Wilmcote CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School

Wilmcote CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School Church Road, Wilmcote, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 9XD

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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.  Pupils achieve well, especially in reading and mathematics. Attainment is above average by the end of Year 6.  The proportion of pupils making good progress has improved over time and now compares well with national figures.  Children get off to a good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage and become confident and willing learners.  The quality of teaching is now good, lessons and activities are well planned according to the different ages and abilities of pupils who are taught in the same class.  Behaviour is good. Pupils are courteous and polite; they say that they feel safe and well cared for.  The range of subjects taught and the lively programme of visits and visitors contribute well towards pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  The executive headteacher provides clear, determined leadership that has improved the school’s effectiveness. Leaders check the

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

quality of teaching rigorously and have made sure the improvements are sustained. The governing body is supportive of leaders and understands the school’s strengths and its areas for further development.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Some teachers do not change work quickly enough when pupils are ready to move on to something new or more difficult.  Not all teachers’ marking and feedback to pupils is good.  Progress in writing is less rapid than in reading and mathematics. Tasks involving writing in other subjects are too few to build fully on what is learned in writing sessions.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed teaching in 12 lessons, six jointly with the executive headteacher.  Meetings were held with senior leaders, teachers, pupils, members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  The inspector took into account 16 responses to the online Parent View survey and discussions with parents at the beginning of the school day.  The inspector considered the views expressed in survey responses from nine members of staff.  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 procedures.

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Inspection team

Lucy Maughan, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller than average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are White British.  Pupils are taught in mixed-age classes.  The school became part of a federation of three schools in September 2012. They share the same executive headteacher and governing body.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs who are supported through school action is above average.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below the national average.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is below average. In this school, this additional funding is for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals.  The school meets the current government floor standards, which set the minimum requirements for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching by:  making sure teachers always check learning during a lesson and change tasks when pupils are ready  ensuring teachers consistently provide pupils with meaningful guidance when feeding back to them after marking their work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase pupils’ progress in writing by:  enabling pupils to practise and develop writing skills across a wider range of subjects.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics across the school. Because of this, attainment is above average by the end of Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills that are generally typical for their age. They make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage and enter Year 1 with a good level of development.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In 2013, the proportions of pupils making expected and better than expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics compared favourably to those found nationally. In 2013, progress in mathematics had been below that in reading and writing and pupils did not do well in the spelling, grammar and punctuation test. The school has dealt with these relative weaknesses with speed through a range of effective strategies. Current school assessments and work in books shows that progress is consistently good, although progress in writing is not quite as strong as in reading and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 When compared with other groups in the school, assessments show that previous gaps in progress have closed in English and mathematics for pupils supported by the pupil premium. They make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. There are too few eligible pupils to comment on their attainment in 2013 without identifying them.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils have the opportunity to read a variety of texts and to read on a regular basis in school and at home. Older pupils spoke confidently about their choice of books to read and all pupils demonstrated an enthusiasm towards reading, which further reinforces the strong attainment of pupils in Key Stage 1 and the good progress of pupils across Key Stage 2, in reading over recent years.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils show great enjoyment and make good progress in numeracy because they are offered a good variety of ways to learn. For instance, in a mixed Year 1 and 2 class, pupils made good progress working in pairs to devise questions relating to their understanding of numbers.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress because the school leader responsible works very closely with school staff, parents and other agencies to make sure that their needs are well met.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils enjoy the increased range of sports available to them and the expert tuition provided through the sports funding. This is already having a positive impact in encouraging healthy lifestyles.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching, including the teaching of reading, writing and mathematics, has improved since the previous inspection and is now good overall.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In the Early Years Foundation Stage, staff work well together to make sure that children are introduced to a wide and interesting range of activities. These are successfully designed to particularly support children to develop their personal, social and physical skills, such as a self registration for different activities to promote children’s independence. The teaching of reading, writing and mathematics is also strong and children are offered different and effective ways to reinforce these skills on a daily basis.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers make clear to the pupils what they are to learn in each lesson and pupils are keen to explain what their next steps with be to reach the next level.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Adults work well together and there is strong teamwork in most classrooms, which enable the different age and ability groups within the class to work on tasks that are usually just right for their general stage of development. Teachers and teaching assistants set high expectations of what the pupils’ can achieve.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers and teaching assistants use a range of effective methods to challenge pupils’ understanding and to build on pupils’ prior learning. Occasionally, teachers do not check pupils’ understanding quickly enough within a lesson so that pupils are not always given a new or harder task as soon as they are ready to move on.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers encourage pupils to develop their writing skills in English lessons. However, plans for writing in other subjects, that might extend pupils’ skills, are not well developed.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The marking of books is regular in all classes and, in the strongest practice, works well in enabling pupils to improve. However, this does not always happen in all classes.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ behaviour is good. Pupils are keen and eager to learn and describe what they do in lessons as being interesting. There are strong relationships between adults and pupils. For example, in the Early Years Foundation Stage, children have a delightful and trusting relationship with members of staff, enabling them to become independent and try new things.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. For example, the school arranges visitors such as fire officers and road safety officers to talk to pupils about how to stay safe.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils say they feel safe in school and understand the different forms of bullying they might meet, stating that it rarely happens in school. They also express confidence in staff to deal with any problems that may arise.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ attendance has been below average in recent years. Strenuous efforts by the school to reduce absence have been successful in raising attendance levels to broadly average.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour and safety are not outstanding because attendance still requires improvement and pupils’ behaviour is not always impeccable in lessons and around the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The executive headteacher is well supported by other leaders in the school, who share her clear view of how successful the school can be. The improvement in pupils’ progress and in the quality of teaching since the last inspection also confirms the ability of the leadership team to continue to drive improvements further.

