William Fletcher Primary School

William Fletcher Primary School Rutten Lane, Yarnton, Oxfordshire, OX5 1LW

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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 headteacher and governors are very ambitious for the school and accurately evaluate the school's effectiveness and take actions to make improvements. For example, leaders have improved teaching and achievement since the last inspection.  Pupils' attainment is above average in English and mathematics. Progress is good throughout the school for all groups because leaders and teachers know how well pupils are doing to check none is falling behind.  Pupils are confident readers. A more systematic approach to the teaching of phonics (the sounds letters make) in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 is driving up achievement in reading and writing.  Teaching is typically good and at times outstanding. Teachers are very skilled at helping pupils to improve their work through discussion and written feedback.  Pupils’ behaviour is typically good. They have a good understanding of how to stay safe.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

Parents, carers, pupils and staff overwhelmingly agree.  Pupils enjoy learning and have positive attitudes to learning as a result of the many interesting activities teachers plan for them.  Governors are particularly good at finding out for themselves how well the school is doing. They use such information effectively to challenge leaders and hold them to account.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Not enough teaching is outstanding. In some lessons teachers talk for too long and pupils are not involved quickly enough in learning well matched to their abilities. At other times pupils are not always moved on quickly enough during lessons to more challenging work. This hinders their progress.  Staff in the Early Years Foundation Stage do not always use information about what children can do, or what they are interested in, to plan activities that capitalise and extend children's learning.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 22 lessons or part lessons and were accompanied by the headteacher for over half of these.  The inspectors took account of the 31 responses to the on-line Parent View survey as well as talking to parents and carers informally during the inspection and reviewing the school’s own parental surveys.  They held meetings with pupils, staff, school leaders, five members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority. The views of staff were also taken into account from 19 responses to the staff questionnaire.  Inspectors observed groups of pupils reading with adults and also listened to pupils read individually.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at documentation such as policies, including those relating to safeguarding, information on pupils’ progress, attendance figures, the school’s improvement planning and records of checks carried out by leaders on the quality of teaching.

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Information about this inspection

They scrutinised work in pupils’ books, looked at the school’s website and visited the breakfast club.

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Inspection team

Jacqueline Marshall, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Alwyne Jolly Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an average sized primary school. It serves the village and local area. Following a building programme in the village, the school is growing in size.  The vast majority of pupils come from a White British background. Others are from a range of minority ethnic groups.  The proportion of pupils receiving the pupil premium is rising. It is currently below average. The pupil premium is extra money given to schools by the government to support pupils in the care of the local authority, known to be eligible for free school meals and those from service families.  The proportion of pupils who are disabled or have special educational needs and receive support through school action is average. The proportion being supported through school action plus or who have a statement of special educational needs is also average.  The school meets the government’s current floor targets, which set the minimum expectations

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Information about this school

for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The headteacher and a number of staff have been appointed since the last inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Accelerate pupils’ progress through securing a greater proportion of outstanding teaching through the school by:  quickly moving pupils on to more challenging work in lessons once they have demonstrated their understanding of what is being taught  making sure pupils are actively engaged and involved in work appropriate to their ability at all times and especially when teachers are talking to the whole class  responding more promptly to what children in the Early Years Foundation Stage can do and their interests in order to stretch their learning and ensure planning for the next day builds on their knowledge and skills more effectively.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Since the last inspection, pupils’ attainment has risen and the trend in standards is above average in English and mathematics. School leaders have improved the quality of teaching which has secured greater proportions of pupils reaching the higher levels, especially in mathematics.  Across the school pupils make good progress and achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics. Progress is more rapid where teachers check regularly during lessons how well pupils are doing and promptly adapt activities to increase the challenge or provide support where needed. Pupils enjoy lessons, especially those where they are actively involved, although their concentration and progress dip at times when the level of challenge in the work is not high enough.  Pupils in all classes, and from all backgrounds, talk with confidence about what they are learning. In lessons they are keen to share their ideas with one another and talk confidently

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The achievement of pupils is good

about their learning because teachers are very good at providing them with the opportunity to try out ideas and evaluate their work. For example, in a mathematics lesson in Years 1 and 2 pupils excitedly spotted the teacher's deliberate mistakes such as 18-10=22, explaining clearly 'it can't be right because if you take away, the answer has to get smaller than the one you started with.'  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, along with those supported by the pupil premium funding, achieve well because the work that is planned for them, whether in small groups, individually or in lessons, is closely tailored to their needs.  Effective systems for checking pupils’ progress ensure all pupils in the school achieve as well as each other. This includes those who currently receive the additional funding, helping to successfully close the gap in their levels of achievement with their peers. As a result a greater

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The achievement of pupils is good

proportion of pupils overall make and exceed the progress expected in English and mathematics than nationally.  The range of skills and understanding of children as they start in the Reception class are currently below expected levels, but they are making up ground quickly in their learning. Children make good progress because adults use questioning well to extend learning and there is an effective focus on developing children's personal, social, physical and emotional skills. However, opportunities to make greater gains are sometimes missed because activities and extensions are not always planned promptly enough. As a result, building on children's skills and knowledge is sometimes left to chance, particularly when they are following their own interests.  Pupils from all ability groups enjoy the guided reading sessions which successfully encourage them to draw from a range of strategies to help if they are stuck. They explain their preferences

