Chulmleigh Primary School

Chulmleigh Primary School Beacon Road, Chulmleigh, Devon, EX18 7AA

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected This inspection: Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school.  Pupils’ achievement is outstanding. All groups of pupils including disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make exceptional progress from their starting points.  Progress is particularly rapid in Reception; teaching and leadership in this class are major strengths of the school.  Standards in reading, writing and mathematics are well above those of most schools nationally. Pupils are effectively taught how to think for themselves.  The strong teamwork among staff means teachers and support staff work together in the most effective way to get the best out of pupils.  The school promotes a strong sense of community so pupils develop an equally strong sense of belonging. They feel safe, happy and secure and grow rapidly in confidence to become self-assured and independent young people.  Pupils are excited, interested and involved in learning because teachers have high

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

expectations of pupils and work hard to plan and teach lessons pupils enjoy. The quality of teaching is consistently at least good and typically outstanding.  Pupils’ behaviour and attitudes are outstanding in lessons and around the school. They show high levels of care towards each other.  The excellent range of subjects effectively promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils are very enthusiastic about the out-of-school activities and they thoroughly enjoy the extended range of teaching facilities they experience at Chulmleigh Community College.  Year 6 pupils are joined by Year 6 pupils from two other primary schools. This helps them to learn well, to make outstanding progress and gain confidence for the next stage of their education.  The executive headteacher, very ably supported by the deputy executive headteacher provides outstanding leadership. As a result senior and middle leaders work

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

actively with all staff to continuously improve and refine the quality of the pupils’ learning experience.  The directors provide a strong strategic steer for the long-term development of this successful school.  Most parents and carers are overwhelmingly supportive of the school.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 16 lessons taught by eight teachers. Four of these lessons were seen together with the deputy executive headteacher. Small groups were also observed.  Inspectors attended an assembly, sampled pupils’ work, listened to some Year 1 and Year 2 readers and observed activities at break and lunch times.  Meetings were held with leaders and managers, staff and pupils and members of the board of directors.  A telephone discussion took place with the school improvement officer about the support and advice she gave to the school.  Inspectors met informally with parents and carers at the beginning of the school day, took account of 69 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, and 13 emails and letters from parents and carers.  They observed the school’s work and looked closely at a number of documents, including the school’s information about pupils’ progress, monitoring files, planning for school improvement,

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Information about this inspection

records of directors’ meetings, checks on behaviour and attendance, the monitoring of teaching, and procedures for safeguarding pupils.  The inspectors also analysed 21 questionnaires from staff.  The inspection was carried out in response to a complaint made to Ofsted. The complaint was deemed to be a qualifying complaint and Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector decided that an unannounced inspection of the school should take place to follow up the school issue that was raised. The inspectors sought to establish what has been the impact of the decision to establish a joint Year 6 centre at Chulmleigh Primary School.

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Inspection team

David Nebesnuick, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Fiona Allen Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Chulmleigh Primary School converted to be an academy school in August 2011. When its predecessor school with the same name was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be outstanding.  It is a smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Most pupils attending the school are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils eligible for extra funding for their education (looked after children, those from service families or known to be entitled to free school meals) is below average. There is one looked after child and very few service children.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported through school action is well below the national average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average. The most common needs relate to moderate learning difficulties.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set out the minimum

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Information about this school

expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  The school established a federation with Chulmleigh Community College in 2008. In August 2011 the federation established the Chulmleigh Academy Trust, consisting of Chulmleigh Community College, Chulmleigh Primary School and two other primary schools. An additional primary school joined the Academy in January 2012. Chulmleigh Primary School acts as the main hub for developments in the four primary schools.  The school has a Year 6 centre, within a newly built wing, which includes pupils from three of the primary schools in the trust.  Early Years Foundation Stage children in Reception are taught within a Partnership Foundation Stage Unit. The partnership is between Chulmleigh Preschool and Chulmleigh Primary School. The preschool part of the partnership was not part of the inspection as it is run by a parents’ committee. The Academy is led by an executive headteacher, with a deputy executive

