke on this matter were quick to explain how they would handle such occurrences, and who would be best placed to help them. Pupils have a very good awareness of different types of bullying, including, physical, verbal, and emotional and discrimination-based bullying.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils have a clear understanding of cyber-bullying and are aware that sometimes messages on their computers or phones may not be pleasant but they should not send similar ones back. Pupils told the inspector how safe they feel in school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are members of a ‘house’ and compete each week to improve their overall scores and win trophies. This helps to foster a desire to score points through good work, behaviour and involvement in all school activities.  Pupils have many opportunities for responsibility around school, and they take them willingly. Gardening, playground buddies and school council are examples where pupils play an increasingly important role. They make it clear that they feel valued, and show their appreciation of others through nominations for awards each Friday assembly.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance has been above average for some time and continues to improve. Leaders make their expectations of attendance clear, keep a close eye on how it is going and give rewards for full attendance. Pupils are happy to come to school and behave in ways that enable most to make it a successful experience.

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The leadership and management are good

 Staff, governors and parents and carers all agree that significant improvements to both leadership and management have been made since the previous inspection. Leaders talk of ‘a wake-up call’ that has mobilised them into clearly planned action to see that pupils receive a good education, and that is now bearing fruit.

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The leadership and management are good

 With small numbers of staff, everyone is encouraged and expected to take an active role in school improvements. Leaders expect all staff to check on pupils’ progress regularly, and to set out clearly arranged plans to raise attainment.

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The leadership and management are good

 Robust systems for managing the performance of teachers are carried out by the headteacher and governors. Targets are set and checked, and these fit into the overall plans to improve the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The diversity of the curriculum, both inside and outside the classroom, together with many opportunities for pupils to experience trips, clubs, drama productions and music, show a clear commitment by leaders to offer pupils a wide range of learning experiences.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school works closely with officers from the local authority in helping subject leaders check teaching in their areas of responsibility. Regular ‘core group’ meetings, where governors and senior leaders meet with representatives of local schools, have helped the school to drive improvements.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school takes great care to ensure equality of opportunity and prevent discrimination. The progress and attainment of all individuals are monitored very rigorously by senior leaders so that all pupils, and especially those supported by the pupil premium, are making at least good progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school works well to engage and inform parents about pupils’ progress. The school website is detailed, accessible to the vast majority, and a useful tool for passing on information. Leaders are looking at improving parental involvement further through a number of ideas and initiatives; for example, the use of ‘block email’ posts to families.

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The leadership and management are good

 The many improvements of the past few years are being sustained. Leaders and managers, including the governing body, have a greatly improved understanding of school performance information, and are much more able to assess success and need. They understand clearly what areas of the school development plan have to be revised, and how to measure their success. They set high standards, both for themselves as leaders and for the staff in general, as well as for the pupils. There is a growing capacity to improve the school further.  The governance of the school:  The governing body has made significant changes to its involvement in school life since the previous inspection. Governors have improved their own training by identifying needs, and are well supported in understanding pupil progress information, using this knowledge to track school improvement. They now provide both strong support and robust challenge to the

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The leadership and management are good

headteacher.  Governors have a strong understanding of the quality of teaching and check thoroughly that the headteacher is using performance management to tackle any underperformance and to improve teaching further. This is linked well to the performance management of the headteacher.  Governors are well informed about spending decisions and check their impact. This applies especially to the pupil premium funding and spending related to the performance management of teachers.  Governors make sure that the school meets its statutory obligations relating to safe recruitment and the safeguarding of pupils. They keep their safeguarding training up to date, and monitor this aspect well.

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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 116893 Local authority Herefordshire Inspection number 401628

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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 100 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Kath Black Headteacher Anne Brandrick Date of previous school inspection 2 February 2010 Telephone number 01547 540641 Fax number 01547 540144 Email address admin@leintwardine.hereford.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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