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The achievement of pupils is good

for different books and talk confidently about characters and themes in the stories they are reading. A clear focus on teaching letter sounds and combinations in Reception and Years 1 and 2 has resulted in pupils reaching above national scores in the Year 1 phonics check.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Systematic checks, introduced by the headteacher, help staff to know what they need to work on to raise pupils’ achievement, and allow senior leaders to regularly evaluate teachers’ performance. Consequently, teaching is consistently good with a small but increasing proportion of outstanding teaching.  Where pupils make the best gains in learning, teachers use information on pupils' progress very effectively to add additional challenge where needed as pupils demonstrate their understanding. However, this is not always the case and some inconsistencies in the quality of teaching remain. Occasionally, teachers spend too long talking to the whole class without taking account of the different abilities of pupils. This hampers progress for some while others struggle to keep up.  Teachers demonstrate good levels of subject knowledge in literacy and numeracy and often use these very effectively to stretch pupils' learning. For example, in a mixed Years 1 and 2 phonics

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The quality of teaching is good

lesson on the suffix 'less', one pupil gave 'necklace' as an answer. The teacher corrected the mistake and used the similarity in sound of 'necklace' and 'neck less' to create a lively discussion about compound words. Similarly, in order to provide the right amount of challenge, Year 6 pupils are taught mathematics specifically by the subject leader. Consequently, a lesson on how shapes rotate, reflect and translate made sure pupils understood the concept thoroughly and achieved well.  Pupils receive good advice on how to improve, both through marking in their books and comments from teachers during lessons. This is used particularly effectively to make sure pupils know just what they need to do next to improve and the levels they are aspiring to achieve. For example, more able Year 6 pupils were successfully guided to think about the quality, appropriateness and depth of their answers to a Level 6 reading comprehension.

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The quality of teaching is good

 There are positive relationships between teachers, teaching assistants and pupils. Along with interesting activities, these keep the pupils focused and support learning well. Parents and carers overwhelmingly commented positively on how their children enjoyed school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school’s positive promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development means pupils work cooperatively and get on well together, regardless of age, gender or ethnicity. Whole-school projects, such as the recent one focusing on 'Diversity', have been particularly successful in deepening pupils’ understanding of the lives and cultures of others. Parents, carers, pupils and staff all agree that pupils’ behaviour is good.  Pupils appreciate the weekly awards for reading, writing and mathematics and the certificate awarded to the pupil demonstrating positive values. They agree the recent presentation of a 'golden pen' has led to greater care in 'all our writing, not just in our English books'. Pupils are eager to work and have positive attitudes to learning. However, occasionally, when the lesson does not engage pupils sufficiently, their behaviour dips and they become less attentive.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school works hard to ensure pupils develop a good understanding of their own personal safety. For example, the importance of using the internet safely or the experiences pupils gain as part of the Forest School help make sure pupils have a good understanding of risk and how to keep safe. The vast majority of parents and carers agree the school keeps the pupils safe.  Incidences of bullying, such as name-calling and cyber bullying, are rare. The overwhelming majority of parents and carers feel any problems they and their children may have are dealt with positively. 'Anti-bullying ambassadors' help pupils understand there are different types of bullying and know who they could turn to for help if they need to.

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The leadership and management are good

 The strong headteacher, supported particularly well by governors, has developed an effective team of senior and middle leaders who share her vision to bring about improvement and make pupils’ progress even better. The staff are proud of the school and to be part of the 'hard- working' and 'really motivating’ team.  Leaders at all levels have concentrated on improving the consistency and quality of teaching. Staff speak positively about the targets that have been set for their performance and how these have helped to raise pupils’ achievement. They acknowledge 'extensive changes have been made in the past two years' that are 'positive', and ‘look forward to more creative challenges to come'. For example, one commented 'my teaching has been improved and inspired over the last few years.’ School leaders recognise they need to help staff further in identifying aspects which promote outstanding teaching.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and what needs to be improved. They work closely with the local authority, seek its expertise and receive good quality support. Along with the headteacher, they have been instrumental in beginning to develop the greater strategic leadership of senior and middle leaders needed to raise the quality of teaching and raise pupils’ achievement still further.  The school ensures equality of opportunity for all groups of pupils so there is no discrimination. The introduction of more systematic checks on pupils' progress and regular meetings focusing on pupils’ progress make sure all pupils are doing equally well. This enables pupils who are identified for help, including those receiving the pupil premium, to make the same progress as other pupils.  The governance of the school:  Governors are involved in checking the progress the school makes towards achieving its

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The leadership and management are good

improvement priorities. They are able to challenge as well as support school leaders and hold them to account for pupils’ achievement because they have a very thorough working knowledge of pupil progress information. They use this, and draw on their first hand knowledge of how well the school is doing in relation to other schools nationally, to regularly evaluate the school's performance. Governors check their own skills and seek training to maintain their effectiveness. They have been instrumental in developing a more systematic approach to the management of teachers' performance with the headteacher since her appointment. As a result they have a very good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses in teaching. They are clear how teachers’ performance is used to develop teaching further, its close links to pupils’ progress and how this is reflected in the salary structure. Governors can explain how the pupil premium budget has been planned to enable a

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The leadership and management are good

wider range of strategies to be provided to accelerate the progress of eligible pupils. Governors make sure safeguarding arrangements meet statutory requirements, for example during the recent building works.

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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 123023 Local authority Oxfordshire Inspection number 402126

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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 5–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 204 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Ed Murray Headteacher Deborah Nind Date of previous school inspection 2–3 February 2010 Telephone number 01865 372301 Fax number 01865 374103 Email address Office.2354@william-fletcher.oxon.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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