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Information about this school

headteacher overseeing the day-to-day running of the school.  One group of academy directors fulfils the governance of all the schools in the trust. Members refer to themselves as directors rather than governors.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that teachers put more emphasis on the development of letter formation to make pupils’ handwriting and presentation better.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 A minority of children join the school with a very wide range of skills and knowledge. On balance, children’s overall skills and knowledge, especially in managing feelings and behaviour, and listening and attention, are lower than expected for their ages when they join the school.  Progress is consistently exceptional in Reception because of the outstanding teaching and leadership in this area. The children are thoroughly prepared for Key Stage 1 especially in reading and number development.  Pupils enjoy reading, read widely and for pleasure. The teaching of phonics (the sounds that letters make) is outstanding. Results in the Year 1 phonics check in 2013 were above the national average and projections for 2014 suggest they will be well above the national average. By the end of Year 2, pupils tackle unfamiliar words confidently and read with fluency and expression.  Teachers build successfully on pupils’ early reading, writing and number skills when they begin

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

Year 1. Pupils continue to make outstanding progress throughout Key Stage 1. Standards have been above the national average for some years.  Attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is significantly above average at the end of Key Stage 2. These standards, particularly in mathematics, continue to improve each year. Pupils make exceptional progress during these years and are prepared extremely well for the next stage of their education.  Outstanding learning, identified in the school’s monitoring records and checks on pupils’ progress, is characteristic of all groups of pupils in the school. These include boys and girls, disabled pupils and those with special educational needs.  The funding the school receives for pupils eligible for extra money is used very well to give these pupils extra support with their learning. This support has almost closed the gap in achievement between this group and their classmates. In 2013, by the end of Key Stage 2, these pupils were

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

half a term ahead in their reading and mathematics and half a term behind in writing.  There is too little focus on the development of letter formation and this has had an adverse impact on the quality of some pupils’ handwriting and presentation.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 The quality of teaching is at least good and is typically outstanding. This has led to pupils’ continuing, outstanding achievement.  Teachers have very high expectations of the progress pupils are capable of making.  Pupils’ learning about numeracy and literacy is very strong because teachers make it both challenging and exciting. Other subject content is brought into these lessons. In a Year 6 class, for example, pupils calculated the dimensions of the ‘Oscar’ that they were making in design and technology. In Year 5, pupils wrote instructions on how to light up an egg so that they could see the baby bird inside. They combined this activity with actual demonstrations. The practical work added relevance and interest to pupils’ writing.  Teaching assistants play a full part in ensuring outstanding progress. They share teachers’ high expectations, plan jointly with them and support pupils’ learning outstandingly well both in the

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

classroom and in extra sessions in other rooms.  Teachers encourage pupils to learn by doing and thinking for themselves. Teachers give pupils enough time to talk and listen to each other so they learn to value each other’s ideas and opinions. In the Reception class, practical activities such as learning to form letters to music capture children’s imagination and they are keen to get involved and make rapid progress as a result.  Pupils are encouraged and given ways to improve further by teachers’ high quality marking of their work. Pupils fully understand the feedback and they like the different colour pens used by teachers to show them how well they have done. They are given regular moments to reflect on the teachers’ comments before making the necessary improvements.  Pupils like and respect their teachers, want to do well and work very hard, whether all together in the class or working on their own.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Pupils, including disabled pupils, those who have special educational needs and service children are able to make exceptional progress because they are interested and involved. This is because teachers plan work with care and use their subject knowledge very well.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. They are extremely keen to learn and want to do their very best.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. As a result pupils say that they feel very safe in the school. This is supported by most of the parents and carers that expressed a view in the Parent View questionnaire.  Pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school is excellent and it contributes to the pupils developing into assured and independent young people.  Pupils are very knowledgeable about the different situations which constitute bullying, but are insistent that bullying is not an issue in the school. They understand the implications of potential threats such as e-bullying; the school teaches them how to keep safe.  The school is a caring and welcoming community where pupils’ needs come first. Pupils develop a strong sense of belonging and they are very proud of their school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils value the school council and enjoy taking on responsibility. They are currently renovating the school pond. They work hard to raise funds for several charities. Year 5 pupils are training to be sports leaders to support younger pupils.  At break and lunch times pupils get on really well together, play football with enjoyment, use all the equipment to get good exercise and enthusiastically explore the site’s wooded areas.  Pupils are eager, enjoy coming to school very much and thrive on the outstanding teaching. Their enjoyment can be seen in attendance figures which are now above the national average. Almost all parents and carers who expressed a view felt that their children were very happy in school.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The executive headteacher provides exceptional strategic leadership. He has developed a really strong team at Chulmleigh led by the deputy executive headteacher. The team concentrates on providing exciting and stimulating ways for pupils to learn. There is a constant drive for further improvement.  Effective teamwork at all levels is clearly evident. Middle leaders are influential in generating the exceptional progress made by all pupils.  Staff are fully behind the concerted drive to continue developing and widening the learning facilities and activities for pupils. This is shown by the unanimously positive responses to the staff questionnaire.  The directors share the school leaders’ clear vision for the school’s future; they are ambitious for even higher standards. Their energy and commitment have ensured that the recently established Year 6 centre has successfully strengthened the breadth of learning for Year 6 pupils in the three

