Modbury Primary School

Modbury Primary School Barracks Road, Modbury, Devon, PL21 0RB

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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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This is a good school

 Achievement is improving rapidly and pupils of all abilities make good progress from their starting points.  The quality of teaching is a strength of the school. All teaching is consistently good and some is outstanding.  Standards in reading are high and pupils are encouraged to develop a love of books.  Pupils enjoy coming to school because they learn in interesting ways.  The wide variety of subjects pupils learn and the good opportunities they have to develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding mean that they develop into confident and sociable young people.  Pupils behave well around the school and in lessons and they are kept safe.  All members of the school community get on well together.  Leaders regularly check on what is going well and what needs to improve and prompt action is taken to make sure the school is the best it can be.  The strong leadership of the executive headteacher, the partnership with other

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This is a good school

leaders in school and the effective challenge and support of the governing body means that the school is well placed to continue to improve in the future.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 There is not enough outstanding teaching to ensure that all pupils make outstanding progress over time.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed teaching and learning in nine lessons and parts of lessons, some of which were observed jointly with the head of teaching and learning.  Discussions were held with the executive headteacher, the head of teaching and learning, other leaders in school, members of the governing body, a representative from the local authority, parents, carers and pupils.  The inspector took account of 48 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) as well as views of parents and carers from discussions in the playground and from letters received from parents during the inspection.  Information about school leaders’ awareness of how good the school is and their plans for school improvement, as well as assessment information, minutes of meetings of the governing body, teachers’ planning, pupils’ work, safeguarding procedures and examples of the targets teachers are given as part of their performance management were examined.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector analysed 14 questionnaires completed by staff.

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Inspection team

Jeanne Simpson, Lead inspector Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 Modbury Primary School is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium funding (those eligible for free school meals, those in local authority care and those with a parent or carer in the armed forces) is average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported through school action is lower than average.  The proportion at school action plus or with a statement of educational needs is higher than average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum standards set for attainment and progress.  Since the last inspection, the school has joined South Hams Federation, which comprises four primary schools. There is one governing body and an executive headteacher for all the schools.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the amount of outstanding teaching by:  improving the consistency of the way in which teachers use precise questioning to challenge pupils of all abilities to think at a deeper level  ensuring that teaching assistants make the most of every opportunity to support pupils’ learning throughout the lesson.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils of all abilities make good progress from their starting points. The impact of the challenges which the school has faced from the time of the last inspection has been overcome successfully and pupils’ progress is accelerating rapidly.  There are small numbers of pupils in each year group and a significant proportion of pupils join the school at times other than the beginning of the year. In addition, there is a higher than average number of pupils who are disabled or who have special educational needs. While all groups of pupils make good progress, attainment is sometimes lower than average.  When children start school, their skills are broadly in line with those expected for their age. They learn well because the wide variety of activities that are planned for them use their own interests and introduce them to new experiences, including visits and visitors. This was clearly shown by a child in Reception, who wrote ‘I went to the zoo and I saw a snack and it was

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The achievement of pupils is good

smooth.’  The youngest pupils have plenty of opportunities to develop the skills they need, particularly in reading, communication and social skills and the focus on reading continues into Key Stage 1. The teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds they make) is very effective. Pupils use their phonic skills well when they write as well as when they come across unfamiliar words when they are reading.  Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 was well above average in two out of the last three years. Though standards fell in 2013, the current work in books indicates that pupils are on track to return to the high standards of previous years at the end of this academic year.  Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 also fell in 2013. The good progress which the pupils are now making means that the downward trend has been halted and challenging targets are in place to make sure that standards will be well above national averages by the end of the year.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Reading is a strength because pupils continue to learn the skills they need to be efficient readers throughout their time in the school. New record books to strengthen the partnership between home and school in encouraging reading have recently been introduced; they provide good opportunities for parents and teachers to share how well pupils are doing.  The most able pupils do well and a higher than average percentage of pupils reach the higher Level 5 in reading, writing and mathematics in the national tests at the end of Key Stage 2.  The recently introduced system for tracking the attainment and progress of pupils means that the school is in a strong position to make sure that all pupils are doing as well as they can. The achievement of pupils who are eligible for the additional funding through the pupil premium has lagged behind that of their peers but the new system means that leaders have been able to

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The achievement of pupils is good

make sure that the extra funding is making as much difference as it should. As a result, the gap is narrowing rapidly in all year groups. The small numbers of pupils mean that comparisons of their attainment with that of their peers are inappropriate.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress and the school can point to individual cases where pupils have made exceptional progress from their starting points. A variety of different kinds of support is used, both individual and in groups, and the school uses a number of special programmes developed to meet specific needs. The small numbers of pupils and the wide variety of needs pupils have make comparisons with national averages inappropriate.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers have high expectations of pupils. They consistently plan work with different levels of challenge so that all pupils can learn well. The pupils know that they are expected to challenge themselves and they talk knowledgeably about their targets for both English and mathematics.  All teachers use questions very well to check on how well pupils understand the new learning in the lesson and they frequently adapt their teaching in response to the pupils’ answers. In the best lessons, teachers use additional questions to add more challenge and to make pupils think at a deeper level, but this is not consistent.  Pupils know what they are expected to learn in the lesson and what they need to do to be successful because the teachers share this information with them. As a result, pupils can look back at the end of the lesson and assess how well they have done. They are used to writing comments in their books which let teachers know how confident they feel about the new

