Kirtlington Church of England Primary School

Kirtlington Church of England Primary School Heyford Road, Kirtlington, Oxfordshire, OX5 3HL

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Achievement is not consistently good in writing and mathematics.  Teachers do not consistently provide work that challenges all groups of pupils in their classes.  Teachers’ marking does not provide frequent support to show pupils how to improve, especially in mathematics.  Opportunities are missed to make good use of teaching assistants during whole-class work.  Leaders, including governors, are not checking up on teaching and learning rigorously to ensure that inconsistencies are eliminated as soon as they arise.  Leaders have not established strong enough relationships with all parents. Parents are not positive about all aspects of the school’s work, especially leadership and management.

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The school has the following strengths

 Children learn quickly in the Reception class.  Pupils in Years 1 to 6 do well in learning to read.  Pupils feel safe at school and behave well. They attend regularly because they like coming to school.  Pupils are supported well in their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and become well-rounded individuals.  There is a good range of additional activities at the school, including music and French.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed nine lessons, all being observed jointly with the headteacher.  Meetings were held with senior leaders, teachers, pupils, members of the governing body and representatives from the local authority.  The inspector took into account 48 responses to the online Parent View survey and held informal discussions with a sample of parents.  The inspector considered the views expressed in 12 staff questionnaires.  A range of information supplied by the school was scrutinised, including the school’s own information about how well pupils are doing, planning documents, checks on the quality of teaching, the school development plan, records relating to behaviour and attendance, and safeguarding documents.

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Inspection team

Alison Cartlidge, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is much smaller than the average-sized primary school.  About 1 in 14 pupils are disabled or have special educational needs and are supported through school action. This figure is below average. A further 1 in 100 pupils are supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs. This figure is low.  No pupils are eligible for the pupil premium (additional money provided by the government for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, looked after children and the children of service families). This is low compared with the national average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  There have been several changes in the governing body over the last two years.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that teaching and pupils’ progress are consistently good or better, by:  always providing work that provides the right level of challenge for all groups in each class  making better use of teaching assistants during whole-class discussions  consistently expecting good quality writing across subjects  encouraging pupils to be more rigorous when checking their work for mistakes  providing frequent and effective guidance on how pupils can improve, especially in mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Extend the impact of all leaders, by:  increasing the rigour in monitoring teaching and learning so that inconsistencies are eliminated swiftly  working to extend relationships with parents so that they are more satisfied with all aspects of the school’s work.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Achievement requires improvement because pupils do not consistently make good progress between Years 1 and 6 in all subjects. In writing, pupils make careless mistakes and do not always produce their best written work across subjects. In mathematics, pupils are not consistently given work that provides them with the right level of challenge, especially during whole-class work at the start of lessons.  Attainment is broadly average by the end of Year 6 but is rising across the school with the recent improvements in pupils’ progress. It is too soon for some of these improvements to have been sustained. Attainment and progress in reading are good because pupils enjoy books, talk enthusiastically about storylines and characters and learn to read quickly. As one pupil in Year 2 said, ‘phonics (the sounds letters make), help us to do good things’. Following a whole school focus, improvements have been made in pupils’ handwriting and use of grammar since the last

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

inspection.  Attainment on entry to the school varies, but most children are working within the levels expected for their age when they start school in the Reception class. These children make good progress, especially in learning about the sounds letters make and in numeracy. For example, children learned ‘igh’ and ‘air’ quickly because the teacher helped them to read and write words using these sounds. Occasionally, when children are working on tasks they have chosen for themselves, learning slows because there is not a clear purpose to the activity.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs do not always make enough progress in class because, at times, they are given work that is too hard and they are not consistently supported well enough. There are several additional support groups that are starting to have a positive impact on the progress of some pupils, but it is too soon for the full benefit to

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching is not consistently good in Years 1 to 6 because work is not always adjusted well enough to provide the right level of challenge for all groups of pupils in each class, especially at the start of lessons when the class is taught together. For example, in one class all pupils were converting the same analogue times to digital and this was too easy for the more-able pupils and too hard for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. In addition, during whole-class work, teaching assistants often sit and listen with the pupils and opportunities are missed for them to make full use of their skills.  Teachers make good use of resources to make learning interesting but sometimes allow pupils to carry on with an activity for too long, restricting the amount of new learning that can take place. For example, pupils enjoyed handling replicas of Egyptian artefacts and posing questions for

