Snitterfield Primary School

Snitterfield Primary School School Road, Snitterfield, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 0JL

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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.  The leadership and management of the school have ensured that strengths in teaching and pupils’ good achievement have been consolidated since the previous inspection.  Pupils achieve well, because teaching is good.  Progress in reading and writing is particularly strong. Work is well presented and pupils from all groups make progress that is at least good.  There are rigorous systems to track the progress of pupils and these are used effectively to monitor and put in place actions to ensure that no pupils slip behind.  Behaviour is good. Pupils are proud of their school and keen to learn. As a result, attendance is above average.  The care the school provides for pupils is good. Pupils say that any concerns are quickly sorted.  Children are given a strong start to their education in the Reception class. They enjoy their learning and develop stamina and resilience, maintaining concentration on tasks

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils do not always know what to do to improve their work further and, in some lessons, the work set is not exacting enough for middle-attaining pupils.  Some parents feel that they do not have enough information about their children’s progress.  Subject leaders monitor teaching and learning effectively, but do not always hold teachers to account for pupils’ performance with enough rigour to ensure that they accept nothing less than the best.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection was carried out over one day by two inspectors.  Inspectors observed teaching and learning in seven lessons, one of which was seen together with the headteacher.  Meetings were held with pupils, the Chair and four other representatives of the Governing Body, and with pupils.  Inspectors took account of the 10 responses to the staff questionnaire and the 45 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View).  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a range of school documents, including records of the school’s checks on the quality of teaching, the school improvement plan and records relating to behaviour, attendance, safeguarding and the tracking of pupils’ progress.  Inspectors also looked closely, with the headteacher, at pupils’ written work and listened to pupils reading.

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Inspection team

Sheelagh Barnes, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Michael Onyon, Team inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a much smaller than average-sized primary school.  The large majority of pupils are White British. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is well below average, as is the proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported through school action is average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also broadly average.  The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium is below average. This is additional funding which, in this school, supports pupils who are in local authority care and those known to be eligible for free school meals. Because of the very small size of the school, numbers in each year group are too small to report upon in detail.  Children currently transfer into the Reception class from a wide number of different pre-school

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Information about this school

settings in the village and in Stratford-upon-Avon.  A pre-school breakfast club is run within the main school buildings. This is managed by a private concern, and is inspected separately. There is a nursery nearby, which is also managed and inspected separately.  There were too few pupils in Year 6 in 2013 for the government’s floor standards to be applicable.  Since the previous inspection, the school has federated with two other local schools (Wilmcote in September 2012 and Loxley in January 2014). The headteacher is now the executive headteacher of all three schools. There have also been a number of staff changes.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the quality of teaching and learning by:  ensuring that pupils more consistently know what to do to improve their work  teachers ensuring that tasks pupils are set always have appropriate levels of challenge  subject leaders stringently holding teachers to account for pupils’ performance so that they accept nothing less than the best.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve links with parents, so that they are well informed about the progress their children make.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Attainment on entry to school varies very slightly year-on-year, due to the very small numbers in each year group. Attainment on entry currently is below that expected for children’s ages and has been for the past few years. Children make a good start to their education and achieve well in Reception, particularly in their communication, language and literacy and in their personal and social development.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Throughout the school, pupils from all groups and of all levels of prior attainment, including the more able, disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, achieve well and make good progress. On occasion, progress is excellent. As a result, standards are above those expected for pupils’ ages by the end of Year 6.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Phonics is taught to good effect from Reception onwards. In the Year 1 national phonic screening check last year, the proportion of pupils reaching the required standard was broadly average. Pupils make good progress in developing early reading skills and this has a positive impact on their writing and spelling skills.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Currently, the particular focus for improvement in standards identified by leaders is in mathematics. Pupils from all groups are making good progress, although not yet as consistently or strongly as in reading and writing. This is because pupils do not always know what to do to improve their work still further and, in some lessons, the work set is not exacting enough for middle-attaining pupils.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The pupil premium funding has been spent on providing extra adult support to accelerate progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Eligible pupils are making good progress. As there were very few eligible pupils in Year 6 last year and in the previous year, no comment is made on their attainment.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is nearly always at least good. It is sometimes outstanding.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers take care to ensure that learning captures pupils’ interest. For example, pupils in the Year 1 and Year 2 class were enthusiastically using the idea of preparing for a party to work out how many plates of cakes they would need. Some chose to use addition and some multiplication to solve the problem.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ achievement. Children and pupils are visibly pleased with what they and their friends manage to do. Children in Reception worked with wires, bulbs and batteries to make small circuits as part of the work based around the book The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch. When a crocodile clip was removed from his circuit, one child had a moment of sudden revelation and exclaimed ‘Oh, the bulb goes out when the circuit is broken!’

