St Martin & St Mary Church of England Primary School

St Martin & St Mary Church of England Primary School Princes Road, Windermere, Cumbria, LA23 2DD

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher is an inspirational leader who is very well supported by governors and staff to achieve her aim, which is to drive ongoing school improvement.  Governors are highly effective and fully involved in all aspects of the school’s work. They have an exceptional understanding of the school’s performance and have the skills and knowledge to hold school leaders comprehensively to account.  One strong and effective staff team has been built in a very short time from the two amalgamated schools because school leaders are building on the very best from both schools.  The subjects on offer are enriched by a range of visits and after-school activities that provide memorable experiences for pupils.  Spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding is extremely well developed.  Pupils feel completely safe and secure in school. Their behaviour is excellent; they value their teachers and have an exemplary attitude toward

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

their learning.  Parents are highly supportive of the school.  Teaching is good and staff work well together. Teachers are supported effectively by school leaders to access training and reflect on their practice. This helps them to strengthen the impact of their teaching on pupils' learning.  Achievement is good because pupils and groups of pupils, including the most able and least able, disadvantaged pupils and those at the early stages of learning English as an additional language make good progress from their individual starting points.  Unconfirmed results from the 2014 end of key stage national tests indicate that attainment at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 is above average in reading, writing and mathematics.  Children make rapid progress in the outstanding early years department because of excellent leadership, teaching and very effective relationships between staff and parents.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teaching is not outstanding because assessment information is not always used well enough to make sure that pupils are given tasks that challenge them effectively throughout the lesson.  The profile of mathematics is not as high as it should be around the school and there are too few opportunities for pupils to practise mathematical skills in other subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in 20 part-lessons taught by teachers and in sessions taken by teaching assistants. Two learning walks around the school also took place.  Inspectors met with two groups of pupils and observed and spoke to pupils during lessons, play times and at lunchtime. They also listened to pupils reading.  Meetings were held with staff, senior leaders and managers and members of the governing body. A representative from the local authority spoke to an inspector on the telephone and inspectors met informally with parents as they dropped off and collected their children from school.  A range of documents were considered by inspectors, including the school’s analysis of how well it is doing, the school development plan, information about pupils’ progress, checks on the quality of teaching, minutes of governing body meetings, and records relating to attendance and safeguarding. Inspectors

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Information about this inspection

also examined work in pupils’ books.  Inspectors took account of 63 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and of a summary of the responses to a parental questionnaire recently distributed by the school.  Inspectors also considered responses from 43 staff to the inspection questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Louise Murphy, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is larger than most primary schools.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium (additional funding for those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those looked after by the local authority) is well-below average.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action because they are disabled or have special educational needs is below the national average.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also below the national average.  Though most pupils are from a White British heritage, there are a few pupils at the very early stages of learning to speak English as an additional language.  The school opened in September 2013 as a result of an amalgamation between Windermere Junior School and St Mary's Nursery and Infant School. At their previous inspections, both schools were judged to be

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Information about this school

good.  The school provides part-time places for three- and-four-year-old children in the Nursery.  The headteacher is a Local Leader of Education and the deputy headteacher is a Specialist Leader of Education of early years provision. They both take an active role in a local partnership of schools.  A substantial building programme which linked the two previously separate school buildings was completed in June 2014.  Two teachers joined the staff in September 2014.  Unconfirmed results from the 2014 end of Key Stage 2 national tests indicate that the school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching and learning so that more pupils make outstanding progress and secure the highest levels of attainment by: - raising the profile of mathematics around the school and increasing opportunities for pupils to practise mathematical skills in other subjects - making sure that teachers always use all of the assessment information available to them to help to plan activities that build on what pupils already know and can do.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The excellent headteacher has very high aspirations for the school and her leadership is outstanding. She is determined that the school will be the best it can be and is adept at leading the relentless drive to achieve this aim. The governing body and staff are highly supportive of her and share the same ambition.  In a very short time, the headteacher has ensured that staff from two schools have come together to form one strong team. They work together to reflect on their practice and to improve their teaching so that they can provide the best learning experiences for pupils.  The work that the school does is very carefully checked by school leaders, including subject leaders. In a short time, highly effective actions have been put in place to improve standards such as appropriate staff training and peer-support programmes. Other actions have been implemented but have not had time to make an impact. Leaders are not complacent and have a very clear view of what needs to be done to

