Bryn Offa CofE Primary School

Bryn Offa CofE Primary School Rockwell Lane, Pant, Oswestry, SY10 9QR

p.1

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

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Pupils achieve well and leave Year 6 with high standards.  Much of the teaching is good, with some that is outstanding, notably in the Reception class and Years 5 and 6.  Pupils enjoy their lessons because teachers choose topics that interest them.  Teachers expect pupils to work hard and try their best at all times.  Behaviour is good in the playground and around school; in lessons, it is usually exemplary.  Pupils and parents are right to think that the school is very safe.  Leaders, including governors, have used checks on teaching well to decide what needs improving. The actions they have taken, especially the training of staff, have improved standards and raised achievement significantly since the previous inspection.

p.1

It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teachers in Years 1 to 4 do not always give more-able pupils hard enough work, or move them on quickly enough when they have finished a task.  Pupils have little knowledge of what it is like to live in parts of the United Kingdom that are different from Pant.  Governors do not meet statutory requirements with respect to the school website.

p.1

Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed 9 lessons. In addition, he listened to pupils reading and analysed the work in their books.  Meetings were held with pupils, members of the governing body and staff. A telephone conversation took place with a representative of the local authority.  The inspector took account of the 16 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View). He also met parents informally and analysed the results of the school’s own questionnaire for parents.  The inspector observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own data on pupils’ current progress, records relating to behaviour and bullying and documents relating to safeguarding.

p.2

Inspection team

David Driscoll, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

p.2

Information about this school

 The school is smaller than most other primary schools, but the number of pupils on roll is increasing every year and is 20% higher than at the previous inspection.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is below average. The proportion supported through school action plus or a statement of special educational needs is above average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, additional funding for looked-after children, pupils known to be eligible for free school meals or with a parent in the armed forces, is below the national average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The headteacher was appointed shortly after the previous inspection. Two of the five classes were taught by temporary teachers during the inspection.

p.3

Information about this school

 The school shares its site with Pant Pandas, which provides pre-school education and childcare. This facility is subject to a separate inspection.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching in lessons where it is not outstanding by ensuring teachers set appropriately demanding work for the more-able pupils, check their progress more frequently in lessons and give them more difficult work as soon as they are ready.  Enhance pupils’ social and cultural development by providing them with more opportunities to meet and learn from people whose social and ethnic backgrounds are different from their own.  Meet statutory requirements by ensuring the school’s website provides all the required information.

p.3

The achievement of pupils is good

 Children’s standards on joining Reception vary from year to year. Usually they start with knowledge and skills that are typical for their age. In the past they have made good progress and started Year 1 with above-average standards.

p.4

The achievement of pupils is good

 Achievement in Reception is improving every year. This year the children have made outstanding progress and their standards are already very high. In mathematics, for example, children not only know the names and properties of three-dimensional shapes, but can also work out how to make them using two-dimensional ones.

p.4

The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress in Years 1 to 4, and this accelerates in Years 5 and 6. By the time they leave Year 6 standards are high. All pupils in Year 6 made at least the expected progress in English and mathematics in 2012, with higher-than-average proportions exceeding this measure. In all, the school’s performance was in the top 20% of schools nationally in both English and mathematics.

p.4

The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ progress in reading is particularly good. They quickly learn the sounds that letters make and are reading multi-syllable words by the start of Year 1. Any who find reading more difficult receive extra tuition in Years 1 and 2, so almost all are reading fluently by the start of Year 3.

p.4

The achievement of pupils is good

 By Year 6, pupils are tackling complex mathematical problems such as timetabling and costing holidays on a restricted budget. They write convincing, balanced arguments – such as those for a proposed supermarket.

p.4

The achievement of pupils is good

 There are very few differences in the progress made by different groups of pupils. There were not enough pupils in Year 6 known to be eligible for free school meals in 2012 to comment on their attainment. However, across the school, such pupils make equally as good progress as others. The more-able pupils make slower progress than others in Years 1 to 4, because they are not always given hard enough work to make them think and work as hard as others have to do with the same work.

p.4

The achievement of pupils is good

 The school has relatively few disabled pupils or those who have special educational needs supported through school action, because of the good support such pupils receive. As soon as a pupil starts to fall behind, teachers draw up precise plans on what support will be needed in order to catch up. Teaching assistants are skilled at questioning and prompting pupils so they have to think and work things out for themselves. The result is that the pupils make up the ground lost and are quickly removed from the special needs register.

p.4

The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those with more complex special educational needs are very well supported. Each of the teaching assistants is trained to support pupils with a different specific need or disability and all use their expertise to provide advice and guidance to other members of staff.

p.4

The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers use topics that interest pupils, so they are keen to learn. Games are used a lot. In Reception, children had great fun writing words containing ‘er’ with each letter on bottle tops that were then jumbled up and a partner had to work out the word.

