Compton C.E. Primary School

Compton Church of England Primary School School Road, Compton, Newbury, RG20 6QU

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1

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This is an outstanding school

 School leaders and governors have had a remarkable degree of success in improving the school’s overall effectiveness over the last three years.  High quality teaching means that most pupils make rapid progress. Teachers consistently plan lessons that engage pupils and provide the right level of challenge. As a result, pupils reach above average standards in English and mathematics by the time they leave the school.  Pupils enjoy school enormously and they are very enthusiastic learners. Their behaviour is excellent and they feel very safe from bullying.  The executive headteacher, together with the headteacher and associate headteacher of the primary school, provides exceptionally strong leadership. They have the support of all staff in driving improvements and raising standards.  Teachers readily share their successful methods with one another and benefit from a well-organised training programme that enables them to hone their skills.

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This is an outstanding school

 One teacher’s comment summed up the general view: ‘There is a relentless focus on moving forward, being reflective and assessing the impact of all we do. We are all valued partners in this and share the same vision.’  The governing body provides highly effective support. They keep a sharp eye on how well pupils are doing. The leadership team provides governors with detailed accounts of the school’s performance. Governors use their considerable skills to evaluate this information and to use it for planning the future direction of the school.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed 14 lessons, five of which were joint observations with the headteacher. He listened to pupils read and discussed their reading habits and preferences with them.  The inspector discussed various aspects of the school with pupils, looked at a range of their work and took account of the school’s data on pupils’ attainment and progress.  Meetings were held with school leaders, members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  During the inspection, the inspectors took account of the 29 responses to the on-line Parent View survey and discussions with parents. He took account of the 14 questionnaires returned by staff.  The inspector looked at a number of documents, including plans for improvement, teachers’ plans, safeguarding arrangements, records relating to behaviour and attendance, minutes of meetings of the governing body and records of the school leaders’ monitoring of lessons.

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Inspection team

Rob Crompton, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school. Almost all pupils are White British. A very few pupils speak English as an additional language  The proportion of pupils in receipt of the pupil premium, which is additional government funding for looked after children, children of service families and pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, is below average. Currently, there are no looked after children or children of service families in the school.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is below average, as is the proportion supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs. These needs relate mainly to moderate learning difficulties.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress  In September 2012, the school became federated with the The Downs School, a nearby

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Information about this school

secondary school. A new governing body was established, including members of the two previous governing bodies. The headteacher of the secondary school became the executive headteacher of both schools. In addition, a headteacher and associate headteacher were appointed to lead the primary school. All three had been providing support for the school over the previous three years.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ skills in presenting their work neatly by:  reminding pupils to try their best before they start a piece of work  placing more emphasis on pupils’ handwriting and neatness when teachers mark their work.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 When children enter the Reception class, their social, language and number skills are generally below those expected for their age. As a result of consistently effective teaching within a stimulating setting, they make swift progress. Typically, by the end of Reception, their attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is above average.  From this positive start, pupils continue to make rapid and sustained progress throughout Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 and attain standards that are above average by the end of Year 6 in English and mathematics.  The daily teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds they make) in Years 1 and 2 means pupils gain confidence in reading unfamiliar words. When reading to the inspector, for example, they tackled new words, such as ‘stick’ and ‘laundry’, systematically by sounding them out. Older pupils read widely and fluently, gaining insights into different authors’ writing styles. During a

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

discussion about their current reading, one girl commented, ‘Jacqueline Wilson’s books have similar scenarios, she uses lots of dialogue.’ Another said, ‘Yes, Michael Morpurgo uses much more descriptive language.’  Pupils make excellent progress in writing. Teachers encourage them to note any words and phrases they come across in their reading that they might use or adapt in their own writing. Many pupils show considerable flair in engaging the reader. One wrote, for example, ‘Deep within the depths of hell lies this dark, dark secret…Ghostly mountains are charred with black anger, like the Devil’s heart.’ Occasionally, however, work of this quality is marred by poor handwriting.  Pupils’ secure grasp of basic number facts, such as multiplication tables, helps when they tackle mathematical problems. When working on a question that involved finding equivalent fractions, for example, pupils used their knowledge of factors to add together a third, a quarter and a fifth.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