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers and other adults work together effectively to ensure that pupils are given good support and encouragement to enable them to make good progress. As a result, disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are fully integrated into all learning activities and make progress in line with their peers.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers match work carefully to the abilities of different groups of pupils. In nearly all lessons, teachers are very proficient in following the school’s teaching and learning policy and fine-tuning what they ask pupils to do when they see that a task has been mastered successfully. However, this is not always consistently the case in mathematics for older pupils.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils are effectively involved in evaluating the progress they make in their learning by assessing how well they and their friends have completed tasks in writing. The school is now working to apply the same level of pupil involvement and understanding in mathematics.

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The quality of teaching is good

 There is a school expectation for marking and, in most cases, it is met. In most instances, teachers’ marking gives pupils clear guidance on how to improve their work. However, this is not consistently the case. Pupils say, ‘Different things happen in different classes.’

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers ensure that pupils are given good opportunities to develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding by allowing time for reflection and discussion. Assemblies also make a positive contribution to pupils’ understanding of wider world issues.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Their conduct and behaviour in and outside lessons and their attitudes towards others is good. They are courteous to other pupils and demonstrate good ‘magic manners’ to others.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are keen to learn and want to do well. These positive attitudes contribute to their good progress in lessons. Pupils are keen to come to school and, as a result, attendance is above average.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils have a clear understanding of how their behaviour contributes to school life. They proudly take on roles of responsibility, such as ‘buddies’ (looking after others in the playground), school councillors and sports leaders. Lunchtime is a positive ‘family service’, where pupils serve each other, with sensible courteous interaction between adults and pupils.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Safeguarding arrangements meet all requirements.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils say that they feel safe in school and parents agree that school cares well for their children. Staff and governors are also positive about the good behaviour and safety of pupils.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are aware of the different types of bullying, including internet bullying and what to do should it occur. They say that they do not believe that there is any bullying and that ‘If there was teachers would sort it quickly.’

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils say that, ‘The best thing about school is that we have lots of friends, people care for each other and it is a happy place with lots of clubs and things to do.’

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The leadership and management are good

 School leaders work effectively to enable pupils to attain above-average standards. The school’s accurate self-evaluation and clear-sighted planning contribute strongly to the consolidation of high standards.

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The leadership and management are good

 The leadership of the Early Years Foundation Stage is good. Regular accurate assessments are made of what children know and can do, and activities are carefully planned which interest children and which steadily build their skills and knowledge. Children learn to enjoy school as a result.

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The leadership and management are good

 Lessons are supplemented by after-school and sporting activities. Pupils talk enthusiastically about the new range of activities which are now on offer to them as a result of sports funding. The spending of the primary sports funding has been largely targeted at increasing sporting opportunities; introducing sports such as handball and hockey. These additional activities are too recent for their impact on pupils’ physical education, health and well-being to be accurately evaluated.

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The leadership and management are good

 Because of the judgements of the previous inspection report and the good attainment of pupils, the local authority has judged the school to require minimal intervention. It has, however, maintained its monitoring and provided support and training for teachers and governors, which has benefited all concerned.

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The leadership and management are good

 Provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is strong. Assemblies effectively build pupils’ understanding of behaviour and personal responsibility. The aims and values of the school are woven into everyday practice.

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The leadership and management are good

 The opportunities for training and working with other local schools, especially the two with which the school is now federated, have enabled teachers to develop their skills effectively. Leaders of subjects benefit from visiting and sharing expertise with other schools in the federation. Leaders’ capacity to bring about improvement is shown in pupils’ good achievement and the way that new teachers are helped to settle into the school and become effective.

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The leadership and management are good

 Subject leaders monitor the progress of pupils in each class and systematically challenge teachers to aim for high standards. However, while there is appropriate focus on the progress of the most- and least-able pupils, on occasion the challenge for middle-attaining pupils lacks the same demanding rigour. As a result, pupils make good, rather than outstanding progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 Parents hold mainly positive opinions of school and its work. The large majority of those who responded would recommend this school to others. A very large majority say that their children are safe and well looked after. However, around a third of those who responded to the online questionnaire said that they did not get as much information about the progress their children made as they would wish.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. They interpret data about pupils’ progress confidently, visit regularly and so know how well the school is doing. They have the confidence to question and challenge the headteacher. They provide the school with great support. They are aware of the quality of teaching and have taken positive decisions with regard to federation and careful financial management, so that this good quality can be maintained. They monitor the impact of spending of the pupil premium funding to ensure that it is spent effectively. The performance of staff is evaluated in relation to pupils’ progress and appropriately rewarded.

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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 125521 Local authority Warwickshire Inspection number 431525

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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 98 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sue Yendall Headteacher Sue Ogden Date of previous school inspection 5 February 2009 Telephone number 01789 731301 Fax number 01789 731301 Email address admin2046@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

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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