Great and Little Shelford CofE (Aided) Primary School

Great and Little Shelford CofE (Aided) Primary School Church Street, Great Shelford, Cambridge, CB22 5EL

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Pupils are prepared well for the next stage of their education. Their achievement is good and they flourish socially.  Leaders, managers and governors have ensured good improvement in pupils’ attainment and the quality of teaching since the previous inspection.  Senior leaders are not complacent. They are supported well by the governing body. Together, they have a good understanding of what is going well and what still needs improving.  Over the last three years, pupils’ attainment has improved to above average levels by the end of Year 6 in reading, writing and mathematics.  Children make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage, settling quickly at the start of the year and rapidly learning new skills.  Across the school, teachers have good expectations of what pupils should learn. Teaching engages pupils fully and inspires a love of learning.  Pupils are keen to do well. They behave sensibly

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

both in and out of lessons. They are friendly and polite and feel safe.  The school provides pupils with many memorable experiences. These contribute well to their personal development and ensure that pupils leave school as confident, kind and tolerant individuals.  The school works closely with parents. They are very pleased with the work of the school, especially the way that adults take care of their children.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils do not always spell accurately. This is because the teaching of letters and the sounds that they make (phonics) does not always provide the right level of challenge for all pupils so that spelling skills can improve quickly. The school is acting on this already.  There are a few occasions when teachers give the most able pupils work that is not challenging enough for them.  Teachers in charge of subjects do not do enough to check how well their initiatives are being implemented so that they can be certain they are having the desired effect. Inspection report: Great and Little Shelford CofE (Aided) Primary School, 21–22 October 2014 2 of 10

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 15 lessons, around a half jointly with the headteacher or the deputy headteacher. In addition, the inspectors made some short visits to lessons.  Discussions were held with pupils, staff, members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors took account of the views of 106 parents who responded to the online questionnaire, Parent View. They also analysed the school’s own surveys of parental views and talked to some parents at the start of the school day.  The inspectors observed the school’s work, heard some pupils read, and looked at a number of documents. These included the school’s own information about pupils’ learning and progress, planning and monitoring documents, the school development plan, records relating to behaviour and attendance, safeguarding information and health and safety documentation.  The inspectors analysed 19 questionnaires from staff.

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Inspection team

Mike Capper, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Inspection team

Paul Brown Additional Inspector Inspection report: Great and Little Shelford CofE (Aided) Primary School, 21–22 October 2014 3 of 10

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Information about this school

 This is an average-sized primary school.  Most pupils come from White-British backgrounds.  Children in early years provision attend school full time in the Reception Year.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is around one in 10. This proportion is broadly average when compared with all schools nationally. A similar proportion is supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs and this is also broadly average.  A very small number of disadvantaged pupils are supported by the pupil premium. The proportion (about three in a hundred) is much lower than that found nationally. The pupil premium is additional government funding provided to give extra support to those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and to children who are looked after.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the pace at which pupils’ spelling develops by ensuring that the teaching of phonics more closely meets differing needs.  Increase the amount of outstanding teaching by ensuring that teachers consistently give the most-able pupils work that challenges them fully.  Improve leadership and management by ensuring that teachers in charge of subjects follow up initiatives more rigorously to check whether they are having the desired effect across the school. Inspection report: Great and Little Shelford CofE (Aided) Primary School, 21–22 October 2014 4 of 10

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders diligently promote equality of opportunity and tackle discrimination so that pupils can flourish both socially and academically. They work well as a team and foster good relations across the school. Staff are unanimously positive about how the school is led because they say that they feel valued for the contributions they make.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders have successfully led a drive for improvement since the previous inspection. Since then, strong leadership has improved pupils’ attainment while successfully maintaining their positive attitudes towards learning and their good behaviour. Developments have been based on a clear understanding of what needed improving because self-evaluation is thorough and accurate. The local authority has provided the right level of support for this good school to secure further improvement over the last four years.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has a good track record for improving teaching. Leaders are doing the right things to iron out the few remaining inconsistencies. For example, they already have plans in place to review the teaching of phonics so that it is more effective. The checking of teaching is accurate. Leaders provide good-quality support to help make teaching even more successful.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders ensure that the very small number of disadvantaged pupils who receive additional funding make good or better progress and catch up with others by the end of Year 6. Eligible pupils benefit from well- focused support to improve their numeracy and literacy skills, with funding also used successfully to provide access to clubs and visits.

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The leadership and management are good

 Teachers in charge of subjects have become more involved in driving improvement since the previous inspection. For example, they have more opportunities to visit lessons so that they can play a fuller part in checking the quality of teaching. However, they do not do enough to ensure that their initiatives are having the desired effect. For example, they have not followed up with enough rigour a recent focus on improving the quality of feedback given to pupils. Consequently, they have not picked up minor inconsistencies in practice quickly enough.