Sometimes, in their hurry to complete tasks, pupils do not pay sufficient attention to presenting their work neatly.  Pupils accelerate their progress in English and mathematics through creative approaches to teaching in other subjects. For example, following a visit from ‘Sir Teachalot’, pupils wrote imaginative accounts of Viking invasions. An archaeological dig involved measuring and calculating time differences.  Across the year groups, the rate of progress made by pupils eligible for free school meals broadly matches that of other pupils. This is because the additional funding through the pupil premium is spent effectively on additional teaching time. Typically these pupils reach the expected level in both English and mathematics by Year 6. The proportion doing so is usually better than the national average for this group of pupils, and the gap between their attainment and that of other pupils in the school, based on the average points score, is closing.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Effective support within lessons and during small-group sessions means that the progress of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is good and often excellent.  More able pupils make outstanding progress because teachers set them suitably challenging tasks and constantly check that they have not started to coast. Last year, four pupils reached the levels in writing and mathematics that are not expected nationally until the end of Key Stage 3.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Staff working with Reception children take every opportunity to engage them in conversation about their learning. During one lesson, for example, children were completing admission forms in the ‘veterinary surgery’, others were exploring patterns using real vegetables to create sequences, or building symmetrical structures with large wooden blocks. During all these activities, there was an adult on hand to play alongside them, ask questions, and promote their social and language development.  Teaching throughout the school consistently raises pupils’ enthusiasm. Pupils do not have to sit through unnecessarily long explanations and they learn much through discussing, researching, questioning and role-playing. For example, to round off their study of Sikhism, pupils in Years 3 and 4 first created ‘mind maps’ of what they had learned. They then discussed the similarities between Sikhism and Christianity, and went on to create their own ‘rap’ songs linked to the

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

school’s ‘golden rules’.  This lesson is typical of the way teachers expertly blend spiritual, moral, social and cultural development into their teaching. Another example was evident in the thoughtful and reflective responses made by Year 6 pupils to the imagery within a poem.  There is an exceptionally positive climate for learning. Pupils work hard independently and collaborate well in groups. If they do not understand, they say so, in the knowledge that teachers will do their best to help them.  Pupils benefit from extremely good marking and feedback, both during lessons and from the teacher’s marking. This often becomes a written dialogue between pupil and teacher. Teachers often re-write an extract from pupils’ work to model how they might improve. Occasionally, work is presented in a rather slapdash manner, which detracts from the overall quality, and this is not picked up in the marking.  The collaboration between teachers and the skilful teaching assistants is a key strength.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

Teaching assistants give very good support and challenge to more able or less able groups of pupils as required.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils behave extremely well and are very polite and helpful. The questionnaire responses from all staff and the views of almost all parents expressed on Parent View indicate that this is typical.  Pupils’ behaviour is exceptional because high quality teaching keeps them focused on learning, and all staff consistently apply the clear policy for rewards and sanctions. Pupils enjoy coming to school and attend well.  Pupils say they feel safe in school and parents overwhelmingly agree. Pupils have a good awareness of the harm caused by all forms of bullying. They understand the difference between bullying and single incidents, such as minor squabbles. They said bullying in school was extremely rare and were confident that, should it occur, it would be dealt with well.  Pupils have a good understanding of potential day-to-day hazards and know how to avoid them, for example when walking along country lanes. They gain a secure understanding of the safe

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

use of computers and mobile telephones because this is built into their lessons.  Pupils are quick to help one another. This is seen in their mutual support during lessons and during playtimes, for example if someone has a minor accident.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The senior leadership team has the full support of the staff in the relentless drive to ensure consistently high quality teaching and to ensure all pupils do as well as they can. This indicates a steadfast commitment to promoting equality of opportunity, fostering good relations and tackling discrimination.  Senior leaders gain an accurate and detailed understanding of strengths and weaknesses in the school’s work through a systematic approach to observing teaching and regular analysis of detailed information on pupils’ progress. The comprehensive system for tracking the performance of different groups of pupils, devised by the secondary school, is a good example of the beneficial cooperation and mutual support between the two federated schools.  Senior leaders provide colleagues with clear guidance, regular monitoring and effective support where required. In addition, staff observe one another to find out what works well and suggest

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The leadership and management are outstanding

ideas for improvement. As a result of these approaches, the quality of teaching has been raised considerably over the last three years.  A sharply focused improvement plan ensures that any weaknesses are tackled quickly and effectively, one result of which is the recent acceleration of pupils’ progress in mathematics. This demonstrates the leadership team’s excellent capacity to continue raising standards.  The local authority has given very good support to the school’s leaders. It now, rightly, acknowledges that the school’s leadership is capable of continuing to sustain high standards with the minimum of support.  The curriculum is enriched through numerous visits and visitors, and a wide range of clubs. A strong emphasis on moral values and worldwide issues makes a particularly strong contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. For example, tasks in English lessons

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The leadership and management are outstanding

include writing persuasive letters to the authorities about reducing pollution.  The governance of the school:  There was a seamless transition when the newly established governing body took over responsibility in September 2012. This was because there were several key members appointed from the previous governing bodies, including the chair of the primary board. Governors keep very well informed about pupils’ performance. They have a secure grasp of how the school is doing compared with the national picture. They gain evidence from the school’s meticulous assessment records, the new online ‘school dashboard’, parental surveys and their own visits. This enables them to ask pertinent, insightful questions. Governors seek assurance that pupil premium funding is allocated appropriately and that it makes a difference. They support the school’s leaders in identifying strengths and areas for improvement in the quality of teaching, and in ensuring that good teachers are rewarded.

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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 109959 Local authority West Berkshire Inspection number 400072

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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 129 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jan Roberts Headteacher Alison Millar Date of previous school inspection 2–3 March 2011 Telephone number 01635 578240 Fax number 01635 579068 Email address headteacher@compton.w-berks.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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