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The leadership and management are outstanding

improve teaching and learning still further. What is more, they have the expertise and resolve to achieve their aim successfully, as is clear from their successes so far.  The small numbers of pupils who are at the early stages of learning English as an additional language and those disadvantaged pupils are very well supported, and pupil premium funding is used very effectively to benefit eligible pupils. This confirms the school's commitment to making sure that there is no discrimination at the school and all pupils enjoy the same opportunities to succeed.  The exciting subjects on offer include many real-life experiences, such as residential visits to France and Patterdale Hall and day trips to Grizedale Forest and Barrow Docks. The introduction of the new curriculum has been exceptionally well planned to take full account of the skills and knowledge pupils need to help them to learn.  The programme for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development includes a wide range of

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The leadership and management are outstanding

opportunities for pupils to learn about different cultures. For example, pupils have recently celebrated Diwali and have close links with a school in Rwanda. Pupils are able to learn how to play a wide range of musical instruments and additional dance lessons are extremely well attended. The school's excellent commitment to making sure that pupils regularly reflect on themes such as 'Making Our World a Better Place’ helps to prepare pupils to take their place in modern Britain.  The primary school sport funding is used very successfully. There is a wide range of after-school and lunchtime sporting activities on offer as well as specialist coaches working with pupils and staff to improve their skills. This has led to high levels of participation in different sports by pupils of all ages.  All required checks on adults are undertaken and staff are well trained in child protection. The school takes its safeguarding responsibilities very seriously.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The local authority provides a light touch support for the school but has been instrumental in brokering the development of a network of local schools. School leaders from St Martin and St Mary take an active, leading role in this partnership and firmly believe that the work of the partnership brings advantages to the school.  The governance of the school: - Governors are very well informed. They have an excellent understanding of data and how standards of pupils' attainment and achievement compare with other schools nationally. This is because they receive regular, accurate and comprehensive reports on pupils’ progress and on the quality of teaching from senior and middle leaders. - Governors hold the school leaders rigorously to account for all aspects of the school's work and make sure that the performance of teachers is closely checked, underperformance is tackled effectively and that teachers' pay is linked to how effective they are.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.  Pupils behave exceptionally well in lessons, around the school and at lunchtimes and playtimes. They are extremely polite and show great care and consideration for others.  The very positive attitudes to their work shown by pupils of all ages make a noteworthy contribution toward their learning and progress. Pupils respond rapidly to teachers’ high expectations of their behaviour and are able to organise themselves in class, with little direction from their teachers.  Pupils say that learning is never interrupted by poor behaviour, which confirms the school’s success in nurturing highly constructive relationships.  Pupils value highly the many opportunities they have to take on responsibilities and have their say in making the school a happy place. The school council is influential in making decisions about which resources and equipment to buy. For example, they are extremely proud of the contribution that they

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Behaviour

made toward selecting the new cabinet which displays school trophies.  Older pupils are trained to act as leaders to support other pupils when learning new sporting activities. Eco-elves make sure that the school community saves energy and recycles when possible and house captains look after all of the members of their house and check that everyone has someone to play with.  A group of pupils beamed with pride as they walked through the new school building with an inspector. They talked enthusiastically of how school had improved since the amalgamation and how lucky they felt to be 'one big school family'.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding.  The vast majority of parents responding to the school's own survey and the online Parent View questionnaire express great confidence in the care the school provides for their children. They report that their children are safe, well cared for and happy.  Pupils are kept safe, feel very safe and are also taught how to keep themselves safe. For example, they talk confidently about potential hazards when using the internet, riding their bicycles and when in or near water. All pupils are taught how to swim at the school pool and are able to celebrate their achievements at a swimming gala during the summer term.  Pupils fully understand different types of bullying and say that bullying incidents are rare in school. They are confident that when pupils fall out with each other, adults will help them to sort matters very quickly.  School leaders work closely with parents and external agencies to make sure that attendance is above the

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Safety

national average, which reflects pupils' enjoyment of school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils make good progress because the quality of teaching in reading, writing and mathematics is good across the school and outstanding in the early years setting. This is confirmed by evidence collected during the inspection, work seen in pupils’ books and through the checks made by school leaders.  Teachers from the two predecessor schools and the new teachers work very well together. They have regular discussions about what they can do to improve the impact of their teaching on pupils' learning. Teachers share their expertise with each other whenever possible.  Classrooms are calm and well managed. Teachers have high expectations of pupils' behaviour and encourage pupils to listen carefully to instructions and to each other. This helps pupils to get on well with their work.  Teachers and teaching assistants work well together to support the learning of disadvantaged pupils, disabled pupils, those who have special educational needs and those at the early stages of learning to