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The leadership and management are good

 The curriculum (the topics and subjects taught) is rich and varied and meets statutory requirements. It provides pupils with many memorable experiences such as a recent visit to a castle that was linked to a history topic. The well-resourced school grounds are used to good effect to make learning purposeful. For example, pupils in Year 3 wrote some high-quality poems after spending time looking at plants in ‘The Meadow’.

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The leadership and management are good

 There is a wide variety of interesting activities both in and out of lessons including a good number of clubs. These make a positive contribution towards pupils’ good enjoyment of school and to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Strong links with the local churches support pupils’ spiritual awareness especially well. Pupils happily write prayers and show great sensitivity to the needs of others. All leaders, including governors, are aware of the need to promote respect and tolerance for various cultures and beliefs and they do this successfully. These values help to prepare pupils for life in modern Britain.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school focuses well on developing pupils’ healthy lifestyles and their physical well-being. Additional sports funding is used to good effect to employ coaches who work alongside teachers. This has helped to introduce pupils to new sports and to improve the skills of teachers. The impact of spending is monitored carefully to ensure that it provides value for money.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has a very strong partnership with parents. They are very happy with the work of the school. They support it well by raising funds, by supporting their children with work at home and by helping in school in a variety of other ways. Inspection report: Great and Little Shelford CofE (Aided) Primary School, 21–22 October 2014 5 of 10

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The effective governing body provides good support and challenge to school leaders. Governors make good use of training to improve their skills in areas such as the analysis of data on pupils’ attainment and progress. They visit school regularly to check things for themselves. This means that they have an accurate picture of how well the school is performing in comparison with others. Governors play a full part in planning for improvement and have a good understanding of the main priorities. They know where teaching is especially strong and how the school continues to improve it. Their systems for rewarding good teaching through performance management are thorough and are well understood by teachers. Governors ensure that spending is focused on improving opportunities for pupils. They ensure that additional funding for disadvantaged pupils is used to good effect to close the gap between their

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The leadership and management are good

attainment and that of others both within the school and nationally. The governing body ensures that safeguarding arrangements meet requirements.

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Behaviour

 Parents, pupils and staff agree that behaviour is typically good. This is confirmed by school records, which show that misbehaviour is very rare. Parents are very positive about the way that the school supports their childrens’ social development. As one commented, ‘The school helps our children to learn important values such as trust and respect.’

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Behaviour

 Inspectors found that pupils behave sensibly at all times and are keen to do well. Their positive attitudes are an important factor in their good learning. Pupils very happily talk about their work to visitors and they support each other well in lessons. They willingly share ideas in discussions and listen sensitively to the views of others.

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Behaviour

 Pupils thoroughly enjoy school and rates of attendance are above average. They enthusiastically celebrate each other’s successes, for example, by nominating each other for the ‘Celia’ Award. They work hard most of the time, but occasionally do not take enough care with their work. When this happens, writing is untidy and pupils make avoidable errors in spellings.

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Behaviour

 Pupils are proud of their school. They take good care of the school grounds ensuring that there is no graffiti or litter. They keenly take responsibility. For example, school councillors have recently helped with the planning and development of a new garden area which is used for prayer, reflection and as a quiet work area.

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Behaviour

 Relationships between pupils are consistently strong. Older pupils help younger pupils in lessons by hearing them read. This has helped to develop positive attitudes towards reading. At playtimes, there is a delightful atmosphere because there are lots of things to do and pupils all play together happily.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.

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Safety

 Pupils report that they feel safe. They say there is no bullying and ‘just a little falling out’. They are confident that adults will tackle problems immediately. As one commented, ‘Adults sort out problems as soon as we mention them.’

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Safety

 Pupils know about the dangers they may face outside school. They know that bullying can take many forms and explain clearly how to avoid problems when using the internet.

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Safety

 Activities such as cycling proficiency training in Year 5 and visits from outside groups ensure that pupils learn how to stay safe in the local community. However, despite a recent school initiative, not all younger pupils are clear about the rules to follow when crossing roads. Inspection report: Great and Little Shelford CofE (Aided) Primary School, 21–22 October 2014 6 of 10

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers get on well with their pupils and have good expectations of their behaviour. They plan interesting work that engages pupils well and builds successfully on their positive attitudes towards learning.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers ensure that time is used well and that pupils are able to work without fear of failure. As one wrote in her ‘Learning Log’, ‘I am getting better at understanding that sometimes we learn best by making mistakes.’