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The leadership and management are outstanding

schools. Class size has been halved and new classroom facilities built.  Leaders acknowledge that these radical changes have not been welcomed by every parent and carer; they continue to inform parents and carers regularly about their children’s progress and to work with them to share their ambitious vision for the school. Most parents and carers are overwhelmingly supportive of what the school is providing for their children.  The school makes full use of its proximity to the community college for Year 6. Pupils confirm how much they enjoy using the specialist science, drama and design and technology accommodation. This helps the move to secondary school to be particularly smooth and effective.  Several displays throughout the school illustrate the varied experiences pupils enjoy, including the recent science week, the autumn harvest celebration, the Year 6 enterprise challenge to design ‘keep us safe’ posters and the citizenship awards. This wide range of activities helps to

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The leadership and management are outstanding

promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development effectively.  The additional sports funding has been well used to raise the standard of physical education teaching in all years. Pupils enjoy a much wider access to gymnastics and dance. Fun fit activities are in place and pupils have an increased interest in sports and healthy living by using the secondary school’s sports hall.  The school manages the extra education funds well. The additional support contributes to the outstanding progress of eligible pupils. The deputy executive headteacher manages target setting for teachers well with a clear link between performance and pay. All staff have challenging targets linked to the Teachers’ Standards and pupils’ performance.  Senior staff and directors have a clear and accurate view of the quality of teaching and its impact on pupils’ learning. There is a high level of professional support for all staff. The school’s

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The leadership and management are outstanding

self-evaluation documentation is thorough and the evaluation of the school’s work is honest and accurate. The systems to track pupils’ progress are detailed and individual. The whole staff team works to ensure that the information is used carefully to plan each pupil’s next steps.  The rapid progress made by all pupils, whatever their needs, confirms that the school promotes equality of opportunity well and does not tolerate discrimination.  The school meets all safeguarding requirements. Pupils are taught safety awareness and staff are trained in appropriate procedures to ensure pupils’ all-round well-being.  This school is used as the central hub for all the primary schools in the academy trust. It successfully provides effective support and leadership to the smaller schools in the academy. It has been instrumental in raising standards across the other schools. The leadership has not only maintained high standards for many years but has looked for ways to improve upon the previous

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The leadership and management are outstanding

best practice.  The governance of the school:  The directors share the leaders’ ambitious vision for the school. They are determined to raise standards further; they refer to ‘the strong supporting the weaker’ and believe that this school is the key for improvement in other schools. They rigorously manage the performance of the executive headteacher, offering support combined with challenge. The directors have a good understanding of the performance management procedures and their impact on teachers’ salary progression. They are very aware of the importance of outstanding teaching and its impact on the outstanding progress of the pupils.  The directors have made good decisions about the spending of additional funding and carefully monitor the impact of their decisions. They fulfil their statutory duties effectively and ensure that arrangements for safeguarding pupils and child protection are robust.

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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 137023 Local authority Devon Inspection number 443183

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Academy converter Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 186 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Steve Baber Executive Headteacher Michael Johnson Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 01769 580535 Fax number 01769 580535 Email address llindley@chulmleigh.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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