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The quality of teaching is good

speak English as an additional language.  Older pupils have the opportunity to visit the local high school and get involved in the 'tenner challenge’, whereby groups of pupils plan and carry out tasks to make the most profit possible from a £10 stake. This activity is being extended to include the most able pupils across the school and supports the development of a range of skills including problem solving, negotiation and communication as well as literacy and number skills.  There are many opportunities available for pupils to practise their writing skills in subjects other than English and to engage in real-life and role-play experiences to underpin their writing. For example, pupils acted as evacuees and went on a train journey to give them some understanding of how children felt in the Second World War. This helped them to produce thoughtful pieces of writing. Throughout the school, there are examples of good quality pupils' writing to motivate and enthuse others. Mathematical skills are

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The quality of teaching is good

not so well publicised across the school or practised across the curriculum.  School leaders have developed robust systems for checking on the progress made by pupils. The information collected is used effectively to make sure that pupils with special educational needs are supported well and pupils are placed in the appropriate learning sets. Teachers skilfully question pupils to assess their level of understanding and encourage pupils to assess their own learning. However, teachers do not always use all of the information available to plan tasks at the correct level of challenge for pupils. Neither do they routinely adjust activities during the lesson so that the work provided supports pupils to learn as much as possible.  School leaders recognised that marking could be more helpful to pupils and are in the process of introducing a new marking policy across the school. The new method, which has been tested for efficacy

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The quality of teaching is good

in Year 2, includes teachers making helpful comments to demonstrate to pupils how they can improve their work and pupils having time to respond to marking and to learn from their mistakes.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children get off to a successful start in the early years and continue to make good progress across the school. Attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is above national levels at the end of Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.  Compared to the national figure, a higher proportion of Year 1 pupils achieved the expected level in the screening that checks how well they match letters and the sounds that these make. This is because reading is taught well from the start of school. Older pupils enjoy reading and particularly value the time they spend reading with younger pupils. Key Stage 2 pupils are really looking forward to the grand opening of the new library, which will give them access to an even wider range of books.  Targets set for pupils' achievement at St Martin and St Mary are high. By the end of the summer term in 2014, most pupils in the Key Stage 2 year groups made better than expected progress in reading, writing

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The achievement of pupils is good

and mathematics.  The most able pupils make good progress because there is a range of strategies in place to support their learning, including teaching English and mathematics in sets according to ability. There are also opportunities for the most able pupils to be taught at the local high school. Unconfirmed end-of-Year 6 national test results and the results of tests at the end of Year 2 show that a larger proportion of pupils reached the higher levels when compared to the national average in reading, writing and mathematics.  The additional needs of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are identified quickly. Teachers, teaching assistants and external agencies then provide a good level of support to help pupils to make good progress and to ensure that their individual needs are met. An impressive range of support programmes are available to meet the needs of pupils who are at the early stages of learning to

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The achievement of pupils is good

speak English as an additional language as and when the need arises.  The additional funding provided to meet the needs of disadvantaged pupils is spent effectively. Gaps between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and their classmates are variable across the school but are closing in reading, writing and mathematics. The very small number of disadvantaged pupils means that commenting on their attainment compared to other pupils nationally and in their class is not meaningful.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 Children flourish and make rapid progress across the Nursery and Reception classes. The majority of children completing their Reception Year in 2014 reached a good level of development and some children exceeded this level. Any child that did not quite reach a good level of development was very near to doing so. This confirms that children achieve outstandingly well from their individual starting points and are very well prepared for the work that they will meet in Year 1.  The school makes excellent arrangements to introduce children and their parents into the early years setting. There are strong links with the early years care provider that shares the school site. What is more, effective partnerships are built with parents during home visits and the many opportunities made available for parents to meet with staff. For example, parents attend workshops to help them understand the ways in which their children are taught reading, writing and number. They also join their children for lunch

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The early years provision is outstanding

during the first few weeks of school, complete a diary which the children take home each evening and have daily opportunities to speak with staff. As a result children settle in quickly and are soon happy, secure and ready to learn.  Robust assessment procedures are in place to ensure that all groups of children achieve equally well. For example, children at the early stages of learning to speak English as an additional language learn very quickly. This is because they have the support of a mentor who has set up an area which displays words in their own language and in English.  Outstanding leadership and management of the early years make sure that the effective staff team keeps children safe and secure, helps them to understand routines, enjoy school, learn and behave exceptionally well. First-rate teaching and care, together with carefully planned activities that are interesting and fun, keep children highly engaged and support learning extremely well.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 A vibrant environment, both indoors and outside, supports children’s learning and progress extremely well. Staff question children effectively and encourage them to explore and investigate their ideas. For example, children worked very hard to construct a water spout from foil and successfully found ways in which they could wash Incey Wincey Spider out of the spout, up it, or to keep her safe inside it.

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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 139422 Local authority Cumbria Inspection number 447813

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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 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 415 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Fiona Moore Headteacher Judith Gore Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 015394 43622 Fax number Not applicable Email address admin@windermere.cumbria.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 and 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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