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils’ achievement is good in literacy, reading and mathematics because they are taught well. Teaching helps pupils improve their reading skills quickly. Pupils read regularly and they are given good support to help them improve if they are struggling. The teaching of phonics is less effective because pupils sometimes learn the same sound whatever their ability.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers have high expectations of what pupils should achieve. They check pupils’ learning by, for example, asking challenging questions or listening in on discussions. They often use their responses to correct errors or to introduce new ideas. This means that most of the time work is adapted well to meet differing needs. However, just occasionally, the work given to the most able is not challenging enough for them and this sometimes slows the pace at which their skills improve.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Well-targeted support is given to pupils who have been identified as needing extra help including disabled pupils or those who have special educational needs. Teaching assistants make a good contribution to pupils’ learning when working with groups in or out of lessons.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Most parents are pleased with the quality of teaching in the school. They support teachers well by helping their children with homework and by hearing them read.

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is good

 When children start school in the Reception Year, most are working at a typical level of development for their age. From these starting points, pupils make good progress across the school. Pupils’ attainment has risen since the previous inspection, especially in Key Stage 2, and it is now above average by the end of Year 2 and Year 6 in reading, writing and mathematics.

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is good

 In Key Stages 1 and 2, pupils build well on the good start made in the Early Years Foundation Stage, where attainment has risen to above average in 2014. By Year 6, pupils read widely for a range of purposes. They greatly enjoy reading, keenly using the library to choose books and talking enthusiastically about favourite authors.

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is good

 When writing, pupils use their good spoken vocabulary to make their writing interesting but spelling is sometimes inaccurate. Pupils make careless errors in their spellings and not all have a secure knowledge of phonics. This is reflected in the slightly below average proportion of pupils reaching the expected levels in the national phonics screening checks at the end of Year 1 in 2014.

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is good

 Pupils’ attainment in mathematics has improved markedly since the previous inspection. Younger pupils add and subtract confidently without needing to use resources such as counting blocks or their fingers. As they get older, pupils use their mathematical skills well to carry out investigations or to solve problems.

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is good

 The school ensures that all pupils achieve well. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are identified quickly. They are given good support and make good progress, with most reaching the expected levels for their age by the end of Year 6.

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is good

 The most able pupils achieve well over time. This is seen in the above average proportion of pupils who were working at least two years above their chronological age in national testing at the end of Year 6 in Inspection report: Great and Little Shelford CofE (Aided) Primary School, 21–22 October 2014 7 of 10

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is good

2014. These pupils make good progress most of the time, but, just occasionally, they improve skills too slowly because work is not challenging enough for them.

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is good

 There are too few disadvantaged pupils supported though additional funding to report on their attainment without risk of identifying them. The school makes good use of funding to provide good-quality individual support for the low number of eligible pupils in each year group. This helps them to make good progress across the school and to improve their attainment quickly.

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The early years provision is good

 Children achieve well in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Their attainment has been improving and is above average by the end of the Reception Year. Children are prepared well both socially and academically for their move to Year 1.

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The early years provision is good

 Children make good progress because they are taught well. They behave well and are keen to learn. They feel safe because they are given calm and sensitive support to help them settle when they start school.

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The early years provision is good

 Adults have good expectations and plan activities that build well on childrens’ natural curiosity. There are good systems for checking childrens’ prior learning. Adults record childrens’ achievements diligently in ‘Learning Journals’. These confirm how quickly children have improved skills since the start of the academic year. Many children are already beginning to write words or short sentences and they happily read simple books with an adult. They can identify similarities and differences in fruit and use language such as ‘more than’ or ‘less than’ when counting objects.

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The early years provision is good

 Teaching meets the needs of differing groups well most of the time. Disabled children and those who have special educational needs make good progress. They are given unobtrusive support to help them take part in all activities. However, just occasionally, the learning of the most-able children is not moved on quickly enough.

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The early years provision is good

 Provision is well led and managed. Leaders make good use of information about childrens’ attainment and progress to identify where further improvement is needed. Leaders keep parents well informed. Parents are very happy with how their children are supported when they start school, with one commenting, ‘The staff are very caring and have ensured a happy start to school life.’ Inspection report: Great and Little Shelford CofE (Aided) Primary School, 21–22 October 2014 8 of 10

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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. Inspection report: Great and Little Shelford CofE (Aided) Primary School, 21–22 October 2014 9 of 10

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School details

Unique reference number 110831 Local authority Cambridgeshire Inspection number 448401

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. 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 201 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Peter Ede Headteacher Alison Evans Date of previous school inspection 10 February 2010 Telephone number 01223 843107 Fax number 01223 841441 Email address office@shelford.cambs.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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