p.4

The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers assess pupils’ abilities accurately and set high expectations of most groups of pupils. In the best lessons, each individual is given work that is a bit more difficult than that which they learnt the previous lesson. Reading books are particularly well matched to pupils’ abilities.

p.4

The quality of teaching is good

 In most lessons, pupils’ progress is checked frequently so they can be given new or more difficult tasks just when they need them. In other lessons, the more able are sometimes allowed to choose their tasks, but they, sometimes, choose easier ones in order that they get more correct answers. Sometimes such pupils finish before others and wait quietly for others on their table to catch up, rather than being given more difficult work or something new to learn.

p.5

The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers use homework well across the school, and especially in Years 5 and 6. Here, pupils are given practical tasks that extend their problem-solving in mathematics and their research skills, such as interviewing adults and collating and presenting the results.

p.5

The quality of teaching is good

 In Years 5 and 6 this good practice is supported by outstanding marking. The teacher asks a question to test pupils’ understanding and then gives them an extra task. The pupils always respond and so learn a little more each time.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils develop their good attitudes to learning in Reception, where they quickly learn to follow instructions and listen to others. Throughout the school, pupils are proud of their well-presented work and want to show it to visitors. By Year 6 they are completing copious amounts of homework.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour is often exemplary in lessons. Pupils concentrate well and quickly get down to work when told to do so. Any whose attention wanders are quickly brought back on task by a look from the teacher.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour outside of lessons is good. Pupils get on well with one another and have a clear sense of right and wrong. They are polite towards visitors and have good manners. Behaviour at break times is a little over-exuberant as pupils have little access to equipment and so rush around instead. They reflect quietly in assembly, and observe the prayers, but some do not pay full attention to the speaker.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 There have been no exclusions since July 2010. The appointment of a learning mentor has been highly successful. Pupils with special educational needs relating to behaviour learn how to control their emotions so incidents of poor behaviour are extremely rare and exclusions are no longer needed.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils all feel very safe in school, and their parents agree they are safe. Bullying is rare because pupils have several different ways to raise concerns and these are always taken seriously by staff so that one-off incidents are not allowed to escalate. Pupils have a very good understanding of how to keep themselves safe, especially when using the internet.

p.5

The leadership and management are good

 Standards have risen significantly since the school was last inspected because leaders, including governors, have been very well focused on improving teaching so that pupils make more progress each year.

p.5

The leadership and management are good

 The local authority provided effective support after the previous inspection in order to set the school on the right path. The level of support has now been reduced as the school is progressing so well.

p.5

The leadership and management are good

 Checks on teaching provide an accurate picture of strengths and weaknesses. Individuals receive coaching from an outstanding teacher on aspects that are specific to them. This approach has been highly successful in improving the quality of individuals’ teaching and increasing the proportion of lessons that are taught to a good or better standard.

p.6

The leadership and management are good

 Where staff improve their teaching and accelerate pupils’ progress, they are rewarded by moving up the pay scale. However, where a teacher is unable to improve and still shows significant weaknesses, the leaders do not hesitate to take stronger action.

p.6

The leadership and management are good

 Leaders go to good lengths to ensure all pupils are treated, and can achieve, equally. The pupil premium funds are used well to provide eligible pupils with individual teaching to help them catch up or provide extra clubs to improve their social development.

p.6

The leadership and management are good

 The school provides a good range of subjects for pupils to study, with a strong emphasis on learning the basics of reading, writing and mathematics as early as possible. This provides a firm basis for work further up the school, where pupils use the skills they have learnt in a wide range of subjects. Mathematics is used extensively in science, for example, and pupils write at length in their topics.

p.6

The leadership and management are good

 Pupils are taught about other countries in good detail, and learn a lot about their local area. However, they are given few opportunities to learn about other areas of the United Kingdom and what life is like there. Consequently, their social and cultural development is limited.

p.6

The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors are well informed about standards and how much progress pupils are making. They are clear about strengths and weaknesses in teaching, and are supportive of the headteacher’s actions to deal with weaker teaching when the need arises. Close checks are made on improvements in teaching to ensure that teachers’ performance is being managed appropriately, and that good performance is rewarded. Governors meet most statutory requirements, including those for safeguarding pupils. However, the school website does not contain much of the required information for parents.

p.6

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

p.7

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.

p.7

School details

Unique reference number 123528 Local authority Shropshire Inspection number 402170

p.8

School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

p.8

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 138 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Chris Penn Headteacher Paul Thompson Date of previous school inspection 14 September 2009 Telephone number 01691 830621 Fax number 01691 839232 Email address admin.brynoffa@shropshirelg.net 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 .

p.8

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.

p.9

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

p.9

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

p.9

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’.

p.9

School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.9