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

their research but were given too long on this activity preventing them from getting on to the research work quickly.  The school has been successful in improving the way pupils’ writing is marked in literacy lessons, but this good practice is not consistent in other subjects including mathematics. Consequently, pupils are not always clear about how they can improve, or are encouraged to check their work well enough for careless errors.  Teaching is good in the Reception class because there are clear routines and sensitive and appropriate support for individual children. Work is adjusted to suit the children’s differing levels of ability and children relish the practical activities. For example, children enjoyed using multi- linking cubes to help them measure a range of objects in the classroom.  Across the school, teachers form good relationships with the pupils and manage behaviour well. They ask some good questions of individual pupils and use praise to encourage them to take

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

part in discussions. Teachers refer back to what pupils have learned previously to help set the scene for new learning and explain new tasks clearly. For example, in Years 1 and 2 the teacher checked that pupils remembered how many centimetres there are in a metre and that they knew how to measure accurately, before letting them measure a range of objects indoors and outside.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ enjoyment of school is evident in the above average rates of attendance and their enthusiasm for learning. They say that they especially enjoy ‘playing with friends’ and ‘topic, because we do interesting stuff and learn’. In the Reception class, children were excited about dressing up for ‘bug day’ and enjoyed designing and writing about their own bugs.  The large majority of parents and their children are pleased with behaviour at the school and say that pupils are polite and friendly. The school promotes equal opportunities and tackles discrimination well. Pupils say that they feel safe at school and almost all parents agree. Pupils say that instances of bullying of any kind are rare, and most are happy with the way members of staff resolve any conflict. They say that there are ‘regular arguments but not much bullying’.  Pupils know how to stay safe and understand that care needs to be taken on the roads and

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

when using the internet. They find ‘peer mediation’ helpful in dealing with their concerns and say that teachers ‘always help you and come to you’.  They enjoy helping each other in class and co-operate well in groups and pairs. Occasionally, when work is not challenging enough, they become inattentive and do not work as quickly as they should. As one pupil said, ‘we are quiet most of the time, except when work is easy and we are bored’.  Pupils in Years 5 and 6 are keen to take responsibility for various tasks around the school such as looking after the office and helping younger pupils at lunchtime. Pupils show their willingness to help others by raising funds for their partner school in South Africa and by writing to their pen pals.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 Leaders are not ensuring that teaching and learning are consistently good because monitoring is not rigorous enough.  Systems to check up on how well teachers are doing have improved since September 2012 and targets are linked to individual and whole-school needs. There have been good levels of training to strengthen teaching and these are starting to have a positive impact. It is too soon for improvements to be sustained and teaching and learning remain uneven.  The curriculum is enhanced well with additional activities such as visits, visitors and forest school, although it is not yet securing consistently good progress in writing and mathematics.  The local authority provides appropriate support for this ‘medium touch’ school; as a result, the school is improving and leaders can show that they have the capacity to improve the school further by the increasing pupils’ progress and the higher proportion of good teaching.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 Safeguarding arrangements meet requirements. Members of staff are trained to care for the pupils and have undergone checks to ensure they are suitable for working in school.  There is good provision made for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and the school’s ‘values’ system is central to work in this area. For example, in Years 3 and 4 pupils considered who they would trust and obey and why. Consequently, most pupils behave well and appreciate and respect differences.  There have been improvements in information for parents since the last inspection and the large majority would recommend the school. Most parents who responded to the Parent View survey are pleased that their children enjoy school and are kept safe, but have misgivings about aspects of leadership and management. Leaders are aware that parents are not fully satisfied with all aspects of the school’s work and have started to strengthen links with parents through informal

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The leadership and management require improvement

‘tea and chat’ sessions.  The governance of the school:  Governors have had a recent external review and are clear about what they should do to strengthen their roles. They understand the school’s strengths and why it is not yet good. They know how it compares with other schools and monitor the budget closely, but have not yet had enough opportunity to check the impact of recent spending to help plan for future needs. Governors know that teaching could be better and are aware of the need to be more critical to help challenge leaders at the school. Nevertheless, leaders, including the governors, have made sure that there is no inadequate teaching and have systems in place to reward good teaching.

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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 123187 Local authority Oxfordshire Inspection number 406143

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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 99 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Lorna Straker Headteacher Fiona Crook Date of previous school inspection 7–8 July 2011 Telephone number 01869 350210 Fax number 01869 351961 Email address office.3500@office.kirtlington.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

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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