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The quality of teaching is good

learning.  Teachers regularly check on how well pupils are doing when they are working on their own and they step in quickly if pupils appear to be finding the work too difficult or if they could move on to more challenging work.  Pupils say that the comments teachers write when they mark their work really help them to get better because the comments let them know what they have done well and what they need to improve next time. The quality of marking is exemplary and has contributed strongly to the improving rates of progress pupils are making.  Pupils apply themselves well to their work because teachers do their best to make lessons interesting. In an outstanding lesson in Year 2, pupils were using the saw from their ‘toolkit’ to cut words from a sentence and their tape measure to extend sentences by adding clauses. As a result, the pupils were confidently discussing how placing the word ‘carefully’ at different points

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The quality of teaching is good

in the sentence made subtle changes to the meaning, as well as suggesting further details they could add to make the sentence more interesting.  Some teaching assistants provide very effective support for pupils. They explain carefully and are very patient with pupils who need more time to understand new ideas. However, sometimes they do not involve themselves fully in the teaching and learning throughout the lesson, particularly when the teacher is explaining, and so opportunities to help pupils to make as much progress as possible are missed.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ behaviour is good. The vast majority of pupils come to lessons ready and eager to learn and only a few pupils need gentle reminders to stay focused on their work. Around the school, they are polite to each other and to adults, opening doors and saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ without being reminded. All members of the school community get on very well together.  Pupils are proud of their school. When asked to think of some words that described Modbury Primary School, they came up with ‘fun, exciting, learning and friendly’. They say that behaviour is usually good and that if pupils are naughty, teachers have a firm word with them.  Attendance is high because pupils enjoy coming to school and their positive attitudes to learning contribute well to the progress they make in lessons. No time is lost due to chatting or lack of concentration and pupils show good levels of cooperation from a very young age. In Year 1,

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

pupils were able to work in pairs to retell a familiar story, helping each other and making suggestions about ways they could improve their work, with no adult intervention.  The records that the school keeps show that there are very few serious incidents relating to behaviour. If pupils are involved in disagreements, parents are involved appropriately. There have been no exclusions for three years, which shows that the school’s systems are effective.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils feel safe and the school’s entry arrangements for visitors ensure that pupils are not at risk from anyone inappropriate gaining access to the site.  Pupils report that there used to be bullying, but there is hardly any now and that they could go to an adult to sort things out if they needed to. Some pupils were less sure about whether the school places enough emphasis on anti-bullying and this was reflected in the views of parents on

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

Parent View (the online questionnaire). The school is aware of the need to raise the profile of this important aspect of ensuring that all pupils feel safe in school.  Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe in a variety of situations, including when they are on the internet. They know about cyber-bullying and the older pupils attend a special event called ‘Life Skills’ aimed at ensuring they learn about the challenges they face as they get older.

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The leadership and management are good

 Members of staff are very proud to be associated with Modbury Primary School. There is a strong sense of teamwork and a drive to make sure that the school continues to improve. A culture of high expectations is demonstrated in many aspects of school life, from the high-quality displays of pupils’ work to the consistency of the way in which staff apply school policies.  The executive headteacher provides extremely strong leadership. Staff appreciate her vision and the way in which she has introduced systems and structures to support them in improving the quality of teaching. Membership of the South Hams Federation has enabled staff to benefit from a wide variety of opportunities for training and for learning from each other.  There are high levels of accountability. The targets that teachers are set as part of their performance management are challenging and are closely linked to the areas on the school’s

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The leadership and management are good

improvement plan so that everyone is contributing to the ongoing improvement of the school.  Middle leaders carry out their roles effectively. They are fully involved with the executive headteacher in finding out what is going well and what needs to improve and they regularly share their own good practice with others, both within the school and across the federation.  The subjects pupils learn give them a wide variety of opportunities to increase their understanding about history, geography, information and communication technology, music and art. Teachers make very good use of the termly topics for pupils to apply the skills they have learnt in English and mathematics.  The school is rich with high-quality art, stimulated by work pupils did with an artist in residence. During the inspection, pupils shared with the rest of the school the song they were performing at a local music festival. Their beautiful two-part singing meant that they won first prize and

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The leadership and management are good

brought back the cup. These experiences, together with the opportunities pupils have to take on responsibility, to learn how to get on well together through their collaborative work and to understand the feelings of others, all contribute strongly to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  The new system for tracking pupils’ achievement is providing teachers with the information they need to make sure that pupils are given work which has the right level of challenge. There are no significant gaps in the achievement of any groups of pupils, which means that the school is promoting equality of opportunity and ensuring that there is no discrimination.  Very good use has been made of the additional funding received by the school for the improvement of physical education (PE) and sport. Teachers are working with the sports leader within the federation to improve standards in PE, and staff have attended training on gymnastics

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The leadership and management are good

and dance. Additional clubs have been introduced so that more pupils can improve their levels of fitness and the school has taken part in more inter-school competitions. The on-site swimming pool benefits from a new heating system and new equipment has been purchased.  Arrangements for the safeguarding of pupils meet requirements.  The local authority has good understanding of the needs of the school and has provided effective support and challenge during the period leading up to the school joining the federation.  The governance of the school:  Governors bring a wide variety of skills to their roles and they regularly attend training to improve their skills further. They use their understanding of data to compare achievement in the school with achievement nationally and they ask challenging questions to make sure that everything possible is being done to raise standards even more. They know about the quality

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The leadership and management are good

of teaching, from visits they make to the school and from reports from the executive headteacher. They know what is done to tackle underperformance and they make sure that only the best teachers are rewarded by progression through the pay scale. Systems for monitoring the school’s budget are very strong, including finding out how the pupil premium is being spent and whether it is making enough of a difference to pupils’ achievement.

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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 113335 Local authority Devon Inspection number 431190

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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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 117 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jane Greaves Executive headteacher Sue Jezard Date of previous school inspection 24–25 April 2012 Telephone number 01548 830312 Email address admin@modbury-primary.devon.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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