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The leadership and management are good

 Robust target-setting for teachers together with regular checks on the quality of their teaching have contributed to the improved quality of teaching since the previous inspection. Partnership with the other federated schools support this aspect well. It has encouraged the sharing of training and the development of a consistently good approach to supporting all pupils’ needs, which is understood by all adults.

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The leadership and management are good

 The executive headteacher makes sure that teachers are accountable for the progress of pupils in their class and there is a clear link between how effective teachers are and their salary progression.

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The leadership and management are good

 The subjects taught suits the needs and interests of pupils well and ensure pupils develop good literacy, numeracy and communication skills. In addition, the school shows it is mindful of the pupils and the families it serves by providing enriching and meaningful experiences in the classroom and through a variety of events and activities outside lessons, which serve well to promote the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school uses the additional sports funding it receives to employ specialist teachers who coach the pupils in different sporting activities and providing professional training for staff. This has led to a greater number of pupils taking part in physical games and entering local sporting events, for example an inter-school hand ball competition.

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The leadership and management are good

 Parents are very positive about the work of the school. A typical comment was, ‘We could not have chosen a better school’.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority has supported the school well so that it has a clear view of pupils’ progress, the quality of teaching, and the school’s strengths and weaknesses.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The governing body knows the strengths and priorities for the school within the federation. Governors undertake training to make sure that they have expertise to challenge and support school leaders appropriately, for example in interpreting data about pupils’ performance. Governors manage the performance of the headteacher and know about the quality of teaching across the school. They also ensure that teachers’ progression through the pay scale is linked to performance. The governing body meets statutory requirements, including, those for safeguarding and effective budgetary management, noting the impact of the use of funding, such as the pupil premium and that for sports.

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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 125696 Local authority Warwickshire Inspection number 431162

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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 85 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sue Yendall Headteacher Sue Ogden (Executive Headteacher) Date of previous school inspection 12 July 2012 Telephone number 01789 204395 Fax number 01789 204395 Email address admin3313@welearn365.com 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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